Recall This Book

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31 RTB Books in Dark Times 7: Vanessa Smith (JP) May 14, 2020

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U. Sydney professor Vanessa Smith–author of Intimate Strangers, and also of this lovely short piece about Marion Milner–joins John to discuss her pandemic reading. She praises a Milner (quasi)travel book, but she also makes the case for M F K Fisher and a book about the glories of hypochondria. Then the old friends share their … Continue reading "31 RTB Books in Dark Times 7: Vanessa Smith (JP)"

30 In Focus: Nir Eyal on (the deontology of) “Challenge Testing” a Covid Vaccine May 07, 2020

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On April 27, David D. Kirkpatrick reported in the N. Y. Times that Oxford’s Jenner Center is close to starting human trials on a potential Covid-19 vaccine. According to Kirkpatrick, “ethics rules, as a general principle, forbid seeking to infect human test participants with a serious disease. That means the only way to prove that … Continue reading "30 In Focus: Nir Eyal on (the deontology of) “Challenge Testing” a Covid Vaccine"

29 RTB Books in Dark Times 6: Kim Stanley Robinson (JP) Apr 30, 2020

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Kim Stanley Robinson, SF novelist of renown, has three marvelous trilogies: The Three Californias, Science in the Capital and, most celebrated of all, Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars. His honors include many Locus, Hugo and Nebulae awards. Small fact connecting him to RTB-land: he completed a literature PhD directed by Frederic Jameson with … Continue reading "29 RTB Books in Dark Times 6: Kim Stanley Robinson (JP)"

28 RTB Books in Dark Times 5: Seeta Chaganti (JP) Apr 23, 2020

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Seeta Chaganti, medievalist extraordinaire (Strange Footing and The Medieval Poetics of the Reliquary) joins John to discuss–wait for it–data visualization in the work of W. E. B. Du Bois, philosopher, visionary and scholar. They go on to discuss past traditions that merge text and image in ways that foreshadow modern visualization practices, and close with beloved books that … Continue reading "28 RTB Books in Dark Times 5: Seeta Chaganti (JP)"

27 RTB Books in Dark Times 4: David and John Plotz Apr 16, 2020

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Aside from being John’s (younger, brighter, handsomer–and definitely hirsuter) brother, what has the inimitable David Plotz done lately? Only hosted “The Slate Political Gabfest“, written two books (“The Genius Factory” and “The Good Book“) and run the amazing travel website, Atlas Obscura. So, what is he reading? The fully absorbing “other worlds” of Dickens and … Continue reading "27 RTB Books in Dark Times 4: David and John Plotz"

26 RTB Books in Dark Times 3: Plotz/Ferry Apr 09, 2020

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For the third installment of Books in Dark Times, inspired by our global moment, Elizabeth and John turned inward. We started with a book that you might not think would be so comforting, Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year (1722) about the plague in London “during the last Great Visitation in 1665.” Probably … Continue reading "26 RTB Books in Dark Times 3: Plotz/Ferry"

25 RTB Books in Dark Times 2: Stephen McCauley (JP) Apr 02, 2020

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On March 20th, John talked to Stephen McCauley, author of such brilliant comic novels as Object of My Affection (also a Jennifer Aniston movie) and most recently My Ex-Life. Steve brings light to dark corners in this the second installment of Books in Dark Times. He sings the praises of Charles Dickens, of Anthony Trollope … Continue reading "25 RTB Books in Dark Times 2: Stephen McCauley (JP)"

24 RTB Books in Dark Times 1: Alex Star (JP) Mar 26, 2020

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“Books In Dark Times” takes its inspiration from Hannah Arendt’s Men in Dark Times, which proposes “That even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination may well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and … Continue reading "24 RTB Books in Dark Times 1: Alex Star (JP)"

23 Recall This Buck 1: Chris Desan on Making Money (EF, JP) Mar 20, 2020

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This is the first of several RTB episodes about the history of money. We are ranging from the earliest forms of labor IOUs to the modern world of bitcoin and electronically distributed value. Our idea is that forms matter, and matter in ways that those who profit from those forms often strive to keep hidden. … Continue reading "23 Recall This Buck 1: Chris Desan on Making Money (EF, JP)"

9* Women in Political Power, with Manduhai Buyandelger (Rebroadcast, in honor of Elizabeth Warren) Mar 15, 2020

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As we prepare our mini-season on the history of money (Recall This Buck) we dive back into the archives for our very first Rebroadcast. And our first asterisk, too: was that the right symbol to use? The egress of Elizabeth Warren from the race for the Democratic nomination saddened us: after all, we both belong … Continue reading "9* Women in Political Power, with Manduhai Buyandelger (Rebroadcast, in honor of Elizabeth Warren)"

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