Some scientists see aging as a disease that can be cured—but what would immortality mean for humanity?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brought to you by... - 8: The Jell-O Curse
Allie Rowbottom's life is built on a Jell-O fortune, just like it was for the lives of her mother and her grandmother. But along with the wealth from America's most famous dessert, there came a curse. Now the most recent heir to the Jell-O fortune, Allie tries to make sense of her family history, and all the strange ways Jell-O showed up in their lives. In the process, she learns what the curse means to her.
PLUS: Household Name Uncut on all the weird things we used to put in Jell-O molds.
Allie Rowbottom is the author of The Jell-O Girls, A family history, which you can find here, or at your favorite bookstore.
Agnus: The Late Antique, Medieval, and Byzantine Podcast - Dr. Sarah Baechle on Chaucer Manuscripts
Dr. Sarah Baechle joins Glenn to talk about the notes in the manuscript margins of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Learn all about medieval manuscripts and book production, Middle English, and what we can learn from the notes on the sides of book pages.
Join the conversation on the Claytemple Forum.
Support the show by becoming a patron on Patreon.
Up next: Masculinity in the Gothic War with Dr. Michael Stewart.
the memory palace - Episode 131 (Lost Locusts)
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.
Undiscovered - I, Robovie
A decade ago, psychologists introduced a group of kids to Robovie, a wide-eyed robot who could talk, play, and hug like a pro. And then, the researchers did something heartbreaking to Robovie! They wanted to see just how far kids’ empathy for a robot would go. What the researchers didn’t gamble on was just how complicated their own feelings for Robovie would get.
The Nod - Bleeding and Healing
For years, KalaLea experiences painful periods that keep her in bed for days at a time. As she tries to figure out what’s happening to her body, she discovers that she has a condition that disproportionately affects Black women. This is the story of how KalaLea listened closely to her own body and made her doctors listen, too. This week’s story comes from the Bodies podcast. After the show, KalaLea joins Brittany in the studio to share advice on how to better advocate for your own wellness.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Curious City - Daley vs. Little Italy: Did The Mayor Drop UIC On The Neighborhood Out Of Spite?
Why did Richard J. Daley push for the UIC campus to rise from the heart of a long-standing ethnic neighborhood? In this special Curious City presentation, reporter Monica Eng examines the pervasive suspicion that the mayor’s choice rose from a political spat or — even worse — from disdain for the Italian-American community. Click here for the full story.
Curious City - Daley vs. Little Italy: Did The Mayor Drop UIC On The Neighborhood Out Of Spite?
Why did Richard J. Daley push for the UIC campus to rise from the heart of a long-standing ethnic neighborhood? In this special Curious City presentation, reporter Monica Eng examines the pervasive suspicion that the mayor’s choice rose from a political spat or — even worse — from disdain for the Italian-American community. Click here for the full story.
Crazy/Genius - How Will Self-Driving Cars Change the World?
Over the last 130 years, the automobile shaped the modern world—it redefined the city, filled the suburbs, and revved up pop culture. With autonomous technology, everything about our relationship to cars is about to change. Then what?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brought to you by... - 7: The Bodies at the Brooks Brothers
There's a Brooks Brothers store across the street from the World Trade Center in New York. Shortly after the attacks on September 11, a young doctor named Sandeep Jauhar headed to ground zero to help. He ended up at the store, which was transformed into a makeshift morgue. Suddenly, he’s put in charge, which was the last thing he wanted. This is a story of ties and white collared shirts, and how heroism is often improvised.