260 episodes

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

the memory palace Radiotopia

    • History
    • 4.8 • 6.6K Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    episode 76: Mary Walker Would Wear what she Wanted

    episode 76: Mary Walker Would Wear what she Wanted

    This episode was originally released in 2015.

    Proceeds from this episode are being donated to the Transgender Law Center.

    Music
    *Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score.
    *The piece opens with Rainfall, by David Darling and Michael Jones.
    *Her brief love story is scored by Nathan Johnson’s Penelope’s Theme from his score to The Brothers Bloom.
    *When she lands her first gig, we start Garde a Vue, and roll into Le Roi de coeur, from Chantal Martineau.
    * The vibraphone piece is “Opening” by Nathaniel Bartlett.
    * The recurring violin piece is called Geometria del Universo by the one-named Colleen.
    * It ends on Romain’s First Love, again by Georges Delarue, from his fantastic score to Promise at Dawn.

    Notes
    * I read a lot about Mary, but by far the most useful and most thorough works I came upon were: Sharon M. Harris’ Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical and A Woman of Honor: Dr. Mary E. Walker and the Civil War, in which author Mercedes Graf does a great job walking the reader through Walker’s unpublished memoir.

    The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

    • 14 min
    Episode 67: Every Night Ever

    Episode 67: Every Night Ever

    This episode was originally released in summer of 2015.

    Music

    * Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth’s Modesty Blaise score.
    * Then, we have the most obvious crickets/summer night song ever: the fantastic, perpetually delightful Green Arrow from Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One, which has soundtracked many crickety summer nights for me over the years.
    * The cops roll in to a loop of the very beginning of the epic Ptah, the El Daoud, the title track to Alice Coltrane’s album from 1970.
    * Then we have a mix of two improvisations from Charles Cohen’s “Brother I Prove You Wrong”: Cloud Hands and The Boy and the Snake Dance.
    * There’s a brief dip into Dorian, by Fang Island.
    * The jaunty accordion, typewriter thing is Biking is Better on Wintergatan’s eponymous album.

    Notes
    I researched this one primarily through old newspapers. The easiest place to find a number of them is to read the excellent site, The Museum of Hoaxes’ page on this event. Also: if you’re in the Atlanta area and ever want to have yourself a day, you can see the actual monkey. It’s preserved in a jar at the Georgia Bureau of Investigations museum in Decatur Georgia.

    The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts.

    • 12 min
    Episode 148: Safe Passage

    Episode 148: Safe Passage

    This episode was originally released in September of 2019.

    Music


    We start with the Opening of Craig Armstrong’s score to Far From the Madding Crowd.
    Glass Houses no. 13 from Ann Southam.
    Earring from Julia Wolf.
    Occam II for Violin from Eliane Radigue.
    Rearranging Furniture from Gabriel Yared’s score to By the Sea.
    A bit of Movement II from Martynov, “Come in!” by Vladimir Martynov.


    Notes


    Plenty written about the Willie D.. I found Roger Branfill-Cook’s Torpedo: the Most Revolutionary Weapon in Naval History to be particularly useful.
    I also enjoyed stumbling upon this day-by-day breakdown of F.D.R.’s Presidency.

    • 15 min
    Episode 94: Numbers (rebroadcast)

    Episode 94: Numbers (rebroadcast)

    This episode was originally released in August 2016

    Note
    * Here’s a link to watch an excerpt of the CBS news break.
    * One of my favorite things I came across while reading up on the lottery was this site, which includes a remarkable page where folks send in their personal stories of their draft experience.

    Music
    * Elevator Song by Keaton Henson (feat. Ren Ford)
    * Waves by Abby Gundersen

    • 12 min
    Nate's episode of the year 2022: In France or in Heaven

    Nate's episode of the year 2022: 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

    • 22 min
    Episode 203: The News from Thar

    Episode 203: The News from Thar

    The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

    Music


    Mongali as played by the mighty Tabu Ley Rochereu
    2nd Season by Takahiro Kido
    Ferde Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite: 5 Cloudburst as performed by the Detroit Symphony
    Nero’s Nocturne by Chilly Gonzalez. Man, that guy is great. You should buy his music.
    Opening Titles from Jeff Grace’s score to In the Valley of Violence
    Morris Visits Dr. Pratt from John Barry’s score to The Wrong Box
    Gift from Masakatsu Takagi’s score to The Boy and the Beast
    Nurse Janet from Ludwig Goransson’s score to Everything, Everythin


    Notes


    My favorite resources on frontier press stuff is by Barbara Cloud, The Coming of the Frontier Press, How the West was Really Won.

    • 11 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
6.6K Ratings

6.6K Ratings

billdebby ,

Great Gatsby

I came across this podcast last week. I looked back at your episodes and found the reading of the Great Gatsby. I had never read it. Very good story and the audio was very well done. Keep up the good work and thanks for the book.

NickKASU ,

Favorite

The episodes are interesting, well written, and delivered with a calm, mellow tone. Perfect for a commute to/from work and helps prevent some of the stress and anxiety of traffic. Always a great listen.

JennyLouWag81 ,

One of my favorites!

Every time I see an episode pop up in my feed, I’m excited to be taken away to another time and place. This show is right up there with This American Life! Thank you, Nate!

Top Podcasts In History

Goalhanger Podcasts
Wondery
Wondery
Sarah Marshall
Dan Carlin
Audioboom Studios

You Might Also Like

Roman Mars
Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
WNYC Studios
Helen Zaltzman
The Kitchen Sisters & Radiotopia
Benjamen Walker & Radiotopia

More by Radiotopia

Vox Media Podcast Network
Ear Hustle & Radiotopia
Avery Trufelman
Hrishikesh Hirway
Joshua Malina & Hrishikesh Hirway
Roman Mars