“The Book of Queer,” and “Bob’s Burgers” Hits the Big Screen

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

While working on his Ph.D., the historian Eric Cervini (whose book “The Deviant’s War” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) noticed the lack of popular histories on L.G.B.T.Q. issues. Researchers were publishing plenty of papers, but they were mostly in peer-reviewed journals and other academic outlets. His attempts to change that—first with his Instagram videos, and now with a series on Discovery+—bring to life key moments and figures in queer history, including the pharaoh Akhenaten and President Abraham Lincoln. “I would describe [the show] as a queer-history variety show,” Cervini told Michael Schulman. “The Book of Queer” is streaming on Discovery+, with new episodes each week in June. Plus,Loren Bouchard, the creator of “Bob’s Burgers,” resisted making a movie from his TV show—until now. He talked with The New Yorker’s Sarah Larson about the show’s surprising strain of optimism.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNWC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:09.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, I'm David Remnik.
0:12.6	When Eric Serveni was working on his doctorate in LGBTQ history, he was surprised by how
0:18.2	much it had already been published in the field, but really, apart from professional historians,
0:23.7	most people it seemed didn't really know this stuff.
0:26.6	The research was largely in peer-reviewed journals and academic press books.
0:31.8	So the obvious solution he thought was Instagram.
0:35.2	There was about a nine-month period between when I defended my dissertation and my book was
0:41.0	published.
0:42.0	And during that time I said, you know what?
0:44.1	Let me try this out.
0:45.1	Let me put up some videos.
0:46.6	I got a green screen.
0:47.6	I put it up ironically in my closet and said, let me fill myself just telling some
0:54.5	of these stories and having fun with it, you know, posting goofy pictures.
0:59.2	I'm going to pretend like I'm in ancient Greece or in Mesopotamia or, you know, Ancient
1:03.9	Egypt and people liked it.
1:07.0	Serveni's book The Deviant's War went on to be a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, but
1:11.7	it was his homemade videos that inspired a real, full-fledged history series, Undescovery
1:17.4	Plus.
1:18.4	And that's just been launched and it's called The Book of Queer.
1:21.9	Mark Serveni spoke with the New Yorker's Michael Schillman.
	...

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