The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently announced the premiere of the second season of its narrative nonfiction podcast, Immaterial. Each of the eight new episodes, released biweekly, centers on an individual material found in art across cultures and reveals its meaning through intimate and emotional stories told by makers, writers, and scholars. The materials in focus this season range from the traditional, like stone and wood, to the more unexpected, like space and trash, and the new season also features a compelling lineup of guests, including architect Frida Escobedo, mountaineer and writer Robert Macfarlane, and artists from Gees Bend, Alabama, along with the returning host, celebrated poet and writer Camille T. Dungy (Soil: The Story of a Black Mothers Garden). As it did in its first season, Immaterial draws out the complexities of how histories are told through art and creativity. All episodes will be available free on The Mets website and on demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are available. Immaterial was created and produced by The Met in collaboration with Magnificent Noise. Were excited to unveil a second season of the popular podcast Immaterial, which will take us on a whole new journey through personal narratives and an array of intriguing subjects, said Max Hollein, The Mets Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. Forging connections across time and culture, these eight episodes will take listeners to unexpected areas of the museum, deep within the collection, and celebrate the intertwining of art, creativity, and the world around us. Season two begins with Stone: Making and Breaking Legacies, which explores what happens when a seemingly enduring material like stone breaks. Along with writer and mountaineer Robert Macfarlane, Met curator of Ancient Near Eastern Art Sarah Graff, and scholar Erhan Tamur, this episode features museum conservator Carolyn Ricardelli, who, together with her team, spent 10 years putting together the broken pieces of one of The Mets most famous Renaissance marble statues, Tullio Lombardos Adam. Another episode in the season is Space: Behind the Scenes at The Met, which takes listeners into the inner sanctum of the museum, to unknown spaces, with Met scientists, conservators, security guards, and architect Frida Escobedo. Throughout the series, Immaterial confronts difficult subjects facing todays museums, such as cultural property, colonial histories, and issues of equity. It has been fascinating to look more closely at materials most of us interact with every day, said Dungy. Chia, that little seed that plumps up my morning energy smoothies, for example, also happens to be fueling a new way of thinking about fine art. And while I know that one persons trash is anothers treasure, before working on this seasons episodes I hadnt spent much time considering how important trash piles have long been to the history of art. Im really excited to be thinking differently about materials this season, from time to space to trash to seed oil, the materials we explore this season have me looking at the world in new ways. The latest episodes in Immaterial will reveal surprising narratives and offer a whole new slate of materials with which to dive into art and creativity. Season one, which was recommended by the Guardian and New York Magazine is still available to stream on The Mets website and wherever podcasts are available and features fascinating stories such as how museum conservators race against time to make objects like valentines, comic books, and baseball cards last. Immaterial is made possible by Dasha Zhukova Niarchos. Additional support is provided by the Zodiac Fund.