new set

Joining John and Andy this week are Natasha McEnroe, the Keeper of Medicine at the Science Museum in London, and novelist Lissa Evans, Backlisted's old friend and the show's Original Guest, both of whom are Betty MacDonald superfans. The Plague and I (1948) is the author's unflinching and hilarious memoir of the nine months she spent as a patient at a TB sanatorium in the Pacific North West of America. We discuss this book and the eventful life of its million-selling author (The Egg and I, Anybody Can Do Anything, Onions in the Stew), are exposed to a selection of TB-related public information films and music, and there is even a 'communicable disease in literature' quiz. Also in this episode Andy is grabbed by Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper (1943) by Donald Henderson, reputedly Raymond Chandler's favourite crime novel; while John has been enjoying Olivette Otele's recently published history African Europeans, which traces a long African European heritage via the lives of individuals both ordinary and extraordinary.

Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)
08:16 - Mr Bowling Buys a Newspaper by Donald Henderson
15:49 - African Europeans by Olivette Otele
20:37 - The Plague And I by Betty Macdonald

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The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald

In this interview, Hilary Brown, who was the Guggenheim's head of publicity, speaks with Peggy on her interest in modern art, how she began collecting, and her relationships with artists. 

http://blogs.guggenheim.org/findings/interview-with-peggy-guggenheim/

1969 Interview with Peggy Guggenheim

Fast approaching the age when bachelors go from seeming curious to seeming weird, Oscar-nominated documentarian Dana Adam Shapiro set out across the country with a tape recorder in search of modern answers to an age-old question:
Why does love die-and what can we do to prevent it from happening?

It all began as a self-help journey in the purest sense. A serial monogamist for more than two decades, Shapiro had just ended his fifth three-year relationship and wanted to know why the honeymoon phase never lasted until the actual honeymoon. Believing that you learn more from failure than from success, he spent the next four years interviewing hundreds of divorced people, living vicariously through the romantic tragedies of others, hoping to become so fluent in the errors of Eros that he would be able to avoid them in his own love life.

The result is a timely treasure trove of marital wisdom-a provocative look inside the hearts, minds, beds, and e-mails of regular people who'd thought they found “The One” and lived to tell the tales of what went wrong. Shockingly intimate, universally relevant, and profoundly personal, this is a page-turning, voyeuristic peek into the private lives of our friends and neighbors that is as racy as it is revelatory. But ultimately, You Can Be Right (or You Can Be Married) is a hopeful investigation of modern love and a practical guide for any couple looking to beat the roulette-level odds of actually staying together forever.

Audio Book: You Can Be Right (Or You Can Be Married), Dana Adam Shapiro, Narrated by Daniel Maté

What’s Worth Learning? addresses the central question of general education. For learners facing a complex, unpredictable, and dangerous future, it asks and answers the question: What knowledge is absolutely essential for every learner?
In simple, jargon-free language, the book explains why the “core curriculum” in near-universal use in America’s classrooms was poor when it was adopted in 1893 and why it grows more dysfunctional with each passing year. It then shows how, without changes in staffing, budgets, or bureaucratic boundaries, knowledge can be organized to both radically improve learner intellectual performance and significantly decrease the cost of a general education.

Audio Book: Marion Brady, What's Worth Learning, Narrated by Diane Havens

An old guitar idea I finally turned into a full song.  Vocals and lyrics by CP Roscoe Martin.  You can find him on Bandlab.  Song and all instrumentation by me.

What's in the Bag

Indespicable

Ambient track to sit back and dream with.  Trying to evoke that feeling of travelling, exploring and seeing the world.

Going Walkabout

I wrote this for a local Videographer quite a few years ago.  A nice, gentle waltz with a cello solo.

Hopeful Nostalgia

I created this in 2019 for a friends art presentation.  It's a little ambient, a little classical and (to quote Eric B and Rakim) a journey into sound.

The Story - 2019

A song about power and privilege.

Written, performed, produced by Kar Stanton
Mixed by Joe Rodwell
Mastered by Nick Lewis
Bass, trumpet and guitar solo at the end played by Joe Rodwell

Lyrics:
If you play with fire
You're gonna get burnt

You make it so easy
how can you blame me?
For taking what's laid out right here before me
I just give them what they want
I just give them what they want
If you're coming after me
you better watch out

I am taking action
I'm the captain
And I will do whatever it takes to defend the nation
I am taking action
I'm the statesman
And I will do whatever it takes to make it right
To save our way of life

If you play with fire
You're gonna get burnt
If you play with power
You're gonna get hurt

I was born to this
I was born to this
I was born to this
I accept nothing less

Born To This

TheSkyIsEverywhere - Demo

Leeland Chocolates - Commercial Voice Over

WHERE HOPE PREVAILS - Demo

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Audio Book: You Can Be Right (Or You Can Be Married), Dana Adam Shapiro, Narrated by Daniel Maté

Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

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