Jill Sobule is interviewed remotely by Teri Orr, founder of TEDxParkCity. Jill shares details on some of her most-loved songs and recounts TED experiences. Jill also talks about her recent projects in musical theatre and the current state of the arts in the US. Jill Sobule has released a dozen albums spanning three decades of recording, tackling such topics as the death penalty, anorexia nervosa, shoplifting, reproduction, the French Resistance, adolescent malaise, LGBTQ issues, and the Christian Right, to name a few - with her trademark wit and aplomb.The Denver-born songwriter/guitarist/singer's work is at once deeply personal and socially conscious, seriously funny and derisively tragic. While her songs cover expansive thematic ground, they benefit greatly from Jill’s subtle intelligence and skillful light-handedness. No sloganeering flag-and-fist waving here, but rather portrait-&-story songs about human beings, real and imagined, which allow us to step back from the issues they tackle, be they individual or societal, and to relate to them as we would to a close friend. On stage, she entertains, amuses, provokes, and more often than not, takes her audiences on an emotional roller coaster, from comedy to pathos in a few bars of music, often within the same song. In November of 2019 Jill sang a song as herself on an episode of the Simpsons. Jill’s latest project is her New York Times Critics pick, Drama Desk nominated autobiographical musical “Fuck 7th Grade” which premiered at the Wild Project in 2022; had a remount in the Winter of 2023; and in November of 2024. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx