
200 episodes

Phone Messages Paul Mason Fotsch
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 14 Ratings
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This podcast will play and discuss old phone answering machine messages. In the late 1980s, while living in Chicago, I selected certain messages to be duplicated using a double cassette recorder. Playing them back leads me to explore the intersection of personal history and the larger social and cultural context through the lens of an outdated technology.
New episodes will be posted Sundays.
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The Last Message
In 1977, the Fonz jumped over a shark on the TV show Happy Days. Although the show went on to have six more successful seasons, it became a symbol of decline and something that everything from baseball teams to podcasts should avoid.
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We're On For Thursday
In the initial years of Television, Game shows were a popular part of networks' prime time schedule until a 1959 investigation revealed they were often scripted. During the 1970s and 80s, daytime TV broadcast shows like Password and 25,000 dollar Pyramid. In 1999, Who Wants to be a Millionaire brought the genre back to network Prime Time.
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Gainesville
In the summer of 1990, a series of murders spread fear across Gainesville Florida. Nearly eighty years earlier, the collapse of a small bank led to tragedy on the lower east side of Manhattan.
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Thank You For Your Attention
In the mid 1990s, a Destroy All Music Festival held at the Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in Wicker Park featured bands like Carnival de Carnitas, Scissor Girls, Blowhole and DragKing.
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Santa Claus
Batteries Not Included in Lincoln Park, had a brief life in the 1980s showcasing scrappy young bands ready to surprise. The 1980s club Gaspars in Lakeview, became Schubas and continues to host live music several days a week.
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Not Ready for Marriage
In the 1920s, JR Stewart was one of many companies that manufactured banjo ukuleles during the first uke boom. Ukes became popular again in recent decades thanks in part thanks to Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.
Customer Reviews
Great podcast
Paul’s podcast has it all: rashomon style recollecting, intimate memories, outdated technology, and analog recordings. I’ve listened to a bunch of episodes so far and enjoyed them all.
Fun !
Exceptional content, interesting and fun to listen to!