Episode 36: Ray with Michael Hattem

It is hard to find someone with a greater impact on American music and whose life demonstrates the complexities of the human experience than Ray Charles. This week we are joined by Michael Hattem to talk about one of the best biopics and performances I've ever seen with Ray (2004). This episode features candid discussions about the ups and downs of Ray Charles' life, how both his life and that of the United States have been shaped in memory, and a fascinating conversation about the history of African American musical traditions. I don't talk a lot in this episode, mostly because I was absolutely blown away by Michael's thoughts. I hope you like it.

About our guest:
Michael Hattem is a historian of early America, with a focus broadly on culture and politics in the long eighteenth century. He is especially interested in cultural memory in (and of) the American Revolution and early America generally, the origins and causes of the American Revolution, print culture, and colonial New York City. He is the author of Past and Prologue: Politics and Memory in the American Revolution, which explores the role of changing historical memories in revolutionary American culture and politics.

He is an Associate Director of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Previously, he served as a Schwartz Postdoctoral Fellow at the New-York Historical Society and Visiting Faculty at The New School in 2017-2018 and as Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Knox College from 2018 to 2020.

He is both a contributor to and Producer of The JuntoCast, the first podcast devoted to early American history and History Talks, a YouTube channel producing historical content by historians for a general audience. He also served as the Managing Editor and a co-founder of The Junto: A Group Blog on Early American History and have contributed to numerous other websites. He has served as a historical consultant or contributor for a number of projects and organizations, including Hamilton: The Exhibition, American Yawp, Founders Online, as well as television documentaries and auctions.

You can find him on social media at @michaelhattem