POPULARITY
How to Survive the Future is a podcast I made with Allison Quantz where we talk to people in the future about what things were like today, and how they've changed. One of the conversations I had was with botanist Ellen Jacquart, around the year 2045, at McCormick's Creek State Park. Even though the day Ellen and I walked together through the park was humid, we were in the shade of the forest, and maybe spring ephemerals don't actually change the temperature, but they make you feel cooler anyway. There's some bad news there too, but I think it's another reminder that there are surprises in the natural world now, and there will be then, too. And that is not all, oh no, that is not all. We have poems from Shana Ritter AND Eric Rensberger, both local poets on the Bloomington scene. And, I interview Todd Gould, the director of WTIU's new documentary: Major Taylor: Champion of the Race, about who Major Taylor was (hint: did you know a track cyclist could be a superstar athlete? He could – in the early 1900s), and what a documentary is about beyond the film itself.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021 - "A Native Nancy Drew." That's what author Angeline Boulley always wanted in a young adult thriller. And that's who she created in Daunis Firekeeper, a determined teen who reluctantly joins forces with the FBI to investigate a pervasive meth ring. We visit about Boulley's first novel, Firekeeper's Daughter, which has already been optioned for a Netflix series. ~~~ Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day, so we thought we’d share an essay from Wendy Welch, the author of “The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book.” Her book explores what it means to open an independent bookstore at a time when physical books seem to be disappearing. Allison Quantz reports.
While Marine le Pen failed to win the recent French presidential election, her increased popularity is just the most recent example of how far right nationalism has spread. Allison Quantz reports on what the right wing populist surge looks like in Eastern Europe. From With Good Reason, the Short Listen combines short-form storytelling and compelling interviews to bring you the best of each week's episode in under 10 minutes.
The film Sully was released last month. It’s about the US Airways flight 1549 that had to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River after running into a flock of geese. It turns out that birds cause frequent problems for airlines, as well as farmers, businesses, you name it. One Virginia researcher has come up with what he believes is a humane and effective solution for keeping birds out of trouble. Allison Quantz has more.
The latest research shows that about a third of young adults say they're religiously unaffiliated. Is this just putting a new term on an old pattern, or is there something more going on here? One Virginia researcher says that millennials are rejecting formal religion, but embracing a kind of pick-and-choose spirituality. Allison Quantz has more.
We’re approaching the one year anniversary of the Charleston shooting, which left nine people dead and sparked controversy over Confederate monuments throughout the United States. Allison Quantz reports on one Richmond, Virginia man who makes a case for rethinking the monuments spread throughout the former Confederate capital.
At the beginning of the 19th century women in the United States had an average of seven or eight children. By 1900 they had only three or four, and today 35% of Americans have exactly two children. How did this happen? This episode of Distillations explores the role technology has played in reproduction, and how it has affected the ethical and moral landscape that surrounds it. First, reporter Allison Quantz talks to her sister to find out what she plans to do with her extra frozen embryos. Along the way Quantz learns that there are more than one million frozen embryos in the United States with similar uncertain futures. Then we talk with Deanna Day, a historian of medicine and technology and a post-doctoral fellow at CHF, and Lara Freidenfelds, a historian who writes about women’s health, sex, and reproduction in America. SHOW CLOCK: 00:03 Introduction 01:46 A tale of unused embryos 11:35 Interview with Deanna Day and Lara Freidenfelds CREDITS: Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Guests: Deanna Day and Lara Freidenfelds Reporter: Allison Quantz Producer & Editor: Mariel Carr Music courtesy of Audio Network and the Free Music Archive. Check out Distillations magazine at distillations.org, where you'll find articles, videos, and our podcast.