University of Texas Press Podcast

University of Texas Press Podcast

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Enjoy conversations and insights with UT Press authors in our University of Texas Press Podcast Series.

University of Texas Press


    • Jan 17, 2019 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 24m AVG DURATION
    • 55 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from University of Texas Press Podcast

    Panel Discussion on Inclusion and Equity in Austin, Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2019 58:15


    Following a Texas Book Festival panel “Making History: The Civil Rights Movement in Texas,” we invited three of the panelists for a longer discussion on diversity and inclusion in Austin—both on and off campus. Virginia Cumberbatch, Director of Community Engagement and Social Equity, and Leslie Blair, Executive Director of Communications, both share their perspectives as staff members at UT Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and also as coauthors of the book As We Saw It: The Story of Integration at the University of Texas at Austin. Also contributing to our discussion is UT Austin alumnus and Texas Monthly reporter Doyin Oyeniyi, who co-created the web series Austin While Black, a project that documents the stories of Black Austinites. In the first half of our conversation, we cover some of the remarkable stories from As We Saw It, including the legacy of women in the civil rights movement at the university and the integration of UT Austin’s athletics program. In the second half of our conversation, we address the university’s ongoing efforts to foster inclusion and combat bias, including the recent removal of confederate statues. Our guests also evaluate Austin’s reputation as a progressive city and discuss how both institutions and individuals can work toward dismantling institutional racism. Further reading: “How I Navigate the Overwhelming Whiteness of Austin” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Thrillist https://exit.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thrillist.com%2Ftravel%2Fnation%2Fliving-in-austin-texas-white-people-whiteness “Removing Confederate Monuments Won’t Erase History, But Could Correct It” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Texas Monthly https://exit.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.texasmonthly.com%2Fthe-daily-post%2Fremoving-confederate-monuments-wont-erase-history-correct%2F “The Battle Against Affirmative Action Continues After Fisher v. UT Austin” by Doyin Oyeniyi for Texas Monthly https://exit.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.texasmonthly.com%2Fthe-daily-post%2Fbattle-affirmative-action-continues-fisher-v-ut-austin%2F “Outlier: The Case of Austin’s Declining African-American Population” by Dr. Eric Tang, Assistant Professor and Faculty fellow IUPRA and Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, and Dr. Chunhui Ren, Postdoctoral Fellow https://exit.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fliberalarts.utexas.edu%2Fiupra%2F_files%2Fpdf%2FAustin%2520AA%2520pop%2520policy%2520brief_FINAL.pdf

    Dawoud Bey: Seeing Deeply

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2018 40:18


    Award-winning photographer Dawoud Bey talks through his forty-year career in photography. We cover major bodies of work: "Harlem, U.S.A.", his Type 55 Polaroid street portraits, his 20 × 24 Polaroid works, "Class Pictures", and "The Birmingham Project," delving into his photographic process and the thoughtfulness he brings to his form and artistic practice. Dawoud share the personal connections that Sarah Lewis, Leigh Raiford, and Maurice Berger have to the photographs in the book, and how his year-long MacArthur Genius Class of 2017 year went. Dawoud Bey's current series is titled, “Night Coming Tenderly, Black,” which features night-time landscapes in Cleveland that reflect the city’s pre-Civil War history as a site of the Underground Railroad.

    Lance Scott Walker: Houston Rap Tapes

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2018 37:15


    Writer Lance Scott Walker has collected stories and interviews from Houston's rappers, DJs, producers, promoters, and record label owners since 2005. In the new amplified edition of his book HOUSTON RAP TAPES, he includes new photographs and interviews (Scarface, Slim Thug, Lez Moné, B L A C K I E, Lil’ Keke, and Sire Jukebox of the original Ghetto Boys), plus custom maps of Houston that highlight major landmarks for the city's hip-hop culture. Recorded on DJ Screw's birthday, this conversation addresses how police corruption and gentrification have impacted the Houston neighborhoods that gave birth to Houston rap, tracing the scene from early rap battles among Raheem, Willie D, and Vanilla Ice to the up-and-coming H-Town artists making beats and rhymes today. We also cover the complexities of gangsta rap, the women who shaped the scene and are making music on their own terms, and the impact of the late DJ Screw.

    Geoff Dyer: The Street Philosophy of Garry Winogrand

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2018 35:17


    We chat with Geoff Dyer about the "visual novelist" and street photographer Garry Winogrand. Dyer highlights the wild humor of Winogrand's eye, how his photographs were packed with narrative potential, how he approached writing short vignettes to complement images in the literary style of John Szarkowski’s Atget or Mark Strand's On Edward Hopper, and the intrigue of Winogrand's out-of-control creative impulse toward the end of his life.

    Brian “B+” Cross: Ghostnotes: Music of the Unplayed

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2017 60:22


    In this probing conversation, B+ digs into the intentions behind his project to reveal the rhythmic connections among people, cultures, and their creations, sharing stories of the record collector who shaped DJ Shadow’s sound, his close friendships with composers David Axelrod and Horace Tapscott, and more. We delve into the importance of politics in art, and how connecting the dots between social movements around the globe can help answer questions raised by provocative forms like underground hip-hop and jazz. Horace TapscottJazzDavid AxelrodphotographyAva DuVernayBrian CrossGhostnotesinterview

    Khalik Allah and Eli Reed: Souls Against the Concrete

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2017 39:36


    In this charming exchange, Khalik Allah and Eli Reed share their experiences navigating rough neighborhoods, earning the trust of their subjects, learning from their mistakes, and developing a unique style that stands out in the digital age. We also talk about Khalik's work with the Wu-Tang Clan, his experience working as a filmmaker on Beyoncé's Lemonade, and more.

    Victor Emanuel and S. Kirk Walsh: One More Warbler

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2017 48:13


    In this touching discussion, we talk with renowned birder and dyed-in-the-wool Texan Victor Emanuel and writer S. Kirk Walsh about the importance of taking the time to observe natural beauty, protect it, and the path Victor took from politics to a life of birding. We cover tips for a birding excursion, Victor's friendship with Laura Bush and the literary luminaries Peter Matthiessen and George Plimpton, as well as the most memorable rare bird sightings.

    Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy: The Swimming Holes of Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2017 45:25


    Where there is water, there is life. In this casual conversation, we cover the process of researching must-swim spots across Texas, the history of these significant sites, and the importance of being good stewards to our natural swimming holes. We also cover top 5 lists, key etiquette, and the best playlists for a good summer road trip.

    Eddie Wilson, Jesse Sublett, and Jason Mellard: Armadillo World Headquarters

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2017 41:26


    What made Austin the city we know today? Eddie Wilson saw the Texas capital transform from a sleepy college town into a global purveyor of music culture, all while booking and housing seminal bands of the 1970s, serving Southern cuisine, and shilling a record-breaking amount of Lone Star beer. The story of the Armadillo World Headquarters includes rollicking tales of what Eddie calls, "a roller coaster of despair and wonder": trying to schedule anything with detail-averse Jerry Garcia, charming Frank Zappa after a 17-minute sound check, accommodating Van Morrison's cravings for the 'Dillo's famous shrimp quesadillas, and so many more 'Keep Austin Weird' moments that helped define Austin's lifestyle, cutlure, and identity. We are joined in this conversation by Jason Mellard, the Assistant Director of the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University–San Marcos and author of Progressive Country: How the 1970s Transformed the Texan in Popular Culture.

    Carolyn Boyd and Jessica Lee: The White Shaman Mural

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2017 28:23


    In this fascinating discussion, we explore the significance of a massive, conceptually complex piece of rock art that was painted by hunter gatherers within a week to two week period between 400 BC and 400 AD. We cover the graphic vocabulary that depicts the creation of time and the birth of the sun, how certain revelations came to the research team, and the importance of preserving these endangered murals. As the oldest known artistic expression in North America that portrays core concepts later reinterpreted by the Aztecs, the White Shaman mural is an important work, key to understanding ourselves and where we came from.

    Robert McNeely: The Making of Hillary Clinton

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2017 38:53


    From a base camp darkroom in Vietnam to street photography in San Francisco to the political stage, this interview with Bob McNeely traces his life as a photographer and offers honest insight into Hillary’s personality and career, wrestling with both the promise of her capabilities and the problems of her political history. Hear how McNeely’s access ended abruptly in 1998 amidst scandal and how Hillary’s Senate race in 2000 foreshadowed her ability to be resilient and move on with her life.

    A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2016 30:59


    A Pure Solar World explores how Sun Ra was a master of jazz composition, a pioneer in electronic music, a major African American poet, and an expansively free-thinking teacher. Author Paul Youngquist talks to us about the philosophy behind Sun Ra's space music, how audiences first responded to his music and his message, and why his work deserves more attention.

    Kristin Hersh: Don't Suck, Don't Die

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2016 45:00


    This enriching conversation unpacks how creating art is like raising a child, how not to suck as a creative person, and how pain should be part of becoming a healer. Hersh honors Vic, sharing her favorite memories from the road and explaining why she finally agreed to write Don’t Suck, Don’t Die. She emits so much wisdom, revealing how she learned to “crawl into” prose writing to add dimension to her music and not let "staying in the heavy" obscure hope. We also delve into the process of writing her nonfiction novel Rat Girl.

    Margaret Guroff: The Mechanical Horse

    Play Episode Listen Later May 17, 2016 21:42


    From the draisine to the latest carbon fiber frame, the bicycle has endured boom and bust to make a lasting impact on our lives. We talk with Margaret Guroff about how the bicycle helped to revolutionize urban infrastructure, technology, gender equality, mechanized aircraft, and more. Now that the middle class is returning to car-dominated cities, the bicycle’s future depends on getting populations other than hipsters to choose a bike over a polluting car. And what happens when self-driving cars get on the road?

    Andrea Valdez: How to Be a Texan

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2016 17:21


    Texas is very innovative in a lot of ways but also holds tight to its past and its traditions. Some Texan traditions are obvious, but others took some digging, like drawing on water dousing skills to find water during contemporary droughts. We ask Andrea Valdez what research she conducted to write an authoritative how-to manual on Texas life, how she feels about certain Texas stereotypes, and why engaging in these activities enhanced her sense of self.

    Sarah Bird: A Love Letter to Texas Women

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2016 22:57


    Texas women have a uniquely global brand of strength, humor, and grace. We ask non-native Texan Sarah Bird what about the culture of friendly femininity won her over, what her mother taught her, iconic Texas women like Ladybird Johnson and Molly Ivins, and what it means to hunger for the companionship of other women.

    Lynn Adele and Bruce Lee Webb: As Above So Below

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2016 31:39


    This fascinating conversation illuminates the power, purpose, and imagery of Freemason societies in America from their origins in ancient Egyptian mystery schools to the Grand Lodge of Texas sending Buzz Aldrin to claim the moon as Texas Masonic Tranquility Lodge #2000. Adele and Webb talk about how these groups functioned in communities, how they were driven by immigrants seeking to preserve ancient traditions, and how their principles were communicated through ritualistic objects.

    Toni Tipton-Martin: The Jemima Code

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2015 33:27


    This moving conversation wrestles with two centuries of deeply ingrained racial tension born out of Southern plantation kitchens and the journey Toni Tipton-Martin embarked upon when she started one of the world’s largest private collections of African American cookbooks.

    Ray Benson: Comin’ Right at Ya

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2015 22:14


    Ray Benson speaks honestly about utilizing his ADHD in his career, being Jewish in the music world, playing for the Klu Klux Klan, and the reality that becoming a successful musician has always been a hat trick.

    Invisible in Austin: Life and Labor in an American City

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2015 38:36


    The sociological study at the heart of Invisible in Austin seeks to correct stereotyping in similar studies that reduces people to “the drug dealer,” the single mother,” “the stripper.” The co-authors talk about tackling the politics of collaboration in academia, subjectivity, and intense debates on how to most effectively tell an individual's story.

    Editor on Understanding the Middle East through Translated Literature

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2015 23:08


    Our conversation with Wendy Moore explores the difficulties, rewards, and impact of translation. She discusses what’s next for the CMES Modern Middle East Literatures in Translation series and how important it is to find cultural commonalities through translated literature.

    Eli Reed: A Long Walk Home

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2015 31:38


    The first African American member of Magnum Photos in conversation with UT Press about starting out as a hospital orderly in New Jersey to taking pictures of history in the making, encountering racial discrimination, and more. About the book: With over 250 images that span the astonishing range of his subjects and his evolution as a photographer, this is the first career retrospective of Eli Reed, one of America’s leading contemporary photojournalists and the first African American member of Magnum Photos.

    Seamus McGraw: Betting the Farm on a Drought

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2015 34:14


    About the book: The award-winning author of The End of Country: Dispatches from the Frack Zone offers a lively, thought-provoking overview of climate change from the perspectives of people who are dealing with it on the ground.

    Bill Wittliff on The Devil's Backbone

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2014 16:05


    Distinguished screenwriter Bill Wittliff talks about how he spun family-told mysteries into his engrossing first novel. About the book: Set in wild and woolly Texas and Mexico in the 1880s, this engrossing tale of a boy’s search for his missing Momma is as full of colorful characters, folk wit and wisdom, and unexpected turns of events as the great American quest novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/witdev

    Bronx Boys

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2014 17:47


    Stephen Shames talks about his photoessay about a group of Bronx Boys in the 1970's.

    boys bronx stephen shames
    The Flatlanders: Now It's Now Again

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2014 17:20


    Spotlighting three legends of American music—Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, The Flatlanders recounts the band’s epic forty-year journey from a living room in Lubbock, Texas, to the release of their extraordinary long-lost demo, The Odessa Tapes.

    The Fate of Earthly Things: Aztec Gods and God-Bodies

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2014 17:15


    This sophisticated, interdisciplinary study analyzes foundational concepts of deities and deity embodiments in Aztec religion to shed new light on the Aztec understanding of how spiritual beings take on form and agency in the material world. This podcast was generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Latin American and Caribbean Arts & Culture Publication Initiative.

    Architectural Vessels of the Moche: Ceramic Diagrams of Sacred Space in Ancient Peru

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2014 14:55


    Adding an important new chapter to pre-Columbian art history, this volume is the first to assemble and analyze a comprehensive body of ancient Andean architectural representations, as well as the first that explores their connections to full-scale pre-Hispanic ritual architecture. This podcast was generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Latin American and Caribbean Arts & Culture Publication Initiative.

    Being Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2014 15:34


    Kate Shindle weaves an engrossing memoir of her year as Miss America 1998 with a fascinating, insightful history of the pageant to reveal why confident, ambitious young women still compete in a beauty contest that struggles to remain culturally relevant.

    American Christianity: The Continuing Revolution

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2014 16:04


    Stephen Cox of UCSD discusses the history of American Christianity.

    Midcentury Modern Art in Texas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2014 18:43


    Katie Robinson Edwards discusses Modernist art in midcentury Texas.

    Yucatán: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2014 16:15


    David Sterling of the Los Dos Culinary School discusses Yucatecan cooking.

    Mayan Figurines: Intersections Between State and Household

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2014 12:59


    Christina Halperin of Princeton University discussed Mayan figurines.

    Pretty/Funny: Women Comedians and Body Politics

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2014 16:42


    Linda Mizejewski discusses female comedians and body politics.

    The Family Jewels: The CIA, Secrecy, and Presidential Power

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2013 19:04


    This powerful accounting of intelligence abuses committed by the CIA from the Cold War through the war on terror reveals why such abuses and attempts to conceal them are endemic to spying and proposes how a democratic nation can rein in its spymasters.

    The Pecan: A History of America's Native Nut

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2013 17:04


    This lively history by the acclaimed author of Just Food and A Revolution in Eating follows the pecan from primordial Southern groves to the contemporary Chinese marketplace to reveal how a nut with a very limited natural range has become a global commodity and endangered heirloom.

    Hammett, Two Prospectors: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2013 12:27


    Editor Chad Hammett teases out surprising revelations found in the letters by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Sam Shepard and longtime friend Johnny Dark.

    Merle Haggard: The Running Kind

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2013 17:09


    Focusing on the most prolific decades in the career of this complex, often contradictory icon of country music, David Cantwell explores the creation of many of Merle Haggard’s greatest hits and the life and times that inspired them. Check out Cantwell's Spotify playlist linked below and listen along to 'Merle Haggard: The Running Kind.'

    The Spectacle of the Late Maya Court: Reflections on the Murals of Bonampak

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 8, 2013 16:45


    Lavishly produced with foldout images of a major new full-color scale reconstruction of the Bonampak murals, as well as hundreds of photographs and infrared images, many never before published, this landmark in book publishing is the most thorough and thought-provoking study of one of the masterpieces of New World art.

    Photojournalists On War: The Untold Stories From Iraq

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2013 16:05


    With visceral, previously unpublished photographs and eyewitness accounts from the front lines, three dozen of the world’s leading photojournalists reveal the inside and untold stories of the Iraq war in this groundbreaking oral history.

    Barbecue Crossroads: Notes and Recipes From a Southern Odyssey

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2013 14:51


    The James Beard Award–winning author of the best-selling Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook and acclaimed documentary photographer O. Rufus Lovett take us on an extraordinary odyssey from Texas to the Carolinas and back to tell the story of Southern barbecue, past, present, and future—complete with more than seventy recipes.

    Front Row Seat: A Photographic Portrait of the Presidency of George W. Bush

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2013 12:53


    With an extraordinary collection of images, many never before published, Chief White House Photographer Eric Draper presents a compelling, behind-the-scenes view of the entire presidency of George W. Bush, from dramatic events such as 9/11 to relaxed, intimate moments within the Bush family.

    The Fight to Save Juarez: Life in the Heart of Mexico's Drug War

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2013 19:14


    Presenting a range of viewpoints that spans from high-level Mexican and U.S. officials to ordinary narcos and family members of victims, this portrait of Mexico’s bloodiest city offers a gripping, firsthand perspective on the drug war that has claimed close to 60,000 lives since 2007.

    The Complete Codex Zouche-Nuttall: Mixtec Lineage Histories and Political Biographies

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2013 12:38


    Maya Ideologies of the Sacred: The Transfiguration of Space in Colonial Yucatán

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 19, 2013 16:38


    Using the Maya city of Itzmal as a case study, this book explores how indigenous conceptions of space and landscape both aided and subverted the Franciscan evangelical effort in Colonial Yucatan. This podcast was produced in part by the Latin American and Caribbean Arts & Culture Publication Initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

    Dancing the New World: Aztecs, Spaniards, and the Choreography of Conquest

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2013 16:02


    Analyzing the extensive accounts of Aztec dance practices in colonial-era European chronicles, histories, letters, and travel books, this volume reveals the surprising and crucial role that dance played in the European conquest and colonization of the Americas. This podcast was produced in part by the Latin American and Caribbean Arts & Culture Publication Initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

    Latin American and Caribbean Arts and Culture Publication Initiative

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2013 5:55


    Editor in Chief Theresa May talks about the Latin American and Caribbean Arts and Culture Publication Initiative, which is funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

    Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 25, 2012 19:51


    Refuting claims from both the political right and left, this dynamic narrative history brings to life the long-forgotten founding struggles over American finance, economics, and taxes and reveals their immense and startling relevance to political struggles today.

    Reid, Let the People In

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2012 16:29


    Drawing on more than 100 interviews with Ann Richards’s friends and associates and her private correspondence, Let the People In offers a nuanced, fully realized portrait of the first feminist elected to high office in America and one of the most fascinating women in our political history.

    Slingin' Sam: The Life and Times of the Greatest Quarterback Ever to Play the Game

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2012 15:17


    Paying long-overdue tribute to one of the greatest legends in football, here is a biography of the quarterback who single-handedly revolutionized the game—TCU All-American and Washington Redskins Hall-of-Famer Slingin’ Sammy Baugh.

    Last Launch: Discovery, Endeavor, Atlantis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2012 19:14


    Powerfully evoking the unquenchable American spirit of exploration, award-winning photographer Dan Winters chronicles the final launches of Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor in this stunning photographic tribute to America’s space shuttle program.

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