American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Episode 25: James C. Scott, The Art of Not Being Governed (3/3)

The finale of my review of James C. Scott's "The Art of Not Being Governed". This part of the book focuses on kinship and the role of leadership in millenarian movements as part of the strategy of state evasion. 

Next up: James Scott's modern classic, "Against the Grain" 

Episode 24: James C. Scott, The Art of Not Being Governed (2/3)

Part two of my review of James C. Scott's history of upland Southeast Asia (Zomia), from the perspective of those who intentionally evaded states. In this part of the book we move from the strategies of states to the strategies of evasion. What do you think the most useful strategies for evading states in today's world. 

Episode 23: James C. Scott, The Art of Not Being Governed (1/3)

The first part of my review of Scott's masterpiece on upland Southeast Asia, The Art of Not Being Governed. So many of his ideas come together into this indispensable book. In this first part we will learn about Zomia and the creation of geographical spaces outside of the machinations of states. 

Episode 22: James C. Scott, Seeing Like A State (3/3)

The finale of my review of James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State. The last few chapters of this excellent book explore the experiments in agrarian high modernism and then explores metis, or embedded knowledge and the capacity of resilience against the designs of high modernist states. 

Episode 21: James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State (2/3)

In part two of my review of Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott, I explore the dangers of high modernism and some of the case studies of failed experiments he examines. What is your favorite example of high modernism going wrong, besides the opening night of The Rites of Spring?

Episode 20: James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State (1/3)

As we continue our exploration of the works of James C. Scott, we move from the arts of resistance to the designs of a state with faulty vision. How do states see, how do they envision transformation, and how do these two things together fail us? 

Episode 19: James C. Scott, "Domination and Arts of Resistance" (2/2)

In this episode I complete my reading of James C. Scott's DOMINATION AND THE ARTS OF RESISTANCE: HIDDEN TRANSCRIPTS. In this section we focus on the workings of infrapolitics and the question of how they become visible and possible unstoppable. 

James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance (1/2)

In this episode I review Domination and the Arts of Resistance by James C. Scott, exploring the concepts of public and hidden transcripts. What can we gain by looking at the world through the lens of hidden transcripts?

Episode 17: James C. Scott, Weapons of the Weak (3/3)

The conclusion to my study of James C. Scott's Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. 

Episode 16: James C. Scott, Weapons of the Weak (2/3)

This episode is part 2 of my review of James C. Scott's examination of a Malay village, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. It is a slow burn but it builds toward an impressive interpretation. 

Episode 15: James C. Scott, "Weapons of the Weak" (1/3)

We get to know a Malay village down to its last family through James C. Scott's anthropological study Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. What are the styles of everyday resistance in your workplace?

Episode 14: James C. Scott, The Moral Economy of the Peasant (2/2)

In this episode I finish reading The Moral Economy of the Peasant by the brilliant James C. Scott. So what do you think of this book and its ongoing relevance? 

Episode 13: James C. Scott. "The Moral Economy of the Peasant" (1/2)

I begin my deep dive into the works of James C. Scott with The Moral Economy of the Peasant. In this work, Scott explores the subsistence ethic and the consequences of it for peasant resistance. Is it just me or were lots of people writing about peasants in the 1970s and 1980s?

Episode 12: Karl Jacoby, Crimes Against Nature

As we prepare for our deep dive into James C. Scott's work, we finish up with a related text, Karl Jacoby's Crimes Against Nature. This is one of the more fascinating looks at the history of conservation and helps us ask the question, for just who were the conservationists conserving, and did they do a better job that the people who made their living in spaced deemed "wilderness".

Episode 11: Catherine McNeur, "Taming Manhattan" (2/2)

The conclusion to my review of TAMING MANHATTAN by Catherine McNeur. What can we learn from this book about making more environmentally sustainable cities? Will the drive to improve urban environments always lead to the class wars and conflicts discussed in this book?

Episode 10: Catherine McNeur, Taming Manhattan (1/2)

Catherine McNeur writes a wonderful account of environmental conflicts and how they became class conflicts and fights over the boundaries between rural and urban in antebellum Manhattan. TAMING MANHATTAN is a great starting place for reading engaging and relevant environmental history,

Episode 9: Mark Fiege: Republic of Nature (4/4)

The completion of my review of the lengthy but excellent book "The Republic of Nature" by Mark Fiege. Strongly recommended. What did you think?

Episode 8: Mark Fiege: Republic of Nature (3/4)

Part three of my review of Mark Fiege's Republic of Nature covers a wide swap of American history in just a couple of chapters. One explores the environmental history of the transcontinental railroad and the other looks at Los Alamos and the scientists who developed the atomic bomb. While I may have wanted a bit more on industrial America, it is hard to fault a book this solid in its interpretive lens. 

Episode 7: Mark Fiege: Republic of Nature (2/4)

Part two of my review of Mark Fiege's excellent book The Republic of Nature. In this chapter we focus on the mid-nineteenth century with a chapter on the ecology of the cotton economy, the ecology of Lincoln's worldview, and the ecology of Gettysburg. What aspects of history do you think could we use to explore themes of environmental history?

Episode 6: Mark Fiege, The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States (Part1/4)

The first part of my four episode review of Mark Fiege's excellent The Republic of Nature: An Environmental History of the United States. In the first two chapters we explore the environmental context of witch trials, religious dissent, the American Revolution, Monticello, and the Puritan encounter with indigenous people. 

Episode 5: Turner and Isenberg, Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump (2/2)

Part two of my review of Republican Reversal, a book exploring the fate of the Republican commitment to federal conservation laws. I found it pretty bleak, but maybe there is some hope. I do think the book needs an update to consider the last 8 years. 

Episode 4: Turner and Isenberg, Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump (1/2)

The first part of my review of The Republican Reversal: Conservatives and the Environment from Nixon to Trump. While this book is quite short, it is essential reading to understand the conservatives turn away from conservation. Some of the "whys" are obvious but quite a few are surprising. 

Episode 3: Mark Smith: Smell of Battle, the Taste of Siege

In this episode I look at a sensory history of the American Civil War. It is a fascinating way to look at the past, but like so many sensory experiences, this one left me wanting more. What do you think of looking at the past through the realm of the senses?

Episode 2: Jeremy Zallen: American Lucifers (Part 2/2)

The second part of my review of the excellent history book American Lucifers: The Dark History of Artificial Light. Who are today's Lucifers and is their story still dark?

Episode 1: Jeremy Zallen: American Lucifers, The Dark History of Artificial Light (Part 1/2)

To start this new phase of this podcast, I am reviewing one of the best history books I read in the past year, Jeremy Zallen's American Lucifers, a book about capitalism, labor, violence, and the environment and how they all interrelate. Let me know what you think of the ideas of the book and if you read the book, let me know what you think I got wrong. 

Soft Reboot Episode

The episode in which I explain where this podcast will go from here, so as not to overwhelm me and my capacities. 

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 103: No Time For Love (Part 1)

This is the first episode of my review of Robert Heinlein's longest work, NO TIME FOR LOVE. We are reintroduced to an old friend, Lazarus Long, as he reflects on his life (but maybe not enough reflection for this reader).

Episode 663: James Baldwin: The Devil Finds Work (1976)

THE DEVIL FINDS WORK was James Baldwin's final major essay and a fascinating exploration of how he has seen and experienced American (and some non-American) films over the course of his life, finding the problem at the heart of America's major cultural export.

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 102: I Will Fear no Evil (Part 4)

The finale of my review of I WILL FEAR NO EVIL by Robert A. Heinlein. Next up, NO TIME FOR LOVE.

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 101: I Will Fear No Evil (Part 3)

Part three of my thoughts on I WILL FEAR NO EVIL by Robert A. Heinlein.

Episode 662: James Baldwin: No Name in the Street

My quick review of James Baldwin's excellent essay NO NAME IN THE STREET. The last 20 pages of this essay are particularly hard hitting and remain meaningful.

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 100: I Will Fear No Evil (Part 2)

Boy does this book drag on. Lots of good stuff, but Robert A. Heinlein seems to take his precious time getting there. Is I WILL FEAR NO EVIL a sign of what will come later in his works?

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 99: I Will Fear No Evil (Part 1)

Part 1 of 4 of my review of I WILL FEAR NO EVIL by Robert A. Heinlein. I wonder how other recent readers of this book look back on it. Obviously the novel deals with gender in sexuality in transgressive ways, but it also seems very old fashioned in its approach. 

Episode 661: James Baldwin: The Fire Next Time (1963)

Brief thoughts on James Baldwin's 1963 essay THE FIRE NEXT TIME and its place in American history. 

Episode 660: James Baldwin: Nobody Knows My Name, More Notes of a Native Son

In this episode I review James Baldwin's collection of essays NOBODY KNOWS MY NAME: MORE NOTES OF A NATIVE SON. These essays bridge his time in Paris to his engagement in the discourse on civil rights in America. 

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 98: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Part 3)

The conclusion to my review of THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS. In the next episode we will being a four part dive into I WILL FEAR NO EVIL. 

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 97: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Part 2)

Part two of my review of THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert A. Heinlein. In this episode, I cover the revolt on the Moon and some of the political theory at the heart of the novel, both the spoken and unspoken parts. 

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 96: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Part 1)

Part 1 of 3 of my review of THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, one of Heinlein's most famous and well-regarded books. Often billed a libertarian novel, is it better to look at it as anti-colonial? Can it be both? 

Episode 659: James Baldwin: Notes of a Native Son

We begin our look at James Baldwin's essays with his 1955 collection NOTES OF A NATIVE SON. Some of the topics explored in this collection are black representation in culture, expat life in Paris, and political life in Harlem. 

Robert A. Heinlein Book Club: Episode 95: Farnham's Freehold (Second Half)

The second part of my review of FARNHAM'S FREEHOLD by Robert A. Heinlein. I really struggled with this book, but think it reveals the fundamental problem with Heinlein's relationship with the American past.