If you think the current American political climate is contentious, then you need to take a step back and take a close look at American history.
The most controversial, divisive, and probably corrupt election in US history was the election of 1876. It’s an event that has been largely forgotten by most Americans today.
Learn more about the election of 1876, and why we never had a President Tilden, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Welcome to Life Raft! We’re your survival guide for a changing planet.
If you’re like us, climate change leaves you with a lot of questions, and they’re not about the rate of ocean warming — they’re about practical things that affect our everyday lives.
Each episode explores a different question about climate change, submitted by a real person.
“How can I reduce flooding in my neighborhood?”
“Have I had my last good oyster?”
Hosts Lauren Malara and Travis Lux talk to scientists, oyster shuckers, tree planters, and a whole host of other people who are asking big questions and working on solutions. And they do it all with a little bit of levity.
In other words: climate change is scary, but Life Raft is not.
Episodes come out every two weeks. First up: extreme heat.
Amanda Holmes reads Elizabeth Bishops’s last poem, “Sonnet.” Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.
This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.
In Episode 6: A battle for the GOP in Idaho. Plus: "confrontational politics." What it is and how the Dorr brothers are popularizing it. And an unexpected update about the Dorr family.
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.”
In 1867, United States Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with the Empire of Russia to purchase the territory of what would be called Alaska.
The United States purchased it for 2 cents an acre.
At the time it was called one of the worst deals in American History. Today, it is considered the greatest bargain of all-time.
Learn more about the purchase of Alaska on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
In this extra-special, extra-long episode we explore T.S. Eliot’s famous love song.
This poem continues with the horror theme and begins with an epigraph, or six-line quotation, in the original Italian from Canto 27 of Dante’s Inferno. References to Dante pop-up a lot in Eliot’s work.
The epigraph hints that the poem that follows is about to describe some type of hell.
On April 30, 1943, a Spanish fisherman came across the floating body of Major William Martin of the Royal Marines. Handcuffed to the corpse was a satchel with top-secret plans for the Allied invasions of Greece and Sardinia.
With the information gathered from this intelligence, the Germans moved their troops into position to counter the planned landing.
...and Allies couldn’t have been happier.
On May 28, 1828, a 16-year-old boy mysteriously appeared in Nuremberg, Bavaria. He had a letter in his hand and could only speak a few words. No one knew where he came from, who his parents were, or why he was there.
Five years later, just as mysteriously as he appeared, he was found murdered.
His tale made him one of the most talked-about celebrities in 19th century Europe.
Learn more about the curious case of Kaspar Hauser on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
It the one of the world’s most commonly used condiments. Even though it is most often associated with the United States, it has a pedigree that is extremely ancient and global.
I am of course talking about ketchup.
Learn more about this common condiment, and its extremely ancient and interesting history, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
