Liam Sullivan's Ideas and Reflections
I feel like a listened to a gazillion songs in recent weeks (not all of them released that recently) so the list is a little longer than usual.
Decoder Ring :: The Invention of Hydration
How bottled water became a mainstream commodity and the questionable claims of the wellness industry that undergird our collective thirst for hydration.
Decoder Ring :: That Seattle Muzak Sound
The history of Muzak, first created to provide background music to encourage productivity, how it diverged from popular music in the 1960s, and its strange intersection with the 1990s grunge scene. When I was a DJ at my college radio station, I used to play selections from Grunge Lite in the background when I talked.
Radiolab :: The Vanishing of Harry Pace
This 4-part series (with perhaps more episodes to come?) is the story of Harry Pace who founded Black Swan Records, a successful and influential Black-owned enterprise, a century. He also worked to desegregate Chicago neighborhoods. And yet his grandchildren grew up knowing little about him and believing they were white!
This Day in Esoteric Political History :: Mandela in Boston (1990)
Nelson Mandela visited Boston in 1990 as part of a thank you tour for anti-apartheid activists in the area as well as because he had family in Boston. The podcast also touches on how Mandela became a figurehead for the American Civil Rights movement at a team when there weren’t clear leaders within the country.
Running Tally of Podcast of the Week Awards for 2021
Panorama of the Mountains 