#191 A Conversation with Ken Burns

The Road to Now

Benjamin Sawyer

Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2021

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ken Burns joins Bob and Ben for a conversation about American history and the themes he sees playing out in the US today. Ken shares his process for selecting subjects for his films and explains how his new 3-part film Hemingway (co-directed w/ Lynn Novick) highlights Ernest Hemingway's individual genius while also revealing the universal aspects of life that we all share. We also discuss how our time and place influence the way we view the past, the importance of acknowledging both the light and dark in American history, and why Ken argues that much of life's meaning comes from the struggle.

Ken Burns' new film Hemingway, which he co-directed with Lynn Novick, premieres April 5-7 on PBS. For more on the series visit https://kenburns.com/hemingway/

UNUM is a new site by Ken Burns and PBS that allows users "a new way to explore American history through select scenes from across our over 40 films.." with the goal of "providing historical context for the conversations we are having today." You can visit UNUM at: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/unum

This episode was edited by our Associate Producer Gary Fletcher.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is in the loop, the Legion of Osiris Podcasts.
0:03.9	Osiris is creating a community that connects people like you
0:06.8	with live experiences and podcasts about artists and topics you love.
0:11.6	Get in the loop at Osirispod.com.
0:16.0	Our Ramser Artist of the Month for February is Amethystia.
0:19.8	Yeah. artist of the month for February is Amethyst Kea. I jump the fence and watch my face in the creek, but I'm black myself.
0:38.3	I want to sweep that down right off a beat, but I'm black myself.
0:44.3	I'm tired of walking round with those shoes on, because I'm black myself, and your precious God ain't going to gonna bless me because I'm black myself
0:57.0	Is you washed in the mud of your channel
1:01.0	Cause the land's riding away
1:04.0	When they stop shipping what horses
1:07.0	They're on anyway
1:14.0	That was Amethyst Kea's new single Black Myself,
1:16.6	out February 19th on Rounder Records,
1:18.1	courtesy of Ramser Management.
1:21.4	Presave the new single on Spotify and Apple Music today.
1:25.4	Follow Amethyst Kia on social media at Amethyst Kia or visit www.amethystke www.com for more info. That's www.am-Y-T-H-Y-T-Y-T-Y-T-K-I-H-K-A-H.com.
1:42.4	Hey everyone, just wanted to start this episode off with a special thanks to everyone who supports us on Patreon.
1:50.6	You all have kept us going.
1:53.0	You provide the support that allows us to keep Gary doing these edits to put out good material.
1:58.5	So really, really, really thank you for this.
2:02.4	We're doing a lot of things over on Patreon.
	...

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