Once Upon a Time… at Bennington College

3.8 (1.7K)
SOCIETY & CULTURE
WEEKLY SERIES

It’s the groves of academe: Bennington College, the wildest and wickedest school in America. In the last great decade: the 1980s. Bennington class of ’86, class of Bret Easton Ellis, future writer of American Psycho and co-leader of the literary Brat Pack; Jonathan Lethem, future writer of Motherless Brooklyn and MacArthur Fellow; and Donna Tartt, future writer of The Secret History and Pulitzer Prize winner. All three are, at various times, infatuated and disappointed with one another, their friendships stimulated and fueled by rivalry as much as affection. And all three will mythologize Bennington in their fiction—fiction that, as we’ll discover, isn’t always fiction, is often fact—and thereby become myths themselves. From Vanity Fair's Lili Anolik, comes the latest installment in the Once Upon a Time… franchise, Once Upon a Time… at Bennington College. This is a tale of money, murder, madness, and—of course—genius. This is, too, a multi-dimensional expose: the secret history of The Secret History revealed; the secret history of three of the greatest writers of Generation X revealed; and the secret history of Generation X itself revealed. Once Upon a Time at...Bennington College is an Audacy original. This follows Season One: Once Upon a Time...in the Valley, a real-life psychological thriller about underage adult star Traci Lords.

See All Season 2 (16)

3.8

out of 5

1,728 Ratings

Interesting investigative journalism

Aug 21

ramjam2011

I enjoyed listening to the Traci Lords episodes in season 1. The hosts provided different perspectives on Traci’s life and the scandal. They also included a variety of interviews from different people in the industry. I don’t understand the negative reviews on season 1.
Vapid and careless host

Dec 7

Gleeben

First of all to the ajjn11 comment- what a stupid take. You think because a podcast you happen to like has a lower rating than you would give it, that the only explanation is that people must be jealous? And not that many other people feel differently than you (and clearly articulated why in the comments)? Grow up. Anyway, this host handled the topics carelessly and seems to take pleasure in irresponsibly analyzing things that she had no authority on.
Tedious

Nov 29

654258996

And vapid. Should be called Once Upon A Time in Fashion at Bennington. The entire podcast is about 80s clothes. Also the host’s baby voice is grating.
Exceptional

Nov 27

jellyeeii!

First I couldn’t stop reading The Secret History. Then I couldn’t stop listening to this podcast. Fascinating history of this group and I will now read Brett Easton Ellis and Jonathan Lethem.

It’s the groves of academe: Bennington College, the wildest and wickedest school in America. In the last great decade: the 1980s. Bennington class of ’86, class of Bret Easton Ellis, future writer of American Psycho and co-leader of the literary Brat Pack; Jonathan Lethem, future writer of Motherless Brooklyn and MacArthur Fellow; and Donna Tartt, future writer of The Secret History and Pulitzer Prize winner. All three are, at various times, infatuated and disappointed with one another, their friendships stimulated and fueled by rivalry as much as affection. And all three will mythologize Bennington in their fiction—fiction that, as we’ll discover, isn’t always fiction, is often fact—and thereby become myths themselves. From Vanity Fair's Lili Anolik, comes the latest installment in the Once Upon a Time… franchise, Once Upon a Time… at Bennington College. This is a tale of money, murder, madness, and—of course—genius. This is, too, a multi-dimensional expose: the secret history of The Secret History revealed; the secret history of three of the greatest writers of Generation X revealed; and the secret history of Generation X itself revealed. Once Upon a Time at...Bennington College is an Audacy original. This follows Season One: Once Upon a Time...in the Valley, a real-life psychological thriller about underage adult star Traci Lords.