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the memory palace

Episode 91: Natural Habitat

the memory palace

Nate DiMeo

Radiotopia, Publicradio, History, Natedimeo

4.87.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2022

⏱️ 25 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Memory Palace is a member of Radiotopia from PRX.

This episode was originally released in July of 2016. It’s being re-released today because Nate’s on book leave for the summer and because it’s a total banger.

Notes and Reading:
* I came to this story the old fashioned way (for me): I saw Su Lin at the Field Museum and needed to know more. That led me inevitably to Vicki Croke's The Lady and the Panda from 2006. It's a terrific read. If you have any interest at all in learning more about Ruth Harkness, that's the place to go. I've got a few quibbles here and there, but, for real, it's delightful.
* Quentin Young's (slightly strange and contested) version of events is told in Chasing the Panda by Michael Kiefer.
* If you've got a few hundred bucks (or a library with more liberal lending policies with old books than mine), why not read Ruth's own book, The Baby Giant Panda?
* If you're interested in zoos writ large, I'm a fan of Animal Attractions: Nature on Display in American Zoos by Elizabeth Hansen.

Music:
* We start with Hush-Maker by Moon Ate the Dark.
* Roll on with Freudian Slippers by Chilly Gonzales.
* Hear Bibio's Cherry Blossom Road a couple of times.
* Hit up Nice Dream by radio.string.quartet.vienna
* Hear Don Redman and his Orchestra play Blue Eyed Baby from Memphis.
* The centerpiece of the middle section is Snow Again by Lambert.
* We hear a couple of pieces by Dan Romer: An Old Fashioned Man and End of the World.
* We finish up on Lullatone's Falling Asleep With a Book on Your Chest.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey there, a quick note before I start the show.

0:05.0

Want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far to our annual Radio

0:08.7

Topia fundraiser.

0:10.5

This show survives and thrives because it runs on a mix of sponsorships and individual

0:14.3

donations.

0:15.3

And just a tiny percentage of listeners donate.

0:19.2

That is part of the course for the sort of thing, but, you know, sometimes, do your

0:22.4

listener.

0:23.4

It is nice to be a member of an exclusive club.

0:27.0

If you like the show and you want to help it stay independent and free to follow its own

0:30.7

creative path, visit radiotopia.fm and join us today.

0:35.7

Thanks so much.

0:38.7

Hey there, it's Nate.

0:42.2

I am spending the summer working on a book of memory palace stories for Annem House.

0:46.5

And while I work away, I'll be popping into your feed every couple of weeks to give

0:49.1

you something to listen to.

0:50.6

And today, that is one of my favorite episodes.

0:53.6

I really like this one.

0:55.8

It is an adventure story.

0:57.5

It will be perfect for a hike or a drive or a solo walk on a beach after sunset.

1:03.9

I hope you're having a good summer.

1:06.0

This is the memory palace.

...

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