the memory palace

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.During mid-May, 2025, I'm doing a Midwestern book tour, with stops in Minneapolis, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, and Chicago. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music That Moment by Antonymes Nocturne by Sololi Watching it Unfold by Lawrence English Notes You can access the self-produced history of the Sophie Bibb Chapter of the UDC here.   The Alabama Encyclopedia site does a nice job with some of this stuff.  You might want to check out Caroline Janney's book, Burying the Dead but Not the Past: Ladies' Mermorial Associations and the Lost Cause.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Hallway Rug and a bit of Watering Plants by Omni Gardens Dripping Icicles from Lalo Schiffrin's great score to The Fox. Girl Talk by the Howard Roberts Quartet Jules et Therese from the score to Jules et Jim Franz Waxman's main title theme to Woman of the Year Your Love from the legend, Frankie Knuckles Then we go back and forth between Joe Morello's Timeless and Lara Downes playing Leonard Bernstein's Big Stuff. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music La Copla from Atahualpa Yupanqui Yes, Brick by Brick and Waende by Caeys Space in Between by Federico Albanese Kieke by Shida Shihabi Notes My favorite work on Mays is James Hirsch's glorious biography, Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend. I also recommend John Klima's Willie's Boys, about the Black Baron's 1948 season. If you're looking to get more context for the city during those years, I'd recommend Diane McWhorter's history, Carry Me Home.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Two from Lambert: Fremd and The Open Plantasia from Mort Garson's amazing, ridiculous album of the same name. Two from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' score to Christine: Paranoia and Newsroom.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 20 March 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Pockets of Light by Ludomyr Melnyk All in Circles and Janvie by Shida Shahabi Between Trees by Akria Kosemura NotesThere are a million things to read about Stonewall, but the thing that I feel like deepened my understanding enough was The New York Public Library's The Stonewall Reader. Particularly the audiobook. Couldn't recommend it enough. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Pockets of Light by Ludomyr Melnyk All in Circles and Janvie by Shida Shahabi Between Trees by Akria Kosemura NotesThere are a million things to read about Stonewall, but the thing that I feel like deepened my understanding enough was The New York Public Library's The Stonewall Reader. Particularly the audiobook. Couldn't recommend it enough. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 11 March 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Order Eliza McGraw's wonderful new book, Astride: Women, Horses and a Partnership that Changed America. MusicHallogallo from Neu!, basically one of the best songs there is. NotesThere is a lot written about Bessie, including some wonderful children's books. The best thing I read about her was in Ann Farrar (a journalist and biker herself)'s book Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. On this special bonus episode, I'm introducing you the wonder that is Karina Longworth's You Must Remember This. With an introductory episode to her new season, "The Old Man is Still Alive,"  which covers the late careers of Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Vincente Minnelli and ten other directors who began their careers in the silent or early sound eras, and were still making movies in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, in spite of the challenges posed by massive cultural changes and their advanced age. In this mini-episode we’ll discuss the parallels between this history and today, from the tech industry takeover of Hollywood to the late work of Coppola and Scorsese; the interview with George Cukor that inspired the title of this season; the Orson Welles-Peter Bogdanovich-Quentin Tarantino connection that informs the way we think about “old man” movies, and much more. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Sincerely Yours by LLLL Across the Other Side by Infinite Scale Sunset by Resavoir Mammoth by Golden Brown Unassigned by Vernon Spring Swimming by Explosions in the Sky Pure (Ride the World) by The Brendan Eder Ensemble Le Tunnel by Sylvain Chauveau Floating Away by Lullatone NotesThere's a ton written about Emma Rowena Gatewood but so much of it, including this story, owes a huge debt to Ben Montgomery's book, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, which excavated the story of her life with her husband. Besides that, it is wonderfully written. Totally recommend it.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Sincerely Yours by LLLL Across the Other Side by Infinite Scale Sunset by Resavoir Mammoth by Golden Brown Unassigned by Vernon Spring Swimming by Explosions in the Sky Pure (Ride the World) by The Brendan Eder Ensemble Le Tunnel by Sylvain Chauveau Floating Away by Lullatone NotesThere's a ton written about Emma Rowena Gatewood but so much of it, including this story, owes a huge debt to Ben Montgomery's book, Grandma Gatewood's Walk, which excavated the story of her life with her husband. Besides that, it is wonderfully written. Totally recommend it.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.Buy the audiobook wherever you get audiobooks (like libro.fm!)The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com.  Audio excerpted courtesy of Random House Audio from THE MEMORY PALACE by Nate DiMeo, read by a full cast. Excerpts read by Ryan Reynolds and Betsy Brandt, © 2024 Nate DiMeo, ℗ 2024 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

Transcribed - Published: 2 January 2025

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Berceuse by Felix Rosch. Low Tide by Johnny Nash Ultraviolet by James Heather

Transcribed - Published: 21 December 2024

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. This is a special bonus episode of the podcast sharing a particularly good interview I did with the folks at Atlas Obscura. 

Transcribed - Published: 7 December 2024

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. This is a special bonus episode of the podcast sharing with you my extremely fun appearance on the wonderful podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. You can watch it on Youtube, including the dynamite animation from my friend, Arthur Jones, here. 

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. This is a special bonus episode of the podcast sharing with you my extremely fun appearance on the wonderful podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out. You can watch it on Youtube, including the dynamite animation from my friend, Arthur Jones, here. 

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Two versions of Good Morning Melody by Lullatone. Peter Maxwell Davies plays his own composition, Farewell to Stromness. Dominique Dumont plays Gone for a Wander

Transcribed - Published: 7 November 2024

Pre-order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Riverside by Ann Annie Walking to Town by Lullatone Alice Lake by North Americans Gone for a Wander by Domenique Dumont NotesThe definitive source on Ferminia Sarras (as far as definitive can be in her case) A Mine of Her Own: Women Prospectors in the American West, 1850-1950 by Sally Zanjani.

Transcribed - Published: 19 September 2024

Pre-order The Memory Palace book now, pal. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Pure (Ride the World) by (the extraordinary) Brendan Eder Ensemble Violette... from Philippe Sarde's score to Violette et Francois Merry-go-Round and People on Sunday by Domenique Dumont Dane by Nils Frahm Two different versions of Debussy's Passepied, the piano one is performed by Seong-Jin Cho, the synth one by Isao Tomita Love from Matthew Herbert Memorial Park from Bernard Herrmann's score to Obsession. Phantom Signals by Tvarvargen NotesThere's plenty written about Ken Allen, but I particularly appreciated Jason Hribal's book Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance.

Transcribed - Published: 5 September 2024

Pre-order The Memory Palace book now, pal. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Pure (Ride the World) by (the extraordinary) Brendan Eder Ensemble Violette... from Philippe Sarde's score to Violette et Francois Merry-go-Round and People on Sunday by Domenique Dumont Dane by Nils Frahm Two different versions of Debussy's Passepied, the piano one is performed by Seong-Jin Cho, the synth one by Isao Tomita Love from Matthew Herbert Memorial Park from Bernard Herrmann's score to Obsession. Phantom Signals by Tvarvargen NotesThere's plenty written about Ken Allen, but I particularly appreciated Jason Hribal's book Fear of the Animal Planet: The Hidden History of Animal Resistance.

Transcribed - Published: 5 September 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Swiming by Explosions in the Sky Walking Song by Kevin Volans and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble I Walk on Guilded Splinters by Johnny Jenkins Seduction by the Balanescu Quartet Lunette by Les Baxter and Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman Running Around by Buddy Ross September by Giles Lamb NotesThis episode was pieced together from a ton of little fragments but I wanted to steer folks to a couple of resources in particular: this excellent article from a few years back in the Toronto Star by Katie Daubs, and this documentary from filmmaker, Amy Nicholson, that primarily uses the Zipper as a way to talk about changes at Coney Island but has some great details from Harold Chance and his sons.

Transcribed - Published: 15 August 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit public media company. If you’d like to directly support this show and independent media, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. NotesRead about the change in policy here. And the article that helped prompt the policy change here. Music Pipeline by H.Takahashi Sad Seine by Lambert Dance PM by Hiroshi Yoshimura

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.A Note on Notes:I always prefer that the listener goes into each episode cold, not knowing what it's going to be about. So, you might want to tread carefully, as there are spoilers in the notes below. Music L'espagne pour memoire by Michel Portal Find me Tomorrow from Christophe Beck's score to Charlie Countryman The old Soviet philharmonic plays some Shostakovich. The London Symphony Orchestra plays The Blue Danube Waltz. We hear Walt by Mother Falcon. Sombolero by Luiz Bonfa Notes Like a lot of people below, say, 55, I first heard about Olga Fikotova-Connolly when reading her obituary in the New York Times. By far the best thing you can do if you want to know more about her is track down her out-of-print memoir, The Rings of Destiny, which, despite its rather puffed-up title, is so warm and detailed and intimate. It's a delight. You might also enjoy this late-in-life interview with Olga as well.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Music Traffico from Carlo Rustichelli's score to Divorzio All'Italiana and Una Braveta, from his score to Amici Miei. Tema Grottesco from Giovanni Fusco's score to L'avventura. Gloving it from Moondog. Musica Bionda from the score to The Sweet Body of Deborah The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra plays Natascha from the score to The Perfect Marriage. Waltz from the Brendan Eder Ensemble Christa Schonfeldinger plays Grieg's Smarthold - der Kobold, on the glass armonica.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Music A synth stab from As if it Would Have a Universal and Memorable Ending by Shane Carruth's score to his film, Upstream Color, a movie I love deeply. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by the Platters The Girl Who was Frightened of Ashtrays by Charlie Megira Sambolero by Luiz Bonfa. Water by So Percussion Divertimiento Fur Tenorsaxophon Und Kleines Ensemble (Part 4) from Carl Oesterhelt and Johannes Ender. Ball by Duval Timothy Piece 3 by the great Warren Ellis. Chora tua Tristeza from Lalo Schiffrin Growing Up from Ben Sollee's score to Maidentrip (Vibraphone, Marimbaphone, Malletted Wood, Two Synthesizers) and (Two Bells) by Josiah Steinbrick Main et lee from Michel Portal

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Music Momento Ritmico and Papete aru by Piero Umiliani Opus 13 from Sven Libaek's score to The Set French Doll by Larry Ashmore and David Francis The wonderful Sewentuwa by Hailu Meriga Wave I by Elor Saxl Green by Hiroshi Yoshimura NotesI originally learned about the Elephantine Colossus years ago in David McCullough's Brooklyn... and How it Got That Way, which still holds up.

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Music Un geant dans la mer and Triste soiree III from the score to Marie et les naufrages by the genius, Sebastian Tellier. Love is Blue by Jackie Mittoo and the Soul Vendors. Rocky Passage by Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer Morris Visits Dr. Pratt from John Barry's score to The Wrong Box Adios Muchachos from Andre Popp Moonlight in Vermont from the great Dorothy Ashby. Midnight Moon by The Portland Cello Project Dance PM by Hiroshi Yoshimura And we hear Blind Andy Jenkins' "Floyd Collins in Sand Cave" followed by Vernon Dalhart doing the same song under the name, "The Death of Floyd Collins." We also hear Jimmy Osbourne do Andy's, "The Death of Little Kathy Fiscus." Notes I have a note in my years-long running list of possible story ideas that says, "event songs," but I could never remember why. Then I was reading Charles Hirschberg and Mark Zwonitzer's, Will You Miss me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music and was reminded of Andy's story (that book is great). I also recommend the always-useful, Country Music USA, by Bill C. Malone for more on Andy and his era as well as Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity by Richard A. Peterson. If you want more about poor Floyd Collins, you could turn to Robert K. Murray and Roger W. Bruckner's, Trapped!: The Story of Floyd Collins.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Music Abisme by Shida Shahadi Ellen’s Image from Lalo Schiffiren’s genius score to The Fox Circulation by H. Takahasi Liquid Spear Waltz from Michael Andrews’ score to Donnie Darko A8 from a terrific record called NuNu by Clever Austin NotesI found a lot of insight in a terrific book called Extraordinary Beliefs by Peter Lamont. In it, there’s a smart historical, psychological exploration of why spiritualism was able to flourish despite all sorts of evidence opposing it.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Abisme by Shida Shahadi Ellen’s Image from Lalo Schiffiren’s genius score to The Fox Circulation by H. Takahasi Liquid Spear Waltz from Michael Andrews’ score to Donnie Darko A8 from a terrific record called NuNu by Clever Austin Notes I found a lot of insight in a terrific book called Extraordinary Beliefs by Peter Lamont. In it, there’s a smart historical, psychological exploration of why spiritualism was able to flourish despite all sorts of evidence opposing it.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Una Bravata from Carlo Rustichelli’s score to Amici Miei. Sunshine on Fish Skin by Girls in Airports. The Vienna Glass Armonica Duo performs Mozart’s Adagio for Glass Harmonium. The Fellowship by John Shabason Notes The best read on Mills is a 2022 article by Nate Hopper in The New Yorker about the challenges of keeping time on the internet.

Transcribed - Published: 11 February 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Je ne pas si c’est tout le monde - Theme Comedie from Vincent Delerm’s score to the film of the same, long name. Forbin’s Hi Fi from Michel Colombier’s score to Colossus: The Forbin Project Boo’s Lullaby by Maria Chiara Agriro and Jamie Leeming Helle (Ballade) from the great Phillipe Sarde score to that picture. L’Espagne pour memoire from Michel Portal’s score to Un et a la garoupe The Rain Never Stops on Venus by Michael Wollney Je t’ai meme pas dit by Vincent Delerm. From a Dream by Oregon A version of Narcisus for Clarinet and Electronics as played by Thea Musgrave. Notes Good sources if you want to know more are Peter Manseau’s book about spirit photography and the spiritualist age (Cutting intersects interestingly with that crea), The Apparitionists, as well as this article by Jerry Ryan about the history of aquariums in Boston.

Transcribed - Published: 14 January 2024

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. This is a special holiday bonus episode, a sequel to Episode 210. You’ll want to listen to that one first. Music The Parisienne by the Henri Crolla Ensemble Violette… by Philippe Sarde Gift by Makasuta Takagi The Sammy Herman Sextet plays The Bells of St. Mary’s

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music I Believe in the Night by Keith Kenniff Improvisations sur les folies d’Espagne (extraits) from Marin Marais and Jordi Savall Finally by Lambert Voltige by Marin Lizotte Violin Solo no. 1 by Peter Broderick Fratres fur violin und klavier by Avro Part as played by Ursula Schloch and Marcel Worms Dungen by Henrik Lindstom Notes There are plenty of places to go to read about Smoky and Bill but why would want to go anywhere else than his book, Yorkie Doodle Dandy?

Transcribed - Published: 1 December 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music I Believe in the Night by Keith Kenniff Improvisations sur les folies d’Espagne (extraits) from Marin Marais and Jordi Savall Finally by Lambert Voltige by Marin Lizotte Violin Solo no. 1 by Peter Broderick Fratres fur violin und klavier by Avro Part as played by Ursula Schloch and Marcel Worms Dungen by Henrik Lindstom Notes There are plenty of places to go to read about Smoky and Bill but why would want to go anywhere else than his book, Yorkie Doodle Dandy?

Transcribed - Published: 1 December 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music We move between three different pieces from Camille Saint-Saens': Suite, Op. 90: II Menuet, and two from Carnival of the Animals:Aviary and the Cuckoo in the Heart of the Woods. We hit Juneau from Danny Bensi and Sander Jurriaans' score to Wildlike. And The Waltz from their score to 5 to 7. And there's a total gem from George Mukabi called Dila Ni Dila in there too. Notes Do yourself a favor and read Frances Hamerstrom's autobiography, My Double Life: Memoirs of a Naturalist. Do your kids a favor and Jeannine Atkins take on Frances in her book Girls Who Looked Under Rocks. And then watch Frances teach David Letterman how to cook a snake.

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music We move between three different pieces from Camille Saint-Saens': Suite, Op. 90: II Menuet, and two from Carnival of the Animals:Aviary and the Cuckoo in the Heart of the Woods. We hit Juneau from Danny Bensi and Sander Jurriaans' score to Wildlike. And The Waltz from their score to 5 to 7. And there's a total gem from George Mukabi called Dila Ni Dila in there too. Notes Do yourself a favor and read Frances Hamerstrom's autobiography, My Double Life: Memoirs of a Naturalist. Do your kids a favor and Jeannine Atkins take on Frances in her book Girls Who Looked Under Rocks. And then watch Frances teach David Letterman how to cook a snake. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Dave Pajo/Aerial M does Plastic Energy Man Patricia Rossborough played To a Wild Rose Mal Waldron plays Warm Canto We hear Muff Gets a Share from Joel P. West’s score to Band of Robbers We hear another song I absolutely love, Turned Out I Was Everyone, by Sasami We finish on Popcorn and Life from Ben Sollee’s lovely score to Maidentrip.

Transcribed - Published: 7 October 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music The Theory by Clem Leek Hiddensee by Caeys The Clock Tower by Hampshire and Foat Notes If you want to know more about Gardner, I’d suggest Witness to an Era: the Life and Photographs of Alexander Gardner, by Mark Katz. On Brady, Matthew Brady: Portraits of a Nation, by Robert Wilson. I’d also suggest reading the New York Times’ review of the exhibit. It’s pretty stunning.

Transcribed - Published: 21 September 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Inception by radio.string.quintet.vienna Julie With by Group Listening Nice Breeze Isn’t It? by friend of the show, Simon Rackham Wet by Taylor Deupree Times Like This II by Jean Kopperud and Stephen Gosling Broad Channel by Bing and Ruth Cradle (with Akira) by ghost and tape Lithosphere by Caoimhin O Raghellagh and by Caoimhin O Raghelagh and Thomas Bartlett Notes You can find the website I mentioned here; it’s a one-stop shop, really, for information on the 6888t. .

Transcribed - Published: 9 September 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Halcyon and Photosynteses and Embryo by H. Takehashi Intro by Library Tapes The Florist Wears Knee Breeches by M. Sage Notes I found Andrew Isenberg's book, The Destruction of the Bison, An Environmental History, completely fascinating. If you want to do a deep dive on Madison Grant, I'd recommend Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant by John Peter Spiro. If you want to do a deep dive on the Catalina Buffalo, this site is a fun place to start.

Transcribed - Published: 17 August 2023

This show is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. This episode was originally released in November, 2015. Music * Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score. * They first meet to a piece called Brouillard (version 1) from Georges Delaure’s extraordinary score to Jules et Jim. (A second version comes in later when J.J. Audubon is living the high life in England). * We also hear Waltz by Mother Falcon. * I go back to the Marcelo Zarvos/Please Give well when the Scotsman arrives at their store. Note: it’s the go-to soundtrack for “People Arriving at One’s Store With A Life Changing Proposition” here at the Memory Palace. Also: go watch Please Give. * The little piano piece is from Nathan Johnson’s score to The Day I Saw Your Heart. * Lucy and John titter like plovers to Andrew Cyrille’s dope, skittering drums on Nuba 1. * The especially sad bit, right before the end is Dream 3 (in the Midst of my Life), from Max Richter’s giant, From Sleep album. * A couple times, including the ending, we hear “the Lark Ascending” from Ralph Vaughn Willliams. It is beautiful. You should buy it. Notes As per usual, I read a lot about the Audubons and the Bakewells. I relied most upon the charming and smart, On the Road with John James Audubon by Mary Durant, and Carolyn DeLatte’s lovely, thoughtful book, Lucy Audubon: a Biography. * Just a quick note: there’s a very enjoyable PBS/American Masters/Nature documentary about Audubon. It’s a fun and informative watch. But, I’ll say, you come out of that thinking that things were fundamentally swell between Lucy and John in a way that I’m not entirely sure is supported by the facts. Or jibes with, you know, human nature.

Transcribed - Published: 22 July 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Pollen and Photosynteses by H. Takehashi Ediacaran Moonrise by Barry Walker, Jr. To the Cellar from Krzysztof Komeda’s wonderful score to The Fearless Vampire Killers. Blue Sutura from Piero Piccioni’s score to Il medico della mutua. 3-Sized PF and Let’s Go Crazy!, both by Takahiro Kido Emerald Ash by Golden Brown Merry-Go-Round by Domenique Dumont Aquel Senor by the mighty, Frankie Reyes Tesko Me Ja Zaboravit Tebe by Banko Mataja Notes You can read the article by Katherin Parkin here.

Transcribed - Published: 3 June 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music In My Heaven All Faucets Have Fountains by yes/and A snippet of Runaway from Olafur Arnauld’s score to Gimme Shelter Spectral Canon from Conlon Nancarrow from James Tenney The Hourglass by Ben Crosland.

Transcribed - Published: 10 April 2023

This episode was originally released in 2015. Proceeds from this episode are being donated to the Transgender Law Center. Music *Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score. *The piece opens with Rainfall, by David Darling and Michael Jones. *Her brief love story is scored by Nathan Johnson’s Penelope’s Theme from his score to The Brothers Bloom. *When she lands her first gig, we start Garde a Vue, and roll into Le Roi de coeur, from Chantal Martineau. * The vibraphone piece is “Opening” by Nathaniel Bartlett. * The recurring violin piece is called Geometria del Universo by the one-named Colleen. * It ends on Romain’s First Love, again by Georges Delarue, from his fantastic score to Promise at Dawn. Notes * I read a lot about Mary, but by far the most useful and most thorough works I came upon were: Sharon M. Harris’ Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical and A Woman of Honor: Dr. Mary E. Walker and the Civil War, in which author Mercedes Graf does a great job walking the reader through Walker’s unpublished memoir. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2023

This episode was originally released in summer of 2015. Music * Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score. * Then, we have the most obvious crickets/summer night song ever: the fantastic, perpetually delightful Green Arrow from Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, which has soundtracked many crickety summer nights for me over the years. * The cops roll in to a loop of the very beginning of the epic Ptah, the El Daoud, the title track to Alice Coltrane’s album from 1970. * Then we have a mix of two improvisations from Charles Cohen’s “Brother I Prove You Wrong”: Cloud Hands and The Boy and the Snake Dance. * There’s a brief dip into Dorian, by Fang Island. * The jaunty accordion, typewriter thing is Biking is Better on Wintergatan’s eponymous album. Notes I researched this one primarily through old newspapers. The easiest place to find a number of them is to read the excellent site, The Museum of Hoaxes’ page on this event. Also: if you’re in the Atlanta area and ever want to have yourself a day, you can see the actual monkey. It’s preserved in a jar at the Georgia Bureau of Investigations museum in Decatur Georgia. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2023

This episode was originally released in August 2016 Note * Here’s a link to watch an excerpt of the CBS news break. * One of my favorite things I came across while reading up on the lottery was this site, which includes a remarkable page where folks send in their personal stories of their draft experience. Music * Elevator Song by Keaton Henson (feat. Ren Ford) * Waves by Abby Gundersen

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2023

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. A note on notes: We’d much rather you just went into each episode of The Memory Palace cold. And just let the story take you where it well. So, we don’t suggest looking into the show notes first. Music Blithe Field does RD 1 O Venezia, Venuga, Venusia by Nino Rota Carthage by Hayden Perdido Nice Breeze, Isn’t It? from Simon Rackham Mystere by amiina Blithe Field also does Racing Backward as well as Prelude

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2022

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Mongali as played by the mighty Tabu Ley Rochereu 2nd Season by Takahiro Kido Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite: 5 Cloudburst as performed by the Detroit Symphony Nero’s Nocturne by Chilly Gonzalez. Man, that guy is great. You should buy his music. Opening Titles from Jeff Grace’s score to In the Valley of Violence Morris Visits Dr. Pratt from John Barry’s score to The Wrong Box Gift from Masakatsu Takagi’s score to The Boy and the Beast Nurse Janet from Ludwig Goransson’s score to Everything, Everythin Notes My favorite resources on frontier press stuff is by Barbara Cloud, The Coming of the Frontier Press, How the West was Really Won.

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2022

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music LBS by Duval Timothy My Favourites, pt. 2 by Patricia Rossborough Sad Seine by Lambert Vals Efter Lasse I Lyby by Lofoten Cello Duo

Transcribed - Published: 28 November 2022

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Strength of a Young Man by Vernon Field Wave I by Elori Saxl Rearranging Furniture from Gabriel Yared’s score to By the Sea Falling Forever and Ever by Ricky Eat Acid Muff Gets a Share from Joel P West’s score to Band of Robbers Notes By far the most fun I had researching this was reading Kaori O’Conner’s Pineapple: A Global History. Really a lovely little book.

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2022

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Music Rauelsson plays Mom, in Ukraine Group Listening plays Julie With Richard Birkin plays Vigil II Colleen plays Les Ondes Silencieueses Taylor Deupree and Marcus Fischer play Bell The Ensemble Rescerche plays Morton Feldman’s Something Wild in the City: Mary Ann’s Theme

Transcribed - Published: 22 October 2022