For over 20 years, Dick Perez was the official artist of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, painting the game’s history and every Hall of Fame ballplayer—a project he continues into his 80s. Marq Evans (Claydream, The Glamour & The Squalor) directed The Diamond King, a documentary that tells the fascinating story of Perez, the “Picasso of Baseball,” whose portraits transformed the commemoration of America’s most iconic pastime.

In this episode, Evans talks with Washington State Magazine editor Larry Clark about Perez’s life, making the documentary, baseball, and art.

Find out more

The Diamond King official website

Trailer for The Diamond King

Dick Perez’s website

“Collecting the Diamond Kings” (Summer 2025, Washington State Magazine)

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“It’s only rock n roll, but I like it,” is not really a good answer in Washington State University’s popular history of rock music class.

Hundreds of WSU students learn how to really dig into the tunes. They study how rock ‘n’ roll is tied into American society, history, and culture, by analyzing lyrics and music styles from over the decades.

A.J. Miller is the main instructor of the rock ‘n’ roll history class through the WSU School of Music. He talks with magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich about the class, why it matters, and what students get out of it.

They cover everything from The Beatles to Beyoncé, Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar. And along the way, Miller introduces a six-step process for examining songs.

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Read more about the class in “School of rock” (Washington State Magazine, Spring 2025).

A.J Miller is also assistant director of the Washington State University Cougar Marching Band. Read about the band and watch a video of them in action at Washington State Magazine.

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Farming life and the essential work of producing food for the world has long been celebrated in art, literature, and essays.

Richard Scheuerman, an educator, author, and 1972 history graduate from Washington State University, wrote three books that take a deep dive into art and books about farming. He covers a huge span of time and geography, from the Bible to modern literature.

In those three volumes—Hallowed Harvests, Harvest Hands, and Harvest Horizons—Scheuerman calls for all of us to keep farms and agrarian work top of mind. Our very existence depends on a part of our society, where our food comes from, that often gets forgotten or ignored.

He talked with Washington State Magazine editor Larry Clark about the themes of the books, how we need to appreciate food production, and more about art and literature that speaks to the nature of farming, harvesting, and the agrarian life.

Read more about the books in a Washington State Magazine review (Spring 2025).

Buy the books at Triticum Press or Palouse Heritage Farm.

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Want more great WSU stories? Follow Washington State Magazine:

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