https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_04_10_15_56_48_9905e30a-3522-4a12-a309-582c107bb527.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week, I talk with Barbara Messamore, author of Times of Transformation: The 1921 Canadian General Election about one of Canada’s turning point elections. We discuss the post-war economy’s, including tariffs, role in the campaign, how suffrage influenced the election, and the emergence of William Lyon Mackenzie King on the national… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_04_02_16_08_28_f2fbd94a-c940-4d3d-9ea0-ee12ff2e678b.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week, I talk with Nina Studer, author of The Hour of Absinthe: A Cultural History of France’s Most Notorious Drink. We talk about the drink’s origins, its cultural importance in France, and its consumption by French soldiers. We also chat about the class distinctions associated with the drink, how gender… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_02_12_05_21_15_6c08bc31-1640-4470-9646-2cbc1d846f34.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week, I’m joined by Dan Black, author of Oceans of Fate: Peace and Peril Aboard the Steamship Empress of Asia. We talk about the ship’s earliest voyage following its 1913 commissioning, its service during the First World War and the Chinese Labour Corps, and its refitting after the war. We… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_02_05_04_41_54_40392e80-703e-481f-82ad-f465d0cb0ebd.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I’m joined by Eugenia Kisin, author of Aesthetics of Repair: Indigenous Art and the Form of Reconciliation. We discuss what qualifies as ‘art’, how the intent shapes understanding of cultural materials, and how works are commoditized. We also chat about artistic agency, the impact of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_01_29_04_25_25_00cb424c-1fdf-4105-b6e5-4321fc3de1bc.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I’m joined by Jennifer Neville, author of Truth is Trickiest: The Case for Ambiguity in the Exeter Book Riddles. We discuss the background of the riddles, who may have transcribed them and why, as well as the challenge of deciphering their meaning. We also talk about the literary tradition… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_01_22_04_59_42_1a8a866c-3afc-4959-906f-745b6be9b8e7.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I’m joined by Robin C. Whittaker, author of Alumnae Theatre Company: Nonprofessionalizing Theatre in Canada. We discuss the establishment of the Alumnae Theatre Company and its place as Canada’s longest-running women-led theatre group, how the group survived its early years, and the place of non-professional theatre in 20th century… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_01_15_05_02_53_ddfc9bae-6823-4983-8c1c-f9a436c0dd27.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I talk with Aidan Forth, author of Camps: A Global History of Mass Confinement. We talk about the definition of camps, the commonalties among camps, and the ubiquity of mass confinement. We also talk about studying these sites across cultures, how echoes of past camps inform modern confinement, and… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2025_01_09_05_34_34_9214266a-8da2-4ebd-8271-32991e5ad510.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week, I’m joined by Tonya Davidson, author of Inside the Snow Globe: Ottawa Monuments and National Belonging. We discuss Tonya’s approach to monuments as a primary source, how publics respond to monuments, and how national monuments fit into local communities. We also talk about some of Ottawa’s less known monuments,… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2024_12_12_05_55_34_6e45620e-0180-489d-95df-e0e68151387b.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week I’m joined by Crystal Gail Fraser, author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. We discuss the lesser known story of northern residential schools, conducting oral history with survivors, and the Gwich’in concepts of individual and collective strength. We also chat about the significance… Read more »
https://media.rss.com/whatsoldisnews/2024_12_06_20_22_42_7003885d-d30d-4a33-abed-9dce7a2df916.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham This week I’m joined by Stephen Osborne, author of The Coincidence Problem: Selected Dispatches 1999-2022. We talk about Stephen’s involvement in the launch of Geist magazine, what makes a good dispatch, and why the format is good for storytelling. We also discuss coincidences, how to write about them, and what makes them so entertaining…. Read more »
