Podcasts about as jones

227 years to the day since Maximilien Robespierre went to the guillotine we investigate the circumstances of his downfall. In this brilliantly analytical episode, Professor Colin Jones, one of the finest living scholars of early modern France, takes us back to one of the most dramatic episodes in all political history: 9-10 Thermidor in the Revolutionary Calendar, or 27-28 July in ours. As Jones explains, Robespierre began 9 Thermidor feeling relatively secure as he went to sleep in his austere lodgings near the Place de la Révolution. By the time the sun set into the summer horizon, his position was parlous. The next day he would be dead. The story and characters that feature in this episode of Travels Through Time are drawn from Jones's forthcoming book, The Fall of Robespierre: twenty four hours in Revolutionary Paris, which will soon be published by Oxford University Press. As ever, much, much more about this episode is to be found at our website tttpodcast.com. Show notes Scene One: 12 midnight 8-9 Thermidor: Robespierre in his lodgings. Scene Two: Some time in the evening – maybe around 9 pm – in the Place de la Maison Commune (Place de l'Hotel de Ville), a National Guard company discussing what is going on and what decision they should make over who to support. Scene Three: Robespierre at midnight 9-10 Thermidor: reflecting on the day and his and the Revolution's future. Memento: Robespierre's last letter. People/Social Presenter: Peter Moore Guest: Professor Colin Jones Production: Maria Nolan Podcast partner: Colorgraph Follow us on Twitter: @tttpodcast_ Or on Facebook See where 1794 fits on our Timeline 

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, January 10, 2020, Baptism of the Lord. “Tired Feet, Rested Souls” series. Texts: Acts 19:1-7, Mark 1:4-11 Today, we begin a new sermon series, “Tired Feet, Rested Souls” inspired by MLK’s “Letter from the Birmingham City Jail.” Over the next six weeks, I will bring themes from the letter into conversation with the weekly scripture. There is much to explore and to learn together. It feels like a movement of Spirit that this series should begin on this Sunday following the events of this past week. It is to Spirit I turn now as we pray together… “In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, ‘Those are social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with,’ and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which made a strange distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred and the secular.”  These words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were written in his “Letter from the Birmingham City Jail,” an open letter in response to eight white religious leaders who publicly critiqued the peaceful protests against racial segregation and violence in Birmingham in 1963.  It is a common thing in the churches I’ve served—even in Foundry, believe it or not—to hear people say they don’t want politics in church—let’s not grapple with “social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with.” My question is simply, what social issue does the gospel have nothing to do with? As Dr. King notes, it is “strange” for Christians to make a “distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred and the secular.” It’s strange because the God of the Bible doesn’t make these distinctions and most certainly cares about social issues. God cares about “politics,” that is, about the way we live in community, seek to order our common life, and care for the common good. Moses was political. Esther was political. Isaiah and every prophet was political. Jesus was political. All of these engaged and challenged the rulers and powers of the day for the sake of justice and righteousness and care for the suffering and oppressed and ultimately for the good of everyone. I have spent significant time in my life articulating a biblical, theological, and practical vision for the inherent connection between our Christian faith and politics. Sacred Resistance is one evidence of that. Today, I will simply point out that what we have seen on display this week in our city is not an expression of healthy tension between political points of view. It is not an outcry against systemic violence and oppression for the sake of any justice  or righteousness defensible in holy writ. It is a deep perversion of the connection between Christian faith and politics.  The insurrection we witnessed is fueled by a white, Christian nationalism not only willing but happy to have “Jesus Saves” signs and crosses paraded alongside the Confederate flag. Before and during the protest, violence was signaled in all the old, familiar, racist ways. In case anyone missed the more subtle signals, a noose was erected near the Capitol. “Religious liberty” another perversion of an otherwise lofty term and ideal is used in this context to defend selfishness, exclusion, inequity, injustice, and outright bigotry. As writer and researcher Robert P. Jones wrote, “This seditious mob was motivated not just by loyalty to Trump, but by an unholy amalgamation of white supremacy and Christianity that has plagued our nation since its inception and is still with us today.” As Jones indicates, this week’s events have been centuries in the making. In recent years, prominent white pastors in our country have spoken of our soon-to-be-former president as a savior, an idol in the old Roman Imperial mold—a sent-from-God ruler who would shut down the liberal aggressors who have the audacity to insist that Black lives matter and that naming and seeking to eradicate injustice and inequity is not a failure of American patriotism but its true call. // On this day when we tell the story of Jesus’ Baptism, we’re reminded that Jesus is the one sent from God. Jesus is God’s child, the Beloved. Jesus models for us how to use our freedom. He clearly had power, charisma, wisdom and chose not to throw his weight around and lord over others, but rather to humble himself, to enter into the same waters of Baptism that we share, to face the wilderness and its many temptations, to journey in community and solidarity with all in need, to welcome and raise to leadership those whom others rejected or ignored, to insist upon both personal spiritual devotion and social justice, to care for both souls and bodies, and to persevere even unto death for the sake of love. Jesus reveals for us the perfected image of God in human form. Remember that in the beginning we are told that all humans are created in God’s image—all of us!—in all our various gender identities, skin colors, nationalities, religions, and abilities. Jesus shows us what we’re capable of. In our Baptism we are incorporated into God’s mighty acts of salvation, given the freedom and power to resist evil, injustice, and oppression, and called to serve Jesus Christ and the Way of the Kin-dom which is love made manifest through justice, equity, mercy, compassion, and generosity. One word from our Baptism liturgy I don’t want us to miss today: power. We are given freedom and power by God. To do what? To abuse our privilege? To hoard our resources? To put others at risk for our comfort? To bully and belittle people? To become champions at resentment and cynicism? To be cruel and inhuman? To hide behind wealth or whiteness? Some people use their freedom and power in that way. But God gives us freedom and power to follow Jesus and to emerge from the waters of God’s mercy and love ready to do what it takes to participate in God’s liberating and saving work of Kin-dom building. Rev. Dr. King wrote, “There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society.” King wrote these words as he sat in jail in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963, a city he described as being completely “engulfed” in racial injustice, “thoroughly segregated,” and with a widely known “record of brutality.” He’d gone to Birmingham to participate in the campaign “organized (locally) by Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth… to attack the city’s segregation system by putting pressure on Birmingham’s merchants during the Easter season, the second biggest shopping season of the year…On April 3, 1963, it was launched with mass meetings, lunch counter sit-ins, a march on city hall, and a boycott of downtown merchants. … the campaign’s actions expanded to kneel-ins at churches, sit-ins at the library, and a march on the county courthouse to register voters. On April 10, the city government obtained a state court injunction against the protests. Two days later, on Good Friday, King was arrested for violating the anti-protest injunction and was placed in solitary confinement. From there he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and was released on bail on April 20. On May 2, 1963, more than one thousand African American students attempted to march into downtown Birmingham where hundreds were arrested. The following day, Public Safety Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor directed local police and fire departments to use force to halt the demonstrations. The next few days’ images of children being blasted by high-pressure fire hoses, clubbed by police officers, and attacked by dogs appeared on television and in newspapers, sparking international outrage. After mediated negotiation between the business leaders and leaders of the campaign, on May 10th, King and Rev Fred Shuttlesworth announced an agreement with the city of Birmingham to desegregate lunch counters, restrooms, drinking fountains, and department store fitting rooms within ninety days, to hire blacks in stores as salesmen and clerks, and to release hundreds of jail protesters on bond. Their victory, however, was met by a string of violence, culminating four months later on September 15, when Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members bombed Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church which had been the staging center for many of the spring demonstrations.  Four young black girls—Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Carol Denise McNair—were killed. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the eulogy at their funeral on September 18, 1963. Nonetheless, Birmingham was considered one of the most successful campaigns of the civil rights era.” I tell this story today in some detail because we all need to know it, we need to remember that concern for businesses over concern for Black lives is not a new one, we need to see that the issues currently being lifted by our Black, Indigenous, and siblings of color—and the same kind of attacks against them—are reflected in the events of 1963. I also tell this story because it shows a community, grounded in their faith and trained in the ways of nonviolent protest and resistance, who does what it takes—willingly going to jail, suffering blows, organizing for power, persevering even amidst tragedy after tragedy—to make real change. This is a community who uses their God-given freedom and power for the sake of justice and righteousness. They did not just take the temperature, they changed the thermostat. This is not work that is separate from our life of faith, it is sacred resistance, it is  part of our call. Foundry, we’ve taken the temperature, right? We know that there are cold hearts that leave others’ bodies out in the cold as a result. We know that the heat of rage and resentment and hatred is at a boiling point, doing damage in untold ways. We know things are changing for better or for worse. We are called to change the world for the better. As those created in the image of God, given freedom and power through Spirit, we are called to not just take the temperature but to change the thermostat, to bring warmth where it’s needed and coolness where there is none, to do what it takes to make real change.  So here’s what you can do: - do your own work; stay grounded in prayer and study - explore the ways that you are already supporting economic and racial justice through our Social Justice ministries (perhaps some of you can share in the comments!) - engage with the Journey to Racial Justice initiative at Foundry - connect with the BWC We Rise United campaign  You are made in the image of God and are a member of the Family Beloved. You are given freedom and power! How will you use it to change the thermostat? https://foundryumc.org/

Good morning, RVA! It’s 75 °F, and today looks slightly cooler than the last several punishing days. I hope y’all got some rain last night.Water coolerAs of this morning, the Virginia Department of Health reports 911↗️ new positive cases of the coronavirus in the Commonwealthand 16↗️ new deaths as a result of the virus. VDH reports 117↗️ new cases in and around Richmond (Chesterfield: 48, Henrico: 43, and Richmond: 26). Since this pandemic began, 287 people have died in the Richmond region. Here’s my stacked graph of statewide new cases, new deaths, and new hospitalizations since the end of March. I’m not sure you can compare new cases now to new cases back in May since we’ve really ratcheted up our testing game: The Commonwealth now regularly reports over 15,000 tests each day. You can compare the ebb and flow of hospitalizations and deaths though, which is (morbidly) interesting. The latter lags behind the former by a couple of weeks. Also, the most recent COVID Tracking Project post says that, looking at the national data, “it took 27 days after cases began to rise in early June for deaths to start rising as well.” Virginia’s cases started to really rise around the first week of July, so keep that in mind as we get closer to that 27-day threshold here in the Commonwealth.I’ve got two ways for you to get involved in Richmond City civics this morning—perfect homework for the weekend. First, the application for the Task Force on the Establishment of a Civilian Review Board is up and open! If you want to help the City figure out how its Civilian Review Board should work, this is the task force for you. They need nine members, include one person 18-years-old or younger, one person with a disability, and one person living in public housing. It’s unclear to me what kind of commitment they’re asking for—although building a CRB from scratch by March seems like a lot of work for a group of volunteers. Also, if you know a youth who’d be a good fit and they need some help with their application, please let me know! I’d love to help or find someone to help. Second, the City will hold the official public hearing on removing Confederate monuments at their meeting this coming Monday, August 3rd at 5:00 PM. A reader reminded me that, because the State says so, this public hearing must be conducted in person (PDF). That means if you really, really want to go sit inside with a bunch of other people for what could be several hours to give a public comment on monuments that have already been removed, you are totally welcome to do so. Alternatively, you can and should email the Clerk’s office (CityClerksOffice@richmondgov.com) with your comment in support of this paper before 10:00 AM on Monday, August 3rd.Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense reports that the City’s Office of the General Registrar will move from City Hall to 2143 Laburnum Avenue sometime before Labor Day. Unlike City Hall, which is eminently accessible by foot, bike, or bus, this new location at the far west end of Laburnum, crammed up against the highway, is just plain hard to get to unless you’re driving a car. In fact, this BizSense article mentions parking four times and “ample parking” twice. However, not mentioned is that the new location’s only bus access is a 12-minute walk to the hourly #91 bus (it’d take you at least 45 minutes to get there from Downtown and over an hour from Southside Plaza), biking on the wide and speedy Laburnum is terrifying, and to get there on foot you must cross over a highway on-ramp and under two overpasses. Not only that, but in early August, VDOT plans to tear up the street directly in front of the Registrar’s new office to build a roundabout—adding navigating construction to an already significant stack of accessibility challenges. But why is the accessibility of the Registrar’s office important? This is where folks can register to vote, get an absentee ballot in person, and drop off an absentee ballot in person. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but there’s a pandemic on and the number of folks who will want to vote absentee in November is gonna be enormous, and the City just made it that much harder for people to safely cast their ballot. Remember yesterday when I said that we desperately need “transportation staff who live, breath, lead on this stuff and deeply integrate it into every nook and cranny of civic decision-making”? This is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about. Luckily, all is not lost, and City Council will consider ORD. 2020–163 on August 10th which will create a satellite in-person absentee polling place at City Hall for two weeks before the November election. If it were me, I’d have the satellite locations operating for the entire time in-person absentee ballot drop off is allowed, but it’s probably too late to make that happen as there are some state-enforced timelines involved when adjusting polling locations. Anyway, ORD. 2020–163 is a very important ordinance, deserves your support, and you should email the City Clerk (CityClerksOffice@richmondgov.com) about it over the weekend (your third piece of homework!).This seems like good news: The Governor has asked the Virginia Supreme Court to ban evictions until September 7th, Justin Mattingly at the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Mattingly also says that Mayor Stoney and Council President Newbille have asked the local Richmond-Civil General District Court for a 60-day ban on evictions.It’s Friday, so I’ve updated my unemployment insurance claims chart with the new numbers from the week ending on July 25th. While totals claims have dropped continuously over the last month, new claims have steadily increased. I think I said this a while back and just haven’t had time to look into it, but I’d love to read some analysis on what kind of jobs are folks losing and has that changed over the past couple of months. You can read the Virginia Employment Commission’s post about this week’s numbers over on their website.I don’t really know how to talk about this piece about bike lanes in the RTD by Sabrina Moreno. I’ve got a lot of issues with it, starting with the headline (which is usually not written by the reporter). But, I don’t know that anyone needs to hear anymore opinions about bike lanes from a 3rd District white man who rides his bike everywhere. I’ll just say that I deeply agree with 9th District Councilmember Jones that, compared to sidewalks, bike lanes and shared-use lanes are cheap and quick to install. I think we should put them in on as many roads as possible to help folks safely walk, roll, and ride through their neighborhoods to access food, shopping, and public transportation. As Jones says, “I should feel comfortable that I can walk without worrying about a white person calling the police or a police car slowing down and that’s our reality.”My god, did you now that the parking requirements for multifamily buildings in Chesterfield is two parking spaces per unit? Even if they are one-bedroom units?? This blows my mind! Jack Jacobs at Richmond BizSense says the County will consider shrinking those requirements down to a still-too-chubby 1.5 spaces per one-bedroom unit.This morning’s longreadTogether, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our NationJohn Lewis wrote this essay before he died and asked that the New York Times publish it on the day of his funeral.While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.If you’d like your longread to show up here, go chip in a couple bucks on the ol’ Patreon.

The AFUO is proud to support two screenings of Mr Jones at the 2019 Polish Film Festival. Join us for this special collaboration between our two communities. MELBOURNE Opening Night Fri 22 Nov, 7pm (refreshments from 6.15pm) Classic Cinema, Elsternwick $39 pp includes drinks and finger food BOOK TICKETS SYDNEY Closing Night Sun 8 Dec, 4.30pm (refreshments from 3.45pm) Ritz Cinema, Randwick $39 pp includes drinks and finger food BOOK TICKETS Veteran director Agnieszka Holland unearths an essential chapter of history with this biopic about Welsh journalist Gareth Jones and his efforts to expose the man-made famine in Ukraine during the 1930s. Newly arrived in the USSR, continually told of Stalin’s achievements by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter Duranty but hearing whispers of widespread devastation in Ukraine, Jones became the first person to report on the Holodomor, the man-made famine that killed up to 10 million people. But his crucial coverage came at significant risk, as well as at a cost, to his safety, his reputation and his career.As Jones – a contemporary of George Orwell, and widely considered an inspiration for Animal Farm – Happy Valley and Grantchester actor James Norton turns in a career-best performance. Also starring Peter Saarsgard and Vanessa Kirby, Mr Jones is a compelling and powerful film about a crusader determined to reveal the truth even in the face extreme danger. - Coюз Українських Організацій Австралії запршує на перегляд кінофільму про Голодомор MR JONS, який демонструватиметься у рамцях 7-го Польського фестивалю кінофільмів в Сіднеї та Мельбурні. Фільм Агнєжки Голланд розповідає про те, як журналіст Гарет Джонс першим повідомив світ про штучний голодомор в Україні та спростовує оманливі повідомлення американського журналіста Вольтера Дюранті... The AFUO is proud to support two screenings of Mr Jones at the 2019 Polish Film Festival. Join us for this special collaboration between our two communities. MELBOURNE Opening Night Fri 22 Nov, 7pm (refreshments from 6.15pm) Classic Cinema, Elsternwick $39 pp includes drinks and finger food BOOK TICKETS SYDNEY Closing Night Sun 8 Dec, 4.30pm (refreshments from 3.45pm) Ritz Cinema, Randwick $39 pp includes drinks and finger food BOOK TICKETS Veteran director Agnieszka Holland unearths an essential chapter of history with this biopic about Welsh journalist Gareth Jones and his efforts to expose the man-made famine in Ukraine during the 1930s. Newly arrived in the USSR, continually told of Stalin’s achievements by Pulitzer Prize winner Walter Duranty but hearing whispers of widespread devastation in Ukraine, Jones became the first person to report on the Holodomor, the man-made famine that killed up to 10 million people. But his crucial coverage came at significant risk, as well as at a cost, to his safety, his reputation and his career.As Jones – a contemporary of George Orwell, and widely considered an inspiration for Animal Farm – Happy Valley and Grantchester actor James Norton turns in a career-best performance. Also starring Peter Saarsgard and Vanessa Kirby, Mr Jones is a compelling and powerful film about a crusader determined to reveal the truth even in the face extreme danger.

From nowhere Pete Buttigieg, the homosexual mayor of South Bend, IN, has become a well-known fixture in the American media as a candidate for President of the United States. In this video Patrick Coffin interviews Dr. E. Michael Jones, who is Mayor Pete's neighbor and author of a concise biography about Mayer Pete titled “Home Alone: A Neighbor's Thoughts on Pete Buttigieg,” a riff on the candidate’s memoirs (well, a memoir cum political manifesto), Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future. (May 28, 2019) Mayor Pete grew up on the same street where the Jones family lives in South Bend. Jones’ oldest son attended the same high school, where both were class valedictorian (in different years, of course), and both went to Harvard. Yet, in Mayor Pete’s memoirs there is no mention of neighbors like the Jones family. As Jones makes clear, almost nothing is what it appears when it comes to this longshot Democratic candidate. In this episode of the Patrick Coffin Show you will learn: The hard left wing political ideas of Antonio Gramsci and Michel Foucault held and taught by Mayor Pete’s father, the late Joe Buttigieg of Notre Dame, and how these have profoundly influenced Junior. Why the homosexual is now considered the ideal citizen. The context of Mayor Pete’s mendacious rise in local politics and why South Bend residents do not grade him highly as major. How the Democratic Party essentially invented Citizen Pete out of thin air. Why Mayor Pete’s so-called gay marriage in the Episcopal church is the apotheosis of the 1930 Anglican decision to permit birth control.

Early Bird Discount has been extended for our pilgrimage to Oberammergau. Learn more here: www.patrickcoffin.media/pilgrimage Subscribe and rate this podcast. Support this podcast: www.patrickcoffin.media/donate *******************************************************   Out of nowhere, in a matter of weeks, Pete Buttigieg, the Gay Mayor of South Bend, IN, is a well-known fixture in the American media consumer’s psyche as a candidate for President of the United States. Time Magazine put him on the cover standing awkwardly with his husband (or is it wife?) Chasten with the headline “First Family.” Like, totally normal. Dr. E. Michael Jones, author of 12+ books on faith and culture and the editor of Culture Wars Magazine has written a concise biography about Mayer Pete titled Home Alone, a riff on the candidate’s memoirs (well, a memoir cum political manifesto), Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future. As it happens, Mayor Pete grew up three doors down on the same street as the Jones family i South Bend. Jones’s youngest son Adam attended the same school, and was also a valedictorian (in different years, of course) and both went to Harvard. Yet, Mayor Pete’s memoirs somehow—gosh, who knows why—there is no mention of neighbors like the Jones family. As Jones makes clear, almost nothing is what it appears when it comes to this longshot Democrat Party candidate.   For more show notes go to: www.patrickcoffin.media/show    

In the field of children’s programming, few people- with the possible exception of Fred Rogers- are as beloved as Jim Henson, a contributor to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, but most famous for his creation of the Muppets. And yet, he’s remained an enigmatic figure in the years since his death. People remember the Muppets and they remember Jim, but they don’t know much about him. Jim Henson: The Biography (Ballantine Books, 2013), by Brian Jay Jones is thus an effort to correct that and to pin down the puppeteer: as a man, a husband, a father, and an innovator. For, with the passage of time, we’ve come to take the Muppets and their maker rather for granted. They’ve been around for over fifty years so it’s easy to forget they had to be invented. It’s equally easy to forget how ground-breaking an invention- along with Henson’s other innovations- they were. As Jerry Juhl, the first official employee of Muppet’s Inc., reminds us in Jim Henson: “This guy was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth direction in which one could sail.” And how doggedly he sailed. Henson worked relentlessly, not simply at a job but at his passions. As Jones notes, one of his top business objectives as to “work for the common good of all mankind.” And that is, in the end, perhaps one of the most striking things to emerge from Jim Henson: the fact that Henson was who he appeared to be. A complicated man, yes, with complications in his private life, but also a gentle soul who truly wanted to make the world a better place. And, also, a man who is, to this day, deeply beloved by all who knew and worked with him. Henson once wrote: “My hope still is to leave this world a little bit better for my being here.” As Jones’s biography proves, he did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the field of children’s programming, few people- with the possible exception of Fred Rogers- are as beloved as Jim Henson, a contributor to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, but most famous for his creation of the Muppets. And yet, he’s remained an enigmatic figure in the years since his death. People remember the Muppets and they remember Jim, but they don’t know much about him. Jim Henson: The Biography (Ballantine Books, 2013), by Brian Jay Jones is thus an effort to correct that and to pin down the puppeteer: as a man, a husband, a father, and an innovator. For, with the passage of time, we’ve come to take the Muppets and their maker rather for granted. They’ve been around for over fifty years so it’s easy to forget they had to be invented. It’s equally easy to forget how ground-breaking an invention- along with Henson’s other innovations- they were. As Jerry Juhl, the first official employee of Muppet’s Inc., reminds us in Jim Henson: “This guy was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth direction in which one could sail.” And how doggedly he sailed. Henson worked relentlessly, not simply at a job but at his passions. As Jones notes, one of his top business objectives as to “work for the common good of all mankind.” And that is, in the end, perhaps one of the most striking things to emerge from Jim Henson: the fact that Henson was who he appeared to be. A complicated man, yes, with complications in his private life, but also a gentle soul who truly wanted to make the world a better place. And, also, a man who is, to this day, deeply beloved by all who knew and worked with him. Henson once wrote: “My hope still is to leave this world a little bit better for my being here.” As Jones’s biography proves, he did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the field of children’s programming, few people- with the possible exception of Fred Rogers- are as beloved as Jim Henson, a contributor to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, but most famous for his creation of the Muppets. And yet, he’s remained an enigmatic figure in the years since his death. People remember the Muppets and they remember Jim, but they don’t know much about him. Jim Henson: The Biography (Ballantine Books, 2013), by Brian Jay Jones is thus an effort to correct that and to pin down the puppeteer: as a man, a husband, a father, and an innovator. For, with the passage of time, we’ve come to take the Muppets and their maker rather for granted. They’ve been around for over fifty years so it’s easy to forget they had to be invented. It’s equally easy to forget how ground-breaking an invention- along with Henson’s other innovations- they were. As Jerry Juhl, the first official employee of Muppet’s Inc., reminds us in Jim Henson: “This guy was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth direction in which one could sail.” And how doggedly he sailed. Henson worked relentlessly, not simply at a job but at his passions. As Jones notes, one of his top business objectives as to “work for the common good of all mankind.” And that is, in the end, perhaps one of the most striking things to emerge from Jim Henson: the fact that Henson was who he appeared to be. A complicated man, yes, with complications in his private life, but also a gentle soul who truly wanted to make the world a better place. And, also, a man who is, to this day, deeply beloved by all who knew and worked with him. Henson once wrote: “My hope still is to leave this world a little bit better for my being here.” As Jones’s biography proves, he did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the field of children’s programming, few people- with the possible exception of Fred Rogers- are as beloved as Jim Henson, a contributor to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, but most famous for his creation of the Muppets. And yet, he’s remained an enigmatic figure in the years since his death. People remember the Muppets and they remember Jim, but they don’t know much about him. Jim Henson: The Biography (Ballantine Books, 2013), by Brian Jay Jones is thus an effort to correct that and to pin down the puppeteer: as a man, a husband, a father, and an innovator. For, with the passage of time, we’ve come to take the Muppets and their maker rather for granted. They’ve been around for over fifty years so it’s easy to forget they had to be invented. It’s equally easy to forget how ground-breaking an invention- along with Henson’s other innovations- they were. As Jerry Juhl, the first official employee of Muppet’s Inc., reminds us in Jim Henson: “This guy was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth direction in which one could sail.” And how doggedly he sailed. Henson worked relentlessly, not simply at a job but at his passions. As Jones notes, one of his top business objectives as to “work for the common good of all mankind.” And that is, in the end, perhaps one of the most striking things to emerge from Jim Henson: the fact that Henson was who he appeared to be. A complicated man, yes, with complications in his private life, but also a gentle soul who truly wanted to make the world a better place. And, also, a man who is, to this day, deeply beloved by all who knew and worked with him. Henson once wrote: “My hope still is to leave this world a little bit better for my being here.” As Jones’s biography proves, he did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the field of children’s programming, few people- with the possible exception of Fred Rogers- are as beloved as Jim Henson, a contributor to Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live, but most famous for his creation of the Muppets. And yet, he’s remained an enigmatic figure in the years since his death. People remember the Muppets and they remember Jim, but they don’t know much about him. Jim Henson: The Biography (Ballantine Books, 2013), by Brian Jay Jones is thus an effort to correct that and to pin down the puppeteer: as a man, a husband, a father, and an innovator. For, with the passage of time, we’ve come to take the Muppets and their maker rather for granted. They’ve been around for over fifty years so it’s easy to forget they had to be invented. It’s equally easy to forget how ground-breaking an invention- along with Henson’s other innovations- they were. As Jerry Juhl, the first official employee of Muppet’s Inc., reminds us in Jim Henson: “This guy was like a sailor who had studied the compass and found that there was a fifth direction in which one could sail.” And how doggedly he sailed. Henson worked relentlessly, not simply at a job but at his passions. As Jones notes, one of his top business objectives as to “work for the common good of all mankind.” And that is, in the end, perhaps one of the most striking things to emerge from Jim Henson: the fact that Henson was who he appeared to be. A complicated man, yes, with complications in his private life, but also a gentle soul who truly wanted to make the world a better place. And, also, a man who is, to this day, deeply beloved by all who knew and worked with him. Henson once wrote: “My hope still is to leave this world a little bit better for my being here.” As Jones’s biography proves, he did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices