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.
Ever since humans looked up at the stars they noticed that a few of them were different from the others. They moved.
These moving points of light were planets. One of those points of light was, of course, the planet Mars.
This first observation of Mars by early humans slowly and inexorably lead to landing robots on the surface of the planet.
Learn more about our exploration of Mars on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Rob explores grunge supergroup Temple of the Dog’s signature single “Hunger Strike” by discussing the rise of Seattle as the center of the alternative rock scene, the band’s fixation with darkness, and the genre’s complex relationship with ’70s nostalgia.
This episode was originally produced as a Music and Talk show available exclusively on Spotify. Find the full song on Spotify or wherever you get your music.
Everyone knows flood insurance isn’t the most exciting topic. What this episode presupposes is: maybe it should be?
It’s not difficult to imagine a future in which climate change-fueled storms and floods depopulate our coastal communities. Generations of Louisianians have been moving northward for decades, after all.
But could the rising cost of flood insurance actually drive people away sooner? That’s the question we’re exploring this week. We talk to two experts who explain the history of flood insurance in the United States, where the program is headed, and why flood insurance affordability is a political problem.
Early 19th century London was a dangerous, dirty, dingy place with tons of poverty and a lot of drinking.
Alcoholism was common and excessive drinking, especially amongst lower-income people in London, was the norm, not the exception.
All of that alcohol had to be produced, which meant lots of breweries and lots of beer.
All of these trends came crashing home on the day of October 17, 1814, in one horrific disaster.
Today, nearly all of the world's smartphones are powered by Android. Which means Google is the gatekeeper to the Internet for billions of people. The story of Android is the story of how Google became so big. And it started with an existential threat. With Google in survivalist mode.
Amanda Holmes reads Rumi’s poem, “The Guest House,” translated by Coleman Barks. 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.
