
248 episodes

the memory palace Radiotopia
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- History
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4.8 • 312 Ratings
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From public radio producer, Nate DiMeo, comes The Memory Palace, a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award and one of iTunes Best Podcast of 2015. Short, surprising stories of the past, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hysterical, often a little bit of both.
"The most potent pieces of audio being produced today." - The AvClub
thememorypalace.us
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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Episode 124: Junk Room
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
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. -
Episode 91: Natural Habitat
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. -
Episode 197: Kiddo
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 -
Episode 90: A White Horse
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 -
Episode 152: Let it Snow
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
Still Space by Satoshi Ashikawa. -
Episode 196: In France or in Heaven
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
Customer Reviews
Excellent
Thank you for re-releasing ‘White Horse’ every year. We need to remember.
Treasured Tales
An American anthology of beautifully narrated short stories that captivate your attention. Biographic snippets, that had they not been excavated, were perhaps destined to dissipate into the sands of time.
Join me as a silent witness on this time travel journey that offers the full spectrum of emotions.
Highly recommended
Amazing storytelling
These stories from history are beautifully written and told. This may just be the perfect podcast.