Flagpole Magazine

2 days ago | flagpole.com | Sam Lipkin

The human experience is marked by the depth and breadth of its emotions, an experience often hard to fully capture with words—which is why we have music. Speaking to multi-instrumentalist and composer Freeman Leverett, it’s clear his musical journey is one of translating feeling through song, but also exploring how it connects us as people and to something larger than ourself.

2 days ago | flagpole.com | Sam Lipkin

Recorded in that liminal space of late-night hours when it seems everyone is asleep, even the dozing dog at your feet, and the emptiness becomes unconfined, Ben Hackett’s debut album Songs for Sleeping Dogs is described as “a study of subconscious beauty.” Courtesy of Strolling Bones Records, the 12-track instrumental album will be released on streaming platforms and vinyl Friday, May 16.

3 days ago | flagpole.com | Gordon Lamb |Mike White

Words by Gordon Lamb and photographs by Mike WhiteBefore we even got within 20 miles of The Eastern, I looked over from the passenger seat and told Mike White, whose photos are all around these words, “You know, there’s just one too many bands on this bill.”And, yeah, I meant Düsseldorf’s Die Krupps.

1 week ago | flagpole.com | Blake Aued

In March, Keegan Brooks woke up to an email from his boss informing him that his position as a lab tech no longer existed because the National Park Service had terminated a contract with UGA. Brooks found a new job, but others have not been so lucky. Tens of thousands of federal employees have lost their jobs, alongside an untold number of graduate and post-doc students conducting research at universities like UGA. The impact of federal cuts in a government town like Athens is far-reaching.

1 week ago | flagpole.com | Blake Aued

Despite President Trump’s stated goal of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education, so far public schools are largely unscathed. Still, Clarke County School District officials are preparing for a potential 15–20% cut come July 1, when the district usually receives its federal funding. “We don’t anticipate any changes in [fiscal year] 2026, but it’s something we need to monitor,” Chief Financial Officer Chris Griner told the school board at an Apr.