Open Source with Christopher Lydon

In a forlorn Fourth of July week, in the pit of an unpresidential, anti-presidential campaign year, 2024, we welcome back John Kaag, who writes history with a philosophical flair, never more colorful than in his new account of American Bloods: The Untamed Dynasty that Shaped a Nation. It’s a family saga in three centuries of frontier settlers and folk characters with the same name: Blood. John Kaag. They’ve got two other strong links among them: generation after generation, these Bloods embody in life some of the wilderness, that wild streak in our history, and they grasp it as articulately as the giants of American thinking—notably, Emerson, Thoreau, and William James. The post American Bloods appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

Guests Hussein Ibish, Mishy Harman, and Shaul Magid discuss the evolving interpretations of Zionism, its connections to refuge and settler statehood, challenges of liberal Zionism, generational perspectives on conflicts in Israel, and the need for accommodation between Zionism and Palestinian nationalism for a peaceful future.

We’re on a hometown spree along the famous Fenway in the heart of Boston. Fenway Park is where the Red Sox play, John Updike’s “lyric little bandbox of a ballpark.” Fenway Court, built around the same time just a few blocks away, is a jewel box, a treasure house of high art, an American palazzo and museum like none other, a matching monument to quirky Boston’s eccentricity and its beauty. Courtyard, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. (Photo: Sean Dungan. www.gardnermuseum.org.) We owe Natalie Dykstra for her new biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner—who designed Fenway Court, inch by inch. She invented this magical space where Proper Old Boston got up close and personal with the Italian Renaissance, and does to this day. Natalie Dykstra. (Photo: Ellen Dykstra.) Mrs. Gardner made social history, art history, women’s history on a grand scale, but there’s something more here, evident in the Titian room of her museum, with masterpieces on the walls by the giants: Velasquez, Titian himself, and Botticelli around the corner. But there’s Mrs. Gardner, too. She had the authority of an empress (and a whole lot of money) in assembling this art, one painting at a time. Somehow the final effect is unpretentious, intimate, humble, democratic. Our banner image is from John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston—www.gardnermuseum.com. The post Chasing Beauty appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

We’re taking a drawing lesson with Nicholson Baker—yes, the multifarious writers’ writer Nick Baker; the COVID lab leak detective; the pacifist historian of World War II in his book Human Smoke; he’s also the cherubic pornographer in Vox, about phone sex; and he’s the podcaster and performer of his own protest songs. He is a marvel, and his big new book is a life-changer, titled Finding a Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better at Art. Listeners will hear him drawing and growing in the making of this book. And here at our site, you can see him drawing Chris (videographer: Mary McGrath). Below: Chris Lydon and Nicholson Baker. The post Nicholson Baker Finds a Likeness appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

The podcast explores the uproar on American campuses with cancelations of events, student encampments, and clashes with administration. It focuses on the diverse student activism at universities like Columbia, USC, Harvard, and MIT, highlighting debates on Palestine and challenges to traditional leadership. The narrative delves into the revival of democratic spirit and solidarity among students, discussing the impact of campus activism on national consciousness and the legacy of student movements in American society.

The key battle taking place in this American crisis year of 2024 is happening in our heads, according to the master historian Richard Slotkin. He’s here to tell us all that we’re in a 40-year culture war and an identity crisis by now. It’s all about drawing on legendary figures like Daniel Boone and Frederick Douglass, Betsy Ross and Rosa Parks, Robert E. Lee and G.I. Joe for a composite self-portrait of the country. Richard Slotkin. Richard Slotkin says we’re in a contest of origin stories, in search of a common national myth. His book is A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America. It is the Trump-Biden fight, of course, but with centuries of history bubbling under it. The post American Disorder appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

Renowned political theorist Hannah Arendt's teachings on critical thinking and resistance against authoritarianism are discussed in this podcast. Topics include the importance of individual responsibility, navigating modern politics, reflections on power dynamics, media challenges, and understanding the concept of the banality of evil.

We’re going to school on Taylor Swift, in the Harvard course. And all we know is, as her song says, we’re enchanted to meet her. Taylor Swift comes out of literature but she’s more than a poet, or a pop star. Maybe the word is “enchanter” for the artist who gets it all into a song, who knows the fusion power of sharp words with the right minimum of melody. Stephanie Burt and M.J. Cunniff. We’re anticipating Taylor Swift’s next album, her “Tortured Poets Department,” coming in April. Stephanie Burt and M.J. Cunniff have made a hit course of it all for Harvard undergraduates. Professor Burt has been a critical gateway to contemporary poetry. And she knows her songwriters as well. The post Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

We speak of the mystery of Herman Melville, or the misery of Melville, the American masterpiece man. For Moby-Dick alone, he is our Shakespeare, our Dante—though he fled the writing of prose for the last half of his life, and in death The New York Times misspelled his name. Jennifer Habel and Chris Bachelder. This podcast is a demonstration of another way, a better way to crack the riddle of Melville: read the book aloud with someone you love and jot down every question that comes to your mind. Before you know it, you’ll have written your own novel on a few hundred Post-it notes. Our guests, Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel, call their novel Dayswork, and it’s a marvel. The post Of Melville and Marriage appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

Authors Christian Wiman and Danielle Chapman delve into the theme of despair, exploring poetry, spirituality, family tragedies, and societal values. They share personal experiences, highlighting the power of hope and creativity in confronting chaos and finding meaning in the face of darkness.