Library users may know John Green best as the author of such popular books as The Fault in Our Stars and An Abundance of Katherines, but he is also a prolific YouTube…occasional tangents and jokes, but the content remains focused and extremely informative, and he doesn’t shy away from difficult topics like imperialism, fascism, and slavery. Each episode is just over ten minutes long. The length is appropriate for an easily digestible summary that leaves you curious and interested to learn more about a topic. Episodes include The Agricultural Revolution, The Silk Road and Ancient Trade, Mansa Musa and Islam in…
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NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts
I recently discovered this delightful corner of the internet and have treated myself to these eclectic short musical sets ever since. I’ve experienced some great new artists and some sets by beloved familiar ones. They are all recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered by host Bob Boilen, except for the last few which are home editions. There is something for all musical tastes and will tide you over until you can get out to your next live…
Amazing Grace
I missed this film when it was showing at Amherst Cinema in the Before Times, so I was very excited to find it on Hulu. [It’s available on a variety of streaming services.] After a long, troubled production history, this film, which documents Aretha Franklin’s 1972 recording of her live gospel album, also called Amazing Grace. She recorded the album over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles with her own band as we…
A Passion for the Planet
This live performance of Geoffrey Hudson A Passion for the Planet was recorded in Northampton, at Smith College’s Sweeney hall, and performed by the Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble with the…climate crisis go away. But perhaps, by forming an emotional connection with the topic, it can help us confront the stark realities. And when we see those realities—and truly take them in—maybe then, together, nourished by hope, we can work together to find a way forward.” – Geoffrey Hudson…
Earth Day 2020 (the Pandemic version)
In this 10-minute video, violist Scott Slapin presents 400 years of music history in his basement (“The Pandemic Auditorium”) where the water pipes and exposed wiring make an acoustically and…class musicianship combined with dry wit, plus you have a short attention span, this is the video for you!…
Stay On It
Composer Julius Eastman’s (1940 – 1990) music explores his identities as a gay man and Black American. Stay On It was composed in 1973 and combines minimalism with pop music….gues surrounding social and racial justice….
Decline and Fall
This hilarious BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s 1928 novel stars Jack Whitehall, David Suchet, and Eva Longoria. It’s on Acorn TV, which might still have a 30-day free trial–if not,…, it always has 7 days free, so you can watch the 3 episodes of this witty miniseries. It follows the misadventures of Paul Pennyfeather, an Oxford theology student who falls into one awkward (to put it mildly) situation after another by some fateful twisted logic and his naive trust in a series of dubious characters he meets. It’s wonderfully escapist and makes fun of everything it touches….
Gastropod
Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley host a delightful podcast that explores food through the lens of science and history. They explore the origins of foods (who really did invent the…he lens of science and history. They explore the origins of foods (who really did invent the French Fry?), the biology of foods (what causes the differences between different sourdoughs?), the psychology of food (how do menus affect what we order?), the ecology of food (how can our food choices affect invasive species or the climate?). They explore unusual foods (the pawpaw, kelp, and kombucha) and common foods (butter, bread, salt, and beer) and…
The Art of Manliness podcast
With episodes like “The Boring Decadence of Modern Society”, “The Case for Being Unproductive,” and “What Board Games Teach Us About Life”, The Art of Manliness’s subject matter is delightfully…With episodes like “The Boring Decadence of Modern Society”, “The Case for Being Unproductive,” and “What Board Games Teach Us About Life”, The Art of Manliness’s subject matter is delightfully unique and often offers a perspective you don’t hear anywhere else. Please don’t let its name dissuade you–you don’t have to be a “manly” man (whatever that means), or even a man, to get something out of it….
Spelling Bee
Like most librarians, I love words and games that involve language. This new one from the New York Times challenges you to come up with as many words as you can using…om the New York Times challenges you to come up with as many words as you can using just the 7 letters they provide. You can play it in fits and starts and it’ll track your progress throughout the day, making it very user-friendly during this strange, interruption-filled and routine-free time we’re currently living in. And lest you become too impressed with yourself, Spelling Bee has a rating system, from “Beginner” to “Genius”, to put you in your…
Invisibilia
Bernie Krause was a successful musician as a young man, playing with rock stars like Jim Morrison and George Harrison in the 1960s and ’70s. But then one day, Bernie…isibilia. Produced by National Public Radio, Invisibilia explores the underlying forces that influence our behavior, ideas, and assumptions. Topics are wide-ranging and are told in an engaging and narrative fashion. One recent episode discussed a city councilor candidate who insists he is black, while his opponent accuses him of pretending to be black. The podcast asks “If race is simply a social construct and not a biological reality, how do we d…
No Such Thing as a Fish
Way back in 2003 Stephen Fry began hosting the delightful comedy trivia quiz show QI. The most visible stars of that show were the host, Stephen Fry, and the many…show were the researches who provided Stephen with a seemingly endless supply of “quite interesting” things to talk about. Those researchers quickly became know as the QI Elves, and since 2014 four of them, James Harkin, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and Dan Schreiber, have hosted a weekly podcast crammed full of quite interesting facts, speculations, and banter. No Such Thing as a Fish is wonderfully entertaining. Each of the four hosts p…
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