the memory palace

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the memory palace

2 DAYS AGO

Introducing Charlie’s Place: A Cultural Haven That Brought People Together Through Music

Here’s a preview from a new podcast, Charlie’s Place. How did a Black man in the 1940s Jim Crow South open a club where Black and white people danced together? Charlie’s Place was revolutionary, and that meant it was dangerous. Host Rhym Guissé explores the unbelievable true story of Charlie Fitzgerald, a mysterious Black businessman whose nightclub became an unlikely site of integration in Myrtle Beach. Charlie broke down racial barriers through the power of music and dance, hosting some of the greatest musicians of our time: Little Richard, Count Basie, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and many more. But who was Charlie? How did he rise to power? And what price did he pay for achieving the impossible—an integrated club in the Jim Crow South? This is a story of joy and passion that erupted into violence and changed a community forever. Listen to Charlie’s Place wherever you get your podcasts. Binge the entire season early and ad-free by subscribing to Pushkin+. Sign up on the Charlie's Place show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

37 min
3 JUL

Episode 233: Nan + Warren

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Jobs, Winter Memory, and Slow Flood by Dark Dark Dark Carla et Roger aux sports l'hiver from the score to Le bel age by Georges Delareau Mt Baker by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith All Creatures will Drink Joy by American Cream Band Every High (Piano Solo) by Kyson Vals Efter Lasse I Lyby by Lofoten Cello Duo Notes You can read The President's Daughter here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

23 min
12 JUN

A White Horse

.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. 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. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

15 min
15 MAY

Episode 232: Oh, Herbert Morrison

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. On June 13th, 2025, I'll do a special, one-night-only live show at the Tribeca Audio Festival in New York City, joined by two of the audiobook's readers: Carrie Coon and Lili Taylor! www.thememorypalace.us/events. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Pale by Akira Koresuma The Things Left Unsaid by Caleb Burhans VIII. Juliet by Matthew Bourne Dream House III: After Dust from Mary Ellen Child's beautiful album, Ethel. Here I Am, Two Warships, by Spirituals Notes You can listen to the whole, original recording here, and an enhanced, speed corrected version, here. One of the best places to learn about Herb's life is this documentary. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

23 min
1 MAY

Episode 231: On Dexter Avenue

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-May, 2025, I'm doing a Midwestern book tour, with stops in Minneapolis, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, and Chicago. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music That Moment by Antonymes Nocturne by Sololi Watching it Unfold by Lawrence English Notes You can access the self-produced history of the Sophie Bibb Chapter of the UDC here. The Alabama Encyclopedia site does a nice job with some of this stuff. You might want to check out Caroline Janney's book, Burying the Dead but Not the Past: Ladies' Mermorial Associations and the Lost Cause. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

18 min
17 APR

Episode 230: Helen Hulick Takes the Stand

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Hallway Rug and a bit of Watering Plants by Omni Gardens Dripping Icicles from Lalo Schiffrin's great score to The Fox. Girl Talk by the Howard Roberts Quartet Jules et Therese from the score to Jules et Jim Franz Waxman's main title theme to Woman of the Year Your Love from the legend, Frankie Knuckles Then we go back and forth between Joe Morello's Timeless and Lara Downes playing Leonard Bernstein's Big Stuff. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

16 min
3 APR

Episode 229: Teammates

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music La Copla from Atahualpa Yupanqui Yes, Brick by Brick and Waende by Caeys Space in Between by Federico Albanese Kieke by Shida Shihabi Notes My favorite work on Mays is James Hirsch's glorious biography, Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend. I also recommend John Klima's Willie's Boys, about the Black Baron's 1948 season. If you're looking to get more context for the city during those years, I'd recommend Diane McWhorter's history, Carry Me Home. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

16 min
20 MAR

Episode 228: Free Time

Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. 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, you can make a donation at Radiotopia.fm/donate. I have recently launched a newsletter. You can subscribe to it at thememorypalacepodcast.substack.com. Music Two from Lambert: Fremd and The Open Plantasia from Mort Garson's amazing, ridiculous album of the same name. Two from Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans' score to Christine: Paranoia and Newsroom. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

12 min

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Crime stories from the Indian Sub-Continent. A curated series of audio fiction podcasts from award-winning creators Ayeesha Menon, Nadir Khan and John Scott Dryden recorded in Mumbai, India. Each season is released in one drop and all episodes are ad-free. Season 1 is the Sony Award-winning ten-part thriller, "Q&A" starring Anand Tiwari based on the best-selling novel by Vikas Swarup. Mumbai Crime is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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DRAMA
The Kitchen Sisters Present… Stories from the b-side of history. Lost recordings, hidden worlds, people possessed by a sound, a vision, a mission. Deeply layered stories, lush with interviews, field recordings and music. From powerhouse NPR producers The Kitchen Sisters (The Keepers, Hidden Kitchens, The Hidden World of Girls, The Sonic Memorial Project, Lost & Found Sound, and Fugitive Waves). "The Kitchen Sisters have done some of best radio stories ever broadcast" —Ira Glass. The Kitchen Sisters Present is produced in by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) in collaboration with Nathan Dalton and Brandi Howell and mixed by Jim McKee. A proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
From Samin Nosrat (chef and author of the cookbook Salt Fat Acid Heat) and Hrishikesh Hirway (creator and host of the podcast Song Exploder), Home Cooking is a mini-series to help you figure out what to cook—and keep you company—during the quarantine. If you need help or just want some creative inspiration for your kitchen, we’ve got you covered. Do you have a quarantine cooking question, story, or anxiety you want to share with us? Send a voice memo to us at alittlehomecooking@gmail.com, or call us at 201-241-COOK.

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FOOD
Look under your seat… it’s a new show! We’re taking you back to weekdays at 4pm with Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Riguer, two historians, best friends, and Oprah obsessives. Now, it’s time to pour through the archives to relive and rehash the most iconic episodes from the decades-long run of the Oprah Winfrey Show. From book club controversies to diet fads and wars with the meat industry, conversations about police brutality and sexuality… and of course big giveaways… YGAP! will treat Oprah as the historical, social, and political force that she is — and have have lots of fun. As Kellie, Leah and their guests recap each show, they’ll put the show in critical context, and ultimately explain why Oprah will always be the Queen of Talk.

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SOCIETY & CULTURE
On “In The Scenes Behind Plain Sight,” former “Behind Plain Sight” co-stars Ian and Mike rewatch each episode of the hit 2002 - 2007 TV show, sharing behind the scenes stories and secrets and talk about what’s going on in their lives now.

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COMEDY
Named one of the Best podcasts of 2023 by the New York Times, Vogue, and Vulture Weight For It is a three time Podcast Academy Award winning narrative podcast that explores the ways we think about our bodies. Through personal storytelling and deep dive interviews, host Ronald Young Jr. unpacks the navigation of the world around him that just doesn't seem to fit.

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DOCUMENTARY