the memory palace

By Nate DiMeo

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Category: History

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Subscribers: 6788
Reviews: 42


 Dec 7, 2022

sud
 Sep 29, 2022
This is not just a history podcast. it is a timeless work of art. The narration is so brilliant. And the music that goes with it too


 Apr 8, 2022

Linda
 Mar 23, 2022
I love this podcast. I never know where the story is going to take me but it is always a wonderful journey. Short but so well written.


 Feb 22, 2022

Description

the memory palace


Episode Date
episode 76: Mary Walker Would Wear what she Wanted
14:21

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 Mary E. Walker and the Civil War, in which author Mercedes Graf does a great job walking the reader through Walker’s unpublished memoir.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.

Mar 10, 2023
Episode 67: Every Night Ever
12:20

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.

Feb 17, 2023
Episode 148: Safe Passage
15:40

This episode was originally released in September of 2019.

Music

  • We start with the Opening of Craig Armstrong’s score to Far From the Madding Crowd.

  • Glass Houses no. 13 from Ann Southam.

  • Earring from Julia Wolf.

  • Occam II for Violin from Eliane Radigue.

  • Rearranging Furniture from Gabriel Yared’s score to By the Sea.

  • A bit of Movement II from Martynov, “Come in!” by Vladimir Martynov.

Notes

Jan 28, 2023
Episode 94: Numbers (rebroadcast)
12:06

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

Jan 17, 2023
Nate's episode of the year 2022: In France or in Heaven
22:34

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

Dec 26, 2022
Episode 203: The News from Thar
11:29


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

Dec 16, 2022
Episode 202: Better Babies
10:44


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

Nov 28, 2022
Episode 201: One Fruit
15:37

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.
Nov 17, 2022
Episode 200: Ghost Story
16:50

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

Oct 22, 2022
Episode 199: Nee Blinky
13:50

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Music

  • Sunset Village by Group Listening

  • Winter Memory by Dark Dark Dark

  • Pretty in Plums by Shida Shihabi

  • With a little bit of The Crumbling by Valgeir Sigurossen

  • Afternoon in Paris by the incomparable John Lewis

  • Abstrutions from Max Roach

  • And Herbert’s Story from Mark Orton’s score to Nebraska

Sep 29, 2022
Episode 198: Weather Conditions Above Mount Fuji
12:07


The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Music

  • Arrival by by Domenique Dumont

  • Bouquet by Bobby Hutcherson

  • Last Dance by No Vacation

  • Channels Passing by Paul Dresher

  • Dilo 4 by Emika

  • The Kronos Quartet plays II from Phillip Glass’ second string quartet, “Company.”

Sep 02, 2022
Episode 115: A Brief Eulogy for a Commercial Radio Station
13:13

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

This episode was originally released in October of 2017 and was produced with engineering assistance from Elizabeth Aubert.

Music

Aug 21, 2022
Episode 124: Junk Room
14:57

The Memory Palace is a member of Radiotopia from PRX.

This episode was originally released in the spring of 2018. It’s being re-released today because Nate’s on book leave for the summer.

Music

Jul 21, 2022
Episode 91: Natural Habitat
27:05

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.

Jul 08, 2022
Episode 197: Kiddo
15:07


The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Music

  • Arrival by Dominique Dumont

  • Bouquet by Bobby Hutcherson off of his phenomenal album, Happenings.

  • Wrench and Numbers from Jeff Russo’s score to Fargo, the FX show.

  • Melodrames telegraphies (in B flat Major 7th), part 1 by Brian McBride

  • Kembang Andyani from the Gamelan Orchestra

Jun 23, 2022
Episode 90: A White Horse
13:39

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.

This episode was originally released in 2016 in the days after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It is re-released every year on the anniversary of the incident.

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.

Notes and Reading:
* Most of the specific history of the White Horse was learned from "Sanctuary: the Inside Story of the Nation's Second Oldest Gay Bar" by David Olson, reprinted in its entirety on the White Horse's website.
* "Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco's Gay Bars, 1950-1968," by Christopher Agee.
* June Thomas' series on the past, present, and future of the gay bar from Slate a few years back.
* Various articles written on the occasion of the White Horse's 80th anniversary, including this one from SFGATE.Com
* Michael Bronski's A Queer History of the United States.
* Radically Gay, a collection of Harry Hay's writing.
* Incidentally, I watched this interview with Harry Hay from 1996 about gay life in SF in the 30's multiple times because it's amazing.

Music
* We start with Water in Your Hands by Tommy Guerrero.
* Hit Anne Muller's Walzer fur Robert a couple of times.
* Gaussian Curve does Talk to the Church.
* We get a loop of Updraught from Zoe Keating.
* We finish on Transient Life in Twilight by James Blackshaw

Jun 12, 2022
Episode 152: Let it Snow
15:47

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

This episode originally appeared in the winter of 2019.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

May 28, 2022
Episode 196: In France or in Heaven
20:07


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

May 18, 2022
Episode 195: A New Bronze Man
13:59

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

  • The Return by Library Tapes

  • Erased Duet by Valgeir Sigurdossen

  • 3-sized PF by Takahiro Kido

  • Vals Efter Lasser I Lyby by Lofoton Cello Duo

Notes

Apr 30, 2022
Episode 194: Small Sample
14:12

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

  • Dance PM from Horishi Yoshimura

  • Amor - C.B. Rework by Clark

  • Here’s What You’re Missin by Bing and Ruth

  • Meredith Monk’s Ellis Island as played by Bruce Brubaker

  • Alto Paraiso by Aukai

  • Opening from Nathaniel Bartlett

  • Rivers That you Cannot See by North Americans

  • First of the Tide by Erland Cooper featuring Benge

Notes

  • The episode old episode I mention in the credits as a companion to this one is here.

  • Most of the biographical details in this were found in the official biography written for the National Academy of Sciences by his Uranium-hunting colleague, George Tilton, and a terrific, entertaining oral history interview.

  • Also, if you’ve left episode in the mode where you’d just like to know some more, I came across this old Mental Floss article by Lucas Reilly that I thought did a particularly good job of weaving a lot of the back story (some of which I’d covered before in the Midgely episode linked above) into Patterson’s story. Just wanted to shine a light on it.

Apr 11, 2022
Episode 101: Promise
19:46

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

This episode was originally released in December of 2016

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

  • Starts with Christope Beck and DeadMono’s theme to Charlie Countryman.

  • Prelude for HS by Hakon Stene.

  • Tezeta (Nostalgia) from Malatu Astatke, from Ethiopiques vol. 4, one of my favorite pieces of music in the world.

  • Marian Lapansky plays Camille Saint-Saens “Le Sygne.”

  • Which fights with Piero Umiliani’s Danza Primitiva.

  • Warren Ellis rounds it out with his Lale’s Theme from his terrific score to Mustang (which you should totally see).

  • The Hazel Scott pieces can be found here and here.

Notes

Mar 18, 2022
Episode 193: Classmates (Making Trouble)
16:02

This episode of The Memory Palace is a part of Radiotopia’s winter fundraiser. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3uERfBv. Thank you!

Music

  • Fragment I by Library Tapes

  • Don’t Forget to Breathe Eh by Kelpe

  • Here I Am, Two Warships by Spirituals

  • Elfe by Dario Lessing

  • Jahrzeit from American Contemporary Music Ensemble

  • Alarm Will Sound’s version of Jynweythek ylow

  • 2400 by Martyn Hynes

Notes

  • I found a couple of books particularly useful if you want to learn more about Barbara Johns. Richard Kluger’s classic Simple Justice and a really lovely book for younger readers called The Girl From the Tar Paper School by Teri Kanefield.
Feb 25, 2022
Episode 192: Combinations
08:46

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

  • Romantic Lullaby by Simon Rackham

  • Happy Whistler by Group Listening.

  • The Return by Library Tapes

Feb 09, 2022
Episode 191: Crash
19:13

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

  • Time Beat by Ray Cathode

  • Rabbits of the Void by Tomaga

  • Weightless by the Neil Cowley Trio

  • Scenes from the Poet’s Dreams I: Racing Through the Stars by The Lark Quartet

  • Switchcraft by Chilly Gonzalez

  • Sky Breaking, Clouds Falling by Mason Lindahl

Notes

  • There’s a ton written about The Crash at Crush but the one I’d recommend is Train Crash at Crush, Texas: America’s Deadliest Publicity Stunt, by Mike Cox
Jan 23, 2022
Nate's Favorite Episode of 2021: Betty Robinson
27:09

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.

This episode was originally released as Episode 184: Betty Robinson in July of 2021.

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

  • Pollen by H.Takahashi and, later, Photosynthese.

  • The New York Herald Tribune by Martial Solal

  • Trying Something Again, Again by Lullatone

  • Wiffle Ball from Joel P. West’s score for Short Term 12

  • The title theme to Cani Arrabbiati

  • Increase by David Lang and Alarm Will Sound

  • Nijuichi by Sylvain Chaveau

  • Occam II for Violin by Eliane Radigue

  • Drunken Aviator by the (great, truly) Ida.

  • Eyes Closed and Travelling by Peter Broderick

Notes

  • If you are looking to read more about Betty, I’d suggest Rosanne Montillo’s terrific book, Fire on the Track.
Dec 27, 2021
Episode 190: The Ride
12:20

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

  • How to be Invisible, by Thruppence.

  • Motion by Peter Sandberg.

  • Art Blakey’s magical, Come out and See Me Tonight

  • And, of course, So What, from Kind of Blue

Notes

Dec 10, 2021
Episode 189: New England Granite
17:20

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

  • Midnight Moon from Annalisa Tornfelt and Gideon Fraudmann’s album, Spring Breakup: Songs for Alaska.

  • A couple of numbers from Marcelo Zarvos’ wonderful score to the wonderful, Please Give.

  • A remarkable piece of music called Spectacle of Ritual by Kali Malone

  • And another called Pauvre Simon from Sylvain Chauveau

Nov 24, 2021
Episode 188: Spirits
13:37

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

  • Feminist from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrian’s score to Christine.

  • Under Siege from the great Warren Ellis’ score to Mustang

  • Warm Canto from Mal Waldren

  • M is for Man, Music, Mozart: the Eisenstein Song from Louis Andriessen’s De Stijl album.

  • The them to Le Doulo from Paul Misraki

  • Manny Returns Home from Bernard Hermann’s score to the Wrong Man

Nov 10, 2021
Episode 187: The Woods
17:06

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.

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

  • By the Ash Tree and Semolina by Slow Meadow

  • Opals by Catching Flies

  • Mechanical Fair by Ola Kvernberg and the Trondheim Singers

  • La Copla by the great Atahualpa Yupanqui

  • Holm Sound by Erland Cooper

Notes

  • You can find the original recordings, photos, and film clips taken on the 1935 expedition and after in the remarkable online library of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

  • Of the many books on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, the one I enjoyed and relied upon most here is Phillip Hoose’s The Race to Save the Good Lord Bird.

Oct 23, 2021
Episode 63: Other Bodies
17:12

This episode was originally released in October, 2014.

The music in this one: “An Ending, A Beginning” by Dustin O’Halloran. “I am Piano” by Peter Broderick. Two songs from the soundtrack to “With a Song in my Heart”: American Medley, and That Old Feeling. The one at the end is “I’ll Never be the Same.” My version’s on a collection called “Can’t get out of this Mood.” There are also a couple of other Jane things that I found on You Tube. The plane crash stuff is scored by a piece of Claudia Serne and Leopold Ross’ soundtrack for “Broken City,” called “Missing Pieces.” Then there’s a sound by The Caretaker called “Stairway to the Stars.”

I read a lot about Jane for this but nothing was as useful as Ilene Stone’s lovely book, “Jane Froman: Missouri’s First Lady of Song.”

Oct 08, 2021
Episode 186: Shining
13:00

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.

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

  • Mother's Love by The Vernon Spring

  • Avinu Malkenu by Lofoten Cello Duo

  • Vakenatt by Daniel Herskedal

  • Computer Love by Balenescu Quartet

  • Sunshine on Fish Skin by Girls in Airports

  • Cabiria e el ragioniere from Nino Rota's score to Nights of Cabiria

Sep 22, 2021
Episode 185: The Life and Works of a Monumental Figure
11:54

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.

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

  • Honesty by Thrupence

  • El Noi de la Mare, Eldegard by Lofoten Cello Duo

  • 2400 by Martyn Hyne

  • White Light by Chihei Hatekeyama

  • Valse Efter Valle I Lybe by Lofoten Cello Duo

Notes





Sep 03, 2021
Memory Palace Summer Reading: The Great Gatsby, part 3
01:39:39

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

In lieu of my usual re-runs filling out August, I’m doing something different: a full-reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, presented in three parts.This is part 2.

Music for Gatsby was composed and performed by Mary Lattimore. Find and buy her music at marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com

The cover art is from Jen Corace. See more of Jen’s work at jencorace.com.

Back with the third and final part on August 19th. Back with new episodes of The Memory Palace in September.

Aug 19, 2021
Memory Palace Summer Reading: The Great Gatsby, Part 2
01:15:21

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

In lieu of my usual re-runs filling out August, I’m doing something different: a full-reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, presented in three parts.This is part 2.

Music for Gatsby was composed and performed by Mary Lattimore. Find and buy her music at marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com

The cover art is from Jen Corace. See more of Jen’s work at jencorace.com.

Back with the third and final part on August 19th. Back with new episodes of The Memory Palace in September.

Aug 12, 2021
Memory Palace Summer Reading: The Great Gatsby, Part 1
01:28:18

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

In lieu of my usual re-runs filling out August, I’m doing something different: a full-reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, presented in three parts.

Music for Gatsby was composed and performed by Mary Lattimore. Find and buy her music at marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com

The cover art is from Jen Corace. See more of Jen’s work at jencorace.com.

Back with part two on August 12th. 

Aug 06, 2021
Episode 184: Betty Robinson
25:18

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.

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

  • Pollen by H.Takahashi and, later, Photosynthese.

  • The New York Herald Tribune by Martial Solal

  • Trying Something Again, Again by Lullatone

  • Wiffle Ball from Joel P. West’s score for Short Term 12

  • The title theme to Cani Arrabbiati

  • Increase by David Lang and Alarm Will Sound

  • Nijuichi by Sylvain Chaveau

  • Occam II for Violin by Eliane Radigue

  • Drunken Aviator by the (great, truly) Ida.

  • Eyes Closed and Travelling by Peter Broderick

Notes

  • If you are looking to read more about Betty, I’d suggest Rosanne Montillo’s terrific book, Fire on the Track.
Jul 18, 2021
Episode 183: Goblins
14:01

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.

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

  • Wasser by H.Takahashi
Jul 04, 2021
Episode 90: A White Horse
12:56

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.

This episode was originally released in 2016 in the days after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It is re-released every year on the anniversary of the incident.

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.

Notes and Reading:
* Most of the specific history of the White Horse was learned from "Sanctuary: the Inside Story of the Nation's Second Oldest Gay Bar" by David Olson, reprinted in its entirety on the White Horse's website.
* "Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco's Gay Bars, 1950-1968," by Christopher Agee.
* June Thomas' series on the past, present, and future of the gay bar from Slate a few years back.
* Various articles written on the occasion of the White Horse's 80th anniversary, including this one from SFGATE.Com
* Michael Bronski's A Queer History of the United States.
* Radically Gay, a collection of Harry Hay's writing.
* Incidentally, I watched this interview with Harry Hay from 1996 about gay life in SF in the 30's multiple times because it's amazing.

Music
* We start with Water in Your Hands by Tommy Guerrero.
* Hit Anne Muller's Walzer fur Robert a couple of times.
* Gaussian Curve does Talk to the Church.
* We get a loop of Updraught from Zoe Keating.
* We finish on Transient Life in Twilight by James Blackshaw

Jun 12, 2021
Episode 182: The Surfmen
18:25

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.

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:

  • Flowering Jasmine as performed by Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Batica.

  • Kaspburger by Clogs

  • 20 (Lichen) by Berndan Eder Ensemble

  • Fall Again by Duval Timothy, Lil Silva and Melanie Faye.

  • Wurzer by H.Takahashi

  • Bone Collector by Julian Lage and Chris Etheridge

  • Titan’s Island by Ancient Oceans

Notes:

  • My favorite account (among many) of Richard Etheridge and the story of the Pea Island Surfmen is Fire on the Beach by David Wright and David Zoby.
Jun 05, 2021
Episode 181: The Adventures of Pearl
16:34


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:

  • Suite from A Hatful of Rain from the GOAT, Bernard Herrmann

  • Sexfaldur from amiina

  • Piano 1 from Emily Sprague

  • Earring from Julia Wolfe and Lisa Moore

  • The Squirrel, from Herrmann’s score to The Three Worlds of Gulliver

  • All in Circles by Shida Shinabi

  • Them by Nils Frahm

May 23, 2021
Episode 180: Tracks
18:09

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:

  • Rosee by Piano Novel

  • Eyes Closed and Traveling by Peter Broderick

  • Future Waves by Uther Moads

  • Go Home by h. hunt

  • Juneau from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians score to Wildlike

May 08, 2021
Episode 179: Keyhole
14:17

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:

  • Individuation by Eluvium

  • Kola - Lighthouse Version by amiina

  • Seeming by Helios

  • Portrait Gallery by Luke Howard

  • Disillusionment for the Emotional Type by You’ll Never Get to Heaven

  • Clouds by Hiroshi Yoshimura

Notes:

  • Leviathan: the History of Whaling in America by Eric Jay Dolan was super useful and very readable.

  • You can find the study on Sperm Whale adaptation in the North Pacific here.

Apr 22, 2021
Episode 178: Crossfade
21:35


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:

  • Wiegenfield, S. 198 as played Khatia Buniastihivilli

  • Van McCoy sings Mr. DJ

  • Vier Stucke fur Xylophon

  • Love is Blue by Jackie Mittoo

  • Calvary by Quicksilver Messenger Service

  • Tizita by Tijist Ejigu

  • Violin Solo no. 1 by Peter Broderick

  • Two Aquerelles 1. Slow

  • The Hustle by Van McCoy

  • Coffee Beans by Moondog

  • Dogs of Straw from Larry Groupe's score to Straw Dogs

  • Flowering Jasmine by George Pelecis

  • Visit Croatia by Alabaster DePlume

  • Absence by Matti Bye

Apr 03, 2021
Episode 77: Butterflies
21:17

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.

This episode was originally released in 2015. Sometimes you’re working on an episode (and when I say “you’re” I mean, “I’m,”) working on an episode and you realize it’s just all wrong. That there’s a good episode in there but you need to take a few days and go at it again. Because you (and, again, “you”=”I”) think it, and you (this time I mean you, the listener) deserve better. And you put out a re-run. It’s a good one, though.

Mar 20, 2021
Episode 177: A Brief Eulogy for Carla Wallenda
12:46


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

  • The Last Days of Summer by Maria Avnos.

  • Broad Channel (Solo Piano) by Bing & Ruth

  • Homesickness (v. 1) by the phenomenal Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou

Notes

  • Here she is with Steve Harvey.
Mar 12, 2021
Episode 176: The Air and the Sea and the Land
19:07


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

  • Unsayable by Brambles.

  • Kola - Lighthouse Version by amiina

  • A Nearer Sun by the Westerlies

  • Duet, a Steve Reich composition, performed by Daniel Hope.

  • Reading a Wave by Arp

  • April by Kanazu Tomoyuki

  • Latent Sonata by Brian McBride

Notes

Feb 25, 2021
Episode 175: One Hundred Percent a Diner
11:39


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

  • Metaphysical Waltz by Shirley Meyer Blankenship

  • ...morphs into Jock O'Hazeldean by Cynthia Boener

  • There's Dominique Dumont's La bataille de neige

  • The Squimp from the Chico Hamilton Quintet

  • Fruit of Dreams by Les Baxter

  • Rags to Riches by Tony Bennett

Notes

Feb 11, 2021
Episode 174: The Stone
15:04



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

  • Sarah in Bath from Komeda's great score to The Fearless Vampire Killers

  • David Goes Hunting from Larry Groupe's great score to Straw Dogs

  • When It's Time to Go by Buddy Fo and His Group (great name for a backing band, btw)

  • Completely Gone from Ludwig Gorannson's score to Everything, Everything

  • Peri Banu vid sjon (Version) by DUNGEN

  • Debut by Christopher Ferreira

Jan 26, 2021
Episode 105: Amok
08:13

This piece was originally released in February, 2017.

  • This piece has two selections from Saunder Jurriens and Danny Bensi’s score to Christine, Yes But and Back to Work.

Notes

  • This very good article in the Museum of Hoaxes gives a nice overview and links out to the original article.

  • Hampton Sides In the Kingdom of Ice has a nice telling of the story with a lot of background on the editor of the Herald.

Jan 11, 2021
Episode 173: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
13:58



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

  • Waltz for Sky by Muriel Botsdorp

  • A Gathering to Lead me When You're Gone by Brian McBride

  • 20 (Lichen) by Brendan Eder Ensemble

  • Electronium Movie Score by Raymond Scott

  • Someday We'll Linger in the Sun by Gaelynn Lea

  • 32 (Harp) by Nearly Oratorio

Notes



Dec 29, 2020
Episode 172: The Existential Tourist
13:17



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

  • Memory Waltz from Bernard Herrmann's score to The Snows of Kilimanjaro

  • Pink Champagne from Harry Warren's score to An Affair to Remember

  • Jonalah from the Chico Hamilton Quintet

  • Brouillard, version 2 from Delerue's Jules et Jim score

  • Living by Sebastian Plano

Dec 12, 2020
Episode 171: Out to Sea and Back Again
08:23

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

  • Spiderwebs of Clouds by Oliia Belli
Nov 25, 2020
Episode of the Year 2020
19:02

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

This episode was originally released in April of 2020. We are deeply, deeply annoyed that this is still relevant and useful.

20 stories, each 20 seconds, to accompany you in the proper washing of hands.

Stay safe, be well, wash your hands.

Nov 13, 2020
Episode 170: Reed v.
11:27

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

  • As Old Roads by Goldmund

  • Wake by Taylor Duepree and Marcus Fischer

  • Sedentary II by Kyle Bobby Dunn

  • Talk to the Church by Gaussian Curve

Notes

  • The best resources I found for Sally Story (it’s easy to find out more about Reed v. Reed) came from a couple of sources: 100 Americans Making Constitutional History, A Biographical History, edited by Melvin L. Urovsky. And Natalie Wexler’s article, “Sex Discrimination - a Search for a Standard.”
Oct 20, 2020
The Masque of the Red Death, by Edgar Allan Poe
17:26

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

This episode contains a full reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, The Masque of the Red Death. Use your discretion before listening. It is both one of the more macabre stories from Poe and it is hitting harder than usual during these peculiar times.

Oct 04, 2020
From a Parking Lot, a special bonus episode for the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival
12:43

This episode of The Memory Palace was commissioned by the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival and the New York State Council of the Arts in 2019.

It’s ideally meant to be listened to at the corner of Corinthian and State downtown. But, you’ll likely enjoy it wherever you are.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Sep 15, 2020
High Falls, a bonus episode for the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival
13:42

This episode of The Memory Palace was commissioned by the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival and the New York State Council of the Arts in 2019.

It’s ideally meant to be listened to at the Pont du Rennes while viewing High Falls. But, you’ll likely enjoy it wherever you are.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Sep 15, 2020
Episode 169: Beautician
12:06

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independent podcasts 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

  • Them by Nils Frahm

  • Feathers by Poppy Ackroyd

Notes

  • You can read Myles Horton’s book.

  • I found The Birth of Citizen Schools: Entwining the Struggles for Literacy and Freedom by David P. Levine particularly useful.

  • And especially Clare Russell’s “A Beautician Without Teacher Training: Bernice Robinson, Citizen Schools and women in the Civil Rights Movement.”

Sep 07, 2020
Episode 168: The Traveling Stones
14:12

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independent podcasts 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

  • Ruby by Ali Farka Toure

  • Party’s End, from Bernard Herrmann’s score to The Egyptian

  • Future Green by Masuhiro Sugaya

  • The Boy and the Snake Dance by Charles Cohen

  • Vier Stucke for Xylophone as performed by Guniid Keetman

  • Opening from Marcelo Zarvos’ score to Please Give

  • Herbert’s Story from Mark Orton’s score to Nebraska

  • Solitary Living by The Flashbulb

Notes

Aug 25, 2020
The Wheel
20:19

In a terrible summer often filled with stories about monuments to terrible men, here is a story about an American hero. Build monuments to Robert Smalls.

Originally released on February 10th, 2016.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of the Radiotopia Network.

Music
* Julia Rovinsky plays Phillip Glass’ Metamorphosis I, from her album Dusk.
* There’s an excerpt from Paul Drescher’s “Casa Vecchia,” from the Mirrors: Other Fire album.
* There’s a chunk of Jose Gonzalez’ “Instrumental” from his Stay in the Shade EP.
* “Manny Returns Home” from Bernard Hermann’s score to The Wrong Man.
* Branka Parlic plays Philip Glass’ “Mad Rush.” Twice.
“Quiet Fan for SK,” by P.G. Six.
* Things get heavy to “Particles of the Universe (Heartbeats)” from Dan Romer and Ben Zeitlin’s score to Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Notes
There’s a lot written about Robert Smalls, with a lot of contradictory information. I found Edward A. Miller’s Gullah Statesman: Robert Smalls from Slavery to Congress particularly useful to sorting it all out.
Some other sources I consulted while researching this piece:
* The Negro’s Civil War: How American Blacks Felt and Acted During the War for the Union by the Don, James McPherson
* From Slavery to Public Service: Robert Smalls, 1839-1915, by Okon Uya.
* And, for what it’s worth, Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief from RFK Jr.’s American Heroes Series is an enjoyable and surprisingly thorough version of the story for young readers, if you’re ever looking for that sort of thing.

Aug 07, 2020
Episode 167: A Brief Eulogy for a Minor League Baseball Team
12:59

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

  • Adrift by Yameneko

  • Lagrimas Negras by Antonio Maria Romeau

  • Rainfall by Michael Jones and David Darling

  • The Big Ocean by Ben Sollee

Jul 22, 2020
Episode 166: The Silent Room
18:51

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

  • Peri Banu vid Sjon (VERSION) by Dungen

  • In a Landscape by John Cage

  • Quartet for Four Percussionists IV: Fast by John Cage

  • Dream by John Cage

  • Completely Gone by Ludwig Gorannson

  • The Introduction and Chi C’e Per Farmi i Rici from The Girl of the Golden West

  • L’approche Du Nuage by Sylvain Chaveu

Notes

  • The story of John Cage in the anechoic chamber was first told to me maybe twenty years ago by my friend Dave Panosky one night while walking around Providence. It was precisely the type of story that I wanted to one day make a show to tell. You can find it in a lot of places including in Cage’s own writing.

  • I first came across the second silent room in Alex Ross’ wonderful, The Rest is Noise.

  • I also tapped into Puccini and the Girl: History and Reception of Girl of the Golden West by Annie Randall and Rosalind Gray Davis.

Jul 04, 2020
A White Horse
12:15

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

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Notes and Reading:
* Most of the specific history of the White Horse was learned from “Sanctuary: the Inside Story of the Nation’s Second Oldest Gay Bar” by David Olson, reprinted in its entirety on the White Horse’s website.
* “Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco’s Gay Bars, 1950-1968,” by Christopher Agee.
* June Thomas’ series on the past, present, and future of the gay bar from Slate a few years back.
* Various articles written on the occasion of the White Horse’s 80th anniversary, including this one from SFGATE.Com
* Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States.
Radically Gay, a collection of Harry Hay’s writing.
* Incidentally, I watched this interview with Harry Hay from 1996 about gay life in SF in the 30’s multiple times because it’s amazing.

Music
* We start with Water in Your Hands by Tommy Guerrero.
* Hit Anne Muller’s Walzer fur Robert a couple of times.
* Gaussian Curve does Talk to the Church.
* We get a loop of Updraught from Zoe Keating.
* We finish on Transient Life in Twilight by James Blackshaw

Jun 12, 2020
Episode 165: A Park
08:24

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

Notes

Jun 05, 2020
Episode 164: Dora Salter
16:05

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

  • Illusion Perdida by Juan Bautista Guido y Su Orquesta Tipico

  • Manny Returns Home and Fingerprints from Bernard Herrmann's score to The Wrong Man.

  • Niggun for Solo Bassoon Phillipe Hersant

  • Rearranging Furniture by Gabriel Yared

  • Viona's Lullaby by Peter Sandberg

Notes

  • The archives of the Kansas Historical Quarterly were very useful, particularly this article. 
May 26, 2020
Episode 163: Freds
16:40

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

May 09, 2020
Episode 162: A Strange Land
16:58

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

  • Ruth and Sylvie from Daniel Hart’s score to Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

  • The Walk from Bernard Hermann’s score to Tender is the Night

  • Reflector by Bing and Ruth

  • Requiem from Nico Mulhy’s score to How to Talk to Girls at Parties

  • Under Siege from Warren Ellis’ score to Mustang

  • Spaces in Time from Per Nargard and the Stavenger Symphony

  • Theme de l’eau from Hikaru Hayashi’s score to The Naked Island

  • Bus Ride from the score to Wildlike

  • Duke Ellington playing Single Petal from a Rose

Notes

  • There’s quite a bit written about Isaac Israel Hayes. You can find his own account of his trip to find the non-existant, open polar sea here.

  • I owe the Detroit newspaper quote to this excellent article by Albin Kowaleweski.

Apr 21, 2020
Episode 161: Stories to Wash Hands By
17:02

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

20 stories, each 20 seconds, to accompany you in the proper washing of hands.

Stay safe, be well, wash your hands.

Apr 03, 2020
Episode 160: Wong Kim Ark
08:19

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Mar 19, 2020
Episode 159: The Newest News
11:30

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

Notes

  • I read and enjoyed The Golden Age of the Newspaper by George Douglas. 

  • I first learned about Moses Yale Beach and the pigeon reporters in an aside in one of the fantastic stories in Banvard's Folly by Paul Collins, a book you should purchase right now. 

Mar 08, 2020
Episode 158: Life's Work
16:23

Help support this show and the network that makes it possible by making a donation today. Make your mark at Radiotopia.fm/donate

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

  • Field of Reeds by Leo Svirsky.

  • Stellify by Federico Albanese.

  • Opening by Nathanial Bartlett.

  • Turning 16 by Ben Sollee.

Notes

  • I strongly recommend checking out Annelise Orlick's Common Sense and a Little Fire, an exhilarating history of Pauline Newman, Rose Schneiderman and other women at the center of the labor movement in the 20th Century.
Feb 24, 2020
Episode 157: The House of Lowe
16:22

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Help support this show and the network that makes it possible by making a donation today. Make your mark at Radiotopia.fm/donate

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

Notes

Feb 11, 2020
Episode 156: That's How it Goes Whenever it Snows
10:11

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

**Music **

Notes

Jan 19, 2020
Episode 155: Lost Bulls
12:20

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

This episode was originally produced for an episode of Radiolab from WNYC, released in August of 2019.

Music

Notes

Jan 04, 2020
Nate's Favorite Episode of 2019
11:22

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • First up is Requiem from Nico Muhly’s score to How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

  • November by Colleen.

  • Edward Hong’s arrangement of Sleep from the Smoke and Mirrors Percussion Ensemble.

  • The solo version of Broad Channel by Bing & Ruth

  • Won’t Be a Thing to Become by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Notes

  • Here’s Shane DuBay and Carl Fuldner’s study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, including Fuldner’s remarkable photographs.
Dec 26, 2019
Episode 154: Dotting I's
12:15

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Help support this show and the network that makes it possible by making a donation today. Make your mark at Radiotopia.fm/donate

This episode was commissioned by the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

MUSIC

Dec 13, 2019
A Conversation About the Memory Palace with Robert Krulwich
39:42

It’s Radiotopia fundraiser time! Once a year, we reach out to ask our listeners to donate to the network that makes this show possible. Make your mark by making a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate today!

Here’s a very special episode of The Memory Palace in which Nate talks to CERTIFIED RADIO LEGEND, Robert Krulwich, of Radiolab and beyond, about the origins of the show and what makes The Memory Palace tick.

Dec 09, 2019
Episode 153: Dinner at Jefferson's
07:31

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Help support this show and the network that makes it possible by making a donation today. Make your mark at Radiotopia.fm/donate

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

Notes

Dec 06, 2019
Episode 152: Let it Snow
07:15

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Music

Nov 15, 2019
Episode 151: The Story of Maria Barberi
13:26

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

  • Inside River, Pt. 1 by Akira Kosuemura. .

  • Sonata for Solo Cello 1: Dialogo by Ligeti, performed by Miklos Perenyi.

  • All the Land Ablaze by Laura Cannell

  • Frost Trees from Lalo Schiffren's score to The Fox.

  • And Finding the Flag from Georges Delarue's score to The Day of the Dolphin.

Nov 01, 2019
Episode 150: Late One Night
17:44

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

Notes

  • Bobby's story is covered in a lot of histories of one hit wonders and novelty tunes. But, if you want to really dig in, you should read, Monster Mash: Half Dead in Hollywood, his autobiography.
Oct 21, 2019
Episode 149: Dance by the Ocean
13:35

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

Notes

Oct 04, 2019
Episode 148: Safe Passage
15:59

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

  • We start with the Opening of Craig Armstrong's score to Far From the Madding Crowd.

  • Glass Houses no. 13 from Ann Southern.

  • Earring from Julia Wolf.

  • Occam II for Violin from Eliane Radigue.

  • Rearranging Furniture from Gabriel Yared's score to By the Sea.

  • A bit of Movement II from Martynov, "Come in!" by Vladimir Martynov.

Notes

Sep 19, 2019
Episode 147: Shipwreck Kelly
16:31

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

A note on shownotes. In a perfect world, you go into each episode of the Memory Palace knowing nothing about what's coming. It's pretentious, sure, but that's the intention. So, if you don't want any spoilers or anything, you can click play without reading ahead.

Anyway...

Music 

Notes

Sep 05, 2019
A Welcome! And Dreamland!
10:49

Here in its tenth year in operation, the Memory Palace just got a star turn in the wonderful podcast and radios show, Radiolab. We couldn’t be more delighted.

So, a word of welcome to new listeners and a call to arms for regular listeners and a story perfect for the end of summer.

Aug 28, 2019
Episode 146: Two Memorials, Last Week of July, 2019
09:48

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music 

Notes

Aug 08, 2019
Episode 145: Stories about the St. Louis
13:29

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

Jul 20, 2019
Episode 144: Nature Naturally
08:43

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

Notes

  • The most comprehensive thing I read on George Melendez Wright is from this supplementary piece to the Burns National Parks documentary, by Susan Shumaker.
Jun 22, 2019
A White Horse
11:12

As on every year, here is an episode I released a few days after the murders at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016.

Jun 12, 2019
Episode 143: The Only One
10:18

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

Jun 08, 2019
Episode 142: Private Robinson on Pawnee Rock
09:57

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

Notes

May 20, 2019
Episode 141: This Story Climbed Mount Washington
08:09

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

May 03, 2019
Rebroadcast: Origin Stories
17:04

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Apr 20, 2019
Episode 140: Jackie Mitchell
16:24

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

Music

  • We start off with Chez Thomas, by Charles Delarue

  • Go to The Graceful Ghost, one of William Bolcom's 3 Ghost Rags.

  • Then Krzysztof Komeda's Ballet Edude II

  • A touch of Ellington playing A Single Petal on a Rose.

  • Then Concerto no. 5 en la minuer: Allegro ma non molto, as performed by Wilhelm Friedeman Bach and Brigitte Haudbebourg frames...

  • Philharmonics - Piano Sessions found on the Deluxe Edition of Agnes Obel's Philharmonics album.

  • Then we go to Nathaniel Johnson's gorgeous, Penelope's Theme from the score to the delightful film, The Brothers Bloom.

  • Sneeuwland by Oskar Schuster.

  • Judith by Jacob David.

Notes

  • I read a bunch of articles on Jackie, but if you're looking for one-stop-shopping that can send you off in other research avenues, I'd probably suggest this article by Zack Harold in Lapham's Quarterly.
Apr 09, 2019
Episode 139: 1,347 Birds
10:37

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • First up is Requiem from Nico Muhly's score to How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

  • November by Colleen.

  • Edward Hong's arrangement of Sleep from the Smoke and Mirrors Percussion Ensemble.

  • The solo version of Broad Channel by Bing & Ruth

  • Won't Be a Thing to Become by Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld

Notes

  • Here's Shane Dubay and Carl Fuldner's study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, including Fuldner's remarkable photographs.
Mar 23, 2019
Episode 138: Sixty Starlings
09:44

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • Blink from Hiroshi Yoshimura

  • Which comes in and out of Bjolukor Tonlisterakoli Reykjanesbaejar's version of Sigur Ros' Hoppipolla.

  • Love Token by Elena Kats-Chernin, performed by Tamara Anna Cislowska

  • And Joanna Brouk playing Maggi's Flute - Lifting Off

Notes

  • There's
    a ton out there about the sixty starlings, the most comprehensive comes
    from Stephen Marche's book, How Shakespeare Changed Everything.

  • I also found Kim Todd's [Tinkering with Eden,](http://%22Tinkering%20With%20Eden:%20A%20Natural%20History%20of%20Exotic%20Species%20in%20America) particularly useful.

Mar 09, 2019
A Memory Palace/Radio Diaries Crossover Event
18:08

On the 80th Anniversary of the night 20,000 Americans attended a Nazi Rally in the heart of Manhattan, the Memory Palace is teaming up with Radio Diaries. We’ll hear their new story about that rally after we listen back to a Memory Palace episode that took place on that same evening, in which some Nazis get punched.

Learn more about this evening at www.radiodiaries.org.

For info on the original Memory Palace episode, head here.

Feb 20, 2019
Episode 137: Swans
09:26

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Notes

Feb 07, 2019
Episode 136 (Ten Fingers, Ten Toes)
09:26

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • Only in the Dark by Ben Lukas Boysen

  • Dream House III: After Dust by Mary Ellen Childs and Ethel

  • Cello Gonzalez by Chilly Gonzalez

Notes

Jan 17, 2019
Nate's Episode of the Year for 2018
20:56

Each year for the last three years, Nate picks his personal favorite. Here’s 2018. See you in 2019.

Dec 18, 2018
Episode 135: Revolutions
11:58

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • We start off with an absolute banger from my old friends in Lightning Bolt, their track King Kandy.

  • Then an old favorite, Blues to Elvin from the unstoppable, Coltrane Plays the Blues.

  • We move to Everything is an Illusion by Kaada

  • Hear Rolling by Collectress

  • And finish out on The Dog by Group Listening.

Notes

  • I read quite a bit for this one but nothing was more helpful (or more charming) than Save Womens Lives History of Washing Machines by Lee Maxwell, who bills himself on the cover as "Collector of Old and Unusual Washing Machines." God bless Lee and his patient wife.
Dec 05, 2018
2018 Fundraiser Bonus Episode!
11:56

It’s time for the 2018 fundraiser. On this, the tenth anniversary of The Memory Palace, show your support for independent artists by making a donation at Radiotopia.fm.

Nov 27, 2018
Election Eve Rebroadcast (In Line)
09:40

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more and donate to help keep this show and the other Radiotopia shows thrive at Radiotopia.fm

Notes
* There are a gajillion things that you can and should read about this period. I’m almost loathe to tell you where to begin. So: some of the details for this story were found in this remarkable article by Claude Sitton.

Music
* We hear a segment of Holding Pattern, by Loscii.
Secrets you Could Sift, by Mr. Maps.
* And Requiem on Frankfort Ave, by Eluvium.

Nov 05, 2018
Episode 134 (The Dress in the Closet)
14:33

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

A note: this here is a Halloween episode. They get creepy.

Music

Oct 27, 2018
Episode 133: Antidisestablishmentarianism
14:16

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Oct 13, 2018
Episode 132 (Ida Lewis)
17:50

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Notes

  • Many of my favorite things I read for this piece were contemporary newspaper tributes upon her death in 1911. They’re easy to find.

  • By far the most useful thing I read was Lenore Skomal’s *The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter: The Remarkable True Story of American Heroine, Ida Lewis. *It’s very well researched and highly readable.

Sep 26, 2018
Episode 131 (Lost Locusts)
11:51

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • The music on this one comes from High Aura'd, a project from my old friend, John Kolodij. The main drone piece is All the Spirits that Dance. The beginning and end were composed specifically for this episode.

Notes

  • I read a lot of articles from a lot of sources on this one, but the linchpin here is Jeffrey Lockwood's book that, to my mind, convincingly solves the mystery of the vanishing locusts.
Sep 11, 2018
Episode 130 (Independence Hall 2: The Legend of Walter Knott)
16:11

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Aug 22, 2018
Summer Re-run: Episode 68 (White Heat, White Light)
09:37

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score. * The opening loop is from Mr. Knight from Coltrane Plays the Blues, which you should own. * The violin piece is Occam II for Violin, a piece by Silvia Tarozzi, played by Pauline Oliveros. * Next up is Mikuro’s Blues from the mighty David S. Ware’ mighty Go See the World. * The amazing orchestral pieces is Triumph by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Nino from Fill the Heart- Shaped Cup * Finally, there’s 13 Ghosts II by Nine Inch Nails from Ghosts I-IV

White Heat, White Lights

Aug 08, 2018
Episode 129: Uplift
14:43

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Jul 26, 2018
Episode 128 (Patience)
09:31

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • Drunken Aviator by Ida.
  • Back to Paris by Cyril Morin.

Notes 

  • There's a great resource of old ads and articles, including the one referenced in the piece here.
  • The definitive work on this subject is Help Me to Find My People by Heather Andrea Williams.
Jul 04, 2018
A White Horse, re-released on the second anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
11:14

This piece was originally released a few days after the shooting deaths of 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It is re-released here on the second anniversary of the event. 

If you are so moved, please donate to any of these charities:

Equality Florida.

Human Rights Campaign.

Everytown for Gun Safety.

 

Trans Lifeline

Jun 12, 2018
No Summer (Episode 127)
13:14

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

  • White Light by Chihei Hatekeyama
  • Between the Trees by Akira Kosemura
  • Clockwork Toccatta, Op. 68 from Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet.
  • End of Summer Part 3 by Hildur Gudnadottir and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
  • A Gathering to Lead Me When You're Gone by Brian McBride

Notes

Jun 04, 2018
Episode 126 (The 8th Story)
12:17

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

May 17, 2018
Episode 125: Snakes!
15:15

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.

Music

Apr 25, 2018
Episode 124 (Junk Room)
15:31

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Music

  • We start off with Theme de Simon from Georges Delerue.
  • Go to Alpine Sketch from Christian Loffler's Young Alaska.
  • Hear some of Three Dances: II Pavane arranged for the Chromos Tuba Quartet.
  • The Plum Blossom from Yusuf Lateef's great Eastern Sounds record.
  • Juve & Fandor by amiina.
  • The Unquestioned Answer by Laura Spiegel.
  • Etude by Joep Beving.
  • Rainfall by David Darling and Michael Jones.
Apr 06, 2018
A quick update and a bonus episode
09:35

A quick update and a brief little bonus episode. 

Mar 27, 2018
Episode 123: Outliers
09:21

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

  • We hear Valentine My Funny by Nils Frahm and F.S. Blumm from the album Tag Eins Tag Zwei.

Notes

  • This idea came to me a long time ago while researching an old episode. I read an extraordinary article from the 1890s that hung with me, particularly the notion of folks writing in to try to become sideshow attractions.
Mar 12, 2018
Big Block of Cheese - Bonus episode
10:47

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

This special episode was originally made for a live episode of The West Wing Weekly. To hear a live version of this story (and the rest of a particularly delightful TWWW episode), visit thewestwingweekly.com

Music

Feb 23, 2018
Episode 122 (Hercules)
13:11

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

Feb 12, 2018
Episode 121 (The Nickel Candy Bar)
13:42

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

  • We hit two sections from Bernard Herrmann's score to Tender is the Night: The Embrace and The Breakdown.
  • A bit of Sambolero by Luiz Bonfa.
  • Labyrinth II by Caitlin Aurelia Smith.
  • Walter Meets the Beaver from Marcel Zavros' score to The Beaver.
  • Two tracks, "1" & "2" from AAESPO's album, Layers.
  • Maria Arvos' Last Days of Summer.
  • And Time Times Three by Palm.

Notes

Jan 28, 2018
Episode 120 (The Prairie Chicken in Wisconsin: Highlights of a Study of Counts, Behavior, Turnover, Movement, and Habitat)
14:01

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

  • Do yourself a favor and read France 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.
Jan 13, 2018
Nate's Episode of the Year: If You Have to be a Floor
14:20

 

Show Notes

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the sixth episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elizabeth Aubert. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Special thanks to Jimmy LaValle and Mark Kozelek.

The Art Discussed

Music 

Dec 26, 2017
Episode 119 (John C. Calhoun from the Opposite Side of the Line that Divides the Living from the Dead)
09:54

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

Dec 16, 2017
Episode 118 (On the Shores of Assawompset)
13:23

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

  • Musica Seqenza play Schreza Infida
  • Frederico Durand plas Lluvia de Estrellas
  • The Martin Hayes Quintet plays The Boy in the Gap
  • East Forest by Provenance
  • There's a bit of Madame Ovary from Bensi and Jurriaans and Christine
  • It finishes on Three Dances: II. Pavane from Chromo Tuba Quartet

Notes

Nov 20, 2017
Episode 117 (Elizabeth)
12:48

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

Nov 07, 2017
Episode 116 (Hoover)
11:04

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

  • Some sources for this one were The Glory and the Dream by William Manchester.
  • Herbert Hoover: A Life by Glen Jeansonne
  • Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of The Presidency, by Charles Rappleye
  • The Life of Herbert Hoover, Humanitarian, by George H. Nash
Oct 23, 2017
Episode 115 (A Brief Eulogy for a Commercial Radio Station)
11:59

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Oct 04, 2017
Sometimes the Rain Just Doesn't Stop
10:29

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Music

Notes

  • By far the most comprehensive resource I found was Florida's Hurricane History by Jay Barnes. If you're looking to learn more, I'd definitely start there.
Sep 15, 2017
Two Small Sculptures (The Met Residency Episode 8)
11:51

Show Notes

Nate DiMeo was the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He produced 8 episodes inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the eigth episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elizabeth Aubert. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Artwork Discussed

Music

Sep 05, 2017
Orbes Cintilantes - A special summer episode
32:39

In lieu of your standard end-of-summer re-run, here is a very special re-run. No! Wait! I mean it. It's pretty cool. Here's the thing: Todavia, a new literary publisher in Brazil has just put out a book of Memory Palace stories translated into Brazilian Portuguese. (Purchasable world-wide through this site, if you happen to be interested),

This very special re-run has all sorts of Brazil-related bonus content, including a full episode of Helen Zaltzman's, The Allusionist. Subscribe to that fine podcast, here.

Aug 21, 2017
"Relics": A Special Bonus Episode
14:06

This special, bonus episode was commissioned by Freepoint Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's intended to be listened to while walking around Fresh Pond, across the street from the hotel, though it can be enjoyed anywhere. 

Aug 09, 2017
A Scavenger Hunt (The Met Residency Episode 7)
15:30

Show Notes

Nate DiMeo was the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He produced eight pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the eighth episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elizabeth Aubert. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This episode was produced in collaboration with composer, Mary Lattimore.

Artwork Discussed

Music

  • The music in this piece was composed and performed by Mary Lattimore.
Aug 07, 2017
Episode 113 (Elmer McCurdy Rides Again and Again)
12:32

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Music

Notes

Jul 19, 2017
Episode 112 (The Taking of Tom Sawyer's Island)
17:07

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. 

Music

Notes

  • By far my favorite and the most thorough examination of the Pow Wow I came across was actually Disney Historian Todd James Pierce's three (!) part series about the incident on his podcast Disney History Institute.
Jul 03, 2017
A White Horse, re-released on the second anniversary of the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
11:20

This piece was originally released a few days after the shooting deaths of 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It is re-released here on the second anniversary of the event. 

If you are so moved, please donate to any of these charities:

Equality Florida.

Human Rights Campaign.

Everytown for Gun Safety.

 

Trans Lifeline

Jun 12, 2017
Episode 111 (Cipher, or Greenhow Girls)
23:45

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. This episode was produced as part out or "Doing Time" series, where each show across the network tackles the same theme. Go listen to the other contributions  at Radiotopia.fm.

Notes

Music

Jun 10, 2017
If You Have to be a Floor (The Met Residency Episode 6)
12:37

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the sixth episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elizabeth Aubert. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Special thanks to Jimmy LaValle and Mark Kozelek.

The Art Discussed

Music 

 

Jun 09, 2017
Episode 110 (Lost Camels)
12:48

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

  • There's a bunch out there about the Camel Corps. You'll have fun Googling around. But some of the best details in here, including the remarkable thing about the Red Ghost, comes from this article from a 1961 issue of American Heritage. 
May 27, 2017
Episode 109 (The Year Hank Greenberg Hit 58 Home Runs)
12:35

Music, Footnotes & Ephemera

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

May 11, 2017
Notes on a Plaque, Still Imagined
15:45

This episode was originally released in August of 2015. It was re-released upon hearing that the city of New Orleans has begun the process of removing four monuments to the confederacy and post-civil war era, starting with an obelisk erected in 1891 honoring members of the Crescent City White League who suppressed the African American vote through violence and intimidation and who launched a failed military overthrow of the city’s elected government and integrated police force in 1874.

Music * First up (and returning at the end) is Sandra's Theme, from Heather McIntosh's fantastic score to Compliance, a very good, very disturbing movie. * We hit Frank Glazer leading Charles Ives' Largo for Clarinet, Violin and Piano a couple of times, framing... * Runaway from Olafur Arnalds.

Notes: *The key to researching this episode turned out to be an article in The Journal of Southern History from 2001 by Court Carnay called, "The Contested Image of Nathan Bedford Forrest.". * Also particularly useful was Nathan Bedford Forrest: a Biography, by Jack Hurst. * As was Lynching in America: A History in Documents, compiled by Christopher Waldrep. * Much of my information about the contents of the ceremony and speeches was gathered from this, the digitized journal and scrapbook of Charles Henry Niehaus, the sculptor of the monument. It's an extraordinary resource. * And let us all read Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases, by Ida B. Wells. And let's put her on the $10 while we're at it.

Apr 26, 2017
Episode 108, Met Residency #5: Temple
19:45

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the fifth episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elyssa Dudley and research Assistance from Andrea Milne. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Art Discussed * The Temple of Dendur.

Music * As Much as Possible by Bing & Ruth. * Parcel by Melanie Velarde. * Field Hymn by Syrinx. * Wawa by the Ocean by Mary Lattimore. * Turning 16 and Trading Flags by Ben Sollee.

Apr 18, 2017
Episode 107 (Roots and Branches and Wind-Borne Seeds)
14:48

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

  • I learned about Ynes while flipping idly through the 1974 edition of Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary (volume II, G-O, incidentally), "prepared under the Auspices of Radcliffe College," as it says on the frontispiece.
  • By far the most comprehensive thing I read was biography for young readers called Ynes Mexia: Botanist and Adventurer by Durlynn Anema.
Apr 01, 2017
Episode 106 (A Washington Monument)
11:28

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

Notes

  • If you want the story of the construction of the actual Washington Monument, you could check out John Steele Gordon's book.
Mar 17, 2017
Episode 105: Amok
09:05

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

  • This piece has two selections from Saunder Jurriens and Danny Bensi's score to Christine, Yes But and Back to Work.

Notes

  • This very good article in the Museum of Hoaxes gives a nice overview and links out to the original article.
  • Hampton Sides In the Kingdom of Ice has a nice telling of the story with a lot of background on the editor of the Herald.
Feb 27, 2017
Episode 104, Met Residency #4 (A Portrait)
12:47

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the second episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Elyssa Dudley and research Assistance from Andrea Milne. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Special thanks to Amelia Peck at The Met.

The Art Discussed * Prince Demah Barnes’ Portrait of William Duguid. * Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800

Music * Kyu and Njuichi from Sylvain Chauvau’s score to Umarete Wa Mita Keredo. * Moonbow by aAirial. * Gisella by K. Leimer from A Period of Review. * Here’s What You’re Missin and And Then it Rained from Bing & Ruth’s album City Lake.

 

Feb 15, 2017
Episode 103 (The Rose of Long Island)
17:38

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

  • We start and end with Daniel Berenboim playing Lizt's 6 Consolations, S. 172: No. 3 in D flat minor.
  • We hit up Yes But, from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriens' score to Christine.
  • We return to the official Memory Palace love theme of William Henry Harrison, The Gentle Softness, Lalo Schiffrin's score to The Last Dragon
  • We cruise on the U.S.S. Princeton to Dispute by Yann Tiersen.
  • Twist comes to Missing Pieces from the Broken City score.

Notes

  • I read quite a bit about the Tylers, but really, one needs only to read "and Tyler Too," by Robert Seager II.
Feb 04, 2017
Episode 102 (The Presidency of William Henry Harrison, or Back in the Saddle)
09:32

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Music

 

Jan 20, 2017
Nate's Episode of the Year: Local Channels
18:21

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

SPOILERS BELOW

Notes * Much of what I read about Florence was pulled from old newspaper articles. * The biography in Notable American Women: Volume 5 does a nice, thorough job with Florence story. * I first stumbled on Florence Chadwick in a photo in a restaurant in Santa Barbara and was struck by, as the photo suggested, she went on a world tour, swimming local channels.

Music * First up is Solitude, from (delightfully named) Janis Crunch. * Then we’ve got Like a Bell to a Southerly Wind, by Chequerboard. * Modular Body #7 by Machinefabriek. * After Catalunya by Ephemetry and Richard J. Birkin. * Finishing up on The Old Favourite by The Gloaming.

Dec 30, 2016
Episode 101 (Promise)
15:28

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

SPOILERS BELOW

Notes

Music

  • Starts with Christope Beck and DeadMono's theme to Charlie Countryman.
  • Prelude for HS by Hakon Stene.
  • Tezeta (Nostalgia) from Malatu Astatke, from Ethiopiques vol. 4, one of my favorite pieces of music in the world.
  • Marian Lapansky plays Camille Saint-Saens "Le Sygne."
  • Which fights with Piero Umiliani's Danza Primitiva.
  • Warren Ellis rounds it out with his Lale's Theme from his terrific score to Mustang (which you should totally see).
  • The Hazel Scott pieces can be found here and here.
Dec 19, 2016
Episode 100 (Peregrinar)
11:43

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Notes

Music

  • Starts with Affinity by Gavin Luke.
  • Moves into Little Dume by Christian Naujoks.
  • Finish of with Call from Julianna Barwick.
Dec 01, 2016
Episode 99, Met Residency #3 (Full Circle)
15:48

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the second episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Kathy Tu and research Assistance from Andrea Milne. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager Live Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Art Discussed * John Vanderlyn's Panoramic View of the Gardens of Versailles.

Music * Falling Asleep with a Book on Your Chest and Brass Practice by Lullatone. * Moonbow by aAirial. * Pauvre Simon, L'approach Du Nuage, and The Tunnel from Sylvain Chauvau's album Nuage. * So Long to Scream from Joshua Moshier's score to Good Enough.

Nov 21, 2016
An odd, pre-election bonus episode: a full reading of Song of Myself
01:38:26

As counter-programming to the clamor and nonsense of these last days before the American Presidential election, here is Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" in its entirety. Really.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE

New episode next week.

Nov 07, 2016
Episode 98 (Under Our Feet)
13:54

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows.

Notes * This episode came by special request from my daughter, who heard about Waterhouse Hawkins in her second grade classroom. She came home and said, “Dad, I think I’ve got a good Memory Palace story for you.” * She and I found a great kids book called The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, by Barbara Kerley. * Grownup readers might want to check out All in the Bones by Valerie Bramwell and Robert Peek.

Music * We start off and finish with Kola, Lighthouse Version by amiina. * We hear their Leather and Lace as well. * There’s Mountain Path, by WMD. * We hear Prelude for Piano and Malaria by Worrytrain. * We also hear Manny Returns Home from Bernard Hermann’s score to The Wrong Man. * And Krolock on Sledge from the fantastic score to The Fearless Vampire Killers.

Oct 28, 2016
Episode 97 (In Line)
09:58

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more and donate to help keep this show and the other Radiotopia shows thrive at Radiotopia.fm

Notes * There are a gajillion things that you can and should read about this period. I'm almost loathe to tell you where to begin. So: some of the details for this story were found in this remarkable article by Claude Sitton.

Music * We hear a segment of Holding Pattern, by Loscii. * Secrets you Could Sift, by Mr. Maps. * And Requiem on Frankfort Ave, by Eluvium.

Oct 14, 2016
The Met Residency Episode M2: One Bottle, Any Bottle
08:57

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the second episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Kathy Tu. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager of Concerts & Lectures, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

* Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), John Singer Sargent, 1883-1884 * Tomb Effigy of Elizabeth Boott Duveneck, Frank Duveneck, 1891 * One bottle, any bottle.

Music * We hear "Pools of Grey," by Jeff Eden Fair and Starr Parodi. * Then "Ruth & Sylvie," by Daniel Hart. * And "Lost in Space," by Max Richter. * Wien, by Labradford plays beneath the credits.

Special thanks to Gabe Hilfer at Full Pursuit Media. and to Thayer Tolles, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, and Ariana Baurley at the Met for their help episode.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Oct 06, 2016
The Met Residency Episode 1: Recent Acqusition
14:38

Nate DiMeo is the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Artist in Residence for 2016/2017. He is producing ten pieces inspired by the collection and by the museum itself. This is the first episode of that residency.

This residency is made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Chester Dale Fund.

This episode is written and produced and stuff by Nate DiMeo with engineering assistance from Kathy Tu and research assistance from Andrea Milne. Its Executive Producer is Limor Tomer, General Manager of Concerts & Lectures, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Art Discussed If you can't be at the museum to listen to this episode, you might want to take a look at: * Dance in a Subterranean Longhouse at Clearlake, California, Jules Tavernier, 1878. * The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, Albert Bierstadt, 1868 * Washington Crossing the Delaware Emmanuel Leutze, 1851

Music * We hear, "Prelude for a Single Snowflake Under Streetlight, Falling Like a Star," "The View from a Foggy Window, or Your Head in the Clouds with a Fever," and "Origami Guitar," from Lullatone. * We hear, "Entering Darwin," "On the Atlantic Ocean," "Popcorn and Life," "Shut up World," and "Turning Sixteen" from Ben Sollee. * Wien, by Labradford plays beneath the credits.

Special thanks to Gabe Hilfer of Full Pursuit Media. and to Dr. Elizabeth Kornhauser and Ariana Baurley at the Met.

Further Reading * Chronicling the West for Harper's: Coast to Coast with Frezeny & Tavernier by Claudine Chalmers. * Jules Tavernier Artist and Adventurer from Scott A. Shields, Alfred C. Harrison, Jr. and Claudine Chalmers.

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Oct 06, 2016
Episode 96 (Canali)
13:23

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Notes * I’ve read a bunch about the canals over the years, but the most fun I’ve had was going through the New York Times’ archive and just searching for Canals and Mars and reading article by article through the years, watching the debates, seeing conjecture reported as news, and then watching it all unravel. * For more on Lowell, I recommend Percival Lowell: the Culture and Science of Boston Brahmin, by David Strauss.

Music * This one features two appearances by X-Ray, by Youth Lagoon. * One from September, by Giles Lamb. * And a long one by Red Dawn, by Enzo.

Sep 30, 2016
Episode 95 (Haunting)
13:21

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Notes * Like anyone else, I became fascinated by Washington Phillip’s story through the music. So, go buy the music. * I backed into the research on this one when I should’ve just started at the source: Michael Corcoran’s amazing excavation of Phillips’ real story, as originally printed in Texas Monthly. There’s a lot of stuff that links out from his site.

Music * Lots of Washington Phillips. * Starts with As Old Roads, by Goldmund. * Don’t Worry, by (Memory Palace favorite) Zoe Keating. * 1979 by Deru.

Sep 17, 2016
Episode 94 (Numbers)
12:06

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

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

Aug 27, 2016
From the Vault: Dreamland
09:16

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

MusicMusic in this one is track 6 in Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts I then a track called “Ashley” from Yo La Tengo’s soundtrack to Junebug.

 

Aug 08, 2016
Episode 93 (Local Channels)
16:21

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

SPOILERS BELOW

Notes * Much of what I read about Florence was pulled from old newspaper articles. * The biography in Notable American Women: Volume 5 does a nice, thorough job with Florence story. * I first stumbled on Florence Chadwick in a photo in a restaurant in Santa Barbara and was struck by, as the photo suggested, she went on a world tour, swimming local channels.

Music * First up is Solitude, from (delightfully named) Janis Crunch. * Then we’ve got Like a Bell to a Southerly Wind, by Chequerboard. * Modular Body #7 by Machinefabriek. * After Catalunya by Ephemetry and Richard J. Birkin. * Finishing up on The Old Favourite by The Gloaming.

Jul 30, 2016
Episode 92 (Oil, Water)
11:45

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

SPOILERS BELOW

Notes *Great stuff in the Cleveland Plain Dealer from waaaaaay back to fire #1, if you want to dive in. * Found Jonathan Joseph Wlasiuk’s dissertation, Refining Nature (etc.) quite helpful in sorting out the early days of the Rockefeller refineries. * If you want to know more about the complicated relationship of Cleveland and the ’69 fire and the passage of the Clean Water Act, seek out Jonathan H. Adler’s article (and R.E.M. nod), Fables of the Cuyahoga: Reconstructing a History of Environmental Protection. * I also want to shout out The Killer in the Attic, and More True Tales of Crime and Disaster from Cleveland’s Past, by John Stark Bellamy II, which does a great job with the river fires.

Music * Start off with Lacrymae, from Melodium. * Go to a chopped up Fables, by Girls in Airports. * Finish off with the eternal Sunflower River Blues by John Fahey.

Jul 14, 2016
Episode 91 (Natural Habitat)
27:04

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

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 inChasing 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.

Jul 02, 2016
Episode 90 (A White Horse)
11:59

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm

Notes and Reading: * Most of the specific history of the White Horse was learned from "Sanctuary: the Inside Story of the Nation's Second Oldest Gay Bar" by David Olson, reprinted in its entirety on the White Horse's website. * "Gayola: Police Professionalization and the Politics of San Francisco's Gay Bars, 1950-1968," by Christopher Agee. * June Thomas' series on the past, present, and future of the gay bar from Slate a few years back. * Various articles written on the occasion of the White Horse's 80th anniversary, including this one from SFGATE.Com * Michael Bronski's A Queer History of the United States. * Radically Gay, a collection of Harry Hay's writing. * Incidentally, I watched this interview with Harry Hay from 1996 about gay life in SF in the 30's multiple times because it's amazing.

Music * We start with Water in Your Hands by Tommy Guerrero. * Hit Anne Muller's Walzer fur Robert a couple of times. * Gaussian Curve does Talk to the Church. * We get a loop of Updraught from Zoe Keating. * We finish on Transient Life in Twilight by James Blackshaw

Jun 16, 2016
Episode 89 (Family Snapshot)
12:34

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

SPOILERS BELOW

Music * First up is The Homeless Wanderer from Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou off of the Emahoy (Piano Solo) album, number 21 in the unimpeachable Ethiopiques series. * Then we get some of To the Right the Enemy, to the Left the Sea from Simon Rakham. * We finish with Stellify by Francesco Albanese.

Notes * The bulk of the non-technical details from this one comes from Charles Duke’s highly readable memoir, Moonwalker: The True Story of an Astronaut Who Found That the Moon Wasn’t High Enough to Satisfy his Desire for Success. He’s a wonderful story teller and an amiable literary companion. I’ll also note that the end of the book, the last few chapters or so, are really a wonderful, clear-eyed, deeply felt story of how, first, Dottie’s faith, and then Charles’ set the course of the rest of their lives. If that’s the sort of thing that interests you, I really do recommend the book.

Jun 04, 2016
Episode 88 (Open Road)
09:37

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Music

* Up top, looped, is the first bit of the great, Foreign Fields, by Kacy Hill. * Then we hear some of Sun Will Set, by Zoe Keating. * The song on the radio is Sonny Thompson’s Long Gone, as heard on the Mellow Blues album.

Notes * You can read all of the 1948 Green Book (and the rest of the Green Books) at the New York Public Library’s fantastic digital collection.

May 19, 2016
From the Vault: A Special Mother's Day Re-Run
09:24

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia.   In Toronto? Chicago? Milwaukee? Minneapolis? Come see a live Memory Palace show.   For Mothers' Day, this episode is a re-mixed version of a story originally released as Episode 10, in 2009. Back with new episodes next time out.   The two piano pieces that bookend the piece are by Max Richter from his “24 Postcards in Full Color” record. The one in the middle is “Maybelle” by Ida. It popped up on shuffle the other day and stunned me. I hadn’t heard it in years. It’s really lovely.

May 07, 2016
Episode 87 (Victory)
19:24

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Do you live in Toronto? Chicago? Milwaukee? Minneapolis? How about L.A.? Come see the Memory Palace live this May.

SPOILERS BELOW

Music * We hear Portrait Gallery from Luke Howard. * A smidgen of Julia Kent's lovely Dorval. * The incomparable Moondog's Gloving It pops up a couple times (as it tends to do around these parts). * Denmark by the Portland Cello Project rolls out for quite awhile. * John Lewis and Sacha Distel play the title track from their Afternoon in Paris album. * We hear To, from Zach Cooper's Styles Upon Styles. * There's a bit of Eine Kleine Gamelan Music from The Gamelan Son of Lion (seriously). * Ends on P, by Labradford.

NOTES * The classic text on Charlie Faust is Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times:the Story of the Early Days of Baseball as Told by the Men Who Played It, one of the key texts of early baseball history, first published in 1966. * The definitive resource on Faust is Gabriel Schecter, who's written his biography for SABR, the Society for American Baseball Research, and a monograph called Victory Faust: The Rube Who Saved McGraw's Giants. * I also want to point you to Rob Neyer's lovely piece on visiting Faust's grave.

Apr 23, 2016
Episode 86 (Finishing Hold)
17:29

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Do you live in Toronto? Chicago? Milwaukee? Minneapolis? How about L.A.? Come see the Memory Palace live this May.

SPOILERS BELOW

 

A Selected Bibliography * Dr. Sam: An American Tragedy by Jack Harrison Pollack * Summer of Shadows: a Murder a Pennant Race and the Twilight of the Best Location in the Nation, by Jonathan Knight, a very readable popular history book that pulls off a maybe-ill-advised trick of balancing the story of the Sheppard case with the Indians 1954 season surprisingly well. * Endure and Conquer, Sam Sheppard and F. Lee Bailey's version of things, written in 1966. Agenda aside, it's a fascinating read. Especially his account of the prison years. * Murder, Culture, and Injustice: Four Sensational Cases in American History, by Walter Hixson. * "Dr. Sam Sheppard The Ex-Convict who Revolutionized Professional Wrestling," from The Wrestler, May, 1970. * The bulk of the details from the last section of story are pulled from contemporary newspaper articles from the Mansfield News-Journal, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the Dover Daily Reporter, The Escanaba Daily Press, the Detroit Free Press, the Nashville Tennessean, The Tyrone Daily Herald, and The Washington Post

Music * We hear a snippet of Runaway by Ólafur Arnalds up top. * Then Debut by Christopher Ferreira. * A bit of Saturday Evening from Tomasz Bednarczyk * Ralph Van Raat plays John Adams' China Gates. * The recurring flute piece is Wasser-Wunder from Tibor Szemző and Group 180 * Deadmau5 plays Invidia. * Lawrence English plays Watching it Unfold. * The radio snippet is a bit of a cheat. It's from the World Series from that year. Only broadcast I could find from '54.

Apr 08, 2016
Episode 85 (AKA Leo)
14:11

Notes Research for this story was largely culled from contemporary newspaper accounts. Check back for a list.

Music * We start off (and end) with You by Nils Frahm. * We’ve got Krolock on the Sledge from Komeda’s great, great score to The Fearless Vampire Hunters. * Jett Rink Theme from Dimitri Tiomkin’s score to Giant. * A little loop of Bandstand, from Thomas Newman’s Little Children score. * And Opening, the vibes pieces, by Nathan Bartlett (making a return appearance). * Oh! And Meet the Neighbors from Marcelo Zarvo’s score to the lovely, Please Give. Which has become the go to soundtrack for “Some borderline scam artist has a crazy idea,” here on the Memory Palace.

Mar 25, 2016
Episode 84 (Homesteading)
07:28

Notes * I first came the story of Ross, North Dakota, while reading Muslims in America: A Short History, by Edward E. Curtis. * The full WPA interview with Mary Juma (and another member of the Ross community) can be found in Curtis’ The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States. * A contemporary account of the Ross community can be found here.

Music *The first bit is a loop from the opening of a song called I. Permafrost by a long-defunct band called Jerseyturnpike made up of a husband/wife duo from San Francisco. Years ago, I went to their wedding in New Jersey. There was a bounce house. It was beautiful. * The piece finishes up with the on-the-nose, This is Home, from Joel P. West’s soundtrack to the terrific film, Short Term 12.

Mar 09, 2016
Episode 83 (Overland)
14:33

Notes Nearly all the research for this one comes straight out of the highly-readable, Cap’n George Fred, G.F. Tilton’s 1925 autobiography. I got my copy at a used bookstore for $11. It’s easy to find on eBay and Amazon and whatnot. Totally money well spent.

Music * First up is Lacrymae by Melodium. * Then we mix in Every Mournful Breath by Slow Meadow * Meeting the Neighbors from Marcelo Zarvos’ score to the delightful, Please Give, makes a return appearance. * There’s Steve Reich’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” as performed by Smoke and Mirrors Percussion Ensemble. * Yes, that’s Immigrant Song, from Zeppelin III. * There’s a bit of Frost Trees from Lalo Schifrin’s extraordinary score to The Fox, from 1967. * End credits, as always, is Wien, by La Bradford. Buy their music, please.

Feb 25, 2016
Episode 82 (The Wheel)
19:37

Music * Julia Rovinsky plays Phillip Glass’ Metamorphosis I, from her album Dusk. * There’s an excerpt from Paul Drescher’s “Casa Vecchia,” from the Mirrors: Other Fire album. * There’s a chunk of Jose Gonzalez’ “Instrumental” from his Stay in the ShadeEP. * “Manny Returns Home” from Bernard Hermann’s score to The Wrong Man. * Branka Parlic plays Philip Glass’ “Mad Rush.” Twice. * “Quiet Fan for SK,” by P.G. Six. * Things get heavy to “Particles of the Universe (Heartbeats)” from Dan Romer and Ben Zeitlin’s score to Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Notes There’s a lot written about Robert Smalls, with a lot of contradictory information. I found Edward A. Miller’s Gullah Statesman: Robert Smalls from Slavery to Congress particularly useful to sorting it all out. Some other sources I consulted while researching this piece: * The Negro’s Civil War: How American Blacks Felt and Acted During the War for the Union by the Don, James McPherson * From Slavery to Public Service: Robert Smalls, 1839-1915, by Okon Uya. * And, for what it’s worth, Robert Smalls: The Boat Thief from RFK Jr.’s American Heroes Series is an enjoyable and surprisingly thorough version of the story for young readers, if you’re ever looking for that sort of thing.

Feb 11, 2016
Episode 81 (Below, from Above)
17:02

Music

* We start off with Wien, by Labradford. * The guys head out to the work site to Piano 3, from Jon Brion's score to Synecdoche, New York. * Then we hear a bit of Metamorphosis by Vladamir Ussachevsky before being bombarded with bits of Fast Pasture by Todd Reynolds. * There's a long stretch of Fog Tropes by Ingram Marshall * Followed by Fragment I by Library Tapes * Before ending on Berceuse, by Alexandra Sileski.

Notes * This is a story I've been wanting to do forever. In fact, falling in love with the story of the Brooklyn Bridge was one of the things that sent me on a path to doing The Memory Palace at all. So, most of this stuff I just kind of already knew. But it was a particular pleasure to go back and read David McCullough's masterful, lovely The Great Bridge. And to read a ton of contemporary accounts of its construction, particularly the New York Time's piece where the reporter heads down into the Brooklyn Caisson.

Jan 27, 2016
Episode (M): Gallery 742
11:36

A special episode of the Memory Palace commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to coincide with the opening of Rockefeller-Worsham Dressing Room in Gallery 742 of The American Wing and with Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age, an exhibition open now through May 1st, 2016.  

This piece is ideally consumed on site, in Gallery 742 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Written and Produced by Nate DiMeo of [The Memory Palace.](thememorypalace.us)

Musical score by Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf.

Executive Producer, Limor Tomer, General Manager of Concerts & Lectures, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dec 17, 2015
Episode 80 (Shore Leave)
12:35

Music* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.* First up is one of my very favorite recordings of all time: Andromeda from Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath. One of the finest bands ever assembled. * The sailors get grumpy to Sito from Pierre Favre and the European Chamber Ensemble. (The end drum loop comes from that piece too). * The guys run off to save the day to Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor doing the Green Groves of Erin.* That turns into, In Threes by Loscil.

Notes* Some of the details in here originate from a fine piece that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in May of 1944. You can read it here.* Other solid write ups: From The Book of New York The U.S.C.G. The Fire-fighter's Museum

Nov 19, 2015
Episode 79 (Artist in Landscape)
19:17

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.

Nov 12, 2015
Episode 78 (no. 116,842)
13:40

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Music* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.* First bit is called Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears by A Winged Victory for the Sullen from their self-titled album. * A brief bit of Occam II for Violin by Silvia Tarrozi scores the shuttle accident (non-NASA category). * We've got Eloy by Deaf Center. * Finish out with Call from Julianna Barwick's album Pacing.

Notes* There's no, proper, grown-up biography of Margaret Knight (as far as I've been able to locate). Though there are a handful of kid's books of varying degrees of charm and accuracy. She does pop up in a fair amount of "Lady Inventors!!!" collections. I read a bunch of these, but I want to single out one for its rigor: Autumn Stanley's Mothers and Daughters of Invention.

Nov 05, 2015
Episode 77 (Butterflies)
20:10

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Music* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.* First up is "Adultere bourgeoise," a piece from Paul Misraki's score to A Double tour.* Then we've got a piece called "Night Time Talk" by Stephen J. Anderson. * We hit For the Trees by Matmos a couple of times (the bit after: "the facts were these," or whatever I say)* Frank Durr's theme is P from that first LaBradford album, all those years ago. * The score for the House of Butterflies is called Fragment II by Library Tapes. It comes back again toward the end.* We also hear Invidia, by Deadmaus. That's the one we finish on.

Notes* Several essays were very helpful in researching this. Among those were: -http://pittmed.health.pitt.edu/jan_2001/butterflies.pdf-http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead/-http://www.wired.com/2013/01/looney-gas-and-lead-poisoning-a-short-sad-history/* I found William J. Kovarik's Dissertation, The Ethyl Controversy:How the News Media Set the Agenda for a Public Health Controversy over the use of Leaded Gasoline, 1924-1926, completely fascinating. * I relied on a number of papers from the W.H.O. when researching the health effects of lead and ozone depletion.* Here's the New York Times original expose about the House of Butterflies.* Finally, Thomas Midgely, IV's biography of his grandfather, From the Periodic Table to Production: The Life of Thomas Midgely, Jr., inventor of Leaded Gasoline and Freon Refrigerants, is, while unsurprisingly hagiographic, both well-researched and highly readable.

Oct 27, 2015
Episode 76 (Mary Walker Would Wear What She Wanted)
11:50

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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.

Oct 19, 2015
Episode 75 (The Ballad of Captain Dwight)
20:49

The finale of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* There's Branches, by Keith Kenniff

* Then The Big Ocean, from Ben Sollee's score to Maidentrip

* Then End of the World from Dan Romer's score to Beasts of the Southern Wild

* There's The Sage, pulling once more from the dope-as-hell self-titled album from the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

* There's a loop pulled from Worm is Green's song, Brand New Day

* There's The Light, from my pal Jimmy's wonderful project, The Album Leaf. Go buy their albums

* The piece at the end is the theme to Charlie Countryman from Christophe Beck's score.

* Oh: stuff gets heavy to Ghosts I from Nine Inch Nails.

* And finally (though out of order), playing over the fall-out from JFK's death is Now by Goldmund. 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes

A selected bibliography.

 

* We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, by Richard Paul and Steven Moss

* Voices of Contemporary and Historical Black Pioneers, Farmer & Shepard-Wynn, editors

* The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe

* Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Sciences, by Gulbert, Sawyer, and Fannin

* The All-American Boys, Walt Cunningham's memoir.

* The Ebony article mentioned in the piece can be read here.  

Aug 28, 2015
Episode 74 (Craning)
10:37

Episode 9 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* There're too pieces from Per Storby Jutbring's album, Dance of the Diaper Fairy. Snowbound, up top, and the title track at the end. 

 

Notes

* Hoo boy, have I read a ton of books about the space program, thanks to my stint on the writing staff of ABC's Astronauts' Wives Club last year.  So, most of this piece is just "stuff I now know."  However: read numerous contemporary newspaper accounts, readily available on 

* Also key was the lovely prologue to First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong, James R. Hanson's solid (if a little hagiographic) bio.  

Aug 20, 2015
Episode 73 (Notes on an Imagined Plaque to be Added to the Statue of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Upon Hearing that the Memphis City Counci has Voted to Move it and the Exhumed Remains of General Forrest and his Wife, Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest, from
13:33

Episode 8 of the 2015 Summer Season

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up (and returning at the end) is Sandra's Theme, from Heather McIntosh's fantastic score to Compliance, a very good, very disturbing movie. 

* We hit Frank Glazer leading Charles Ives' Largo for Clarinet, Violin and Piano a couple of times, framing...

* Runaway from Olafur Arnalds. 

 

Notes:

*The key to researching this episode turned out to be an article in The Journal of Southern History from 2001 by Court Carnay called, "The Contested Image of Nathan Bedford Forrest."

* Also particularly useful was Nathan Bedford Forrest: a Biography, by Jack Hurst. 

* As was Lynching in America: A History in Documents, compiled by Christopher Waldrep.

* Much of my information about the contents of the ceremony and speeches was gathered from this, the digitized journal and scrapbook of Charles Henry Niehaus, the sculptor of the monument. It's an extraordinary resource.   

* And let us all read Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases, by Ida B. Wells. And let's put her on the $10 while we're at it.

Aug 13, 2015
Episode 72 (Run-of-the-River)
11:10

Episode 7 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up (and returning a bit later) is Mr. Reincarnation from Alexander Desplat's dope-as-hell score to the fairly dope movie, Birth. 

* There's Lost Fur, Reprise from Carter Burwell's Where the Wild Things Are score. 

* Then there's a Charles Ives piece called Remembrance, played by Yesaroun' Duo, Eric Hewitt and Samuel Z. Soloman. 

* Then we hit Another Lifetime, dipping back in the Birth Score well.

* Finish up with Kierling/Doubt from Max Richters 24 Postcards in Full Color.  

Aug 03, 2015
Episode 71 (Zulu Charlie Romeo)
12:22

Episode 6 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up, A Nice Day from a truly wonderful album, The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet Complete Studio Recordings.

* Then there's Ohnono/Kiwembo, Andrew Bird's contribution to Tradi-Mods Vs. Rockers - Alternative Takes on Congotronics, Vol. 1 (which is a great rabbit hole to go down).

* Anita gets introduced to Hay Tantos Muertos, by Marissa Nadler.  

* Then falls in love to Hymn of Silence by Silencio

* Then there're two pieces from Nathan Johnson's score to The Day I Saw Your Heart. 

Jul 27, 2015
Episode 70 (Developments in the Design and Manufacture of American Menswear 1840-1860, a Fable)
11:25

Episode 5 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* The main mountain theme is Mort D'Eurydice, by Pierre Favre as played by the European Chamber Ensemble.

* There's a second string-y snippet of another by them called, Sito.

* We learn about beavers to Stereo Music for Acoustic Guitar, Buchla Music Box 100 (etc.)...Pt. 2 from Keith Fullerton Whitman's old Multiples album.

* The soft men are embodied by 3-Sized PF by Takahiro Kido from his Fairy Tale album.

* I roll out some more Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with Arioso from Red Hot & Bach to track the tall tales of the west.  

Jul 20, 2015
Episode 69 (Charlie: God of Rain)
16:51

Episode 4 of the 2015 Summer Season. 

 

 

 

 

Music

 

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* Charlie on the ladder is scored with the Prologue to the fantastic score to the film Birth, by Alexandre Desplat

* It ends with Opus 30, by Dustin O'Hallaran.  

* The upbeat, fair music is a piece called Love on Matthew Herbert's contribution to the Life in a Day soundtrack. 

* Don Stewart surveys the damage to 01 Ghosts I by NIN

Jul 13, 2015
Episode 68 (White Heat, White Lights)
09:23

Episode 3 of the Summer Season. 

 

Music

 

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* The opening loop is from Mr. Knight from Coltrane Plays the Blues, which you should own. 

* The violin piece is Occam II for Violin, a piece by Silvia Tarozzi, played by Pauline Oliveros.

* Next up is Mikuro's Blues from the mighty David S. Ware' mighty Go See the World.

* The amazing orchestral pieces is Triumph by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Nino from Fill the Heart- Shaped Cup 

* Finally, there's 13 Ghosts II by Nine Inch Nails from Ghosts I-IV

Jul 06, 2015
Episode 67 (Every Night Ever)
11:15

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.

Jun 29, 2015
Episode 66 (The Pirate Queen)
19:21

The music:

 

*Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's great, ridiculous Modesty Blaise score.

*The recurring piano theme is Les Marionettes by Zbigniew Preisner from his score to La Double Vie de Veronique (And, have you seen The Double Life of Veronique? Man, that's good)

*Eugenia's dreamy little theme is Just Saying by Jamie XX off of In Colour

*That organ track is called Organ Track by Nicolai Dunger from The Cloud is Learning

*Al Davis' dance theme is Watusi Bounce from Bo Diddly's Ride On/The Chess Masters 

*Helen watches Eugenia on the lawn at the Grand Hotel to the tune of To a Wild Rose by Patricia Rossborough from the collection Dainty Debutantes: Female Novelty Pianists of the 1930's (And, ugh. Dismissive much?)

*The Judge drones over one of Scott Watson's Six Solos for the Beginning Tuba Player from his 2008 album, Stepping Stones for Tuba, vol. 1 (like I need to tell you that)

*The ending piece is Mike Andrews lovely Library Chant from his score to Miranda July's lovely Me and You and Everyone we Know

 

Notes:

I first stumbled across this story in my torn up copy of New York: Confidential! Jack Lait and Lee Mortimer's truly mucky, muck-raking guide to the city's underbelly from 1951. I read a ton of old news paper articles about the case (the New York Times covered it extensively, if you want to go back and read those).

 

The two most useful books I came across in the process were Joshua Zeitz' Flapper and Lewis Erenberg's Steppin' Out: New York Nightlife and the Transformation of American Culture, 1890-1930

Jun 21, 2015
HIgh Above Lake Michigan: Special Platinum Edition
07:16

Something to listen to while you wait for the new season of The Memory Palace, launching June 21st with weekly episodes through the whole summer.

 

 

May 27, 2015
Forgotten Things: A Failed Pilot
02:30

Did a pilot for Fox Digital Studios some time ago. Didn't actually go anywhere (except for a film festival or two). 

May 07, 2015
Itty Bitty Bombs: Special Platinum Edition
06:03

While you wait until June 21st for the Season of the Memory Palace, here's a new version of an old favorite.

Apr 16, 2015
The Brothers Booth Schmancy Platinum Remaster Edition
08:11

While you wait until June 21st for the Season of the Memory Palace, here's a new version of an old favorite.

Apr 09, 2015
Episode 65 (Two-Dimensional Projectile Motion Problems)
13:23

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Mar 16, 2015
Episode 64 (The 7th Story)
12:57

Episode 64.

Jan 15, 2015
Episode 63 (Other Bodies)
14:56

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The music in this one: "An Ending, A Beginning" by Dustin O'Halloran. "I am Piano" by Peter Broderick. Two songs from the soundtrack to "With a Song in my Heart": American Medley, and That Old Feeling. The one at the end is "I'll Never be the Same." My version's on a collection called "Can't get out of this Mood." There are also a couple of other Jane things that I found on You Tube. The plane crash stuff is scored by a piece of Claudia Serne and Leopold Ross' soundtrack for "Broken City," called "Missing Pieces." Then there's a song by The Caretaker called "Stairway to the Stars."

I read a lot about Jane for this but nothing was as useful as Ilene Stone's lovely book,"Jane Froman: Missouri's First Lady of Song."

 

 

Oct 16, 2014
Episode 62 (We've Forgotten James Powell)
05:59

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The music pulled from "Blue Sands" by the Chico Hamilton Trio. 

Jul 17, 2014
Episode 61 (The Glowing Orbs)
08:18

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Jun 08, 2014
Episode 60 (400,000 Stars)
10:32

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Mar 23, 2014
Episode 59 (Harriet Quimby)
06:14

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Jan 31, 2014
Episode 58 (Shadowboxing)
10:56

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Dec 17, 2013
Episode 57 (I'm Still Alive)
09:17

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Oct 31, 2013
Episode 56 (The Rush of the River and the Roar of the Falls)
06:25

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There are two pieces of music in this: one is a tweaked loop from "To Here Knows When" by MBV. The other is "Stereo Music for Acoustic Guitar, Bucla Music Box 100, HP Model 236 Oscillator, Electric Guitars, and Computer - Part One" by Keith Fullerton Whitman. 

 

Sep 20, 2013
Episode 55 (O, How We Danced)
07:19

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Jul 30, 2013
Episode 54 (Origin Stories)
13:01

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Jun 29, 2013
Episode 53 (Guinea Pigs)
06:56

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May 08, 2013
Episode 52 (Six Stories)
13:21

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Apr 01, 2013
Episode 51 (Giants in Those Days)
12:48

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Mar 07, 2013
Episode 50 (Fifty Words Written After Learning That the Arctic Bowhead Whale Can Live up to 200 Years)
03:57

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Jan 29, 2013
Episode 49 (Dreamland)
06:55

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Dec 14, 2012
Episode 48 (Picture a Box)
14:47

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Nov 20, 2012
Episode 47 (The Rise and Fall of Rising and Falling) *NOTE: semi-adult language in this one.
10:14

Note: there is some semi-adult language in this one.

Oct 15, 2012
Episode 46 (After Party)
14:46

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Sep 14, 2012
Episode 45 (Heard, Once)
10:39

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Jul 26, 2012
Episode 44 (Distance)
05:35

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Mar 25, 2012
Episode 43 (Far Below Lake Michigan)
03:47

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Dec 06, 2011
Episode 42 (What They Saw)
08:00

This piece was originally commissioned by Slate.com.

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Nov 08, 2011
Episode 41 (Mary, Mary, and Mercy)
07:12

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Oct 28, 2011
Episode 40 (Crazy Bet)
10:22

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Sep 29, 2011
Episode 39 (Road Trip)
07:17

This piece was originally commissioned by Slate.com.

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Aug 23, 2011
Episode 38 (A Stretch)
09:36

This piece was originally commissioned by 99% Invisible.

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Jul 06, 2011
Episode 37 (Natural Curiosity)
09:23

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Nate

Jan 27, 2011
Episode 36 (Six Scenes in the Life of William J. Sidis, Wonderful Boy)
16:52

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Jan 07, 2011
Episode 35 (A Brief Eulogy for a Consumer Electronics Product)
04:21

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Oct 27, 2010
Episode 34 (Soldier Frum)
10:13

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Sep 20, 2010
Episode 33 (Lost Lobsters)
08:06

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Aug 25, 2010
Episode 32 (Gigantic)
09:39

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Jul 03, 2010
Episode 31 (Looking Up)
07:01

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Jun 15, 2010
Episode 30 (Nee Weinberg)
11:21

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May 11, 2010
Episode 29 (OMG!!! JKP!!!)
04:39

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Apr 14, 2010
Episode 28 (Babysitting)
07:37

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Apr 01, 2010
Episode 27 (The Sisters Fox)
12:15

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Mar 13, 2010
Episode 26 (Citius, Altius, Fortius, Horrendius)
09:25

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Feb 25, 2010
Episode 25 (I Have Not Yet Begun to Rot)
09:35

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Feb 01, 2010
Episode 24 (The Moon in the Sun)
07:53

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Jan 15, 2010
Episode 23 (400 Words for 79th Street)
08:23

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Dec 11, 2009
Episode 22 (You Know You’re Sick)
07:56

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Nov 20, 2009
Episode 21 (A Gas Gas Gas)
08:15

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Oct 28, 2009
Episode 20 (This Ungainly Fowl)
07:05

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Oct 16, 2009
Episode 19 (Dam!)
06:12

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Sep 28, 2009
Episode 18 (Dig Set Spike)
07:32

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Aug 28, 2009
Episode 17 (Plummeting Approval)
07:34

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Aug 07, 2009
Episode 16 (Secret Kitty)
06:25

No animals were harmed in the making of this episode.

Jul 24, 2009
Episode 15 (Presidente Walker)
08:10

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Jul 16, 2009
Episode 14 (The Messrs. Craft)
08:28

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Jul 06, 2009
Episode 13 (High Above Lake Michigan)
06:55

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Jun 16, 2009
Episode 12 (These Words, Forever)
05:47

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Jun 01, 2009
Episode 11 (The Brothers Booth)
07:46

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May 22, 2009
Episode 10 (International Brotherhood of Mothers)
06:47

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May 10, 2009
Episode 9 (Ben Franklin Death Ray)
04:51

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Apr 11, 2009
Episode 8 (The World Within the World)
07:51

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Mar 26, 2009
Episode 7 (Li’l Nipper)
04:41

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Mar 09, 2009
Episode 6 (The Saddest President)
05:40

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Feb 17, 2009
Episode 5 (Oh My!)
03:57

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Jan 30, 2009
Episode 4 (Itty Bitty Bombs)
05:24

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Jan 22, 2009
Episode 3 (High Societies)
05:44

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Jan 13, 2009
Episode 2 (Lost Pigeons)
05:23

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Dec 20, 2008
Episode 1 (Horrible Deaths)
08:08

This is the very first episode of The Memory Palace. Done a gajillion years ago to test out a theory about radio storytelling. You do not have to start here. In fact, maybe you shouldn't. It's a little grim. The rest are not. 

Nate

Nov 12, 2008