Brad Garton is the head of the CMC (Computer Music Center) at Columbia University, but he doesn't wear any of the pomp that such a position might imply. He's an engaging, fun and funny guy that is always up for a rousing chat. The weird thing is that, well, he doesn't think he is very interesting! How wrong could a guy be? We skate around his history coming up through the computer music ranks, talk about the current setup at Columbia, discuss the position of code as artistic content - and even get into the future of books. All of this in an hour - what a ride!
Even if you aren't into academics, you will find this to be a cool view of the world, and you can get a sense of how people help others to succeed. In fact, this is probably the thing that Brad excels at (beyond cutting code): he is able to help students, co-workers and collaborators focus on the thing they are best at, then helps them to acquire the tools necessary to nail it. Thats a skill that we should all seek.
Enjoy!