In our Summer 2023 issue, Julian Saporiti writes about the George Igawa Orchestra, which entertained thousands of incarcerated Japanese Americans at a World War II internment camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. But Saporiti, who releases music as No-No Boy, has been singing about the “best god damn band in Wyoming” since 2021, when his album 1975 came out. No-No Boy—named for the Japanese Americans who twice answered “no” on a wartime loyalty questionnaire—has been releasing songs about forgotten pockets of Asian-American history for years: Burmese migrants, Cambodian kids whose parents survived the Khmer Rouge, Saigon teens, and his mother’s experience as a Vietnamese refugee of an American war. We caught up with Saporiti at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where he performed a set in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Smithsonian Folkways, to talk about reciprocity, scholars by waterfalls, and how to smuggle in history with a few strummed chords.Go beyond the episode:Listen to No-No Boy’s previous two albums, 1975 and 1942, and pre-order the next releaseRead “Last Dance,” Saporiti’s story of the George Igawa OrchestraUnfamiliar with the history of the no-no boys? Listen to our interview with Frank Abe about John Okada’s seminal novel No-No Boy about a Nisei draft-resisterTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our Summer 2023 issue, Julian Saporiti writes about the George Igawa Orchestra, which entertained thousands of incarcerated Japanese Americans at a World War II internment camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. But Saporiti, who releases music as No-No Boy, has been singing about the “best god damn band in Wyoming” since 2021, when his album 1975 came out. No-No Boy—named for the Japanese Americans who twice answered “no” on a wartime loyalty questionnaire—has been releasing songs about forgotten pockets of Asian-American history for years: Burmese migrants, Cambodian kids whose parents survived the Khmer Rouge, Saigon teens, and his mother’s experience as a Vietnamese refugee of an American war. We caught up with Saporiti at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, where he performed a set in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Smithsonian Folkways, to talk about reciprocity, scholars by waterfalls, and how to smuggle in history with a few strummed chords.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Listen to No-No Boy’s previous two albums, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/33pWLN5PV3dsWS11LxmJsR?si=tcSAdONfQxmUVo0RTSU8qw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">1975</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7yh6L2uWGmvpFpG1SkFnmv?si=Rf697FM-RO6wGCWq7nSa6w" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">1942</a>, and <a href="https://orcd.co/no-no-boy-empire-electric" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">pre-order the next release</a></li><li>Read “<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/last-dance/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Last Dance</a>,” Saporiti’s story of the George Igawa Orchestra</li><li>Unfamiliar with the history of the no-no boys? <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/no-no-novel-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Listen to our interview with Frank Abe</a> about John Okada’s seminal novel No-No Boy about a Nisei draft-resister</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#291: Dancing the Imperial Twist

Longtime style reporter Dana Thomas’s book, Fashionopolis, is an indictment of the true costs of fashion—like poisoned water, crushed workers, and overflowing landfills—that never make it onto the price tag of a dress or pair of jeans. Between 2000 and 2014, the annual number of garments produced doubled to 100 billion: 14 new garments per person per year for every person on the planet. The average garment is only worn seven times before being tossed—assuming it’s not one of the 20 billion clothing items that go unsold and unworn. It’s no surprise, then, that the fashion industry accounts for at least 10 percent of global carbon emissions and 20 percent of all industrial water pollution. Though the industry employs one out of every six people globally, fewer than two percent of them earn a living wage—more than 98 percent of workers are not only underpaid, they also toil in unsafe, unsanitary conditions. But change is underfoot: retailers are shifting their supply models, circular and slow fashion are on the rise, and new technology is making the manufacture of new and recycled fabrics cleaner. Dana Thomas joins the podcast to explain what will be required to fix a broken system. This episode originally aired in 2019.Go beyond the episode:Dana Thomas’s Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of ClothesThomas’s tips for weaning yourself off fast fashionWhy donating secondhand clothes to developing countries can actually prevent development—and kill local textile industriesWhat is “slow fashion”? The New York Times explainsMartha Stewart teaches Clothing Repair 101Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Longtime style reporter Dana Thomas’s book, Fashionopolis, is an indictment of the true costs of fashion—like poisoned water, crushed workers, and overflowing landfills—that never make it onto the price tag of a dress or pair of jeans. Between 2000 and 2014, the annual number of garments produced doubled to 100 billion: 14 new garments per person per year for every person on the planet. The average garment is only worn seven times before being tossed—assuming it’s not one of the 20 billion clothing items that go unsold and unworn. It’s no surprise, then, that the fashion industry accounts for at least 10 percent of global carbon emissions and 20 percent of all industrial water pollution. Though the industry employs one out of every six people globally, fewer than two percent of them earn a living wage—more than 98 percent of workers are not only underpaid, they also toil in unsafe, unsanitary conditions. But change is underfoot: retailers are shifting their supply models, circular and slow fashion are on the rise, and new technology is making the manufacture of new and recycled fabrics cleaner. Dana Thomas joins the podcast to explain what will be required to fix a broken system. This episode originally aired in 2019.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Dana Thomas’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554229/fashionopolis-by-dana-thomas/9780735224018/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes</a></li><li>Thomas’s tips for <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/dying-for-fashion/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">weaning yourself off fast fashion</a></li><li>Why <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/feb/13/second-hand-clothes-charity-donations-africa" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">donating secondhand clothes to developing countries can actually prevent development</a>—and <a href="https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/too-much-of-a-good-thing-why-african-countries-want-to-ban-donated-clothes" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">kill local textile industries</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/fashion/what-is-slow-fashion.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">What is “slow fashion”?</a> The New York Times explains</li><li><a href="https://www.marthastewart.com/274965/how-to-patch-a-hole-mend-a-seam-and-fix" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Martha Stewart teaches Clothing Repair 101</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#290: Dying for Fashion

Atlantic bluefin tuna have been swimming in our oceans, and in the human imagination, for millions of years. Topping out at more than 1,500 pounds apiece, these apex predators face their greatest threat not from sharks or a dwindling food supply but from our unwillingness to stop overfishing them (to say nothing of the occasional catastrophic oil spill). But our understanding of how these majestic creatures navigate the ocean, defined by an imaginary line through the middle of the Atlantic, has been challenged by recent discoveries—and the life story of one tuna in particular. Karen Pinchin’s new book, Kings of Their Own Ocean, tells the story of that fish: an Atlantic bluefin named Amelia, tagged in 2004 by the fisherman Al Anderson off the coast of Rhode Island and recaptured twice more before her ultimate death in the Mediterranean. Pinchin joins the podcast to talk about what Amelia’s tale has to tell us about fishing and climate, science and commerce, and the future of the seas.Go beyond the episode:Karen Pinchin’s Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession, and the Future of Our SeasLet the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch do the work of choosing sustainable seafood for you (you can even download and print little pocket guides for each region—en español tambien!)In our Winter 2023 issue, Juli Berwald considered what coral might teach us about avoiding ecological catastropheJohn Dos Passos loved fishing for tuna just as much as Papa Hemingway didAnna Badhken spoke to us in 2018 about how overfishing and warming waters have devastated a Senegalese fishing communityTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Atlantic bluefin tuna have been swimming in our oceans, and in the human imagination, for millions of years. Topping out at more than 1,500 pounds apiece, these apex predators face their greatest threat not from sharks or a dwindling food supply but from our unwillingness to stop overfishing them (to say nothing of the occasional catastrophic oil spill). But our understanding of how these majestic creatures navigate the ocean, defined by an imaginary line through the middle of the Atlantic, has been challenged by recent discoveries—and the life story of one tuna in particular. Karen Pinchin’s new book, Kings of Their Own Ocean, tells the story of that fish: an Atlantic bluefin named Amelia, tagged in 2004 by the fisherman Al Anderson off the coast of Rhode Island and recaptured twice more before her ultimate death in the Mediterranean. Pinchin joins the podcast to talk about what Amelia’s tale has to tell us about fishing and climate, science and commerce, and the future of the seas.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Karen Pinchin’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/kings-of-their-own-ocean-a-tale-of-tuna-human-obsession-and-the-future-of-our-seas-karen-pinchin/19108431" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Kings of Their Own Ocean: Tuna, Obsession, and the Future of Our Seas</a></li><li>Let the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Seafood Watch</a> do the work of choosing sustainable seafood for you (you can even download and print little <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/download-consumer-guides" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">pocket guides</a> for each region—en español tambien!)</li><li>In our Winter 2023 issue, <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-corals-and-the-capitalist/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Juli Berwald considered what coral might teach</a> us about avoiding ecological catastrophe</li><li><a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-world-at-the-end-of-a-line/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">John Dos Passos loved fishing for tuna</a> just as much as Papa Hemingway did</li><li>Anna Badhken spoke to us in 2018 about how overfishing and warming waters have devastated a <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/go-fish/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Senegalese fishing community</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#289: On the Line

The litany of contemporary conspiracy theories runs long: Pizzagate, QAnon, chemtrails, “jet fuel can’t melt steel beams,” “birds aren’t real.” Some of these are funny—the rumor that Avril Lavigne and/or Paul McCartney have been replaced by doppelgängers—and some have deadly consequences, like the mass murders motivated by replacement theory or the Chronicles of the Elders of Zion. We might like to think this is a recent phenomenon, but the first American president to espouse a conspiracy theory was actually George Washington, a freemason who believed that the Illuminati caused the French Revolution. In his new book, Under the Eye of Power, Colin Dickey asks, “What if paranoia, particularly a paranoia of secret, subversive societies, is not just peripheral to the functioning of democracy, but at its very heart?”Go beyond the episode:Colin Dickey’s Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American DemocracyListen to our previous conversation about cryptids, aliens, and other weird encountersJust a hop, skip, and a jump away from conspiracy theories? Belief in quack Covid cures and New Age elixirs, which Dickey wrote about for us last yearThe “groomers” conspiracy draws on a long history of trans- and homophobiaFor more about the Satanic Panic, listen to this episode of the You’re Wrong About podcastTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The litany of contemporary conspiracy theories runs long: Pizzagate, QAnon, chemtrails, “jet fuel can’t melt steel beams,” “birds aren’t real.” Some of these are funny—the rumor that Avril Lavigne and/or Paul McCartney have been replaced by doppelgängers—and some have deadly consequences, like the mass murders motivated by replacement theory or the Chronicles of the Elders of Zion. We might like to think this is a recent phenomenon, but the first American president to espouse a conspiracy theory was actually George Washington, a freemason who believed that the Illuminati caused the French Revolution. In his new book, Under the Eye of Power, Colin Dickey asks, “What if paranoia, particularly a paranoia of secret, subversive societies, is not just peripheral to the functioning of democracy, but at its very heart?”Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Colin Dickey’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/under-the-eye-of-power-how-fear-of-secret-societies-shapes-american-democracy/18940094" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy</a></li><li>Listen to our previous conversation about <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/i-want-to-believe/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">cryptids, aliens, and other weird encounters</a></li><li>Just a hop, skip, and a jump away from conspiracy theories? Belief in <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/our-remedy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">quack Covid cures and New Age elixirs</a>, which Dickey wrote about for us last year</li><li>The <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/05/the-long-sordid-history-of-the-gay-conspiracy-theory.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">“groomers” conspiracy</a> draws on a long history of trans- and homophobia</li><li>For more about the Satanic Panic, listen to this episode of the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/35P1EKbHfRh1bSsx1V2VhM" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">You’re Wrong About podcast</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#288: Of Panic and Paranoia

Travel to any of the hundred-odd countries where malaria is endemic, and the mosquito is not merely a pest: it is a killer. Factor in the laundry list of other diseases that this insect can transmit—dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, filiaraisis, and a litany of encephalitises—and the mosquito was responsible for some 830,000 human deaths in 2018 alone. This is the lowest figure on record: for context, one estimate puts the mosquito’s death toll for all of human history at 52 billion, which accounts for almost half our human ancestors. How did such a wee little insect manage all that, and escape every attempt to thwart its deadly power? To answer that question, Timothy C. Winegard wrote The Mosquito, a book spanning human history from its origins in Africa through the present and toward the future of gene-editing. In its 496 pages and 1.6 pounds—the equivalent of 291,000 Anopheles mosquitoes—he outlines how the insect contributed to the rise and fall of Rome, the spread of Christianity, and countless wars—not to mention the conquest of South America, in which the mosquito both sparked the West African slave trade and, ironically, led to its end in the United States. This episode originally aired in 2019.Go beyond the episode:Timothy C. Winegard’s The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest PredatorTo help you sleep even less at night, here is the WHO’s list of mosquito-borne diseases and a 2019 report on how climate change puts billions more at riskWe recommend listening to this episode with a citronella candle at hand—and you can consult the CDC’s guidelines for preventing mosquito bites for more tipsVisit our episode page for a gallery of anti-mosquito efforts, courtesy of Dutton Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Travel to any of the hundred-odd countries where malaria is endemic, and the mosquito is not merely a pest: it is a killer. Factor in the laundry list of other diseases that this insect can transmit—dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, filiaraisis, and a litany of encephalitises—and the mosquito was responsible for some 830,000 human deaths in 2018 alone. This is the lowest figure on record: for context, one estimate puts the mosquito’s death toll for all of human history at 52 billion, which accounts for almost half our human ancestors. How did such a wee little insect manage all that, and escape every attempt to thwart its deadly power? To answer that question, Timothy C. Winegard wrote The Mosquito, a book spanning human history from its origins in Africa through the present and toward the future of gene-editing. In its 496 pages and 1.6 pounds—the equivalent of 291,000 Anopheles mosquitoes—he outlines how the insect contributed to the rise and fall of Rome, the spread of Christianity, and countless wars—not to mention the conquest of South America, in which the mosquito both sparked the West African slave trade and, ironically, led to its end in the United States. This episode originally aired in 2019.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Timothy C. Winegard’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-mosquito-a-human-history-of-our-deadliest-predator-timothy-c-winegard/10223622?gclid=CjwKCAjwzJmlBhBBEiwAEJyLu5s5nno9Wa3v09-Ya1pRYkNuMKzm1zMY3hZLSVjRRW_Wti7lX7yr1BoCjjcQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator</a></li><li>To help you sleep even less at night, here is the <a href="https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/vector_ecology/mosquito-borne-diseases/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">WHO’s list of mosquito-borne diseases</a> and a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-climate-change-will-put-billions-more-at-risk-of-mosquito-borne-diseases" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">2019 report on how climate change puts billions more at risk</a></li><li>We recommend listening to this episode with a citronella candle at hand—and you can consult the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/features/stopmosquitoes/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CDC’s guidelines for preventing mosquito bites</a> for more tips</li><li>Visit our episode page for <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/suck-on-this/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">a gallery of anti-mosquito efforts</a>, courtesy of Dutton </li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#287: Man vs. Mosquito

Off the southern tip of South America, the remote and rocky Falkland Islands are home to one of the oddest birds of prey in the world: the striated caracara, which looks like a falcon but acts more like parrot. Charles Darwin had to fend these birds off the hats, compasses, and valuables of the Beagle; the Falkland Islands government had a bounty on their “cheeky” beaks for much of the 20th century; and modern falconers have used their understanding of language to train them to do dog-like tricks. The other nine species of caracara that span the rest of South America are just as odd in their own ways. In his book, A Most Remarkable Creature, Jonathan Meiburg follows their unusual evolutionary path across the continent and describes his encounters with these birds over the past 25 years. He joins us from his home in Texas to introduce us to some new feathered friends. This episode originally aired in 2021.Go beyond the episode:Jonathan Meiburg’s A Most Remarkable CreatureRead an excerpt about Charles Darwin’s encounters with the birdMeet Tina, the striated caracara who can “find Nemo,” and a crested caracara named KevinHere’s some footage of a flock on Saunders Island in the FalklandsTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Off the southern tip of South America, the remote and rocky Falkland Islands are home to one of the oddest birds of prey in the world: the striated caracara, which looks like a falcon but acts more like parrot. Charles Darwin had to fend these birds off the hats, compasses, and valuables of the Beagle; the Falkland Islands government had a bounty on their “cheeky” beaks for much of the 20th century; and modern falconers have used their understanding of language to train them to do dog-like tricks. The other nine species of caracara that span the rest of South America are just as odd in their own ways. In his book, A Most Remarkable Creature, Jonathan Meiburg follows their unusual evolutionary path across the continent and describes his encounters with these birds over the past 25 years. He joins us from his home in Texas to introduce us to some new feathered friends. This episode originally aired in 2021.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Jonathan Meiburg’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251787/a-most-remarkable-creature-by-jonathan-meiburg/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">A Most Remarkable Creature</a></li><li>Read an excerpt about <a href="https://www.the-scientist.com/reading-frames/lessons-from-darwins-mischievous-birds-68451" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Charles Darwin’s encounters with the bird</a></li><li>Meet Tina, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_QUlpdoFu0&amp;ab_channel=woodlandsleisurepark" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">the striated caracara who can “find Nemo,”</a> and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgXVljKfCwI&amp;ab_channel=FalconryAndMe" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">crested caracara named Kevin</a></li><li>Here’s some footage of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XPuHkZDORk&amp;ab_channel=FITV" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">a flock on Saunders Island</a> in the Falklands</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#286: The Falcon’s Odd Little Cousin

Take any international trip, and the tourist-trap restaurants near the must-see landmarks will all be hawking the “national dish” you simply can’t miss: Greek souvlaki, Japanese ramen, Italian pasta, Mexican mole. Leaving aside the question of whether a restaurant with a laminated English menu could possibly serve good food, we must ask what makes a dish “national”—must it be an old recipe? A common one? Unique to that place? Anya von Bremzen poses these questions and more in her new book, National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. Beginning in Paris with the 18th-century inauguration of modern French cuisine—and searching for the invention, or perhaps congelation, of pot-au-feu—von Bremzen travels across oceans and continents in search of what defines a country’s cuisine, unraveling notions of identity, nationhood, and politics in the process.Go beyond the episode:Anya von Bremzen’s National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of HomeIn case you missed it, last week’s episode dealt with what might perhaps be called America’s quixotic national dish: the hot dogDig in to our culinary history, and you’ll find a collection of immigrant women who changed the way American eatsJames Beard did, tooPicture the food of the future—specifically that of the climate crisis—in this immersive dinner party episode  And who could forget the inner organs of beasts and fowls that spill across the pages of Ulysses?Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Take any international trip, and the tourist-trap restaurants near the must-see landmarks will all be hawking the “national dish” you simply can’t miss: Greek souvlaki, Japanese ramen, Italian pasta, Mexican mole. Leaving aside the question of whether a restaurant with a laminated English menu could possibly serve good food, we must ask what makes a dish “national”—must it be an old recipe? A common one? Unique to that place? Anya von Bremzen poses these questions and more in her new book, National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. Beginning in Paris with the 18th-century inauguration of modern French cuisine—and searching for the invention, or perhaps congelation, of pot-au-feu—von Bremzen travels across oceans and continents in search of what defines a country’s cuisine, unraveling notions of identity, nationhood, and politics in the process.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Anya von Bremzen’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/national-dish-around-the-world-in-search-of-food-history-and-the-meaning-of-home/18937562" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home</a></li><li>In case you missed it, last week’s episode dealt with what might perhaps be called America’s quixotic national dish: the <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/what-could-be-wurst/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">hot dog</a></li><li>Dig in to our culinary history, and you’ll find a collection of immigrant women who <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/changing-how-america-eats/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">changed the way American eats</a></li><li><a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/meet-the-dean-of-american-cooking/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">James Beard</a> did, too</li><li>Picture the food of the future—specifically that of the climate crisis—in this <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-next-menu/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">immersive dinner party episode </a> </li><li>And who could forget the <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-joyce-of-cooking/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">inner organs of beasts and fowls</a> that spill across the pages of Ulysses?</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#285: Imagined Cuisines

Summer cometh: the grills get scraped clean, the buns are split, and hungry Americans get set to boil or broil their wursts, wieners, and sausages. In the summer of 2021, Jamie Loftus drove from coast to coast, tasting the vast array of hot dogs that America has to offer, consuming as many as four a day—and in one notable (or regrettable) instance, five. Chicago-style and the Coney Island special; drive-through and deli; chili and chile: Loftus devoured them all. Her ensuing book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, brings the glory and the gory. It may be the first to detail not only the different genders of pickle jars one can buy at a gas station, but also the horrific treatment of animals and workers at slaughterhouses, conditions that got distinctly worse during the pandemic. Loftus—stand-up comedian, TV writer, and creator of such illustrious one-season podcasts as “My Year in Mensa” and “Ghost Church”—joins us to talk about the wild world of that iconic American food. Go beyond the episode:Jamie Loftus’s Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot DogsProPublica’s exposé of the meatpacking industry during Covid revealed awful conditions, and government collusionDelight your senses with PBS’s classic A Hot Dog ProgramVisit our episode page for a list of the varieties mentioned in this episode Loftus’s top five dogs are:Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, New JerseyHot Dog Ruiz Los Chipilones in Tucson, ArizonaKing Jong Grillin in Portland, OregonThe hot dog carts across the street from the Crypto.com Arena, or near Union Station in Los Angeles, CaliforniaTexas Tavern in Roanoke, VirginiaTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer cometh: the grills get scraped clean, the buns are split, and hungry Americans get set to boil or broil their wursts, wieners, and sausages. In the summer of 2021, Jamie Loftus drove from coast to coast, tasting the vast array of hot dogs that America has to offer, consuming as many as four a day—and in one notable (or regrettable) instance, five. Chicago-style and the Coney Island special; drive-through and deli; chili and chile: Loftus devoured them all. Her ensuing book, Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs, brings the glory and the gory. It may be the first to detail not only the different genders of pickle jars one can buy at a gas station, but also the horrific treatment of animals and workers at slaughterhouses, conditions that got distinctly worse during the pandemic. Loftus—stand-up comedian, TV writer, and creator of such illustrious one-season podcasts as “My Year in Mensa” and “Ghost Church”—joins us to talk about the wild world of that iconic American food. Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Jamie Loftus’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/raw-dog-the-many-histories-of-hot-dogs-jamie-loftus/18785131" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs</a></li><li>ProPublica’s <a href="https://features.propublica.org/waterloo-meatpacking/as-covid-19-ravaged-this-iowa-city-officials-discovered-meatpacking-executives-were-the-ones-in-charge/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">exposé of the meatpacking industry</a> during Covid revealed awful conditions, and <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/documents-covid-meatpacking-tyson-smithfield-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">government collusion</a></li><li>Delight your senses with PBS’s classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKxQASaqE_w&amp;ab_channel=Gunnar%27sMovies" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">A Hot Dog Program</a></li><li>Visit our episode page for a <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/what-could-be-wurst/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">list of the varieties</a> mentioned in this episode </li></ul> Loftus’s top five dogs are:<ul><li>Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, New Jersey</li><li>Hot Dog Ruiz Los Chipilones in Tucson, Arizona</li><li>King Jong Grillin in Portland, Oregon</li><li>The hot dog carts across the street from the <a href="http://Crypto.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Crypto.com</a> Arena, or near Union Station in Los Angeles, California</li><li>Texas Tavern in Roanoke, Virginia</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#284: What Could Be Wurst? 

The idea of “Western civilization” looms large in the popular imagination, but it’s no longer taken seriously in academia. In her new book, The West: A New History in Fourteen Lives, historian Naoíse Mac Sweeney examines why the West won’t die and, in the process, dismantles ahistorical concepts like the “clash of civilizations” and the notion of a linear progression from Greek and Roman ideals to those of our present day—“from Plato to NATO.” Through biographical portraits of figures both well-known and forgotten—Herodotus and Francis Bacon, Livilla and Phyllis Wheatley, Tullia d’Aragona and Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi—Mac Sweeney assembles a history that resembles less of a grand narrative than a spiderweb of influence. Successive empires (whether Ottoman, Holy Roman, British, or American) built up self-mythologies in the service of their expansionist, patriarchal, or, later, racist ideologies. Mac Sweeney joins the podcast to talk about why the West has been such a dominant idea and on what values we might base a new vision of contemporary “western” identity.Go beyond the episode:Naoíse Mac Sweeney’s The West: A New History in Fourteen LivesWe have covered Greece and Rome in previous episodes, as well as Njinga of AngolaIn our Summer 2023 issue, Sarah Ruden considers how modern biographers distort VergilTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea of “Western civilization” looms large in the popular imagination, but it’s no longer taken seriously in academia. In her new book, The West: A New History in Fourteen Lives, historian Naoíse Mac Sweeney examines why the West won’t die and, in the process, dismantles ahistorical concepts like the “clash of civilizations” and the notion of a linear progression from Greek and Roman ideals to those of our present day—“from Plato to NATO.” Through biographical portraits of figures both well-known and forgotten—Herodotus and Francis Bacon, Livilla and Phyllis Wheatley, Tullia d’Aragona and Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi—Mac Sweeney assembles a history that resembles less of a grand narrative than a spiderweb of influence. Successive empires (whether Ottoman, Holy Roman, British, or American) built up self-mythologies in the service of their expansionist, patriarchal, or, later, racist ideologies. Mac Sweeney joins the podcast to talk about why the West has been such a dominant idea and on what values we might base a new vision of contemporary “western” identity.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Naoíse Mac Sweeney’s <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-west-a-new-history-in-fourteen-lives/18888423?ean=9780593472170" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The West: A New History in Fourteen Lives</a></li><li>We have covered <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/filling-in-the-fragments/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Greece</a> and <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/this-is-how-an-empire-falls/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Rome</a> in previous episodes, as well as <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/out-of-the-closet-and-into-the-courts/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Njinga of Angola</a></li><li>In our Summer 2023 issue, Sarah Ruden considers <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/will-the-real-vergil-please-stand-up/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">how modern biographers distort Vergil</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#283: Why the West Won’t Die

In 1956, John Okada wrote the first Japanese-American novel, No-No Boy, a story about a Nisei draft-resister who returns home to Seattle after years in prison. It should have been a sensation: American literature had seen nothing like it before. But the book went out of print, Okada never published again, and the writer died in obscurity in 1971. That would have been the end of the story, were it not for a band of Asian-American writers in 1970s California who stumbled upon the landmark novel in a used bookshop. Frank Abe, one of the co-editors of a new book about Okada—and a friend to the “CARP boys” who discovered him—joins us to talk about the era in which No-No Boy was written and what the novel can teach us about our own moment in history. This episode originally aired in 2018.Go beyond the episode:John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No BoyNo-No Boy by John OkadaWatch Frank Abe’s film about the Japanese-American draft resisters, Conscience and the ConstitutionRead Julian Saporiti’s essay in our Summer 2023 issue, “Last Dance”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1956, John Okada wrote the first Japanese-American novel, No-No Boy, a story about a Nisei draft-resister who returns home to Seattle after years in prison. It should have been a sensation: American literature had seen nothing like it before. But the book went out of print, Okada never published again, and the writer died in obscurity in 1971. That would have been the end of the story, were it not for a band of Asian-American writers in 1970s California who stumbled upon the landmark novel in a used bookshop. Frank Abe, one of the co-editors of a new book about Okada—and a friend to the “CARP boys” who discovered him—joins us to talk about the era in which No-No Boy was written and what the novel can teach us about our own moment in history. This episode originally aired in 2018.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li><a href="http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/ABEJOH.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">John Okada: The Life and Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/OKANO2.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">No-No Boy</a> by John Okada</li><li>Watch Frank Abe’s film about the Japanese-American draft resisters, <a href="http://resisters.com/conscience/index.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Conscience and the Constitution</a></li><li>Read Julian Saporiti’s essay in our Summer 2023 issue, “<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/last-dance/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Last Dance</a>”</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#282: No-No Novel

Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. A podcast from The American Scholar magazine. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I enjoy the stories from this podcast and always find new books to read!

Interesting

This is a perfect podcast for my morning commute.

Love it!

Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. A podcast from The American Scholar magazine. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Smarty Pants

Why does New York City smell? Is its smell distinguishable from that of other large cities? Does that smell tell us something about the world that our other senses cannot? Last year we spoke to historian Melanie Kiechle, who has devoted a considerable amount of brain- and nose-power to our long relationship with the scents around us. Her book, Smell Detectives, is an olfactory history of 19th-century urban America, from delightful scents to foul stenches, including those that everyday citizens used to bolster the budding environmental movement.Go beyond the episode:Melanie Kiechle’s Smell Detectives: An Olfactory History of Nineteenth-Century Urban AmericaOn our episode page, we've got sanitary surveys of New Orleans and New York, along with sketches of the early respirators people used to protect themselves from foul odorsCheck out a modern-day smell map of the City of Light (and odor), from graphic designer Kate McLeanLive in Pittsburgh? Download Smell PGH, the app that tracks pollution odors (read more here) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does New York City smell? Is its smell distinguishable from that of other large cities? Does that smell tell us something about the world that our other senses cannot? Last year we spoke to historian Melanie Kiechle, who has devoted a considerable amount of brain- and nose-power to our long relationship with the scents around us. Her book, Smell Detectives, is an olfactory history of 19th-century urban America, from delightful scents to foul stenches, including those that everyday citizens used to bolster the budding environmental movement.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Melanie Kiechle’s <a href="http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/KIESME.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Smell Detectives</a>: An Olfactory History of Nineteenth-Century Urban America</li><li>On our <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/smell-ya-later/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">episode page</a>, we've got sanitary surveys of New Orleans and New York, along with sketches of the early respirators people used to protect themselves from foul odors</li><li>Check out a modern-day <a href="http://sensorymaps.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">smell map of the City of Light</a> (and odor), from graphic designer Kate McLean</li><li>Live in Pittsburgh? Download <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cmucreatelab.smell_pgh&amp;hl=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Smell PGH</a>, the app that tracks pollution odors (read more <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2017/07/03/smell-pgh-app-carnegie-mellon-university-cmu-create-lab-foul-smell-pittsburgh/stories/201706300430" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>)</li></ul> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#63: Smell Ya Later

When thinking of the past, one of the hardest things is to imagine what it would have been like to inhabit a physical body in a world so different in look, smell, and feel from our own. What was it like to go to the doctor 800 years ago? If you cut your finger and bled, what would that blood mean to you? What about the blood of saints—would that be different? What about exercising, eating, giving birth, having sex, burying the dead? The way we think about these experiences fundamentally changes how we experience them. So how has our thinking changed since the Middle Ages? Jack Hartnell’s new book, Medieval Bodies, explores the answers to these questions through a series of vivid objects, stories, texts, and paintings, starting with the head and meandering through skin and heart and stomach all the way to the feet. Along the way, he constructs a living, breathing body of evidence that helps us understand our physical past.Quick note: In our sign off, we promised a Thanksgiving episode—but a holiday cold has made liars of us, and we cannot put one out! We'll be back with a brand new interview on Friday, December 6th. Til then, take care, and stay warm!Go beyond the episode:Jack Hartnell’s Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages (read an excerpt here)View a slideshow of related bodily medieval images on the episode pageFor more on medieval women’s medicine, check out Monica Green’s Making Women’s Medicine Masculine or her paper, “Gendering the History of Women’s Healthcare”For another unusual angle of medieval history, check out our interview with Marion Turner, who wrote an innovative biography of Geoffrey ChaucerTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When thinking of the past, one of the hardest things is to imagine what it would have been like to inhabit a physical body in a world so different in look, smell, and feel from our own. What was it like to go to the doctor 800 years ago? If you cut your finger and bled, what would that blood mean to you? What about the blood of saints—would that be different? What about exercising, eating, giving birth, having sex, burying the dead? The way we think about these experiences fundamentally changes how we experience them. So how has our thinking changed since the Middle Ages? Jack Hartnell’s new book, Medieval Bodies, explores the answers to these questions through a series of vivid objects, stories, texts, and paintings, starting with the head and meandering through skin and heart and stomach all the way to the feet. Along the way, he constructs a living, breathing body of evidence that helps us understand our physical past.Quick note: In our sign off, we promised a Thanksgiving episode—but a holiday cold has made liars of us, and we cannot put one out! We'll be back with a brand new interview on Friday, December 6th. Til then, take care, and stay warm!Go beyond the episode: <ul><li>Jack Hartnell’s <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324002161" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages</a> (read an excerpt <a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/WqablCUAAM8VUOIi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>)</li><li>View a slideshow of related <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/getting-physical/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">bodily medieval images</a> on the episode page</li><li>For more on medieval women’s medicine, check out Monica Green’s <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/making-womens-medicine-masculine-9780199211494?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Making Women’s Medicine Masculine</a> or her paper, “<a href="https://sciencia.cat/biblioteca/documents/Green_Gendering.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Gendering the History of Women’s Healthcare</a>”</li><li>For another unusual angle of medieval history, check out <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-wine-merchants-sons-tale/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">our interview with Marion Turner</a>, who wrote an innovative biography of Geoffrey Chaucer</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#113: Getting Physical

It’s hard to believe that one of the biggest and oldest creatures of the planet is also the most mysterious. But whales have been around for 50 million years, and in all that time, we still haven’t figured out how many species of whales have existed—let alone how many exist today. How did these creatures of the deep get to be so big, and how did they make it back into the sea after walking on land? Most importantly, what will happen to them as humanity and its detritus increasingly encroach on their existence? The Smithsonian’s star paleontologist, Nick Pyenson, joins us to answer some of our questions about the largest mysteries on Earth, and how they fit into the story of the world's largest ecosystem: the ocean.Go beyond the episode:Nick Pyenson’s Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome CreaturesTake a 3D tour of the Cerro Ballena site, where dozens of intact whale fossils were found by the side of the road in ChileCheck out Phoenix’s website at the Smithsonian, where you can learn all about this right whale (to search for sightings of her, follow this link to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog and enter “Whale Name: Phoenix” on the “Search for Individual Whales” page)Explore the hidden lives of minke whales, who live in rapidly warming Antarctic watersTag along on marine biologist Ari Friedlaender’s trips to tag whales in the ocean(“extreme field science in action!”)Listen to an incredible story about one woman and a baby whale on the “This Is Love” podcastThere are some amazing, tear-jerking whale videos on YouTube that we stumbled upon in our research for this episode. To get you started, here’s the story of how a whale saved biologist Nan Hauser's lifeThe inimitable David Attenborough mingles his voice with the dulcet tones of humpback whale song in this clip from the BBC's Animal AttractionAnd listen to our interview with Marcus Eriksen, who sailed the Pacific on a “junk raft” to raise awareness about aquatic plastic pollution—one of the leading causes of death in marine creaturesWe used whale songs in this episode that were recorded by the Cornell Ornithology Lab. Check out their archive the “Sea of Sound” here.Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s hard to believe that one of the biggest and oldest creatures of the planet is also the most mysterious. But whales have been around for 50 million years, and in all that time, we still haven’t figured out how many species of whales have existed—let alone how many exist today. How did these creatures of the deep get to be so big, and how did they make it back into the sea after walking on land? Most importantly, what will happen to them as humanity and its detritus increasingly encroach on their existence? The Smithsonian’s star paleontologist, Nick Pyenson, joins us to answer some of our questions about the largest mysteries on Earth, and how they fit into the story of the world's largest ecosystem: the ocean.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Nick Pyenson’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/556686/spying-on-whales-by-nick-pyenson/9780735224568/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures</a></li><li>Take <a href="https://3d.si.edu/tour/overview-cerro-ballena" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a 3D tour of the Cerro Ballena site</a>, where dozens of intact whale fossils were found by the side of the road in Chile</li><li>Check out <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/onehundredyears/featured_objects/Phoenix.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Phoenix’s website at the Smithsonian</a>, where you can learn all about this right whale (to search for sightings of her, <a href="http://rwcatalog.neaq.org/Default.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">follow this link</a> to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog and enter “Whale Name: Phoenix” on the “Search for Individual Whales” page)</li><li>Explore the <a href="https://grist.org/article/a-mysterious-whale-species-swims-in-warming-waters/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hidden lives of minke whales</a>, who live in rapidly warming Antarctic waters</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VQEOkCWEVY" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tag along</a> on marine biologist Ari Friedlaender’s trips to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBs7qDuf7Wc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tag whales in the ocean</a>(“extreme field science in action!”)</li><li>Listen to an <a href="https://player.fm/series/this-is-love/episode-2-something-large-and-wild" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">incredible story about one woman and a baby whale</a> on the “This Is Love” podcast</li><li>There are some amazing, tear-jerking whale videos on YouTube that we stumbled upon in our research for this episode. To get you started, here’s the story of how a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTw8MR67xv8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">whale saved biologist Nan Hauser's life</a></li><li>The inimitable David Attenborough mingles his voice with the dulcet tones of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o767PuYbEXg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">humpback whale song</a> in this clip from the BBC's Animal Attraction</li><li>And listen to our interview with Marcus Eriksen, who sailed the Pacific on a “<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/lady-pirates-and-oceans-of-plastic/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">junk raft</a>” to raise awareness about aquatic plastic pollution—one of the leading causes of death in marine creatures</li><li>We used whale songs in this episode that were recorded by the Cornell Ornithology Lab. Check out their archive the “Sea of Sound” <a href="http://www.birds.cornell.edu/page.aspx?pid=2230" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#55: A Whale of a Show

In the past 30 years, electronic dance music (or EDM) has gone from underground culture to a global phenomenon. Journalist Matthew Collin drew on the British rave scene for his earlier work—a book called Altered State. But in the 20 years since that book came out, and even in the time it took to write it, EDM and its culture have completely transformed. The tunes on the radio and the DJs who put on giant shows in places like Ibiza look—and sound—very different from the originators of the genre, like the musicians who invented acid house in 1980s Chicago. Collin traveled around the world to figure out whether the EDM of today still holds onto its liberating roots—or whether commercialization killed the music.Go beyond the episode:Matthew Collin’s Rave On: Global Adventures in Electronic Dance MusicRead about the clash between techno fans and extremists in TbilisiRead some of the many effusive obituaries commemorating Frankie Knuckles, “Godfather of House Music”Watch a trailer for the 1990 movie Paris Is Burning (streaming on Netflix) and the trailer for the 2017 film Kiki (available here)Listen to the full tracks featured in this episode: “Can You Feel It” by Fingers Inc and “Halcyon On and On” by OrbitalTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past 30 years, electronic dance music (or EDM) has gone from underground culture to a global phenomenon. Journalist Matthew Collin drew on the British rave scene for his earlier work—a book called Altered State. But in the 20 years since that book came out, and even in the time it took to write it, EDM and its culture have completely transformed. The tunes on the radio and the DJs who put on giant shows in places like Ibiza look—and sound—very different from the originators of the genre, like the musicians who invented acid house in 1980s Chicago. Collin traveled around the world to figure out whether the EDM of today still holds onto its liberating roots—or whether commercialization killed the music.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Matthew Collin’s <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo29610972.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rave On: Global Adventures in Electronic Dance Music</a></li><li>Read about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/14/georgian-techno-fans-extremists-clash-tbilisi-fight-club-culture" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the clash between techno fans and extremists in Tbilisi</a></li><li>Read <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/frankie-knuckles-godfather-of-house-music-dead-at-59-243506/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">some</a> of the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/04/02/297733684/where-love-lives-frankie-knuckles-and-the-dance-floor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">many</a> effusive obituaries commemorating Frankie Knuckles, “Godfather of House Music”</li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/VVueHRtpBbg?t=11" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Watch a trailer</a> for the 1990 movie <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/60036691" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paris Is Burning</a> (streaming on Netflix) and the trailer for the 2017 film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHhs7GY5ft0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kiki</a> (available <a href="http://www.kikimovie.com/watch-now/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>)</li><li>Listen to the full tracks featured in this episode: “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEo3v3_7ekk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Can You Feel It</a>” by Fingers Inc and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-hSgL1R74" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Halcyon On and On</a>” by Orbital</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#76: Searching for the Spirit of Acid House

What do the X-Men have to do with feminism, and how did the Fantastic Four get caught up in the radical politics of the New Left? Learn about the queer history of superhero comics with Ramzi Fawaz, and check in on reporter Karen Coates's documentary project on world hunger, "Bellyache." Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do the X-Men have to do with feminism, and how did the Fantastic Four get caught up in the radical politics of the New Left? Learn about the queer history of superhero comics with Ramzi Fawaz, and check in on reporter Karen Coates's documentary project on world hunger, "Bellyache." Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a> Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#2: Superheroes Are So Gay!

Few people have read the Hebrew Bible all the way through—maybe you memorized a portion for your bar or bat mitzvah, or read parts of it in Sunday school or a college course. But the whole thing? Hardly. Fewer people still have read it as a work of literature, treating every sentence as an expression of literary style. Even fewer have read the Bible all the way through in the original language, gotten frustrated with available English translations, and then decided to blaze ahead with their own. One such person is award-winning translator and literary critic Robert Alter, who between books of literary criticism on the modern novel has been translating the Hebrew Bible for more than two decades. Last year, he finished: all 24 books of the Bible—a three-volume set weighing 10 pounds and three ounces. Go beyond the episode:Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible, and his follow-up, The Art of Bible TranslationHis Ten Commandments for Bible Translators:Thou shalt not make translation an explanation of the original, for the Hebrew writer abhorreth all explanation.Thou shalt not mangle the eloquent syntax of the original by seeking to modernize it.Though shalt not shamefully mingle linguistic registers.Thou shalt not multiply for thyself synonyms where the Hebrew wisely and pointedly uses repeated terms.Thou shalt not replace the expressive simplicity of the Hebrew prose with purportedly elegant language.Thou shalt not betray the fine compactness of biblical poetry.Thou shalt not make the Bible sound as though it were written just yesterday, for this, too, is an abomination.Thou shalt diligently seek English counterparts for the word-play and sound-play of the Hebrew.Thou shalt show to readers the liveliness and subtlety of the dialogues.Thou shalt continually set before thee the precision and purposefulness of the word-choices in Hebrew.Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Few people have read the Hebrew Bible all the way through—maybe you memorized a portion for your bar or bat mitzvah, or read parts of it in Sunday school or a college course. But the whole thing? Hardly. Fewer people still have read it as a work of literature, treating every sentence as an expression of literary style. Even fewer have read the Bible all the way through in the original language, gotten frustrated with available English translations, and then decided to blaze ahead with their own. One such person is award-winning translator and literary critic Robert Alter, who between books of literary criticism on the modern novel has been translating the Hebrew Bible for more than two decades. Last year, he finished: all 24 books of the Bible—a three-volume set weighing 10 pounds and three ounces. Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Robert Alter’s translation of the <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=4294996777" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hebrew Bible</a>, and his follow-up, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/13444.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Art of Bible Translation</a></li></ul> His Ten Commandments for Bible Translators:<ol><li>Thou shalt not make translation an explanation of the original, for the Hebrew writer abhorreth all explanation.</li><li>Thou shalt not mangle the eloquent syntax of the original by seeking to modernize it.</li><li>Though shalt not shamefully mingle linguistic registers.</li><li>Thou shalt not multiply for thyself synonyms where the Hebrew wisely and pointedly uses repeated terms.</li><li>Thou shalt not replace the expressive simplicity of the Hebrew prose with purportedly elegant language.</li><li>Thou shalt not betray the fine compactness of biblical poetry.</li><li>Thou shalt not make the Bible sound as though it were written just yesterday, for this, too, is an abomination.</li><li>Thou shalt diligently seek English counterparts for the word-play and sound-play of the Hebrew.</li><li>Thou shalt show to readers the liveliness and subtlety of the dialogues.</li><li>Thou shalt continually set before thee the precision and purposefulness of the word-choices in Hebrew.</li></ol> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#87: The Ten Commandments of Bible Translation

How do you run a literature course for convicts, and what do a headless chicken and Pinochet have in common? Mikita Brottman discusses her new book, The Maximum Security Book Club; Idra Novey reads a short story; and we venture underground to check out what's happening to the abandoned streetcar tunnels under Washington, D.C. Mentioned in this episode:• Idra Novey’s short story, “Under the Lid”• Our original coverage of the Dupont Underground• Mikita Brottman’s essay, “Jane Austen’s Ivory Cage”Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you run a literature course for convicts, and what do a headless chicken and Pinochet have in common? Mikita Brottman discusses her new book, The Maximum Security Book Club; Idra Novey reads a short story; and we venture underground to check out what's happening to the abandoned streetcar tunnels under Washington, D.C. Mentioned in this episode:• Idra Novey’s short story, <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/under-the-lid/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“Under the Lid”</a>• Our original coverage of the <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/ahead-of-the-curve/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dupont Underground</a>• Mikita Brottman’s essay, <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/jane-austens-ivory-cage/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“Jane Austen’s Ivory Cage”</a>Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#3: Reading Lolita in Maximum Security Prison

The tiny village of Gapun in Papua New Guinea is home to an equally tiny language called Tayap. No more than a few hundred people have lived in Gapun, so no more than a few hundred people have ever spoken this isolate language, unrelated to any other on the planet. Our guest this episode, the anthropologist Don Kulick, has been visiting the village since 1985, at one point living there for 15 months to document the Gapun way of life, eat a lot of sago palm pudding, and study Tayap—which, even when he arrived more than 30 years ago, was dying. Today, only about 40 people speak it, and Kulick predicts that the language will be “stone cold dead” in less than 50 years. How did that happen? Perhaps more importantly, what cultural and economic losses paved the way? The answer might lie in the backward way we’ve been framing language death. Go beyond the episode:Don Kulick’s A Death in the RainforestKulick returned to Gapun earlier this year—proudly bearing a copy of his new dictionary—only to learn that all of the village’s young men had possibly rendered themselves impotentExplore these dazzling maps of the 851 individual languages of Papua New Guinea (including Tayap, listed as number 187)Watch the arduous process of harvesting sago palm, a staple food in the countryNational Geographic reports on various initiatives to save the world’s disappearing languages, including the Rosetta Project and WikitonguesTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tiny village of Gapun in Papua New Guinea is home to an equally tiny language called Tayap. No more than a few hundred people have lived in Gapun, so no more than a few hundred people have ever spoken this isolate language, unrelated to any other on the planet. Our guest this episode, the anthropologist Don Kulick, has been visiting the village since 1985, at one point living there for 15 months to document the Gapun way of life, eat a lot of sago palm pudding, and study Tayap—which, even when he arrived more than 30 years ago, was dying. Today, only about 40 people speak it, and Kulick predicts that the language will be “stone cold dead” in less than 50 years. How did that happen? Perhaps more importantly, what cultural and economic losses paved the way? The answer might lie in the backward way we’ve been framing language death. Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Don Kulick’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Rainforest-Language-Papua-Guinea/dp/1616209046" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Death in the Rainforest</a></li><li>Kulick returned to Gapun earlier this year—proudly bearing a copy of his new dictionary—only to learn that <a href="https://longreads.com/2019/06/26/the-shames-of-men/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">all of the village’s young men had possibly rendered themselves impotent</a></li><li>Explore these <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/country/PG/maps" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dazzling maps of the 851 individual languages</a> of Papua New Guinea (including <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/map/PG_04" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tayap</a>, listed as number 187)</li><li>Watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7WxVEg6RFw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">arduous process of harvesting sago palm</a>, a staple food in the country</li><li>National Geographic reports on <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/04/saving-dying-disappearing-languages-wikitongues-culture/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">various initiatives to save the world’s disappearing languages</a>, including the <a href="https://rosettaproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rosetta Project</a> and <a href="https://wikitongues.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wikitongues</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#96: How a Language Dies

There’s a dark chapter in American history that gets left out of the history books: the American Plan, which detained tens, and possibly hundreds of thousands of women from the 1910s through the 1950s. Conceived in WWI to protect soldiers from “promiscuous” women and the diseases they possibly carried, women were surveilled, picked off the street, detained without due process, imprisoned sometimes for years, and forcefully injected with unproven mercury treatments for sexually transmitted infections they were merely suspected of having. The American Plan laid the groundwork—and sometimes, the literal foundations—for the women’s prisons and mass incarcerations of today. Progressive luminaries like Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Sanger, and Earl Warren endorsed the plan, so its victims, more often than not women of color, were often forced to fight back on their own. Historian Scott W. Stern joins us to tell the story of Nina McCall, one of the women who defied a system that locked her up even though she was a virgin, experimented on her, and then tried to silence her.Go beyond the episode:Episode page, featuring a slideshow of sexist government PSAs against STIs and images of American Plan institutionsScott W. Stern’s The Trials of Nina McCall, based on his master’s thesis in American Studies at YaleRead Stern’s opinion piece for The Washington Post on “Why hero worship is a mistake for the left”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a dark chapter in American history that gets left out of the history books: the American Plan, which detained tens, and possibly hundreds of thousands of women from the 1910s through the 1950s. Conceived in WWI to protect soldiers from “promiscuous” women and the diseases they possibly carried, women were surveilled, picked off the street, detained without due process, imprisoned sometimes for years, and forcefully injected with unproven mercury treatments for sexually transmitted infections they were merely suspected of having. The American Plan laid the groundwork—and sometimes, the literal foundations—for the women’s prisons and mass incarcerations of today. Progressive luminaries like Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Sanger, and Earl Warren endorsed the plan, so its victims, more often than not women of color, were often forced to fight back on their own. Historian Scott W. Stern joins us to tell the story of Nina McCall, one of the women who defied a system that locked her up even though she was a virgin, experimented on her, and then tried to silence her.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li><a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/lock-her-up/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode page</a>, featuring a slideshow of sexist government PSAs against STIs and images of American Plan institutions</li><li>Scott W. Stern’s <a href="http://www.beacon.org/The-Trials-of-Nina-McCall-P1341.aspx" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Trials of Nina McCall</a>, based on his master’s thesis in American Studies at Yale</li><li>Read Stern’s opinion piece for The Washington Post on “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/05/15/why-hero-worship-is-a-mistake-for-the-left/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.029917dc91ad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Why hero worship is a mistake for the left</a>”</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#52: Lock Her Up

This week, we’re exploring another overlooked angle of antebellum American history: how photography transformed the abolitionist movement—and in particular, how a photograph of one seven-year-old girl was used to gain a white audience's sympathy. Jessie Morgan-Owens, a photographer and a historian, has written a book about that little girl, Mary Mildred Williams: Girl in Black and White, so named for the tones of daguerreotype, and of Mary herself—who looked white, though she was born into slavery. The story of how Senator Charles Sumner used Mary to advance his antislavery cause tells us a lot about the politics of the 19th century.Go beyond the episode:Jessie Morgan-Owens’s Girl in Black and WhiteRead Frederick Douglass’s speech, “Pictures and Progress,” delivered in Boston in 1861, and the introduction to Maurice O. Wallace and Shawn Michelle Williams’s anthology of Douglass’s writing on photography (and if you’re feeling particularly brave, try parsing Douglass’s own manuscript at the Library of Congress)As the most photographed man of the 19th century, Douglass left behind a voluminous photographic record, collected in Picturing Frederick DouglassCheck out Roland Barthes’s Camera Lucida for a French post-structuralist spin, or W. J. T. Mitchell’s Picture Theory for a contemporary take on visual representationSojourner Truth supported herself by selling cartes de visite, in which she’s pictured wearing an iconic white cap and shawl (which she probably knit herself, given that she spun 100 pounds of wool to buy her freedom)The Mirror of Race is an online collection of early photographs about race in America, including critical commentaryMorgan-Owens also edited the 2017 reissue of Mary Hayden Green Pike’s novel Ida May, about a girl whom Charles Sumner compared Mary Mildred WilliamsTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we’re exploring another overlooked angle of antebellum American history: how photography transformed the abolitionist movement—and in particular, how a photograph of one seven-year-old girl was used to gain a white audience's sympathy. Jessie Morgan-Owens, a photographer and a historian, has written a book about that little girl, Mary Mildred Williams: Girl in Black and White, so named for the tones of daguerreotype, and of Mary herself—who looked white, though she was born into slavery. The story of how Senator Charles Sumner used Mary to advance his antislavery cause tells us a lot about the politics of the 19th century.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Jessie Morgan-Owens’s <a href="https://books.wwnorton.com/books/Girl-in-Black-and-White/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Girl in Black and White</a></li><li>Read Frederick Douglass’s speech, “<a href="https://frederickdouglass.infoset.io/islandora/object/islandora%3A2179#page/1/mode/1up" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pictures and Progress</a>,” delivered in Boston in 1861, and the <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5085-9_601.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">introduction to Maurice O. Wallace and Shawn Michelle Williams’s anthology</a> of Douglass’s writing on photography (and if you’re feeling particularly brave, <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/mfd.28009/?sp=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">try parsing Douglass’s own manuscript</a> at the Library of Congress)</li><li>As the most photographed man of the 19th century, Douglass left behind a voluminous photographic record, collected in <a href="https://books.wwnorton.com/books/Picturing-Frederick-Douglass/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Picturing Frederick Douglass</a></li><li>Check out Roland Barthes’s <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yT0iaUzDmIUC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=roland+barthes+camera+lucida&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjb_6bjgJThAhUwwFkKHQdTDJ0Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Camera Lucida</a> for a French post-structuralist spin, or W. J. T. Mitchell’s <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3683962.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Picture Theory</a> for a contemporary take on visual representation</li><li><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-sojourner-truth-used-photography-help-end-slavery-180959952/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sojourner Truth supported herself by selling cartes de visite</a>, in which she’s pictured wearing an iconic white cap and shawl (which she probably knit herself, given that she spun 100 pounds of wool to buy her freedom)</li><li><a href="http://mirrorofrace.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Mirror of Race</a> is an online collection of early photographs about race in America, including critical commentary</li><li>Morgan-Owens also edited the 2017 reissue of Mary Hayden Green Pike’s novel <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ida-Mary-Hayden-Green-Pike/dp/1554812259" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ida May</a>, about a girl whom Charles Sumner compared Mary Mildred Williams</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#83: White Like Me

Opera has a bad rap: it's stuffy, long, convoluted, expensive, weird … and at the end of the day, who really understands sung Italian anyway? The barriers aren’t just financial: there are hundreds of years of musical history at work, along with dozens of arcane terms that defy pronunciation. But opera has been loved by ardent fans for centuries, and the experience of seeing it—once you know what to listen for—can be sublime. So we asked Vivien Schweitzer, a former classical music and opera critic for The New York Times, to teach us how to listen to opera.Go beyond the episode:Read Vivien Schweitzer’s A Mad Love: An Introduction to OperaListen to the accompanying Spotify playlistReady? Find an opera performance near you by searching the National Opera Center of America’s database of upcoming offeringsListen to the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday Matinee Broadcasts or catch it live in a movie theater near youAt The Guardian, Imogen Tilde explains “How to find cheap opera tickets”Songs sampled during the episode:“Possente spirito,” the first famous aria in opera, from Monteverdi’s Orfeo“Pur te miro,” the first important duet in opera, from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea“Svegliatevi nel core,” an example of da capo aria and a rage aria, from Handel’s Giulio CesareThe Queen of the Night’s first-act aria, an example of very high soprano notes, from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte“O Isis und Osiris,” an example of very low bass notes from the same opera“Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!” an example of very high tenor notes, from Donizetti’s La fille du régiment“Casta diva,” an example of bel canto style of singing, from Bellini’s Norma“Bella figlia dell’amore,” an example of ensemble singing from Verdi’s RigolettoThe infamous Tristan chord from the prelude to Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde (and here is the resolution of the chord, hours later)For a taste of contemporary opera's eclecticism, here are three examples:Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern by Helmut Lachenmann, an example of an opera with no actual singingSatyagraha by Philip Glass, an example of minimalismSaint Francois D’Assise by Olivier Messiaen, a composer who imitated birdcalls in his musicTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Opera has a bad rap: it's stuffy, long, convoluted, expensive, weird … and at the end of the day, who really understands sung Italian anyway? The barriers aren’t just financial: there are hundreds of years of musical history at work, along with dozens of arcane terms that defy pronunciation. But opera has been loved by ardent fans for centuries, and the experience of seeing it—once you know what to listen for—can be sublime. So we asked Vivien Schweitzer, a former classical music and opera critic for The New York Times, to teach us how to listen to opera.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Read Vivien Schweitzer’s <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/vivien-schweitzer/a-mad-love/9780465096947/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">A Mad Love: An Introduction to Opera</a></li><li>Listen to the accompanying <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/vivien75/playlist/4bKMGVmZ97s6O5VJtEMIQ0?si=-e3WaGwUQL-oHLztnS0ICw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify playlist</a></li><li>Ready? <a href="https://www.operaamerica.org/applications/schedule/index.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Find an opera performance near you</a> by searching the National Opera Center of America’s database of upcoming offerings</li><li>Listen to the Metropolitan Opera’s <a href="https://www.metopera.org/season/radio/saturday-matinee-broadcasts/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Saturday Matinee Broadcasts</a> or <a href="https://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">catch it live in a movie theater</a> near you</li><li>At The Guardian, Imogen Tilde explains “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/20/find-cheap-opera-tickets" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">How to find cheap opera tickets</a>”</li></ul> Songs sampled during the episode:<ul><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/7rcYFJdFhrzKKcaIuOAVZu?si=QiMumlvMQQKhv1RY-mjcZg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Possente spirito</a>,” the first famous aria in opera, from Monteverdi’s Orfeo</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/037okwUr1nVLO54Mj2MIta?si=zxfbDrJaRNOtB89qyb87Bw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Pur te miro</a>,” the first important duet in opera, from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/36np8hUUSzv11deDudK8dG?si=k_TNHh4iQJSwt2ctZyoEkg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Svegliatevi nel core</a>,” an example of da capo aria and a rage aria, from Handel’s Giulio Cesare</li><li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/71307w8oKLqbeQC7mfgiUJ?si=S2tyLwqyQ1-BbDIwcdcA8g" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Queen of the Night’s first-act aria</a>, an example of very high soprano notes, from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5BaG5g6C6zrIwHw5DCtW5c?si=P5wywKo_RS2loejo09VSoA" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">O Isis und Osiris</a>,” an example of very low bass notes from the same opera</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/3ToWAYUZfoPdDoTFLLglMQ?si=VCgbIznJS4KImQew7pA7oQ" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!</a>” an example of very high tenor notes, from Donizetti’s La fille du régiment</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1nfCRstbbGNgeF79CUmA6M?si=3g-B28iiTW6AIm_lcdyUUg" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Casta diva</a>,” an example of bel canto style of singing, from Bellini’s Norma</li><li>“<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/1I9VxWO4FHPIzsIxOTnd6V?si=HScpBoGzTHyl6szDG6Go6A" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Bella figlia dell’amore</a>,” an example of ensemble singing from Verdi’s Rigoletto</li><li>The infamous <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5dBVoRTH3HYUXCorKGy6RA?si=cPx4bwfZS0SRc0186B9hNw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Tristan chord</a> from the prelude to Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde (and here is the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5IlwoNhsF1QC4HoDke1rjO?si=rhe7KglWST6gBjZTnanudw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">resolution of the chord</a>, hours later)</li></ul> For a taste of contemporary opera's eclecticism, here are three examples:<ul><li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5Tc4l0RBAVB3c2BgXgrRwr?si=EU1jWzynTpmOdXu8Gpx8aA" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern</a> by Helmut Lachenmann, an example of an opera with no actual singing</li><li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/0NjARRyPaZXvKLyil8Yclh?si=7NN07_TYQBa_tESgPzB_JA" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Satyagraha</a> by Philip Glass, an example of minimalism</li><li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/24b7zBJ1tpZMw1vA2uvNUc?si=Tyu-hRl2TL6MraXkulsvew" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Saint Francois D’Assise</a> by Olivier Messiaen, a composer who imitated birdcalls in his music</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#73: Opera 101

To mark New York Fashion Week, longtime style reporter Dana Thomas is ripping the veil off the industry. Her new book, Fashionopolis, is an indictment of the true costs of fashion—like poisoned water, crushed workers, and overflowing landfills—that never make it onto the price tag of a dress or pair of jeans. Between 2000 and 2014, the annual number of garments produced doubled to 100 billion: 14 new garments per person per year for every person on the planet. The average garment is only worn seven times before being tossed—assuming it’s not one of the 20 billion clothing items that go unsold and unworn. It’s no surprise, then, that the fashion industry accounts for at least 10 percent of global carbon emissions and 20 percent of all industrial water pollution. Though the industry employs one out of every six people globally, fewer than two percent of them earn a living wage—more than 98 percent of workers are not only underpaid, they also toil in unsafe, unsanitary conditions. But change is underfoot: retailers are shifting their supply models, circular and slow fashion are on the rise, and new technology is making the manufacture of new and recycled fabrics cleaner. Dana Thomas joins the podcast to explain what will be required to fix a broken system.Go beyond the episode: - Dana Thomas’s Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes - Why donating secondhand clothes to developing countries can actually prevent development—and kill local textile industries - What is “slow fashion”? The New York Times explains - Some of our host’s favorite sustainable fashion Instagram accounts to follow: @aboubakarfofana, @ajabarber, @notbuyingnew, @tomofholland, @katrinarodabaugh, @little_kotos_closet - Martha Stewart teaches Clothing Repair 101What can you do? Dana Thomas’s Tips - Launder your clothes less frequently: Try to break the habit of tossing a pair of jeans into the wash after wearing them once. Get several wears out of clothes before washing, spot-clean small stains, and use cold, short washing cycles. You’ll reduce water usage, cut household expenses and elongate your clothes’ lifespans—a win for the planet, your wallet, and your laundry hamper. - Shop your closet: Before buying those new jeans or another black T-shirt, look inside your closet to see if you already have these pieces. Or try gathering some friends for a clothing swap party. - Rent your wardrobe: There’s a growing number of websites and programs today that make it easy to rent high-quality fashion, tailored for your fit. Renting will keep your wardrobe fresh and ward off so much waste. You’ll be more daring in your choices—becoming more fashion forward—since you aren’t investing in the items and keeping them forever. If you do fall in love with a look, you can always buy it. - Take a Second Look at Secondhand: For a long time, consignment shops were filled with passé, dowdy clothes—but no more. Over the past two decades, as Hollywood stars began walking red carpets in vintage clothing, there’s been a revolution in the secondhand market. Today, you’ll find great deals on stunning, quality garments in thrift shops and on consignment websites.  - Consign Online: Have any gently worn garments lurking in your closet that you never seem to wear? Consider consigning them online. You’ll make some money back, and your clothes will have a second life. Many online consignment sites will give you credit for other items, so you too can refresh your wardrobe. - Skip the plastic bags: You may be in the habit of taking your canvas tote on a grocery run—but don’t forget to take it along when shopping for clothes, as well. - Repair and re-wear: Rather than tossing out stained or torn garments, think about overdyeing, or camouflaging with cool embroideries. Such treatments personalize items—making them one of a kind!—and give them a longer life. - Pick up a needle yourself: The maker revolution has brought hom... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To mark New York Fashion Week, longtime style reporter Dana Thomas is ripping the veil off the industry. Her new book, Fashionopolis, is an indictment of the true costs of fashion—like poisoned water, crushed workers, and overflowing landfills—that never make it onto the price tag of a dress or pair of jeans. Between 2000 and 2014, the annual number of garments produced doubled to 100 billion: 14 new garments per person per year for every person on the planet. The average garment is only worn seven times before being tossed—assuming it’s not one of the 20 billion clothing items that go unsold and unworn. It’s no surprise, then, that the fashion industry accounts for at least 10 percent of global carbon emissions and 20 percent of all industrial water pollution. Though the industry employs one out of every six people globally, fewer than two percent of them earn a living wage—more than 98 percent of workers are not only underpaid, they also toil in unsafe, unsanitary conditions. But change is underfoot: retailers are shifting their supply models, circular and slow fashion are on the rise, and new technology is making the manufacture of new and recycled fabrics cleaner. Dana Thomas joins the podcast to explain what will be required to fix a broken system.Go beyond the episode: - Dana Thomas’s Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes - Why donating secondhand clothes to developing countries can actually prevent development—and kill local textile industries - What is “slow fashion”? The New York Times explains - Some of our host’s favorite sustainable fashion Instagram accounts to follow: @aboubakarfofana, @ajabarber, @notbuyingnew, @tomofholland, @katrinarodabaugh, @little_kotos_closet - Martha Stewart teaches Clothing Repair 101What can you do? Dana Thomas’s Tips - Launder your clothes less frequently: Try to break the habit of tossing a pair of jeans into the wash after wearing them once. Get several wears out of clothes before washing, spot-clean small stains, and use cold, short washing cycles. You’ll reduce water usage, cut household expenses and elongate your clothes’ lifespans—a win for the planet, your wallet, and your laundry hamper. - Shop your closet: Before buying those new jeans or another black T-shirt, look inside your closet to see if you already have these pieces. Or try gathering some friends for a clothing swap party. - Rent your wardrobe: There’s a growing number of websites and programs today that make it easy to rent high-quality fashion, tailored for your fit. Renting will keep your wardrobe fresh and ward off so much waste. You’ll be more daring in your choices—becoming more fashion forward—since you aren’t investing in the items and keeping them forever. If you do fall in love with a look, you can always buy it. - Take a Second Look at Secondhand: For a long time, consignment shops were filled with passé, dowdy clothes—but no more. Over the past two decades, as Hollywood stars began walking red carpets in vintage clothing, there’s been a revolution in the secondhand market. Today, you’ll find great deals on stunning, quality garments in thrift shops and on consignment websites.  - Consign Online: Have any gently worn garments lurking in your closet that you never seem to wear? Consider consigning them online. You’ll make some money back, and your clothes will have a second life. Many online consignment sites will give you credit for other items, so you too can refresh your wardrobe. - Skip the plastic bags: You may be in the habit of taking your canvas tote on a grocery run—but don’t forget to take it along when shopping for clothes, as well. - Repair and re-wear: Rather than tossing out stained or torn garments, think about overdyeing, or camouflaging with cool embroideries. Such treatments personalize items—making them one of a kind!—and give them a longer life. - Pick up a needle yourself: The maker revolution has brought hom... Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#104: Fashion Kills

The prevailing view on how we think is that we use language: through writing our thoughts down, or debating them with friends, or reading other people’s words in books. But might there be some concepts, some feelings, some images, that are beyond words? After all, what’s the point of visual art or design or classical music if they don’t have meaning without the words to describe them? What are our thoughts really made of? The psychologist Barbara Tversky has a wrench to throw in the argument that language is behind cognition. She makes the case that movement and spatial reasoning are the real keys to understanding our bodies and their place in the world, as well as the wildly abstract thoughts we come up with.Go beyond the episode:Barbara Tversky’s Mind in MotionListen to our interview with Alexander Todorov about the science of first impressions—an example of how the speed of our visual thinking can compromise its accuracyThe method of loci—or using a memory palace—is ancient evidence for spatial reasoningAustralian aboriginal songlines—written about most famously in Bruce Chatwin’s book The Songlines—are used to navigate physical and spiritual spaceTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The prevailing view on how we think is that we use language: through writing our thoughts down, or debating them with friends, or reading other people’s words in books. But might there be some concepts, some feelings, some images, that are beyond words? After all, what’s the point of visual art or design or classical music if they don’t have meaning without the words to describe them? What are our thoughts really made of? The psychologist Barbara Tversky has a wrench to throw in the argument that language is behind cognition. She makes the case that movement and spatial reasoning are the real keys to understanding our bodies and their place in the world, as well as the wildly abstract thoughts we come up with.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Barbara Tversky’s <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/barbara-tversky/mind-in-motion/9780465093076/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mind in Motion</a></li><li>Listen to our interview with Alexander Todorov about <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/love-games-and-first-impressions/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the science of first impressions</a>—an example of how the speed of our visual thinking can compromise its accuracy</li><li>The method of loci—or using a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/secrets-sherlocks-mind-palace-180949567/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">memory palace</a>—is ancient evidence for spatial reasoning</li><li>Australian aboriginal songlines—written about most famously in <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2017/september/1504188000/richard-cooke/crankhandle-history" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bruce Chatwin’s book The Songlines</a>—are used to navigate physical and spiritual space</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#91: The Space Between Your Ears

Terry Tempest Williams talks America’s national parks and her new book, “The Hour of Land;” James Conaway explains how to survive a California wildfire while downing petit syrah; and Ted Levin sticks up for the beleaguered timber rattlesnake.Mentioned in this episode:• Our Summer 2016 cover story about America’s national parks, “The Taming of the Wild”• James Conaways’s essay about the Valley Fire, “Waiting for Fire”• Ted Levin’s Shelf Life excerptTune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Terry Tempest Williams talks America’s national parks and her new book, “The Hour of Land;” James Conaway explains how to survive a California wildfire while downing petit syrah; and Ted Levin sticks up for the beleaguered timber rattlesnake.Mentioned in this episode:• Our Summer 2016 cover story about America’s national parks, <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/the-taming-of-the-wild/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“The Taming of the Wild”</a>• James Conaways’s essay about the Valley Fire, <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/waiting-for-fire/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“Waiting for Fire”</a>• Ted Levin’s <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/americas-snake/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shelf Life excerpt</a>Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#4: Go West, Young Scholar

Did you notice when it suddenly became okay not to say goodbye at the end of a text message conversation? Have you responded to work emails solely using 😃? Is ~ this ~ your favorite punctuation mark for conveying exactly just how much you just don’t care about something? Welcome, Internet Person—you’re using a different kind of English from the previous generation. But these conversational norms weren’t set on high, and how they evolved over the past decades of Internet usage tells us a lot about how language has always been created: collaboratively. Or, as Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch puts it, “Language is humanity’s most spectacular open source project.” She joins us to analyze the language we use online and off—how it got this way, where it’s going, and why it’s a good thing that our words are changing so quickly.Go beyond the episode:Gretchen McCulloch’s Because InternetRead her Resident Linguist column at Wired, formerly at The Toast (you may remember reading about the grammar of doge, perhaps? Much wow) or catch up on the Lingthusiasm PodcastPhone calls have been supplanted by text messages—will voice texting be next? Or are the people using voice texting pointing out a fundamental lack, in language or keyboard support?Inevitably, Godwin’s Law states, “as an online discussion continues, the probability of a reference or comparison to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.” Read creator Mike Godwin’s explanation for why he created his counter-meme, and why, in the case of actual fascists, calling someone a Nazi is well within the norms of discoursePeruse the LOLCat Bible or the Creepypasta Wiki, deemed worthy of archive by the Library of Congress (file under folklore)If all these memes confuse you, you can always find your footing at Know Your MemeTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you notice when it suddenly became okay not to say goodbye at the end of a text message conversation? Have you responded to work emails solely using 😃? Is ~ this ~ your favorite punctuation mark for conveying exactly just how much you just don’t care about something? Welcome, Internet Person—you’re using a different kind of English from the previous generation. But these conversational norms weren’t set on high, and how they evolved over the past decades of Internet usage tells us a lot about how language has always been created: collaboratively. Or, as Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch puts it, “Language is humanity’s most spectacular open source project.” She joins us to analyze the language we use online and off—how it got this way, where it’s going, and why it’s a good thing that our words are changing so quickly.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Gretchen McCulloch’s <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/540664/because-internet-by-gretchen-mcculloch/9780525626169/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Because Internet</a></li><li>Read her <a href="https://www.wired.com/author/gretchen-mcculloch/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Resident Linguist column</a> at Wired, formerly at The Toast (you may remember reading about the <a href="http://the-toast.net/2014/02/06/linguist-explains-grammar-doge-wow/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">grammar of doge</a>, perhaps? Much wow) or catch up on the <a href="https://lingthusiasm.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lingthusiasm Podcast</a></li><li>Phone calls have been supplanted by text messages—<a href="https://www.theringer.com/tech/2018/11/5/18056776/voice-texting-whatsapp-apple-2018" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">will voice texting be next?</a> Or are the people using voice texting pointing out a fundamental lack, in language or keyboard support?</li><li>Inevitably, Godwin’s Law states, “as an online discussion continues, the probability of a reference or comparison to Hitler or Nazis approaches 1.” Read creator <a href="https://www.wired.com/1994/10/godwin-if-2/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mike Godwin’s explanation for why he created his counter-meme</a>, and why, in the case of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/08/14/the-creator-of-godwins-law-explains-why-some-nazi-comparisons-dont-break-his-famous-internet-rule/?utm_term=.e84ca5078e51" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">actual fascists</a>, calling someone a Nazi is well within the norms of discourse</li><li>Peruse the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/web-cultures-web-archive/?fa=subject:wikis+%28computer+science%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LOLCat Bible or the Creepypasta Wiki</a>, deemed <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/library-of-congress-meme-preserve-180963705/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">worthy of archive by the Library of Congress</a> (file under folklore)</li><li>If all these memes confuse you, you can always find your footing at <a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Know Your Meme</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#98: You Never Step Into the Same Internet Twice

Despite the rampant success of books like Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, intellectual circles tend to look down on anything that sells itself as self-help. And yet, in a certain light, the most original form of self-help might actually be philosophy—an older and more respected genre, even, than the novel. So this week, we're going back to the past and asking that old chestnut: what is a meaningful life? The Stoics are awfully popular these days, but the philosopher Catherine Wilson joins us this episode to pitch a different kind of Greek: Epicurus, whose teachings live on most fully in Lucretius’s On the Nature of Things. For a few centuries, Epicurus was wrongly remembered as the patron saint of whoremongers and drunkards, but he really wasn't: his philosophy is rich with theories of justice, empiricism, pleasure, prudence, and equality (Epicurus, unlike the Stoics, welcomed women and slaves into his school). Epicureanism advocated for a simple life, something that appeals to more and more people today with the return to artisan crafts, self-sufficiency, and, yes, the KonMari method.Go beyond the episode:Catherine Wilson’s How to Be an EpicureanRead A. E. Stallings’s recent translation of Lucretius’s On the Nature of ThingsOr read Karl Marx’s university thesis on Epicurus, “The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature”Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite the rampant success of books like Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, intellectual circles tend to look down on anything that sells itself as self-help. And yet, in a certain light, the most original form of self-help might actually be philosophy—an older and more respected genre, even, than the novel. So this week, we're going back to the past and asking that old chestnut: what is a meaningful life? The Stoics are awfully popular these days, but the philosopher Catherine Wilson joins us this episode to pitch a different kind of Greek: Epicurus, whose teachings live on most fully in Lucretius’s On the Nature of Things. For a few centuries, Epicurus was wrongly remembered as the patron saint of whoremongers and drunkards, but he really wasn't: his philosophy is rich with theories of justice, empiricism, pleasure, prudence, and equality (Epicurus, unlike the Stoics, welcomed women and slaves into his school). Epicureanism advocated for a simple life, something that appeals to more and more people today with the return to artisan crafts, self-sufficiency, and, yes, the KonMari method.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Catherine Wilson’s <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/catherine-wilson/how-to-be-an-epicurean/9781541672628/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">How to Be an Epicurean</a></li><li>Read A. E. Stallings’s recent translation of Lucretius’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nature-Things-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140447962" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">On the Nature of Things</a></li><li>Or read <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1841/dr-theses/index.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Karl Marx’s university thesis on Epicurus</a>, “The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature”</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#108: Live, Laugh, Love Ancient Philosophy

This week on the podcast, we’re talking about sublimated desires—and the repressed kind, too. William Deresiewicz expands on an essay he wrote for us about being a man in Jane Austen’s world—and how her novels are about so much more than Colin Firth-as-Mr. Darcy. And Hallie Lieberman explains how the history of sex toys—and the laws banning them—can illuminate America’s complicated relationship with sexuality. • Go beyond the episode: William Deresiewicz’s essay, “A Jane Austen Kind of Guy” • Read an essay on the dark underbelly of Mansfield Park’s grand estates and country balls from Mikita Brottman • Further proof of how everyone wants to be Mrs. Darcy from our Daily Scholar alum, Paula Marantz Cohen • Hallie Lieberman’s Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy • Anthony Comstock and his obscenity laws play a big role on another podcast episode, “Out of the Closet and Into the Courts” • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • Acast • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast, we’re talking about sublimated desires—and the repressed kind, too. William Deresiewicz expands on an essay he wrote for us about being a man in Jane Austen’s world—and how her novels are about so much more than Colin Firth-as-Mr. Darcy. And Hallie Lieberman explains how the history of sex toys—and the laws banning them—can illuminate America’s complicated relationship with sexuality. • Go beyond the episode: William Deresiewicz’s essay, “<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/a-jane-austen-kind-of-guy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Jane Austen Kind of Guy</a>” • Read <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/jane-austens-ivory-cage/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an essay on the dark underbelly</a> of Mansfield Park’s grand estates and country balls from Mikita Brottman • Further proof of <a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/they-all-want-mr-ms-darcy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">how everyone wants to be Mrs. Darcy</a> from our Daily Scholar alum, Paula Marantz Cohen • Hallie Lieberman’s <a href="http://pegasusbooks.com/books/buzz-9781681775432-hardcover" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy</a> • Anthony Comstock and his obscenity laws play a big role on another podcast episode, “<a href="https://theamericanscholar.org/out-of-the-closet-and-into-the-courts/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Out of the Closet and Into the Courts</a>” • Tune in every two weeks to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. • Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a> • Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#30: Jane Austen and the Making of Desire

The mythology of the 1950s American suburb—mom, dad, white picket fence, two-car garage, two-point-five kids—doesn’t align with the reality of who lives in suburbs today. Suburbs are bustling with multigenerational families, immigrants, and multiracial residents who defy the Stepford stereotype. While it’s true that after WWII, the federal government heavily invested in the creation of middle-class suburban havens for nuclear families—slashing funding for downtowns and forcing de facto segregation through redlining and community covenants—in the decades since, the suburbs have become more diverse than ever. With affordable housing currently in crisis, climate change ascendant, evictions on the rise, and a flood of people abandoning the suburbs for rapidly gentrifying cities, can this pocket of the American dream evolve? For solutions to the present-day problems of suburbs, Amanda Kolson Hurley, senior editor at CityLab, looks to the suburbs hidden throughout American history that did something a little different: forgotten places where utopian planning, communal living, socially conscious design, and integrated housing flourished.Go beyond the episode:Amanda Kolson Hurley’s Radical Suburbs: Experimental Living on the Fringes of the American CityMatthew Desmond’s Eviction Lab chronicles one aspect of the housing crisis whose solution might be informed by the model of the Greenbelt suburb, built with renters in mind“How the Suburbs Gave Birth to America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods” in CityLabRead Tracy Jan’s analysis for The Washington Post, “Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It’s still hurting minorities today.”An April study found that low-income residents in Washington, D.C., are being pushed out of the city at some of the highest rates in the countryRead about how some tenant organizers in Washington, D.C., are using rent strikes to combat eviction and gentrificationVisit Old Economy Village, where the Harmonists lived, or Six Moon Hill, now on the National Register of Historic Places, where a home recently sold for a cool $1.5 millionTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter @TheAmScho or on Facebook.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The mythology of the 1950s American suburb—mom, dad, white picket fence, two-car garage, two-point-five kids—doesn’t align with the reality of who lives in suburbs today. Suburbs are bustling with multigenerational families, immigrants, and multiracial residents who defy the Stepford stereotype. While it’s true that after WWII, the federal government heavily invested in the creation of middle-class suburban havens for nuclear families—slashing funding for downtowns and forcing de facto segregation through redlining and community covenants—in the decades since, the suburbs have become more diverse than ever. With affordable housing currently in crisis, climate change ascendant, evictions on the rise, and a flood of people abandoning the suburbs for rapidly gentrifying cities, can this pocket of the American dream evolve? For solutions to the present-day problems of suburbs, Amanda Kolson Hurley, senior editor at CityLab, looks to the suburbs hidden throughout American history that did something a little different: forgotten places where utopian planning, communal living, socially conscious design, and integrated housing flourished.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Amanda Kolson Hurley’s <a href="https://beltpublishing.com/collections/new-coming-soon/products/radical-suburbs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Radical Suburbs: Experimental Living on the Fringes of the American City</a></li><li>Matthew Desmond’s <a href="https://evictionlab.org/about/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eviction Lab</a> chronicles one aspect of the housing crisis whose solution might be informed by the model of the Greenbelt suburb, built with renters in mind</li><li>“<a href="https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/07/how-suburbs-gave-birth-americas-most-diverse-neighborhoods/2647/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How the Suburbs Gave Birth to America's Most Diverse Neighborhoods</a>” in CityLab</li><li>Read Tracy Jan’s analysis for The Washington Post, “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/28/redlining-was-banned-50-years-ago-its-still-hurting-minorities-today/?utm_term=.96397e50936e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Redlining was banned 50 years ago. It’s still hurting minorities today.</a>”</li><li>An April study found that low-income residents in Washington, D.C., are being <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-the-district-gentrification-means-widespread-displacement-report-says/2019/04/26/950a0c00-6775-11e9-8985-4cf30147bdca_story.html?utm_term=.f36ae10253df" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pushed out of the city</a> at some of the highest rates in the country</li><li>Read about how some tenant organizers in Washington, D.C., are using <a href="http://organizing.work/2019/03/citizen-participation-vs-class-power-thoughts-on-community-organizing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">rent strikes to combat eviction and gentrification</a></li><li>Visit <a href="http://oldeconomyvillage.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Old Economy Village</a>, where the Harmonists lived, or <a href="https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/15000981.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Six Moon Hill</a>, now on the National Register of Historic Places, where a <a href="https://www.redfin.com/MA/Lexington/36-Moon-Hill-Rd-02421/home/8542729" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">home recently sold for a cool $1.5 million</a></li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek. Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAmScho" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@TheAmScho</a> or on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theamericanscholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#89: Little Boxes, Big Ideas

The Snow Maiden—not to be confused with the Snow Queen, Snow White, or Frosty the Snow Man—is a popular Slavic folktale about an elderly couple and a miraculous child born from snow. In addition to being a charming story about the passing of seasons, it references a number of folk rituals, from jumping over fires on the summer solstice to mock funerals marking the Yuletide. Philippa Rappoport, a lecturer in Russian culture at George Washington University, explains how folktales and rituals overlap, and reads aloud her own version of this wintry tale.This is our last episode of the year, and we want to hear from you about 2019! If there are any subjects or guests you would especially like to hear on the show, send us an email at podcast@theamericanscholar.org. And, of course, help us find more listeners by rating us on iTunes and telling all your friends.Go beyond the episode:Read six versions of “The Snow Maiden,” classified by folklorist D. L. Ashliman as tales of “type 703,” or, relatedly, nine different spins from across Europe on “The Snow Child” (“type 1362 and related stories about questionable paternity”)Watch the 1952 animated film The Snow Maiden, based on the Rimsky-Korsakov opera of the same nameListen to Kristjan Järvi conduct an excerpt from Tchaikovsky’s Snow Maiden with the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and ChoirTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Snow Maiden—not to be confused with the Snow Queen, Snow White, or Frosty the Snow Man—is a popular Slavic folktale about an elderly couple and a miraculous child born from snow. In addition to being a charming story about the passing of seasons, it references a number of folk rituals, from jumping over fires on the summer solstice to mock funerals marking the Yuletide. Philippa Rappoport, a lecturer in Russian culture at George Washington University, explains how folktales and rituals overlap, and reads aloud her own version of this wintry tale.This is our last episode of the year, and we want to hear from you about 2019! If there are any subjects or guests you would especially like to hear on the show, send us an email at <a href="mailto:podcast@theamericanscholar.org">podcast@theamericanscholar.org</a>. And, of course, help us find more listeners by rating us on iTunes and telling all your friends.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Read <a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0703.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">six versions</a> of “The Snow Maiden,” classified by folklorist D. L. Ashliman as tales of “type 703,” or, relatedly, <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1362.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nine different spins</a> from across Europe on “The Snow Child” (“type 1362 and related stories about questionable paternity”)</li><li>Watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4nGpbHrcM4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1952 animated film The Snow Maiden</a>, based on the Rimsky-Korsakov opera of the same name</li><li>Listen to Kristjan Järvi conduct an excerpt from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN4GGcpLiwk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tchaikovsky’s Snow Maiden</a> with the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#75: The Snow Maiden

Some of our best poets have the greatest range: think of Shakespeare, in all his wild permutations, or Edna St. Vincent Millay boomeranging from heartbreak to revelry. Or T. S. Eliot, who captured our bruised souls in “The Waste Land,” itemized the neuroses of unrequited love in “Prufrock, and then turned around and set to verse the antics of cats like Growltiger and Rumpleteazer. You could say that the same range exists in the best of actors—like Jeremy Irons, who’s played everyone from starry-eyed Charles Ryder to Humbert Humbert himself. Irons’s iconic voice has lent itself to animated lions and audiobooks before, but now, he joins us to talk about perhaps his most ambitious project yet: narrating the poems of T. S. Eliot.Go beyond the episode:Jeremy Irons reads The Poems of T. S. Eliot from Faber &amp; Faber and BBC Radio 4Read more about T. S. Eliot’s life at the Poetry FoundationMay we suggest Juliet Stevenson’s portfolio of Jane Austen’s novels for your next road trip?Listen for yourself: T. S. Eliot reads “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”and “The Waste Land”On the other hand, we love W. H. Auden’s reading of “As I Walked Out One Evening” (and his collaboration on the Night Mail documentary)Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Excerpt of “The Rum Tum Tugger” used courtesy the BBC, which owns the production copyright. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some of our best poets have the greatest range: think of Shakespeare, in all his wild permutations, or Edna St. Vincent Millay boomeranging from heartbreak to revelry. Or T. S. Eliot, who captured our bruised souls in “The Waste Land,” itemized the neuroses of unrequited love in “Prufrock, and then turned around and set to verse the antics of cats like Growltiger and Rumpleteazer. You could say that the same range exists in the best of actors—like Jeremy Irons, who’s played everyone from starry-eyed Charles Ryder to Humbert Humbert himself. Irons’s iconic voice has lent itself to animated lions and audiobooks before, but now, he joins us to talk about perhaps his most ambitious project yet: narrating the poems of T. S. Eliot.Go beyond the episode:<ul><li>Jeremy Irons reads <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Poems-T-S-Eliot-Jeremy-Irons/dp/0571342701" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Poems of T. S. Eliot</a> from <a href="https://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/6563/s/9780571342709-the-poems-of-t-s-eliot-read-by-jeremy-irons/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Faber &amp; Faber</a> and BBC Radio 4</li><li>Read more about <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/t-s-eliot" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">T. S. Eliot’s life</a> at the Poetry Foundation</li><li>May we suggest <a href="https://www.audible.com/search?ref=a_search_l1_feature_seven_browse-bin_2&amp;pf_rd_p=7fe4387b-4762-42a8-8d9a-a63254c74bb2&amp;pf_rd_r=7YNYKMMFX8H4JXTRERS1&amp;&amp;keywords=jane+austen+juliet+stevenson&amp;feature_seven_browse-bin=9178193011&amp;feature_seven_browse-bin=9178194011&amp;feature_four_browse-bin=9178158011&amp;submitted=1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Juliet Stevenson’s portfolio of Jane Austen’s novels</a> for your next road trip?</li><li>Listen for yourself: T. S. Eliot reads “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAO3QTU4PzY" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock</a>”and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvhMeZ2PlY" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Waste Land</a>”</li><li>On the other hand, we love W. H. Auden’s reading of “<a href="https://youtu.be/0q__Z185H8I?t=3s" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">As I Walked Out One Evening</a>” (and his collaboration on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Night Mail</a> documentary)</li></ul> Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: <a href="http://itun.es/us/XPR6cb.c" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> • <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/smarty_pants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Feedburner </a>• <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=92290&amp;refid=stpr" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Stitcher</a> • <a href="https://play.google.com/music/m/Iyowbdfmirqgn33nmdrhywqqeim?t=Smarty_Pants_from_The_American_Scholar" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Play</a> • <a href="https://www.acast.com/smartypants" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Acast</a>Have suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Excerpt of “The Rum Tum Tugger” used courtesy the BBC, which owns the production copyright. Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

#45: Voicing a Legend

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