#573 William Faulkner and the Civil War - Michael Gorra
Release Date: 09/12/2021
Separate Paths: Why Canada Rejected America’s Revolution
The Not Old - Better Show
📚 What if Canada had become part of the United States? In 1774, the Continental Congress sent heartfelt letters to Quebec—inviting Canadians to join the American Revolution. When the letters didn’t work, they tried something else: invasion. joins The Not Old Better Show in partnership with Smithsonian Associates to explain this little-known history. Smithsonian Associate Ralph Nurnberger will be appearing at Smithsonian Associates on August 21, 2025, and the title of his presentation is From diplomatic missions with Benjamin Franklin to failed military campaigns in the Canadian snow,...
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Birth of a City: From New Amsterdam to New York
The Not Old - Better Show
🚢 History wasn’t just written—it was negotiated. And in 1664, the fate of a small but thriving colony on Manhattan Island changed forever. I recently spoke with historian and author Russell Shorto, whose new book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America, pulls back the curtain on the overlooked moment when New Amsterdam became New York—not through bloody battle, but through bold negotiation. This story isn’t just about the Dutch and English. It’s about Indigenous displacement, the early seeds of American capitalism, and the founding...
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Grill Smarter, Cook Wilder: Inside BBQ’s Hottest Trends with Nicole Papantoniou!
The Not Old - Better Show
🔥👩🍳 Ready to revolutionize your grilling experience? Today on The Not Old Better Show, we're sizzling with Nicole Papantoniou, Director of Good Housekeeping’s Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab! From the timeless debate—charcoal vs. gas—to futuristic smart grills controlled by AI and Bluetooth, we’ve got the juiciest grilling insights just for you. 🌭📲🔥 Nicole shares expert tips on embracing eco-friendly grilling, experimenting with plant-based BBQ, mastering live-fire cooking, and even achieving restaurant-quality pizza right in your backyard oven. 🌱🍕🌿...
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Chains, Chords and Grace: The Redemption of John Lee Hooker, Jr
The Not Old - Better Show
🎸 From prison cell to pulpit. 🎤 From opening for his father to praying with Keith Richards. 🙏 From blues to grace. Rev. John Lee Hooker, Jr. has lived a life most wouldn’t believe—if it weren’t all true. Born into blues royalty as the son of John Lee Hooker, he seemed destined for the stage. But addiction, crime, and incarceration rewrote the script… until faith and purpose gave him a new one. In this episode of The Not Old Better Show, I sat down with Rev. Hooker to talk about: 🔁 Returning to Soledad Prison—first to perform, then to serve time, then again as a prison...
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Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years
The Not Old - Better Show
📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...
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Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years
The Not Old - Better Show
📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...
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Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years
The Not Old - Better Show
📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...
info_outline
Dignity, Data, and the Decisions That Shape Our Later Years
The Not Old - Better Show
📊 Over 450,000 voices. One powerful message: dignity in aging matters. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Liz Pearce, Senior Living Product Director at U.S. News & World Report, on The Not Old – Better Show. Liz and her team help families across the country navigate one of life’s biggest transitions: choosing the right senior living community. 🏡 U.S. News’ 2025 Best Senior Living Ratings are more than numbers—they reflect real experiences from residents and their loved ones. Their input shapes how communities are recognized for outstanding care, safety, and...
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Riding with History: Jefferson, Madison, and the Journey that Shaped a Nation
The Not Old - Better Show
🐎 When Friendship Shapes Nations: The Untold Journey of Jefferson & Madison 🇺🇸 Ever imagine two founding fathers on horseback, pondering America's future as they ride through rugged landscapes, confronting pest infestations, cultural discoveries, and their own biases? Thomas Jefferson and James Madison did exactly that in their remarkable 1791 journey through Upstate New York and New England. 📚 , author, historian Louis Masur explores this intriguing chapter in his compelling new book, A Journey North: Jefferson, Madison, and the Forging of a Friendship. Their trip wasn't...
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🔥 Forget boring BBQs… it’s time to grill with flavor, joy, and purpose! - Kate Merker
The Not Old - Better Show
We’re talking grill season like you’ve never heard it before with Good Housekeeping's Kate Merker Good Better Best, The Not Old Better Show, Good Housekeeping Interview Series 🔥 Summer just got a whole lot more delicious — and more intentional. This week on The Not Old Better Show, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kate Merker, Chief Food Director of the Hearst Lifestyle Group and the culinary genius behind Good Housekeeping’s legendary Test Kitchen. We’re talking smart summer grilling — not just sizzling steaks, but heart-healthy, high-flavor meals that celebrate aging,...
info_outlineWilliam Faulkner and the Civil War - Michael Gorra
The Not Old Better Show, Smithsonian Associates Series
Welcome to The Not Old Better Show on KSCW. That’s Barbara Dane and The Chambers Brothers playing ‘It Isn’t Nice” their version of the popular politically charged gospel and civil rights song. I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Saturday morning. So great to be with you today, following, of course, another excellent Community Chat with Gary Cohen, and good morning and welcome to the Not Old Better Show on KSCW.
As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living series, we have another excellent interview today for you with author, historian, award-winning, Pulitizer Prize finalist writer Michael Gorra. Michael Gorra will be presenting at the upcoming Smithsonian Associates program via Zoom, Sept 27, 2021, and details, and more information can be found on our website, and we’ll be talking about another author, William Faulkner.
He was an uncompromising modernist, a great chronicler of the American South, and inspiration—as well as an immovable obstacle—for the generations of writers who followed. William Faulkner (1897–1962) stands as one of the greatest, and one of the most problematic figures in American literature.
Faulkner was Mississippi-born—a white man of his time and place who did not always rise above it. Yet his work also provides a burning account of the intersection of race, region, and remembrance: a probing analysis of a past that we have never yet put behind us. He set almost all his work in what he called an “apocryphal” territory, the imaginary Yoknapatawpha County in northern Mississippi. He carried characters and plotlines over from one book to another, as if the land itself were sprouting a story in which everything and everyone was connected.
Michael Gorra will be reading to us from his new book, ‘The Saddest Words,’ so stick around for this enlightening, historical interview with Michael Gorra.
My thanks to Michael Gorra for his time, expertise, and thoughtful preparation in joining me today. My thanks to My thanks, always, to the Smithsonian team for all they do to support the show. Of course, my thanks to you, our wonderful Not Old Better Show audience here on KSCW. Please keep your emails coming to me at [email protected]. Remember, let’s talk about better.
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