Episode 21: Andrew Simon Listens to History

Host Kate Carpenter interviews historian and writer Dr. Andrew Simon, who studies media, popular culture, and the modern Middle East and teaches at Dartmouth University. His first book, Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt, was published in 2022 by Stanford University Press. Andrew also holds the distinction of being the first Drafting the Past guest who hoped to become a professional baseball player before his career as a historian. We had a great conversation about how to write about sound in history and translate it to the page, the challenges and thrills of creating archives outside of official channels, and how a candid remark from Andrew’s grandmother impacted his writing.