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Talk Python To Me

#538: Python in Digital Humanities

Talk Python To Me

Michael Kennedy

Technology

4.8642 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2026

⏱️ 72 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Digital humanities sounds niche, until you realize it can mean a searchable archive of U.S. amendment proposals, Irish folklore, or pigment science in ancient art. Today I’m talking with David Flood from Harvard’s DARTH team about an unglamorous problem: What happens when the grant ends but the website can’t. His answer, static sites, client-side search, and sneaky Python. Let’s dive in.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Digital Humanities sounds niche until you realize that it can mean a searchable archive of

0:04.9

U.S. Amendment proposals, Irish folklore, or pigment science in ancient art. Today I'm talking

0:11.4

with David Flood from Harvard's Darth team about an unglamorous problem. What happens when

0:17.3

the grant ends? Put the website can't. His answer, static sites, client-side search, and sneaky Python.

0:24.6

Let's dive in.

0:25.5

This is Talk Python, Amy.

0:26.5

Episode 538 recorded January 22nd, 2006.

0:32.2

Talk Python to me.

0:33.9

Yeah, we ready to roll.

0:35.2

Upgrading the code.

0:36.5

No fear of getting old.

0:38.0

They sink in the air. New frameworks in sight. Geeky rap on deck. Quark crew. It's time to unite.

0:43.8

We started in pyramid. Cruise and old school lanes. Had that stable base. Yes, sir.

0:48.4

Welcome to Talk Python, a me, the number one Python podcast for developers and data scientists.

0:53.3

This is your host, Michael Kennedy. I'm a

0:55.5

PSF fellow who's been coding for over 25 years. Let's connect on social media. You'll find me and

1:01.5

Talk Python on Macedon, Blue Sky, and X. The social links are all in your show notes. You can find

1:07.3

over 10 years of past episodes at Talk Python.fm. And if you want to be part of the show, you can join our recording live streams. That's right, we live stream the raw uncut version of each episode on YouTube. Just visit TalkPython.fm slash YouTube to see the schedule of upcoming events. Be sure to subscribe there and press the bell, so you'll get notified anytime we're recording.

1:31.0

This episode is brought to you by Sentry. Don't let those errors go and noticed.

1:36.1

Use Sentry like we do here at TalkPython.com. Sign up at TalkPython.m. slash Century.

1:41.7

And it's brought to you by Command Book, a native Mac OS app that I built that gives long-running terminal commands a permanent home. No more juggling

1:44.9

six terminal tabs every morning. Carefully craft a command once, run it forever with auto-restart,

...

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