Podcasts about astors

  • 99PODCASTS
  • 122EPISODES
  • 48mAVG DURATION
  • 1MONTHLY NEW EPISODE
  • Aug 1, 2025LATEST
astors

POPULARITY

20172018201920202021202220232024


Best podcasts about astors

Latest podcast episodes about astors

Done & Dunne
249. Touring Bellevue Avenue | Chateau-sur-Mer, The Breakers, Seaview Terrace, Rosecliff, Beechwood, Marble House and Beaulieu

Done & Dunne

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2025 33:02


This week we continue our tour of Newport's Bellevue Avenue with seven more glorious homes including Chateau-sur-Mer, The Breakers, Seaview Terrace, Rosecliff, Beechwood, Marble House and Beaulieu. There are many Gilded Age high society folks who owned these homes at one time or another such as the Astors, the Vanderbilts, and the Whetmores. Also included is a Dark Shadows tie-in, and a deeper dive into the life of silver heiress Tess Oelrichs. Continue your investigation with ad-free and bonus episodes on Patreon! To advertise on Done & Dunne, please reach out to info@amplitudemediapartners.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

VO BOSS Podcast
The Problem with Playing It Safe.

VO BOSS Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2025 38:01


BOSSes, get ready for an inspiring conversation with a true powerhouse of performance. In this episode of the VO Boss Podcast, we welcome the incredibly talented Stacia Newcomb, a veteran voice actor and performer who has been lighting up the mic and screen for over 20 years!   00:01 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Hey bosses, if you're ready to start that demo journey, let's craft your professional demo together. As an award-winning professional demo producer, I'll collaborate with you to showcase your talent in the best possible light. From refining your delivery to selecting the perfect scripts to showcase your brand, I'll ensure your demo reflects your skills and personality. Let's create a demo that opens doors and paves the way for your success. Schedule your session at anneganguzza.com today.  00:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the Boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a Boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.  00:52 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I'm here with a very special guest who's been lighting up the mic and the screen for over 20 years. Who's been lighting up the mic and the screen for over 20 years?  01:09 Stacia Newcomb is a powerhouse voice actor, performer and creator whose work spans just about every medium, let's say television, radio, video games, audiobooks and even puppetry. You might recognize her as the star voice See what I did there and fuzzy face of star from the Good Night Show on Sprout, where she's brought warmth and comfort to bedtime for kids for over a decade. Not only that, but she's voiced characters for Disney, nickelodeon, pbs, kids and Cartoon Network. And, of course, you've heard her in campaigns for brands like Geico, verizon, subway and Dunkin'. She's made her mark on stage and screen from a memorable appearance on 30 Rock, which I found to be quite interesting We'll talk about that in a minute to sold-out off-Broadway comedy shows like Can I Say this? I Can Shit Show and Potty in the USA. I can't say that because it's my podcast. Yes, these days she's running her own studio in the Berkshires Sound and the Furry where she produces family-friendly content and helps other performers find their voice. Welcome to the show Stacia.  02:12 - Stacia (Guest) Wow, thank you. That was quite the intro.  02:15 - Anne (Host) I'm like wow, I was like wow, I don't think 30 minutes is enough time for us, Stacia, to go through everything that you've done. Let's not, then We'll talk about whatever we want to. It's just, it's so amazing. I mean, so you've been in the industry for over 20 years, which actually to me, I've been in it just the voiceover aspect for like 18. And so 20 years feels like it was yesterday to me. But talk to us a little bit, talk to the bosses and tell us a little bit how you first got into performance. I assume performance was before voiceover.  02:50 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, yeah, hey, bosses. Yeah, I started as an actor. I wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember, I mean when I was little. My mom still tells a story about how I performed for all of my five-year-old friends at my fifth birthday party, which sounds like still a good party to me, right? So, yeah, so I started as an actor and through that I tried to just branch off into any direction that I could, to be living a creative life and be able to continue performing in whatever medium I could. You know.  03:34 - Anne (Host) So what was one of the first things that you did? Performance wise, professionally, yes, professionally.  03:38 - Stacia (Guest) So I this is so random, but there is. I'm from Massachusetts, that's where I grew up. In Newport, rhode Island, which I don't know if there are any Gilded Age fans out there there was a mansion, the Astors Beachwood, and the Astors Beachwood was owned by the Astors at the time when I graduated high school. At the time, for about 10 or 15 years, I think they had. They hired actors from all over the country to live there and perform as both aristocrats and servants of the 1890s the year was 1891. And we yeah, it was all improv, like some days I'd be an aristocrat and some days I'd be a little housemaid.  04:22 - Anne (Host) Wow, that sounds so interesting. Now you said Massachusetts. Now see, I'm originally a New York State girl, right, and I've been up and down the East Coast, so Massachusetts would suggest that you have an accent in there somewhere. Yeah, I sure do.  04:37 - Stacia (Guest) It's right there.  04:38 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and of course I feel like, because I had a very New York State accent which was kind of similar, believe it or not, not quite as I don't know, not quite as accented as, not as ugly. Is that what you're trying to say? Oh no, because I would say things like car and water and it would be like really flat with my A is water.  05:01 And when I moved to New Jersey, oh my gosh did they make fun of me, and so I should not make fun of you?  05:04 in New Jersey, in New.  05:04 - Stacia (Guest) Jersey, they say, they say water.  05:05 - Anne (Host) They say water, what's water, and so I literally like and I think you're, I think possibly at the time this was before voiceover I said, oh gosh, all right, so let me try to tame that, and so I did my own taming of my own accent and then ultimately, I got into voiceover.  05:36 And back when I got into voiceover it was a thing to neutral, to quote, unquote, neutralize, whatever that means, neutralize your accent. And I said it was in a pink envelope and I brought it to the backstage door and so I heard myself say that and I was like and so from then on I just I started pronouncing my R's and have never looked back.  06:02 I imagine once you do, you have family that's still in the area.  06:05 - Stacia (Guest) Yes, in fact, we just moved my mom out of the area.  06:08 - Anne (Host) Yeah, when you go to family reunions and I think that when I get around my you know, my family in New Jersey, like we all start talking quicker and then we start, you know, well, let's talk about you know, we just like get into that accent and it just happens inadvertently but outside of the accent. So that's a really cool first gig. And so then did you go to school for theater?  06:33 - Stacia (Guest) We did OK. So I had done a little dinner theater and then I but I had been auditioning in New York. I had a big callback when I was like 18. I was called back for Les Mis and it didn't happen, unfortunately. But it's cool because it led me on other adventures.  06:52 - Anne (Host) Sure, that was one of my first shows by the way that I saw that. I saw that. I was in a show. No, yeah. No, I can't claim that, but but a callback for Les Mis is really awesome.  07:01 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, it was a big deal, I and I, so I always. The plan was always to move to New York City, but it just takes a while to get on your feet and New York City is very expensive and a little scary when you're you know, sure is Absolutely Very scary.  07:15 Yeah, and so I ended up getting there eventually. But I did go to college and then I quit college because I realized at some point, like I'm getting a degree in musical theater and what am I going to do with that degree? And I'm spending so much money, but when you're 19 years old you don't realize what you're signing on the dot. You're signing your name on the dotted line for thousands upon thousands of dollars and it's the program itself ended up falling apart. And there were all these promises that were made to me, like you know I, because they gave me a bunch of credits because I'd already been working as an actor, and then I was going to go to London and then they were going to give me my master's so I should have had my master's within five years master's in theater performance. They also had a program where, like I would get my equity card and they do theater during the summers. But it was a small liberal arts Catholic college in Minnesota and the program sort of fell apart and I escaped. I was like this is not.  08:21 - Anne (Host) I had to get out of there. I escaped. That was a lot of that was a lot of words, and I'm not going to make this political at all, but that was a lot of words when you said Minnesota Catholic theater. Coming from a Catholic girl.  08:35 - Stacia (Guest) So I get that. Yes, so it was run by these two incredible gay men who were. They were amazing, but as you can imagine the politics at the time and just yeah, they were amazing, but as you can imagine the politics at the time and just yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, and so all right.  08:48 - Anne (Host) So you quit college. And then what? I quit college.  08:53 - Stacia (Guest) But I got a job before I left, so I needed the impetus and the excuse to get out, which so I ended up working for Goodspeed Musicals, which is in Connecticut and they're a really pretty famous like regional theater. They'd won a lot of awards at the musical Annie started there, so I went there to be an intern in costuming and then I left that because I was like this is not what I want to be doing, I want to be performing. But it got me back east, which was great, and then from there I ended up taking like odd jobs, living with my parents for a little bit until I landed a show that took me on tour as a one person it was actually two different one woman shows for this company that's an educational theater company, and so I did that for like five years and while I was doing that I was able to make enough money to move to New York City and just keep going.  09:47 - Anne (Host) Now, what shows were those that you did that? The one woman shows, because that's quite a thing to do, a one woman show.  09:53 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, and they're educational. So we would go to I would go alone really, I would travel all over the country, and one of them I played the fictional best friend of Anne Frank, and then the other one I played this young Irish girl who came over during the great wave of immigrants in the early 1900s. So I would go to, like schools and libraries and small theaters, and it was.  10:16 - Anne (Host) It was really incredible, an incredible job for a learning experience Now, at any given time at this point in your life. Did your parents or anyone ever say to you well, okay, so when are you going to get a real job? Do you know what I mean? Is it that? Was it ever like that for you?  10:35 - Stacia (Guest) I mean, yeah, I mean, I think probably in my own mind I thought not real job, but like when's the real, when are we gonna you know, and certainly when I would do my? You know, when that really happens is like around March or April, when you start doing your taxes and you're like exactly, theater doesn't pay, and so yeah, but I didn't get pressure like that from my parents. I got, I was lucky to get their support.  11:05 - Anne (Host) Yeah, that's wonderful.  11:06 - Stacia (Guest) I mean, they didn't have to support me financially and that's, I think, all that mattered to them.  11:10 - Anne (Host) Well, that's actually huge.  11:12 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And.  11:12 - Anne (Host) I love that Because you had support to be able to go out and follow your creative dreams, which, I mean, my gosh, you, you've actually I mean you have the gamut of of creative things that you've done, and I imagine that just gives you such wonderful experience, because you're so rounded in all the areas that would make it important for you to be successful in any of those business areas.  11:38 - Stacia (Guest) Thank you, I think it's it's. It's also like trying new things and being new at things and, um, trying to not get be stagnant. You know, like just um, and and even always in my voiceover career, it's like I have to remind myself to uh, like that I get to do this and that that this is what I love, and just to to make it. How do you make it fresh when you've been doing it for so long?  12:08 - Anne (Host) For so long, absolutely.  12:11 - Stacia (Guest) And it's a different thing when you look at whatever you're about to experience or do with fresh eyes or like beginner eyes or like from a beginner experience, because you immediately are like, whoa, I love this, you know, and sometimes I think that can easily bring back the magic to whatever you're working on.  12:34 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah. So, these days are you mostly doing voiceover, doing voiceover and performing.  12:41 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah Well, so the pandemic changed a lot of things for me. We, because I've been in New York City and you know I'm still. We still have our apartment in New York City, but I'm mostly up at our house in the woods in the Berkshires. Yeah, I am still auditioning, I am still doing voice, a lot of voiceover. So yeah, I'm kind of all over the place and sort of open to whatever happens. I'm not I think I haven't been fully steering my own ship. I've kind of been like I don't know where are we going to go, Whatever you know, and just being open to whatever.  13:15 - Anne (Host) And there's so much good to be said in that though.  13:18 Yeah kind of allowing it to happen. I, I think for me and I don't know, I don't know what to call it, but for me I've always followed my gut or my intuition, and a lot of times, if things don't come right away, I know they will at some point, but I don't. I try not to rush myself to get to any specific spot, because I know that if it's going to happen, it's going to happen, and and the time it takes to kind of evolve the solution or the you know, to actually say okay, yes, now I know I have more, I have more direction, and now I'm heading in this direction. So I love that you said that. I love that Because you're not always sure right, you're not.  13:55 - Stacia (Guest) You're not. And you know the business has changed so much over the last, you know, over the last five years. I mean it's. It's kind of crazy. It's a new world and it's different. Navigating it is different, even though I'm with the same agents, even though I'm, you know, still in the business and I know the casting people or the producers that I know and have worked with. It's just, it's different. Approaching it like, hey, yeah, I don't have to rush. I really love that, Anne, because I feel like there is a rush.  14:30 - Anne (Host) There's always a rush I want it now. Yeah, no, I agree, I think so many of my students are always. They want it, they want it now, and I'm like, well, there's something to be said to letting it marinate and letting it evolve and letting it happen.  14:43 - Stacia (Guest) And also like looking in the other direction or seeing what else you know, I think. I think a lot of times, artists, especially if you're focused on one particular medium, you just focus on that one thing. And I, I recently started painting. Am I good at it?  15:01 - Anne (Host) No, I love it. I love it, but I don't think anybody could ever accuse you of not like experiencing or exploring different mediums, but it keeps you alive, it keeps you like, creative and happy, and that's what I want.  15:14 - Stacia (Guest) It'd be exactly that like lightens you up and it opens you up to when you are approaching commercial copy or whatever. It is Right Because you're, because you haven't been like. Why am I not looking? Why am I not? What am I? Who do I?  15:31 - Anne (Host) need to be for this piece of copy and you're just, you're just letting it, you're letting it happen. Yeah, yeah, I love that. Oh my gosh. So what? Before I actually talk to you about, let's say, some character, I want to. I have some character questions to ask you, because I think you're always a character in voiceover and no matter what genre you're working on. But I do want to talk about puppetry and what got you into that?  15:51 - Stacia (Guest) I had been doing Pokemon. I was very lucky. When I moved to New York I worked as a cater waiter when I wasn't doing the that one of those one woman shows and a friend had introduced me to the studio that that at the time was recording Pokemon. So you know how it's like things trickle Around. That same time this show was off Broadway it was called Avenue Q and then that musical came to Broadway, which is where I was finally able to get tickets, because you could not get tickets to it and it was crazy and it was such a special show. It's just so funny. The music is great and touching. It has so much heart to it. I mean it's a little dated now, but at the time it was, it was just extraordinary.  16:38 - Anne (Host) And it's still yeah.  16:39 - Stacia (Guest) So in that show for anyone who any of the bosses out there that that haven't seen it or don't know about it in that musical you see the full-on puppeteers playing the puppets on stage and it's so revealing. And me, as a young woman, I always loved puppets. I had puppets as a kid. I had like an Alf puppet from Burger King. I had a Kermit the Frog puppet. I loved puppets. Never thought that it could be a career, never thought in a million years. And when you think about it there aren't a lot of. It seems like there aren't a lot of female puppeteers. There are and there are more, but as I was growing up it was all men really, and then you would have like even the female characters. I mean Miss Piggy's, like one of the most famous women female characters of all time. She's played by a man and so you know the idea of being able to play a, be a puppet. It just was not. It never, you know. And so I saw that show and it was just incredibly revealing to me. It was like a light bulb moment. So I immediately got a puppet and started training.  17:52 I actually was so lucky that I got into a class that John Tartaglia had been teaching at that point in the city and I got to study with him, which was amazing and he's a beautiful human being, and so from there it was just kind of magical. Somehow this show was uh happening. I did another little uh on camera thing, but then this show the good night show happened. I auditioned for it and I had already created this little four-year-old girl character. They wanted me to change it up and make it a boy character. Well, those voices are going to be very similar, because a four-year-old boy and girls can sound pretty similar oh yeah yeah, Actually I was listening to it, I was trying to figure out.  18:35 - Anne (Host) You know, I felt like it could have been either yeah, right, right, because it's so young.  18:41 - Stacia (Guest) So yeah, so I auditioned for it and I booked that job and it became a huge part of my life. I ended up creating a part of the show and writing for the show and helping create the spinoff of the show, and so there's your, there's your acting, your puppetry, your your voiceover.  19:00 - Anne (Host) I mean you're, I mean production, I mean it's all aspects.  19:04 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, absolutely yeah that's, that's amazing. It was, it was a really it was a really special show and a beautiful community and even now I, michelle who, michelle Lepe, who was the host on the show she still gets messages about, you know, from the kids who grew up with it, just like how much it meant to them, which is very sweet. I don't because no one, because I don't look like this.  19:29 - Anne (Host) Well, you know, I can say something similar because I was a teacher for 20 years and so I watched my kids grow up and I literally had one of them contact me just recently on LinkedIn thanking me for setting them on the path, and I was like, oh my gosh, like that just meant the world to me, and so I think that's beautiful.  19:49 Right, and that's one of the reasons why I love doing any educational voiceover. Sure, because I feel like there's, and not just e-learning, but like medical, like I mean anything that educates an explainer that can help someone, and even corporate. Do you know what I mean? Because you're always come at it from an aspect of how can I help you, the person that I'm talking to, you know, look better, feel better, be better, you know, and really that's commercial too, because it really should be about how you're helping the person that's listening to you, yeah, and connecting in that way, and not necessarily what you sound like while you're doing it, yeah.  20:31 Let's not get wrapped up in that, yeah, no. And so with that, it's a good segue to start talking about characters, because you've done so many characters, but you also have done commercials. So when it comes to characters in voiceover, let's talk a little bit about that. How is it that you prepare for any given piece of copy? Is it always a character?  20:56 - Stacia (Guest) Is it always a character you mean like with?  21:00 - Anne (Host) character copy or what you mean, or any kind of copy. Do you create a character for any type of copy, any type of copy, I think?  21:06 - Stacia (Guest) for me, my approach to commercial copy is it depends on the spot but it also is like how you know the age old question how would I talk to? A friend about this sitcom, you know, like whatever it is, but I and so it's just about bringing my authentic self to it. But also there's a there's. I think there is a musicality to it, but also it really depends on what's on the page right or what we're selling, you know do you ever envision?  21:37 - Anne (Host) do you ever envision yourself as the um, the, the? On camera the zip cream or the character zip cream or the. The person on camera. The character Zipcreme or the person on camera.  21:47 - Stacia (Guest) Sure, yeah, I think I mean I love when you get any kind of visual or if they give you the break of what is gonna be on screen and then you can kind of I love visualizing. I think visualizing because what it does for me is it brings my imagination to life, which immediately I'm having way more fun in the booth yeah. Yeah, and it's enjoyable, even when the copy is like maybe a little like dry or sad or whatever, like liven it up by visualizing what's happening.  22:26 - Anne (Host) Yeah absolutely Believe it or not. That's a big thing. Even if I'm doing e-learning, I'm imagining that I'm the teacher, because I was a teacher for so long and so I can draw upon that experience, and it's better for me to talk almost like a one-on-one coaching with a student. And if I try to envision myself in front of the class, even when I was a teacher, I was always looking at one person at any given time. Yes, so it made it much more personal, of course, and so for e-learning, I'm a character Corporate narration. I'm a character because I work for the company and I'm trying to provide a solution that is going to help the person that I'm talking to, which makes it a whole lot more interesting than if you're just reading about it to someone.  23:15 - Stacia (Guest) Totally yeah, or sound, trying to sound like someone who reads these kinds of things. Right, it's like, because it's a really I think what it comes down to is connection and we, as actors, need to connect right copy, which means I probably need to understand it. That's, that's excellent.  23:25 - Anne (Host) So yeah, so how? What are your steps for connecting to copy?  23:28 - Stacia (Guest) It really depends on the piece. Recently I had to do what was pretty lengthy and I had to do the spot in 15 seconds and it was like okay, I don't usually read things over and over and over again because they feel like there's an element of um, uh, over overdoing it you know, I agree I agree.  23:52 So my booth is here behind me. That's why I'm pointing behind me, in case anyone's wondering Um, and so sometimes when I get in there, I will run it a few times like that particular spot because it had to be so quick. But at the same time, of course, they're going to want it to sound like I just talk, like that, you know, and so it's like it's marrying those two things right when I want it to come off like it feels like me. I'm just sort of having this talk, but I'm also. It's very quick and rapid and it falls within the 15 seconds. Yeah, so my approach is not always the same thing. It really depends on what I'm working with, and sometimes there isn't enough time, like in that 15 seconds, there's not enough time to visualize or do this. It's wall to wall copy and it's also I'm talking about this cool thing that you're going to love, and so it's just about like who sometimes I like playing with? Who am I talking to? Where am I? Proximity is such a fun thing to play with too.  24:57 - Anne (Host) You can do that in a minute or two, totally Right. Yeah, and that's the thing I always try to emphasize to my students is that it doesn't take a whole lot of time to figure out who you are and who you're talking to and maybe set a scene up, yeah, and to get yourself rolling on that. I mean it's nice if you have the entire scene as it progresses through, because that allows you to help tell the story. But if you don't have all the time in the world, but a lot of times we're auditioning in our studios. I mean, we're not live auditioning as much as we used to. Gosh knows that's the case, right? Um, and unless we're like in front of a, we're being live directed. That's a different story, right, but if we've got the time before we go into the studios, I mean, what do you take five minutes?  25:37 - Stacia (Guest) if you put different scenarios on it, because you're probably sending more than one read on this commercial copy and we don't know. But the thing that I've loved playing with recently is I really love doing a take. That's for me what do I want?  25:53 to do with this? How do I want to bring myself to this? Because I think that what makes us viable, that what makes us marketable, is us. We are not disembodied voices. We are human beings with lived in experiences, and so we're not just bringing our incredibly gorgeous voices. We are human beings with lived in experiences, and so we're not just bringing our incredibly gorgeous voices. We are bringing ourselves to this copy and what our lived experiences and our lives, and so that that's really fun to to, just like I would. I would, I would encourage everyone to just do one for you. What do you want it to sound like?  26:29 - Speaker 1 (Announcement) Exactly.  26:30 - Stacia (Guest) Because that's the most empowering feeling is to be like I want to do this with this, and that's when you're collaborating too Sure sure, and is that the take that you submit first?  26:42 - Anne (Host) Not necessarily. Is that take one, or is it the second take?  26:46 - Stacia (Guest) Like lately I have been exploring it and I just feel like I just want to be a little more playful, yeah, and so, yeah, I mean, I say not necessarily.  26:56 - Anne (Host) The truth is I lean towards that one, unless I've worked with the people before.  27:00 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Yeah, and I know what they're looking for. You know what I mean then I'm gonna just give them what they want.  27:04 - Anne (Host) But uh, if I don't know, and it's not like a critical like I, I always think like it's kind of like gambling for me, right, sure we're all gambling.  27:13 - Stacia (Guest) We're just all right, we're all gambling, right.  27:15 - Anne (Host) So I'm just gonna like, well, you know what, I'm just gonna do my best and I'm gonna, and I'm, and I'm gonna, just, you know, send it and forget it, that kind of thing. So I'm not gonna put so much stock in like, oh my god, did I do the right thing? Did I give them what they wanted? Am I going to get this? I try never to like hope and wish in that way for any job.  27:35 - Stacia (Guest) If you're saying I want to do this and that's where I'm like no, both of those takes are for me. It's not that it's for me, but it's like I'm going to give you what I want to give you, and then I'm going to give you another take of something different that I want to do with this.  27:53 And of course I read all the specs and of course I read and I'll even, you know, watch other spots that they've done to get an idea. Like we got to do our homework right, but then it's like you asked me to do this. I'm going to got to do our homework right, but then it's like you asked me to do this. I'm gonna do it my way. See, it's fun. I'm gonna have fun with it. I'm gonna. It's so much easier to let go when you like, because if you hold on to what you like, if you, if you don't give the what you want to do with it, read, then it's like you might live with regret yeah, you know, or like it sounds like everybody else's yeah right  28:29 at the end of the day maybe even they're all gonna sound somewhat the same, anyway, you know, but it's like at least you know you had fun with it. You felt like your authentic self and you and you played yeah yeah, you know.  28:43 - Anne (Host) So, being a singer, which I, that was the other part of the medium that I didn't really talk to you about, but I mean, I can actually hear just your talking voice, although I've never heard you sing. Except I did, I did go, you know, I did my homework, I did my, I did my YouTube. You have a gorgeous voice.  28:58 Oh, thank you, but I can hear that.  29:00 I can hear that in your voice as you speak to me, and it's so funny because I think that no one should have to try, right.  29:10 I think that no one should have to try right to create a voice that somebody thinks they want to hear. Because when we're connecting right and I actually listened to quite a different number of songs that you did in different styles, and one was from your potty show, and so you had such a range there and what was so cool is that you were just undoubtedly yourself and just like in all aspects of yourself, and that was just so cool because it was connecting and that was what I was looking for as a human being. I was looking for that, that connection in the voice and while you were on stage and while you were communicating to me, and I feel like it's the same exact thing. It's the same exact thing for voiceover, right. It's all about like your voice is beautiful, no matter what you're you know what I mean, no matter what you're doing, you don't have to try and so just connect with me, and that's really what I'm looking for as a human being, and I think that's what most casting directors are looking for.  30:04 And they tell me over and over again, that's really what they're looking for. Is connection, not necessarily the sound.  30:11 - Stacia (Guest) I think we get caught up in the sound. The sound or I flubbed on this, or I you know this or that, whatever it is, and it's like I. I don't want to be listening and I am because it's so hard when you're doing this yourself.  30:28 - Anne (Host) It is hard not to listen.  30:30 - Stacia (Guest) You have to take off the director hat while you're the actor, and then you have to take off the engineering.  30:39 - Anne (Host) You know you have to compartmentalize, because if you don't, and you don't because you'll, and then when you come back, Because if you don't and you don't because you'll, and then when you come back and you're the engineer slash director and you listen back and you're like, oh, as an actor, I really loved that last take, that's weird. I don't like listening to it, like I don't. I don't have that feeling brought this up because it's hard. It's hard for us to separate the ears, right. It's like you have to develop an ear, right, you have to develop an ear as an actor, you have to develop an ear as an audio engineer and you have to be able to separate them.  31:13 And it's funny because I've always maintained back, when I was really, you know, moving on this in this career, I was in a place where they were doing construction outside my home and I had, when I was in my studio, I had my headphones on. I had to keep them on because I had to make sure that there was none of that sound coming in, and so I had my headphones on a lot of time. And if, if you get good at it, I always say the headphones are just amplifying your voice, and so if you can not listen to your voice and just you know what I mean, like you can record with your headphones on. I mean, right, you got to do it when you're live directed anyways. So I'm always saying people are saying, oh, I don't wear my headphones because I try to listen to myself.  31:53 I'm like I could listen to myself with my headphones off. Do you know what I mean? But you've got to be able to compartmentalize, and I love that you said that, because that is a skill and it's a skill that I think takes a little bit of time for for people to to really really get to be able to to say, okay, this is my, this is my actor ears. Yeah, versus what do I sound like?  32:16 - Stacia (Guest) right, it's that constant like don't listen what you sound like and it's. It's also like there's because there is that judgment that comes in you and that when you are wearing cans, if you aren't telling your self limiter I talk about this a lot and we'll talk about it when when we work together with everyone, but if you aren't challenging them and saying I don't need you here right now, it's very powerful to send them away, to send that voice to me. For some reason, it's right here.  32:48 - Anne (Host) It's just very like right, that's like the magic secret Stacia, I mean I love that it works for me. So, I want to say that we are going to be having you as a VO Boss workshop guest director, so, and and we are going to be talking character creation. So will we be discussing, talk a little bit about what we're going to be talking character creation. So will we be discussing, talk a little bit about what we're going to be doing in that class.  33:08 - Stacia (Guest) What I would love to do is see where everyone's at, what they want to play with, and, of course, do that, but also, I think, for everyone, I would love to share the self limiter and what I, what I do to get rid of that sort of you know, it's a, it's a protection right. That's what that voice is doing. It's trying to help you, but it's not helpful. I love that.  33:34 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh, that's like secret sauce.  33:36 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Yeah, yeah, I think so.  33:38 - Anne (Host) I know how hard that I mean. It's just, it's so hard. I mean, and you do have to, you have to be able to, you have to be able to separate it, you have to wrangle that?  33:46 - Stacia (Guest) Yeah, because that that voice that's trying to protect you inevitably is is keeping you safe. It's keeping you safe, it's doing its job and you don't. You do not want anyone keeping you safe when you're in your booth. Yeah, it is not a place for safety.  34:04 - Anne (Host) It is a place to play.  34:06 - Stacia (Guest) If you're playing safe and you're in a dramatic role for a video game and you're, you know you're about to I don't know shoot up some monsters, or you're afraid for your life or it, or you're, you know, some silly little kid like you got to be a little kid, you got to be playful and you know, or you got to be scared of those monsters or whatever's on that page. It is not a place for you to be protected or be playing it safe.  34:33 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, I love that. Did I just get on a soapbox? I think I did. I think that, no, I love that and and all right. So, from a different perspective right, I mean a different perspective, it the way that it hit me, but I love that. You teach that because I am.  34:47 You know, I've had health issues, right, I had cancer, and before I was diagnosed, I was like so worried about what I was sounding like and what. You know how the audition went and did. Should I have done it this way? Should I have you know? And then all of a sudden, it was like whoa, like what was I? Like that just didn't seem important anymore. I shouldn't be.  35:09 Why was I so worried about what I sounded like when, in fact, I just, you know, I'm fighting this disease right now, and so it gave me such a license to permit myself to be free. Yeah, just not worry and not have that self-judgmental voice on me all the time. It was an amazing thing that happened to me and unfortunately I mean well, I mean fortunately I'm here and everything's good, you know. So nobody, nobody, has to worry about it. But in reality, it was one of the best things that could have happened for my performance, for my actor, my actor self, was to say what the hell was I so damn worried about? What was I? What was I trying to be? You know what? Just screw it Like, isn't it incredible?  35:47 - Stacia (Guest) how? So empowering? So it's like grief is off. Grief is awful and we all, as humans, live through it and the way that it can have some magical elements and empowerment in it is really incredible. Talking about that and how you're like I don't care, Like I don't. Why am I going to concentrate on what I sound like? That was not a priority.  36:16 - Anne (Host) No, Well, what I sounded like is not a priority anymore.  36:19 - Stacia (Guest) No, no no, it was amazing, because it's like a reminder of who you are, who your soul is Like. You want to connect with people and that's what you do. I love it.  36:29 - Anne (Host) Oh, my God, I'm so excited, so excited for you to join us. So, bosses, make sure that you check out the show notes and I'll have a link to the VO. Boss, or just go right to the VO Boss website.  36:41 - Stacia (Guest) Is it down here? Is it? Should I point to things?  36:45 - Anne (Host) I'll be putting it in the post. So it's on VeoBosscom. You guys check out the events and sign up for Stacia, because it's going to be an amazing class. And, stacia, I just want to say thank you, this has been so much fun. Thank you so much for joining us.  36:59 - Stacia (Guest) It was a pleasure.  37:00 - Anne (Host) Yeah, it's been wonderful Really getting really getting to know you even better. I'm so excited.  37:05 - Stacia (Guest) Back at you. You're an incredible interviewer. It's really what a joy.  37:10 - Anne (Host) Thank you Well thank you, I appreciate it. Well, look, bosses. I'm going to give a shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses, like Stacia and myself. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you at Stacia's class right. Yay, in August. I'll be there and we'll be with you next week with another episode. Thanks, so much.  37:33 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a Boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

The Interview with Leslie
The Gilded Age in Newport - feat. Trudy Coxe

The Interview with Leslie

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 58:23


This past Sunday, June 22nd was the Season 3 Premiere of HBO's hit series, The Gilded Age. Part of the success of this show is the viewing audience's fascination of this time period -  a time of rapid change and immense wealth in the United States - and the grand mansions of the time located in Newport, Rhode Island.I thought my listeners would be interested in going behind the scenes - to learn more about this time of great change, wealth, power and drama in American History - and who better to give us a view into this world and history, than Trudy Coxe, the CEO and Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Newport County.In this episode, Trudy and I talk about the "Gilded Age" - this time of transformation following the Civil War where the railroads, oil, banking, created the Robber Barons and the rise of families like the Vanderbilts, Goulds, Astors.  We explore the similarities between the show and real like characters - for example, Bertha Russell and Alva Vanderbilt and how the show's creator, Julian Fellowes, went to great lengths to make certain that he was getting the historical details of the time correct.  Importantly, Fellowes engaged historians to ensure that the story of the rise of elite Black Americans during this time were being accurately portrayed through his character Peggy Scott.We also examine about the role of immigrants in this society, the architecture of these grand homes, the culture of religious freedom in Newport and the broader economy at the time. While we talk about the rise of these families and great wealth in America at the time, we also explore the fall of the Gilded Age and these grand summer cottages and the creation of the Preservation Society and its importance in maintaining these homes and in it this important period of American history.For lovers of history, Newport or the Gilded Age, this episode is for you!  And if you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Instagram @TheInterviewWithLeslie and subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode.

Duck Season Somewhere
EP 549. Wildlife Artist Depicts Influenced by Sporting Lifestyle

Duck Season Somewhere

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2025 73:56


British wildlife artist Terrence Lambert's work has been reproduced in more than 40 publications, selected for many of the world's most prestigious wildlife exhibitions, and collected by such prominent families as the McCartneys and Astors. A hunter and fisherman since boyhood, his story reflects a lifestyle we can all appreciate, and provides cultural context to traveling and hunting in the United Kingdom.     Visit MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Sponsors:   MOJO Outdoors  Alberta Professional Outfitters Society Benelli Shotguns BOSS Shotshells Bow and Arrow Outdoors Ducks Unlimited  Flash Back Decoys  GetDucks.com HuntProof Premium Waterfowl App Inukshuk Professional Dog Food  onX Maps Tetra Hearing Tom Beckbe USHuntList.com Voormi       Please subscribe, rate and review Mojo's Duck Season Somewhere podcast, let us know your thoughts in comments. Share your favorite episodes with friends! Business inquiries  contact Ramsey Russell ramsey@getducks.com

The Gilded Gentleman
New York's Grace Church: Gilded Age Society's Most Fashionable Church

The Gilded Gentleman

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2024 59:56


Grace Church, a soaring neo-Gothic church built in 1846, still sits today at the famous bend in Broadway at 11th Street.  Throughout the 19th century it was the most fashionable church for old New York society, even when the elite moved up the island of Manhattan.   Grace represented the early world of the Astors, the Schermerhorns and other families who had their beginnings in the neighborhood around Lafayette Place. The church which has a vibrant congregation today was the scene over its history of many famous events including the christening of Edith Wharton in 1862, the wedding of Tom Thumb in 1863, the wedding of one of the most famous "million dollar princesses" Consuleo Yznaga, the future Duchess of Manchester in 1876 and the funeral of famed social arbiter Ward McAllister in 1895. In this episode from the archives of the Bowery Boys history podcast, Greg Young and Tom Meyers trace the history of this landmark church as well as pay a visit themselves for a talk with the Reverend Harry Krauss, Grace Church historian. For lots of historic images from this show, visit the Bowery Boys website.

Mysteries at the Museum
Arrow Stork, Terror in the Sky and Feuding Astors

Mysteries at the Museum

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2024 38:56


Don Wildman investigates one of nature's greatest riddles, a doomed space station and a family feud that transformed New York City. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Matt Thomas Show
The Next Up Matt Thomas A-Team? Stan Norfleet and Adam Wexler Join to Talk Texans and Astros

The Matt Thomas Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 132:21 Transcription Available


The Matt Thomas Show
The Next Up Matt Thomas A-Team? Stan Norfleet and Adam Wexler Join to Talk Texans and Astros

The Matt Thomas Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 132:21 Transcription Available


The Doug Pike Hunting and Fishing Show
The Doug Pike Show 7-21-2024

The Doug Pike Hunting and Fishing Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2024 79:07 Transcription Available


In todays episode Doug talks about the vibrio bacteria and how to protect yourself while fishing in saltwater. Texas has alot of redfish and why is that? Doug explains, could it have somthing to do with the trout population? Do you have a secret fishing spots? Doug tells you how to keep your secret a secret. Fishing knots, braid fishing line, Ultra violet line fishing, and more in this episode.

Family Proclamations
Separation Revolution (with April White)

Family Proclamations

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2024 66:05


Divorce can be a difficult process today, but it's nothing compared to what it used to be. In the late 1800s, women from around the country had to fight for the right to separate from their husbands on their own terms. April White tells their stories and how they still impact us today in her fascinating book, The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. April White has served as an editor and writer at Atlas Obscura and Smithsonian Magazine. Her historical stories have also appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Boston Globe Magazine and The Atavist Magazine.   Transcript   APRIL WHITE: Each of these women goes out to Sioux Falls for a very personal reason. We start to see the shift in the understanding of divorce. These women have very little traditional power at this moment in history. They are not in any of the rooms where divorce and divorce law are going to be debated. They're not in the legislatures. They're not in the judiciary. They're not in the White House. They're not in religious circles. They're not in those conversations. Yet, they are driving those conversations. BLAIR HODGES: Once upon a time in the late 1800s, Sioux Falls, South Dakota became the hot destination for women from all over the United States. These women weren't coming to see the famous Sioux Falls, they weren't looking for land, or to find husbands. In fact, they came to this frontier of the American nation looking to get rid of husbands. They were looking for the fastest and easiest path to get a divorce. Because in the 19th century, it was almost impossible to get one anywhere else. This wasn't a private process either. It played out in public, in the courtroom, in the press. It was like an old time TMZ saga. Historian April White says these women were really looking for personal solutions to personal problems, but their efforts helped change divorce laws for the entire country in ways that still matter today. April White joins us now to talk about her book, The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. There's no one right way to be a family, and every kind of family has something we can learn from. I'm Blair Hodges, and this is Family Proclamations. April White, welcome to Family Proclamations. APRIL WHITE: Thank you so much for having me.   RISING DIVORCE RATES (1:54)   BLAIR HODGES: We're talking about your book, The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. You're taking us back in time a little bit, this is the turn of the century. We're heading into the year 1900 here. In that last decade of the 1800s, there were some headlines that were popping up around the country that you point out in your book, and the headlines were alarmed. The people were alarmed. The question was, is marriage a failure? Why would they ask that question in the late 1800s? APRIL WHITE: In this moment, you're seeing rising divorce rates. The people who are particularly alarmed by this, and it's most often the clergy, can't imagine that divorce is a good thing. They only see this as an evil. They imagined that somehow marriage is falling apart. What's really happening is marriages are as good or as bad as they've ever been. There's just more opportunity now—economic, political, social, legal—there's more opportunity for spouses to go their separate ways if they are unhappy in their marriage. They're saying they're very concerned about marriage, but what they're really concerned about is divorce because they want to keep this building block of the country to gather these ideas of the family, is really central to that concern. BLAIR HODGES: You point out that they're using language of epidemic—this is some sort of illness that is spreading through society. The numbers back up the fact that divorce was increasing. You say that there was a national census in the 1880s that freaked people out. It showed that divorce had basically doubled in a really short amount of time. You mentioned the clergy were particularly alarmed with this. Did they think much about the context of it in terms of maybe people are unhappy in marriages? Maybe that's where we should begin, rather than should we be letting people get divorced? APRIL WHITE: Very few of them thought that way. You mentioned the census. It's basically the first time anyone has gone and counted marriages and divorces. What the census shows is yes, the divorce rate is increasing, but there's also not a lot to compare it to. These numbers seem really big. You knew a couple of people who got divorced, but now there are tens of thousands. Those numbers are also part of what inflames this conversation, whether they had any point of comparison or not. No, you will largely see people wanting to make it more difficult to divorce. Most of the Catholic sects in the in the United States think about it that way. The one exception to this that I was aware of was the Unitarian Church, which very much thought divorce was a necessary evil, and the focus should be on making marriage better, which would naturally lower divorce rates because fewer people would be seeking to leave their marriage.   AUTHORITY FOR DIVORCE (4:38)   BLAIR HODGES: You also talk about at this point in American history, there's an important shift that's already happened in how divorce even worked. The question was where was authority for divorce situated? You trace the change over from legislatures overseeing it to the courts. Maybe describe that transition a little bit, because that has a lot to do with people's ability to get divorced—where that power was. APRIL WHITE: In the early days of the United States, in order to get a legal divorce you needed to go before a state legislator for a private bill of divorce. This was the type of thing that could be very difficult to navigate for people who did not have the connections and the proximity to power this would require. For some practical reasons, which is the legislatures had other things to do, you see the country moving away from this state by state and bringing divorce into the courts. This has an unintentional consequence of leveling the playing field in a lot of ways between men and women in order for people to seek a legal divorce, and in some ways between the upper and lower classes—although there is still an economic divide there when it comes to dealing with the courts. It was not the intention when divorce was moved to the courts to make this more egalitarian. It was an unintended side effect. BLAIR HODGES: What did it look like before? Did the husband have to be the one to initiate the divorce? Could women initiate divorces? What did it look like? Would it also affect her ability to get remarried? APRIL WHITE: Either party could initiate divorces, and what we see throughout the history of divorce is there is the law, and then there are all the other factors around the law that affects who can use it. Even in the time period I'm talking about, since we've moved into the court it has been more egalitarian for men and women. That doesn't mean both men and women are seeking divorce at the same rate or with the same ease. Two things happen. One, for a woman to seek a divorce she needed to be in an unusual for the time independent economic position. She needed to have social support that would allow her to go through a divorce and still have a community on the other side. There were a lot of pressures on her, outside of the law, that made it difficult to seek a divorce. That's the other point, and the exact opposite pressure, which is we see in this census we're talking about that two out of every three people who seeks a divorce is a woman. There's a really particular reason for that, too. Men had an easier time seeking extra legal means to get a divorce. A man could walk away from his marriage. Chances are he had the economic resources that the woman didn't so he didn't have to worry about necessarily marrying again in order to be economically, socially, politically stable. He also didn't have to worry about the legitimacy of his children. He could claim those children or not claim those children. The woman did not have that choice. For women that piece of paper was exceptionally important because without it you could not legally remarry. The real important thing to remember here is that for women in this time period, marriage is the single biggest economic, political, social choice she is going to make in her entire life.   LEGALLY VALID REASONS FOR DIVORCE (8:06)   BLAIR HODGES: Another component here is the cause for divorce. We have no-fault divorce today, although strangely there are some people already trying to claw back that right. Talk about what people had to face in order to even get a divorce because no-fault divorce wasn't a thing yet. APRIL WHITE: It's a little hard to imagine, actually. Divorce, once we get into the courts, is an adversarial process. One spouse has to accuse the other of one of the violations that their state allows—each state was different in terms of what their divorce laws were. The Court needed to find you guilty of that offense. I may go into court and say, "I want to divorce my husband because he has deserted me." I need to prove to the court that has happened or the court is going to say, "Nope, sorry." This adversarial piece is really important because if I and my spouse want to divorce, we both want a divorce, we both want to go our separate ways. We cannot do that. In almost every state there was a law against collusion. That meant if you and I had agreed we wanted a divorce, we were already prohibited from doing that. Of course you see a lot of people working around these laws, but that was the letter of the law. BLAIR HODGES: They could have off the books conversations, like here's how we're going to play it. What were some other differences? You mentioned there was a hodgepodge of laws between states, which was another challenge. What kind of differences, in addition to different causes—I think New York was one that was really hardcore. It was really difficult. There were very specific things. You had to prove adultery or something. What kind of differences between states did people have to consider when they're thinking about getting divorced? APRIL WHITE: New York in this time period only allows divorce with proof of adultery. The only thing I can charge my spouse with was adultery and I have to walk into court and in some way convince the judge. There are plenty of cases in which the judge is not convinced and you remain married to the person you just tried to divorce. BLAIR HODGES: They didn't have cell phones where they could catch people or look at old text messages. [laughter] APRIL WHITE: I've got to tell you, after the time period I write about in the book you actually see this growth of this industry of actresses you can hire to come in and lie on the stand, or to pose for a picture in a hotel room so that a couple who mutually wants to get divorced can. People went to great lengths to separate when the law did not allow them to. That's what the divorce colony in Sioux Falls is. What happens is, in the United States every state has its own divorce laws. There are two components to that. One is the residency requirement. How long do you need to live in the state in order to fall under the jurisdiction of the court and sue for a divorce? The other are the causes. What causes can I claim to get this divorce? New York, South Carolina, very difficult. Other states, in theory more liberal, but how those laws are applied are a little difficult. To the previous point I was making, it's not all about the law, so it also depends on how supportive your community is within that state. That's what ends up making what they call the migratory divorce, or foreign divorce, attractive for those who could afford it. In the time period I'm writing about, starting in 1891, you see wealthy, white women typically, traveling out to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to get divorces. I know that sounds incredibly weird. South Dakota has only just become a state. Sioux Falls has only been a city for not even two decades at this point. It's ten thousand people. BLAIR HODGES: It's the Wild West in some ways. It's the frontier. APRIL WHITE: It really is, particularly for these women who are coming from upper class New York, who have had a very different experience. But the train lines run there now. It's the end of the line. It is a place where you can go and live in 1891 for just three months to fall under the jurisdiction of the court and before you can sue for divorce. I said "just" there but traveling someplace and living there for three months and then more as your case winds its way through the courts, is an expensive and difficult endeavor. That's what people would do to get around these different residency and grounds issues.   WELCOME TO SIOUX FALLS (12:43)   BLAIR HODGES: Your book's written almost like a novel. It really paints such wonderful pictures of the time. Give us a sense of women coming from a place like New York into South Dakota. What would they see as they're getting off the train? What was it like there at the time? APRIL WHITE: Thank you for saying that, because I really did want to bring you as close as you could get to these women and understand what lengths they had gone through in order to seek separation from their spouse. It's a multiple day train ride from New York, and to Chicago that was probably relatively normal at the time. But a woman traveling alone on a train west of Chicago was a pretty rare sight, and one that certainly sparked a lot of gossip. You finally make your way to Sioux Falls—and I have to say Sioux Falls, even at the time, was actually a very beautiful city. This is because they had a local architect who built some very impressive buildings there, and also some local stone, Sioux quartzite, which made this very young city feel more permanent and more of something familiar than it might have otherwise. BLAIR HODGES: It's kind of hip in a way. [laughter] APRIL WHITE: I'm not sure they thought about it that way, but I think we would. [laughter] When you got off the train, what struck me is the two things you could see most clearly on the skyline of this very young city was the courthouse. The courthouse where you were going to stand in a public trial and be questioned about your marriage. You could see the top of St. Augustus Cathedral, and that was home to a man named Bishop Hare, and he was the most outspoken opponent of divorce in Sioux Falls, and eventually a really well-known voice in the country. Those were the two opposing forces of Sioux Falls you could see just as you got off the train. BLAIR HODGES: April, by the way, Bishop Hare seems straight out of Central Casting, too. [laughter] APRIL WHITE: Absolutely. He was quite the character. Someone who was very well respected in the state, had been a missionary there for decades, who truly believed he was preaching in the best interest of his congregants and his city, but in doing so was denying people access to something they really, truly needed. BLAIR HODGES: He was politically savvy too. He'd been paying attention to how laws in the state were influencing people that were coming into the state. He wanted Sioux Falls to be where his flock was, this wonderful place where people could grow families and be prosperous and help expand America. There was definitely this Manifest Destiny feeling there. Then he sees these outsiders coming in, and what he sees is taking advantage. Talk a little bit more about the divorce laws as they played out in South Dakota that differentiated South Dakota from other states. This became the pilgrimage site for a lot of these wealthier women. Why? What were the laws that were so advantageous there? APRIL WHITE: We had this short residency requirement, and it's easy now when you hear that to think, "Wow, South Dakota—super progressive in the 1880s-1890s." No, no, that was not what was going on. We had seen this actually always on the western edge of the United States because when you had white settlers coming into a place for the first time, they wanted to build their community. They wanted to attract people and they wanted people to become a part of the fabric of that community very quickly. These low residency requirements were about bringing people into civic life, not about allowing them to get a divorce. So again, unintended consequences here. Bishop Hare had been a big part of building South Dakota. He had been a missionary in the Dakota territories, very well respected, had spent a lot of time working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, so had some politicking in him. He had also spent a lot of time back east raising money from well-to-do people, largely in New York—among them the Astor family, basically known as the landlords of New York at the time. Incredibly wealthy people. The idea of shaping laws and influencing people was not foreign to Bishop Hare, when you had what were known as divorce colonists coming out to Sioux Falls and saying, "Hey, there is a law on the books which I would like to use." Yes, it did in theory raise the ire of people who said, "Oh, well this is never what it was intended for. It's okay if my neighbor, a true resident of Sioux Falls, wants to get a divorce. But we did not intend to be a place where other people came." Now, that's not entirely true. They are actually against divorce in general but it is easier for them to say, "We're okay with it ourselves. This is not the spirit of the law." That's where you see the tension. You have these divorce colonists who are typically of a higher class, have more money than the people in Sioux Falls, who are coming out there, they believe, to take advantage of these laws. You have a lot of social tension in the town in addition to this legal tension around the laws. BLAIR HODGES: How about the economy? Were there enough people coming out to provide a windfall to the place? Were there are people that were like, "Actually, this is kind of nice because people are going to come stay in hotels, or they might buy stuff when they're out here." Was that an incentive? APRIL WHITE: It absolutely was. You see that when people first start coming to Sioux Falls. History never moves in a straight line. What we see is first in the history of the divorce colony as people start to arrive, there is this idea that maybe this is a good thing. We want more people in Sioux Falls. We want more money in Sioux Falls. One of the things that anecdotally seems to have grown up around these divorce colonists was a robust arts scene in Sioux Falls, and the latest fashions that were demanded by these people coming from the east. In the very early days you see some entrepreneurial spirit around the divorce colony, but then we have these bigger name women start to come out mid-1891. The national spotlight follows them. Reporters come to town. They're on the front pages on a daily basis. Very quickly the sentiment in Sioux Falls turns to this is a stain on our community. We don't want people to be looking at us like we're a place for divorce. You still have some supporters in the lawyers, in the hoteliers, and restauranteurs, but at least publicly, at least in front of the newspapers you have a lot of derision towards the divorce colony as soon as the rest of the country is looking at the city negatively.   GAINING FREEDOM (19:40)   BLAIR HODGES: Before we dig into the particular people, I have one more broad question and that comes from something you wrote. You say, "The women who traveled to Sioux Falls were not activists. What was for them an act of personal empowerment and self-determination became an intensely political act anyway." That stood out to me. That was one of my surprised moments. These weren't necessarily women who were trying to make some larger societal political point about divorce or women's rights. They were seeking help in their own circumstances, basically, for the most part. APRIL WHITE: Each of these women goes out to Sioux Falls for a very personal reason. The only thing each of them is fighting for out there is their own freedom. No one is out there to make a statement. In fact, they would all prefer not to be on the front pages. If they could have done this quietly they would have. What you see is each person going to the extreme to gain their own freedom, but in doing so in the numbers they did, with the attention they did, we start to see the shift in the understanding of divorce. That was one of the things to me that was so interesting about this story. You have these women who have very little traditional power at this moment in history. They are not in any of the rooms where divorce and divorce law are going to be debated. They're not in the legislatures. They're not in the judiciary. They're not in the White House. They're not in religious circles. They're not in those conversations. Yet, they are driving those conversations. I really was fascinated by that alternate path to power. BLAIR HODGES: There was also an element of entertainment about it. As you said, these were public events that were covered in the press. They didn't have true crime podcasts and Dateline and stuff like this to watch back then and it seemed like this kind of played that role of people being able to be voyeuristic a little bit into what were supposed to be private matters. APRIL WHITE: Oh absolutely. This is your TMZ. This is your grocery store tabloid. This is the celebrity gossip of this time period. People love it. Even those in Sioux Falls who claim to hate the divorce colonists want to know every single thing they do in town. It is the attention that is paid to the divorce colonists that really ultimately ends up shifting the conversation. The time period of the book is roughly twenty years, from about 1890 to about 1910. For twenty years you have these people who oppose divorce saying this is going to topple the family and therefore topple the country. Yet every day you see this on the front pages and nothing has fallen yet. The press really plays a big part in how things shift during this time.   MAGGIE DE STUERS AND HER DIPLOMAT (22:51)   BLAIR HODGES: That's April White. She's senior writer and editor at Atlas Obscura and author of the book The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. That gives us a broad overview here. Your book lays out the stakes for us, and then you're going to get biographical. You're going to introduce us to particular women and their stories to let us know how things played out on an individual level. The first person that you talk about, and I'm probably going to pronounce the name wrong, is Maggie De Stuers. How do you pronounce that? APRIL WHITE: That's how I pronounce it. I can't tell you how she did, but that's my take. [laughter] BLAIR HODGES: Great. Give us a sense of who Maggie is and why you led off with her story. APRIL WHITE: So Maggie De Stuers arrives in Sioux Falls in the middle of 1891. She tries to do so quietly. That is just not going to work for her because she is a niece of the Astor family, and the Astor family is this incredibly wealthy New York family who is on the front pages all the time. Maggie had been married to a Dutch diplomat, and about a year earlier she had disappeared. She had fled from their home in Paris and for a year no one had known where she was. When it becomes known that she is in Sioux Falls, it is on the front pages of papers in Chicago, in New York, in Boston. This was front page news. BLAIR HODGES: Would it be sort of like Paris Hilton appearing someplace? APRIL WHITE: Yes, she's been missing for a year and suddenly she shows up in a small town in South Dakota. That's exactly right. It drags all this attention to Sioux Falls. That's in part why I led off with her. The other reason I led off with her though is in addition to sparking the media attention in Sioux Falls, she sparks Bishop Hare's ire towards the divorce colony. He was always going to be opposed to divorce, but Bishop Hare had a relationship with the Astors. In fact, St. Augustus Cathedral was named for Augusta Astor, who was Maggie's aunt. So the idea that Maggie is there publicly seeking a divorce—let's put aside the fact she would have loved to have privately sought one and was not allowed to—but the fact that she is there publicly seeking a divorce and sitting in his church on Sundays is a personal affront to Bishop Hare, and in many ways sparks him on what will become the effort of the rest of his lifetime, which is to abolish the divorce colony. BLAIR HODGES: You talk about how she was there because she got married young, she was younger than the person she married, it seemed to be one of these diplomatic or relationship legacy type marriages. They didn't meet on an app and connect because of their enneagrams were similar, or whatever. They seem to be a marriage of family connections and he was older than her. He seemed like a really boring guy. It just wasn't the right thing for her basically. APRIL WHITE: They seem pretty ill suited, at least as they grew older. Maggie would accuse him of treating her poorly, of threatening her, of yelling at her. To your point, one of the interesting things about the different women I picked for this book to focus on is they all do marry for different reasons. Maggie, when she marries in the 1870s, it's really fashionable to marry a European title. So there was a lot of strategy in why she would have married this man. She was supposed to be happy with this life, which involves flitting around between European capitals. But she wanted something else. So she has a moment where she fears that her husband is trying to institutionalize her in order to gain control of her fortune. BLAIR HODGES: Which also wasn't unheard of. This is a thing that they do to control women. APRIL WHITE: Institutionalizing women to control women at this time period was unfortunately quite common. Maggie was in an unusual position where she was far wealthier than her husband was because of her family connections. That's what ultimately led her to flee, although it meant leaving behind her children. She has already gone to great lengths to leave this marriage when she shows up in Sioux Falls. BLAIR HODGES: When she shows up she's not alone. She's got a secretary with her, this gentleman who is supposedly helping her in her travels. She's going to connect with lawyers onsite to help her with her proceedings. We meet some other people in the city. We meet Judge Aikens, who is going to be presiding over the divorce court. We meet Fannie Tinker, who seems to be a cool journalist figure that's going to be there telling the tale. We meet these people there and at this point you say how, again, this was an adversarial procedure so spouses could contest this. Her husband the Baron contested it. What it would take is being publicly accused of being a horrible person. He sent this affidavit over that was filled with scandalous charges. APRIL WHITE: He did. For a while it was thought that maybe the Baron was going to come out to South Dakota from Paris where he was living at the time to contest this in person. To the great dismay of the crowds in South Dakota this does not happen, but to Maggie's relief. You still have a public trial. You have a public trial in which the Baron's deposition is read out loud where Maggie is on the stand in a packed courtroom being asked to relive what she considers to be the worst possible moments of her marriage. You really see there both the lengths to which she had to go, but the determination she had to do this. She'd never stop pursuing this, even once she realized what it would take. Including calling her a bad and uncaring mother, which was one of the worst things you could level at a woman at this particular time period. BLAIR HODGES: If I remember correctly he was also saying that she was having an affair, right? That this was a ruse for her to get with somebody else. APRIL WHITE: Yes. He said that she had left him for another man and had been traveling with this man during the period of time she had been missing. BLAIR HODGES: I don't know. Is it a spoiler to say who that was? [laughter] If you want to keep it a secret, I will. But it's so interesting. APRIL WHITE: Let's say we do find out, and the wedding is even more of a scandal than the divorce. BLAIR HODGES: Yes. I'll let people figure it out in the book but suffice it to say she does get her divorce. Why? Why did the judge side with her? APRIL WHITE: You largely see in Sioux Falls—and I talk about Sioux Falls but of course the same laws apply throughout South Dakota—that in Sioux Falls most people get their divorce. The state had a large number of reasons for grounds for divorce. A lot of people did not contest these things and come out and try to oppose it. Almost everyone who goes before the court gets their divorce. She is able to make the case that she has satisfied the grounds that she has put forth before the court.   MARY NEVINS BLAINE TAKES ON THE POLITICIAN (29:59)   BLAIR HODGES: Let's move to Mary Nevins Blaine. Mary was interesting because it's harder to assume that she married for money. You can't really assume that. She was actually older than the man she married. She was nineteen. Her partner Jamie Blaine was just seventeen when they got married. She was a young actress and Jamie's dad was a politician with national aspirations. This just has the ingredients for a really great story. You've got this young actress marrying the young son of this aspiring politician and the family is not happy about the marriage. APRIL WHITE: Yes. These teenagers elope just a couple of weeks after they meet and marry secretly, to the great dismay of both of their families. Both the Blaine family, as you mentioned, James Gillespie Blaine is the standard bearer of the Republican Party at this time. He's a perpetual presidential candidate, very well known in the country. Mary's family is also like, "We don't know what you're doing with this younger son of the Blaine family." Jamie had not to this point proven himself to be rather reliable and would go on to continue to not be particularly reliable. It was a real scandal, both for the families and again for the whole country who got to watch this elopement play out on the front pages. BLAIR HODGES: That could hurt Jamie's dad's political career so his family would be concerned about how it looks, how it reflects on his dad and his political options. Then for her family, they would be concerned about her options going forward. Could a divorced woman return to acting? Would she get remarried? She, first of all, would need to win the divorce and then would be faced with difficult options after that. The stakes are really high. What do you think was the ultimate reason for them divorcing? Because it seemed like they at least liked each other. Whereas in the previous case, she married a Baron because that was kind of the cool thing to do. But these guys actually seem to like each other, at least at first. APRIL WHITE: Mary definitely married for love. What she didn't love so much was Jamie's family. Jamie was, as I eluded, a sort of wayward, he seems to have had a problem with alcohol. He seems to have had a problem with his temper. He had not accomplished the same things that his siblings had. His parents, particularly his mother, kept him very close and really tried to keep him under their thumb, possibly for very good reasons. But Mary really chafed at this, particularly at Jamie's mother who had never come to like her daughter-in-law. Jamie's father, for a period of time, James did embrace Mary but his mother never did. What Mary would charge in court was that her mother-in-law had instigated this breakup and had driven them apart. Classic mother-in-law situation. [laughter] What happens is when the judge points that out we get a whole big problem. BLAIR HODGES: What happens there? What is that problem? APRIL WHITE: Things had happened, not quietly, but routinely, I would say. The Blaine family had decided not to cause a stir around this divorce. James Gillespie Blaine had decided it was better for his political career to just let this happen. However, the judge, once he hands down his judgment in favor of Mary, goes off on a bit of a tirade against Jamie's mother. He doesn't need to do this. This doesn't need to be part of the court proceedings. He makes it clear that he feels Jamie's mother was the cause of this. The press is very excited about this. James Blaine has throughout his life been very protective of his wife, and he's also hoping to be the presidential candidate for the Republican Party in 1892. This is the moment he decides he needs to go on the offense. Even though Mary already has her divorce at this point, James writes an open letter that's, again, printed on the front pages of newspapers across the country, making it clear that it is Mary's fault and threatens to release her love letters and really is doing everything he can to take down this young twenty-something actress. Which doesn't seem like a particularly good look for the country's top diplomat and a potential presidential candidate, but there you go. BLAIR HODGES: That was what was so surprising is the lengths he was willing to go because what you're showing here is that the battle over public opinion still mattered. Divorce was an issue, right? Public opinion and public thought about how divorce should work really mattered. In this case, divorce was granted, people could move on and still oppose divorce or whatever, but James Blaine, that's when he decided to dig in, as you said. I think there was some protectiveness about his spouse. I would assume there were advisors around him probably saying, "Hey, let's back off a little bit. This might not be the best idea." Yet he pursued. How did Mary respond to that? Now she's being maligned in the press. He's threatening to publish letters and he's insinuating there are these bad letters. Basically saying, "I got dirt on you, and you better back off, or else." What's she going to do? APRIL WHITE: I like her because she seems like such a smart cookie. She is incredibly composed for someone who is taking on one of the best-known figures in the country at this point. She also releases a letter to the press and basically says, "I am a twenty-something actress, it surprises me that you would malign me. I am simply seeking what is best for me and your grandson. However, if you insist on releasing my letters, I will release your son's letters. Game on." She does it in a way that is incredibly effective. I don't think anyone expected this young woman to be able to take on the country's top diplomat. BLAIR HODGES: What exactly did she say that carried the day for her that was so savvy? APRIL WHITE: I don't think anyone expected her to fight back at all. I think the fact that she had the wherewithal not to hide, not to bend to this. I can't speak to her motivation on this, but my thought would be the country already thought poorly of her. She had already been waging this public relations battle and she was a likable character. She had also gotten a divorce. She was now a single mother actress. She didn't have a lot to lose in way of her national reputation. I think that may have emboldened her to take this step. I don't think anyone expected her to confront him, including James Blaine. I think they thought this was the end of the story. Jamie, her ex-husband, had not acquitted himself well. Some people were inclined to believe the accusations against her mother-in-law. There were a lot of ways in which the more space Mary had to tell her story, the worse it looked for the Blaine family. BLAIR HODGES: At this time we're seeing some federal attention on this. People are trying to pass constitutional amendments to regulate marriage and divorce. That just wasn't going anywhere. They couldn't get enough consensus to really nail down any kind of national law about how divorce could look. We look at someone like Bishop Hare, who's a clergy member, he's opposed to divorce for religious reasons. We might expect him to fight hard for those kinds of laws. We might also be surprised at some of the other allies of that cause. I'm thinking, for example, of Emma Cranmer, who was a women's suffragist, and women's rights advocate, and she was on Bishop Hare's side in feeling unsettled about where divorce law might go. APRIL WHITE: One of the other reasons I want to tell Mary's story, in addition to it just being a fascinating tale, was because I got to look at some of these political issues that were coming up at the time. One of the things you realize right away is you had people who oppose divorce, and you had people who were quiet about divorce. You didn't have a whole lot of people out there saying, "Yes, divorce is something we need people to have access to." In that category of opposed divorce, you get what seems today to be some unlikely players. Among them, the suffragettes. Not all of them, but a lot of them. Part of this is because there was, particularly in Emma's case, a large religious component to the suffragist movement, and in Emma's case, the way she thought about the world. But also because there was this fear that the issue of divorce would distract from the issue of the vote. You already had these fears that giving women the vote was going to in some way disrupt family life, was in some way going to take women out of the home and put them into the public space. To also be fighting for divorce was to in some ways, they feared, legitimize that concern. You had a lot of people who simply said, "We can't divide the movement. We can't distract from what we're trying to do here." You really don't see a lot of public support among the suffragettes for this effort.   BLANCHE MOLINEUX, THE MURDERER'S WIFE (39:29)   BLAIR HODGES: You do see some local changes. In Sioux Falls, there is a change in the law where the residency requirement is made longer, which is going to make it more difficult so people who seek a divorce are going to have to stay longer. It increases the burden they would have to pay. You see a decline in divorces that happen, but it doesn't take even a decade before they start loosening that up again. That takes us to Blanche Molineux, another name that I may be pronouncing correctly or not. She shows up on the scene now that things are loosened up again, and she breaks maybe one of the biggest taboos which is that she openly declares that she's going there specifically to use the lax laws that are there. That was supposed to be an open secret and she just says it. APRIL WHITE: We see a lot of change between 1893, which is when South Dakota increases its residency requirement from three months to six months, and when Blanche arrives in the early 1900s. What's happened at this point is, once South Dakota extended its residency requirements, North Dakota was suddenly the easiest place to get a divorce. Not a lot of people wanted to hang out in Fargo, but still North Dakota decided it didn't like the attention. At the end of the nineteenth century, they extend their residency requirement to a year, so all of a sudden Sioux Falls at six months is again the laxest divorce laws in the country. For a little bit, to my earlier point, you see people coming out to Sioux Falls and there's not a lot of fuss so things are kind of okay. But Blanche has a couple of strikes against her before she even arrives in Sioux Falls. That is that she is already incredibly well known as the "murderer's wife." She had been married to a man who had been accused of poisoning a rival, also believed to have poisoned a romantic rival in addition—one of Blanche's former lovers—and he had been convicted of poisoning, very long story, he had been convicted of a poisoning, and he had been sentenced to death row. BLAIR HODGES: This could be its own real true crime podcast, by the way. APRIL WHITE: It is, it is. Then for evidentiary reasons, his conviction was overturned. He had a second trial and he was acquitted. Now, if you'll remember, there is still only one reason to get a divorce in New York: for adultery. Blanche does not believe that Roland has committed adultery. She cannot make this claim. She believes that he has committed murder. BLAIR HODGES: It seems like he has, too, right? APRIL WHITE: I think it seems like he has too. But that is not a reason for a divorce. BLAIR HODGES: That's what's so funny. They're like, "Oh, sorry, you didn't have an affair. You just murdered people." [laughter] APRIL WHITE: She leaves immediately for Sioux Falls and again brings all that attention back that Maggie had brought with her a decade earlier. Yes, she is outspoken about why she's there. A lot of people worry that's going to cause her legal problems. In some ways it does, it actually causes her more social problems, though. She has broken some of the unwritten rules around how this works and the circumstances under which we're going to accept a woman's decision to do this. BLAIR HODGES: You have to at least pretend you're going to stay there, for example. You're coming out to at least pretend you want to live there. APRIL WHITE: That was one of the questions you see in all of the divorce hearings in Sioux Falls, which is, how long have you been living here and do you intend to be a resident? You were a resident, so you could say, "Yes, I have been here for more than ninety days. I am a resident of the state." Most of them got on a train immediately after getting their divorce, if not within a couple of weeks. To my knowledge, no one who had come from out of state to get a divorce stayed in Sioux Falls for any extended period of time after getting their decree. Except for Blanche. She ends up staying in the end, which causes all kinds of problems of its own. BLAIR HODGES: She had announced that wasn't her intention either. Why did she end up staying? She's granted the divorce. APRIL WHITE: She falls in love and she remarries. BLAIR HODGES: Her lawyer. APRIL WHITE: Yes, her lawyer. He is a respected citizen of Sioux Falls, so there is a lot of concern about if she should be accepted into this society as well. Ultimately, she really isn't. She is still an outcast in this community, but she is the one person who does what they had been saying all along they wanted the divorce colonists to do. If only they weren't taking advantage of the law. But that was a lie. BLAIR HODGES: What kind of things did she miss out on? Was she just not really invited to social events? How was she treated? Because she did end up staying for Wallace, her lawyer. She's married to him. But what did the social consequences look like for her? APRIL WHITE: You see that for instance, Wallace Scott is a member of a bunch of civic society and social groups who have this open debate as to whether Blanche should be at a dance they're throwing, or whether she should be invited to various events. You see her on the outskirts of this community pretty much throughout her life there.   SCOTUS AND ANDREWS V. ANDREWS (44:45)   BLAIR HODGES: There was also a strange hitch that happened during this trial with a Supreme Court ruling. As we're thinking about how divorce laws are shifting and how they're being applied throughout the United States, this is a pretty pivotal time for that. Right during the middle of her trial, they throw things into question. There's a case, Andrews v. Andrews. It's in Massachusetts, and the Supreme Court basically says—if I understood this correctly—that Massachusetts wouldn't have to recognize divorce that was carried out in a different state, which would cause a problem for people that went to the divorce colony because it was basically like, "Oh, sorry, that doesn't count. We're not going to honor that in Massachusetts." APRIL WHITE: We've been talking about how difficult this was, and something really important we haven't mentioned yet is you could go through all this, you can go and live in Sioux Falls for six months, nine months, a year, you can pay all this money, you can take this hit to your reputation, and still your divorce decree is actually only tentatively legal. It may not be recognized when you go back to your home state. We see a bunch of cases about this over a period of time. Most of the people who go to Sioux Falls are not worried about this because in order for your divorce to be questioned, your ex-spouse needs to oppose it. They need to bring it up in court in the other state. If you are mutually getting divorced, or even a grudgingly mutual divorce, your decree is never going to come up to court for question. However, if your spouse has some reason to not want to be divorced, as happens in the Andrews' case, it will go up before the court and they can decide whether this is legal or not. There's a lot of consequences to deciding that a divorce is not going to be recognized. You may have remarried. Now you're a bigamist. You may have had children and now they're illegitimate. There's a lot of chaos that can be sowed. Charles Andrews, the case you're referring to, Charles came out to Sioux Falls in the early period of the divorce colony, right around the time Maggie and Mary are there. Like everyone else, he goes out for a divorce, he stays for the period of time he has been asked to, he gets a divorce, he goes back to Massachusetts, he meets a woman, he marries her, he has two children. His father dies, this becomes important. His father dies, and then not long later, Charles dies at a young age. Suddenly his first wife thinks, "Oh, wait a second. There is quite the estate here now because he has his father's money. I should challenge to be the administrator of his estate, to be his legal heir." She does. She takes it all the way up to the Supreme Court, and they find that South Dakota did not have the necessary jurisdiction and therefore the divorce is invalid. His second wife is not his second wife, his children are not his legitimate heirs, and his first wife, Kate, is heir to the fortune. Chaos.   FLORA BIGELOW DODGE, THE KING, AND THE PRESIDENT (47:45)   BLAIR HODGES: You're double married. That's our "what about men?" moment as well for people that were wondering if there were any men that were there. You mentioned a few—Charles Andrews, Edward Pollack. Again, this is where we see laws can just cause havoc. More people were saying we need some sort of uniform law. Why don't we tackle this federally, so we don't have all of this chaos? There just wasn't the political ability to get that done, even though divorce was impacting some of the most powerful people in the country and in the world, as your final profile shows. I'm talking about Flora Bigelow Dodge. When we get to her story, we're going see Teddy Roosevelt and the King of England all of a sudden get involved here. Give us a sense of what's happening here. APRIL WHITE: To your to your "what about men?" point, it's a really important one because I talk a lot about the women of the divorce colony. It wasn't only women who went to Sioux Falls. As we talked about earlier, women had more of an incentive to go great distances to get a divorce. They also caused more of the consternation. I'm not saying that people who opposed divorce were thrilled when men got divorces, but it didn't lead to the same panic that women taking this step did. BLAIR HODGES: Golly, I wonder why. [laughter] APRIL WHITE: We've not seen that since, certainly. What I like about Flora's story is it feels really modern to me. Flora marries young, grows apart from her husband. So far as I can tell from the historical record, neither hated the other. None had done an unimaginable wrong. They were just unhappy. BLAIR HODGES: Marriage for personal fulfillment rather than for all these other reasons. It's a change in what marriage was. APRIL WHITE: Absolutely. We really see that over the course of this book, the ways in which what we thought marriage should be changes. Flora is simply a well-known New York socialite and author. She is well liked. When she decides to get a divorce, everyone sort of thinks, "Well, that makes sense. Her husband's not all that spectacular. She's way cooler." She has lots of connections and her family does, both in in New York and on the East Coast and in England. You realize the extent to which it's not unusual that divorce is affecting these very prominent people, because divorce is affecting everyone. This is over the course of the twenty years I'm talking about, become more of a common place both activity, but just something we understand to be a part of society. BLAIR HODGES: Especially for white folks. Your book is attuned to the racial dynamics of this because this is a very privileged situation. APRIL WHITE: Absolutely. When it comes to talking about Black husbands and wives of this era, it's only very recently that Black people have been allowed to marry in a lot of places. It's a very different dynamic and the economics of divorce and the opportunities for women play a huge issue. Yes, it's a very different story for people who are not wealthy and white. BLAIR HODGES: Sorry to interrupt. To pick up where you left off, you're basically talking about that shift in what marriage was culturally, and we're starting to see someone like Flora who is separating for fulfillment, but she had connections to powerful people. That's how the President of the United States, and ultimately even the King of England, enter the story as well. APRIL WHITE: One of the things I wanted to talk about through Flora was the social change. Part of that is because Flora very much decides she wants something that she believes no one has gotten before, and that is what she called a dignified and legal Dakota divorce. The legal piece, we discussed already how that's a little challenging because no one quite knows what the rules are. But the dignified piece, Flora decides she is going to make friends in Sioux Falls. She is going to make herself a part of that community. She is going to show those people what she has to offer. She performs concerts at the prison. She conducts the city census. She helps raise money for a new furnace at the church. She's really going to enmesh herself in this community, and if it means that she needs to stay there forever in order to have a legal and dignified divorce, she is prepared to. Seeing the ways in which everyone needed to confront this issue, the ways in which Roosevelt had to confront this issue simply because people of his acquaintance were divorcing, and how do you handle that? The ways in which divorce was still a real anathema to some, which is how the King of England comes in. He's basically legitimizing Flora after her new marriage when her in-laws don't like her very much. We really see the ways in which society is dealing with this through Flora's story. BLAIR HODGES: The president is publicly a bit traditionalist. I think he needs to perhaps maintain a facade of supporting "the family," but behind the scenes is also much more sympathetic to the idea of divorce. He wants a uniform model law. He's the president—again, can't get it done. How do things develop for the rest of the century, taking us up to the present where we still don't have necessarily a federal law that says exactly how things should work? If, for example, where does no-fault divorce come into things? APRIL WHITE: We raised the idea earlier of this question of could we have a constitutional amendment that gave the federal government control of marriage and divorce? Could we get all the states to sign on to a uniform divorce law? And there's a bunch of reasons why that doesn't work out so well for anybody. One of them, unfortunately, is the idea that if the federal government had control of marriage and divorce, the southern states fear at this time that they will allow interracial marriage. There were even bigger concerns than divorce out there for some, but what we start seeing is an acceptance of reality. The idea of very disparate state laws is causing a lot of havoc. You don't know what's accepted where. You have these people crossing state lines to gain access to a right they wouldn't have in their states. You basically have people circumventing the laws of the states they live in. Governments slowly start to realize that's not useful to them. If their population is using extra legal means or leaving the state to seek freedom from their marriages, then that state government no longer exercises any control over marriage and divorce. They want to have control over marriage and divorce. You start seeing states recognizing this is going to happen and if they want to say in how it happens, they are going to have to allow for it. That's how we start seeing this shift, eventually, to no-fault. Slowly start seeing this shift to like, "Oh, this is going to happen. How do we shape that in a way we want to?" BLAIR HODGES: It wasn't even until 1970 that no-fault divorce became legal, and that was in California. That's pretty late in the game. I don't know, but I assume every state has no-fault divorce. APRIL WHITE: Every state has a version of no-fault. Those are slightly different, but similar enough that migratory divorce is not a particular issue anymore.   THINKING ABOUT DIVORCE TODAY (55:13)   BLAIR HODGES: I didn't get a sense either from the book about your own personal stakes in it. Were you doing any sort of work on your own personal background and being interested in this topic? APRIL WHITE: No. I've never been married. This is a whole new issue for me, writing about marriage and divorce. I will say that one of the really fascinating things to me personally as I was researching this was realizing just how recent it was that I could make a decision not to be married. You see these women in the book, those who go to great lengths to divorce, almost all remarry because that is really the only choice they can make for a stable life. The idea that I can have a career, sign contracts, have a bank account, even raise a family if I want to—that I can do all those things is very specific to this moment and this place and the culture I grew up in. BLAIR HODGES: There's this great quote from the introduction where you say, "To be free to choose who we love and how to live is to be free both to marry and to divorce." You're sort of arguing that marriage itself is enhanced or strengthened by the fact that it is more chosen. Divorce and the freedom that that allows can actually enhance marriage and make marriage itself more worthwhile and more healthy even. APRIL WHITE: We spent a lot of time as a country thinking about this when we were talking about same-sex marriage, and ultimately when Obergefell came out of the Supreme Court, this idea that choosing who you are married to is incredibly important, but you can't choose that if you can't also divorce. I like thinking about access to divorce in that same arc of loving and Obergefell. In the same way we say, "Oh, yes. You should be allowed to make the intimate choices of your life without the interference of the government." BLAIR HODGES: It was great to see those attitudes arise early on, even at the turn of the century. You mentioned earlier Unitarians, who were talking about divorce, and a Cornell University professor who basically said the rising divorce rate suggests a rise in expectations of what marriage ought to be. In other words, we're increasing our standards. This is a signal that people want more out of marriage, and people want marriage itself to be better, and when it's not they need the ability to end that to try again or to not try again. All throughout, we did see people with that attitude, whether it culturally prevailed or not, that underlying idea of freedom to come together, or freedom to separate, and how that's a good thing. Divorce can actually signal higher expectations rather than the collapse of "the family." APRIL WHITE: So much about the rising divorce rate was about women having more, not enough, but more agency to make choices, and more agency to pursue happiness and stability and the things they wanted out of life. We see this sense that people should want more out of their life than necessarily what they had been told in earlier generations was possible.   BOOKS DO CULTURAL WORK (58:17)   BLAIR HODGES: Let's talk about cultural work for just a second. Books are reflective of the times and places they're published. The fact a book exists suggests there's an audience and a need for it. I think books can do different kinds of cultural work. Some books do cultural work that talks about how we got to where we are and maybe celebrates how we got to where we are. Some books do that but also try to push toward better things, like trying to highlight a problem that we could do better at addressing. I wondered what kind of cultural work you think your book is doing—if it's more of a celebration of how far we've come? Or if there's more cultural work to do and what that work might look like. APRIL WHITE: When I first stumbled upon the divorce colonies story it was shocking to me it had never been explored deeply before. I gave that a lot of thought. I think one of those reasons is what you're alluding to—which is how we think about history and how we think about what's important. For me, in this moment, it was obvious we needed to be asking questions about the ways in which women had agency or didn't have agency, the ways in which they could shape and influence power or have power, and the ways in which they couldn't. That was not something that was understood in earlier versions of how we thought about divorce. That's the reason this was a footnote to that. What I'm trying to do with this book is in part just say there's a lot of history we have not explored through the lens of how we understand the world today. If we go back and ask questions in this broader, more open-minded lens we have today where we understand that the people who helped and did the digging, and had the local knowledge in archeological digs, were actually just as important to the discoveries we've made in archaeology as the celebrated Englishman who showed up in Egypt. The more we understand the important players and that everyone brought something to our history, I think changes the way we think about our history. I really like books. What I tried to do here was to go back and say, what did we miss because we were looking at the world through the specific lens of the thirties, or the fifties, or the seventies? What can we understand now because we've been given more tools and have more questions to ask?   REGRETS, CHALLENGES, & SURPRISES! (61:17)   BLAIR HODGES: It's helpful to get that historical perspective because it also opens up possibilities for the future, because we can see how things played out in the past and how there were different possibilities and different people with different concerns. I also like to use history that way as forward thinking, history for the future. History as a way to expand our imagination about what possibilities are out there. That's why I wanted to do this book for Family Proclamations. I'm trying to feature things from different time periods and look at history and look at sociology and look at all these different ways, because I want people to expand that imagination. Your book really does a good job helping us do that. That's April White. We're talking about the book, The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. She's a senior writer and editor at Atlas Obscura, and she has previously worked as an editor at Smithsonian Magazine and has been all over the place publishing really great work. The last thing I want to ask is a little segment called regrets, challenges, and surprises, April. This is a chance for you to think through doing this book. A book is a big project, it's a big investment of time. I've found that a lot of people change during that process, or discover new things. Was there anything as you were doing the book that challenged you, that challenge some of your previous thinking? Maybe some of your biases were challenged. Or something that surprised you that you totally didn't expect, or maybe something you regret, or you would change about the book now that it's out in the world. APRIL WHITE: I would definitely say one of the challenges was thinking about the idea of independence. When I tell this story to people, as I was through the book process, everyone got really excited about how independent these women were to seek out divorces. Then they got quite disappointed to hear they remarried almost immediately. I was probably inclined to that point of view initially, having given it very little thought, and then realized how important the idea that independence is doing the thing you wish to do. It wasn't about striking off on their own in the world, if that's not a thing they wished to do, or they could do. It was about making your way in the world the best you could. It wasn't a challenge to their independence that they remarried. Many of them remarried because they loved the person they were marrying. Others did so because it would allow them the life they wanted to live. Independence didn't mean striking out on your own. Independence meant making your own choices. That was definitely something I did not arrive at in the earliest stages of my research. I will say I was surprised. We mentioned many of these women came from similar socio-economic backgrounds, wealthy and white. I was still surprised how different their stories were, how different their stories were as to why they married. How different their stories were as to why they were divorcing. How different that path could be if they had a supportive family member in their life or not. If they had income or not. How many different challenges these women faced, even though they were coming from similar social circles, even sometimes had been the person who had told the next person who came how to do this. I really enjoyed "meeting" each of these women, as so many of them who ended up on the cutting room floor, or in the footnotes because I couldn't bear to part with their stories. I really enjoyed being able to hear those stories, largely because I wasn't sure I'd be able to. Tracing women through history is not the easiest thing to do. To be able to meet so many of those women was wonderful. In terms of regrets, aside from some misspellings, nothing yet, but the book has only been out a little under a year. To my earlier point about the ways in which how we think about history changes, I am absolutely certain when I look at this book in a decade I'm going to realize there were so many questions I didn't ask and so many things I didn't interrogate that I should have. Maybe we'll do an edited version a decade from now where I correct some of those things. BLAIR HODGES: That's how history works. Thank you so much, April. This has been a great conversation. Again, I recommend people check out the book The Divorce Colony by April White. The subtitle is How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier. April, thanks for coming to Family Proclamations and talking about the book today. APRIL WHITE: Thank you. I really enjoyed this. BLAIR HODGES: There's much more to come on Family Proclamations. If you're enjoying the show, why not take a second to rate and review it. Go to Apple podcasts and let me know your thoughts. Please just take a second to recommend the show to a friend. The more the merrier. Thanks to Mates of State for providing our theme song. Family Proclamations is part of the Dialogue Podcast Network. I'm Blair Hodges, and I'll see you next time.

Guys Of A Certain Age
The Gilded Age

Guys Of A Certain Age

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2024 36:08


The Guys are definitely a certain age, thought not quite a gilded age.  But that didn't stop them from going a little bit off-genre in this week's episode as they discuss both seasons of The Gilded Age streaming series on Max.  Jokes were attempted about whether or not Art actually knew any of the characters portrayed, but even he is a youngster compared to the fine folks of society in 1880's New York City.   In this episode, listeners will hear about the battle between new money (the Russells) and old money (the Astors) discussed by “no money” (the Guys).  They do, as usual, find a link to geekdom in at least one of the cast members (we see you, Proxima Midnight, in your fancy opera dress).  Overall, it's just a good series about a fascinating period in American History - kinda' like this podcast.   It's a pretty exciting week for Geeks of the Week, too, with spaceships landing on the moon and all - unfortunately, the video was better in 1969.  Jay invites all the the Borderlands, and Robbie makes another Superman Legacy casting announcement.  And is a Thor by any other name just as strong?  Jay's Regrettable Segment tells of a Thor you may not have heard of before.  Or care to ever again.  Put on your top hat and listen.  

Fireside Yankees - A New York Yankees Podcast
Could Yankees Make a Splash For Astors Star in 2025 Free Agency | MLB Insider Believes

Fireside Yankees - A New York Yankees Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2024 13:08


Alex and Ryan dive into the 3rd base position and if they could make a big free agency splash there next year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kris Clink's Writing Table
Vanderbilts, Astors, & Pirates: Katherine Howe's Just Getting Started

Kris Clink's Writing Table

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2024 36:38


Katherine Howe is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian and novelist. She is the author of several novels for adults and young adults, has edited two volumes of primary sources for Penguin Classics, and is the co-author with Anderson Cooper of the #1 New York Times bestselling books VANDERBILT and ASTOR.Her newest novel, a mystery adventure set in the Golden Age of Piracy called A TRUE ACCOUNT: HANNAH MASURY'S SOJOURN AMONGST THE PYRATES, WRITTEN BY HERSELF came out in the US and the UK on November 21, 2023.Katherine has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “CBS This Morning,” NPR's “Weekend Edition,” the BBC, the History Channel, Smithsonian TV, the Travel Channel, and she hosted “Salem: Unmasking the Devil” for National Geographic. Her fiction has been translated into over twenty languages. She holds a BA in art history and philosophy from Columbia and an MA in American and New England studies from Boston University. A native Houstonian and avid sailor, she lives in New England with her family, where she is at work on her next book. One time, as a child, she looked up into the eye of a hurricane. She also puts hot sauce on everything.Learn more at katherinehowe.comIntro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro Recording

Operation Red Pill
Ep. 98 – Bloodlines Of The Illuminati – Part 1: The Astors

Operation Red Pill

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2024 149:28


Episode Synopsis:Are the Astor's just a lucky family that happened upon aristocracy and political elitism, or do they represent the methodical intent of the Illuminati to enact the will of Lucifer on today's society? We talk about this and much more, including:Was the Astor family involved in world events, from the sinking of the titanic to the Middle East conflict we see today?Who are the Illuminati, what do they do and how are they structured?Did the Illuminati select 13 elite bloodlines to enact their will?What are the 13 degrees of the Illuminati?How did the Astors go from being poor butchers in Waldorf, Germany to an aristocratic powerhouse in America and England?Where the Astors involved in secret societies such as the Freemasons all through American history?Was the first female in Parliament an Astor, and did she have anything to do with the rise of Hitlers's Germany?Original Air DateJanuary 31st, 2024Show HostsJason Spears & Christopher DeanOur PatreonConsider joining our Patreon Squad and becoming a Tier Operator to help support the show and get access to exclusive content like:Links and ResourcesStudio NotesA monthly Zoom call with Jason and Christopher And More…Connect With UsLetsTalk@ORPpodcast.comFacebookInstagram

Operation Red Pill
Ep. 98 – Bloodlines Of The Illuminati - Part 1: The Astors

Operation Red Pill

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2024 150:35


Episode Synopsis: Are the Astor's just a lucky family that happened upon aristocracy and political elitism, or do they represent the methodical intent of the Illuminati to enact the will of Lucifer on today's society?  We talk about this and much more, including: Who are the Illuminati, what do they do, and how are they structured? Did the Illuminati select 13 elite bloodlines to enact their will? What are the 13 degrees of the Illuminati? How did the Astors go from being poor butchers in Waldorf, Germany to an aristocratic powerhouse in both America and England? Was the Astor family involved in world events, from the sinking of the Titanic to the Middle East conflict we see today, and was their rise to power aided by involvement in secret societies like the Freemasons? Was the first female in Parliament an Astor, and did she have anything to do with the rise of Hitler's Germany? Original Air Date January 31st, 2024 Show Hosts Jason Spears & Christopher Dean Our Patreon Consider joining our Patreon Squad and becoming a Tier Operator to help support the show and get access to exclusive content like: Links and Resources Studio Notes A monthly Zoom call with Jason and Christopher  And More… Connect With Us LetsTalk@ORPpodcast.com Facebook Instagram

Life is Short with Justin Long

Anderson Cooper (CNN) and Justin talk about his upbringing in the Vanderbilt family and his fasciation with the Astors, his hilarious friendship with Andy Cohen and why he wanted to do his podcast "All There Is" about how we process grief. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ash Said It® Daily
Stories from America's Golden Era

Ash Said It® Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2023 11:46


The Gilded Age is enjoying a renaissance, thanks in part to TV shows like The Alienist and the Julian Fellowes HBO series, The Gilded Age. And here to help foodies duplicate — and celebrate — meals from this opulent period in U.S. history is food writer and research historian Becky Libourel Diamond. In her new book, The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America's Golden Era, she dishes up delicious recipes seasoned with side stories about the excesses of this fascinating era. Web: https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-... More: Food writer Becky Libourel Diamond transports readers to a time of lavish banquet tables draped in snow-white linen and set with delicate china and sparkling crystal drinkware in her new book, The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from America's Golden Era. In it, Diamond dishes up delicious recipes for timeless favorites like rich soups, juicy roasts and irresistible desserts updated for modern kitchens. Peppered with details and entertaining stories of celebrities from the era, such as the Vanderbilts and Astors, The Gilded Age Cookbook is perfect for foodies, history buffs, pop culture enthusiasts and anyone with an appreciation for the epicurean pleasures associated with the Gilded Age. “Culinary roles for women and minorities became more significant during this timeframe, and innovative technologies such as kitchen appliances and packaged food were game changers,” Diamond said. With a tasteful combination of easy-to-follow recipes, artistry and history, readers can expect to get a good sense of what the Gilded Age looked (and tasted) like through The Gilded Age Cookbook. “A beautifully designed and photographed cookbook, filled with intriguing stories. The parties and events may have been excessive, but the classic recipes here look simple and doable to make,” said Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write for Food. About the Author Becky Libourel Diamond is a food writer, librarian and research historian who specializes in reconstructing historical recipes. She has collaborated with several chefs and food groups to recreate historic dinners, including Marc Vetri's Osteria restaurant in Philadelphia, Chef Adam Diltz of Elwood Restaurant in Philadelphia, COOK (a demonstration kitchen in Philadelphia) and Edible History Supper Club in New York City. She has been writing about food since 2008, sharing her passion for food and history with the world through her books: The Gilded Age Cookbook, The Thousand Dollar Dinner and Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School. She lives in Yardley, Pennsylvania. Connect with Diamond on Instagram (@BeckyLDiamond), Facebook (@BeckyLDiamond), Twitter (@BeckyLDiamond) and LinkedIn (@Becky-Libourel-Diamond). For more information about the author, visit her website at www.beckyldiamond.com. Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-... ► Luxury Women Handbag Discounts: https://www.theofficialathena.... ► Become an Equus Coach®: https://equuscoach.com/?rfsn=7... ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH58... ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/po... ► Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSa... ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1lov... ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashsa... ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog #atlanta #ashsaidit #theashsaiditshow #ashblogsit #ashsaidit®

Booked Bagged and Tagged

Subscriber-only episodeThe illuminati families that rule the world. In this episode were going to cover 2 of the 13 families that are said to have a huge part in the illuminati and new word order!Sources:Bloodlines of IlluminatiThese 13 Illuminati families rules the world, they control all ...The Collins Bloodline [Ganino]Bookedbaggedtagged.com --- Leave us a review or a voicemail!

CBS This Morning - News on the Go
Melinda French Gates Call Maternal Deaths "Needless" | Anderson Cooper on the Astors | Max Greenfield's Latest Children's Book

CBS This Morning - News on the Go

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2023 34:54


Jann Wenner's comments about Black and female musicians have him out at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's board of directors. CBS News' Vlad Duthiers shows us what he said and why he is facing such significant backlash.Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss the 2023 Goalkeepers Report and what the foundation is doing in its renewed effort focusing on maternal and children's health. Plus, French Gates explains why this is personal as she just became a first-time grandmother."60 Minutes" correspondent Anderson Cooper joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss his new book "Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune."Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and co-founder of BET Sheila Johnson joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss her new book, "Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph." She shares how she overcame self-doubt, fears of failiure, and what she describes as a painful, toxic marriage. Johnson now runs an award-winning luxury hospitality company and is the only Black female co-owner of three professional sports teams.Actor and author Max Greenfield joins "CBS Mornings" to discuss his new children's book, "I Don't Want to Read This Book Aloud." Inspired by his own experiences as a reluctant reader, his book explores the horrors of reading aloud and inspires kids to face their fear of reading.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nothing Personal with David Samson
Houston Astors big day! Valdez throws no-hitter! Team trades for Verlander! MLB Trade Deadline Aftermath! What happened to the NFL Running Back? (Episode 858)

Nothing Personal with David Samson

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2023 47:17


MERCH ALERT: davidsamsonpodcast.com Today's word of the day is ‘we're back' as in back as in here as in returned as in vacation as in look at us! (6:20) Astros Framber Valdez throws a no-hitter! How cool! First left in Houston history to get that done. What else did they do? Landed Justin Verlander! (10:20) It's time for the GM Round Up! What did the executives have to say post-Trade Deadline? Brian Cashman, hello! Billy Eppler, hello! A.J. Preller, hello! Mike Elias, hello! (30:20) Review: Platonic. (33:45) What is going on with running backs? Saquon didn't get his deal. Jonathan Taylor didn't get a deal. Colts owner Jim Irsay said oh well! (45:14) NPPOD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Some families are synonymous with the Gilded Age and Progressive Era: the Vanderbilts, the LaFollettes, the Roosevelts, and the Astors to name a few. Dr. David Patterson joins the show to remind us of another dynasty: the Pinchots, a reform-minded, Presbyterian family that held sway in Washington and Pennsylvania from the Civil War to the Kennedy administration. Essential Reading:David Patterson, The Pinchots: A Family Saga (2023).Recommended Reading:Nina Burleigh, A Very Private Woman: The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer (1998).Bibi Gaston: The Loveliest Woman in America: A Tragic Actress, Her Lost Diaries, and Her Granddaughter's Search for Home (2008).Char Miller, Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism (2001).Gifford Pinchot, Breaking New Ground (1947). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PLAYERS PLAY PODCAST
Tia banks on Wanting a House Husband, STK vs Jack Astors, Unemployed Dick, Women Being Equals & More

PLAYERS PLAY PODCAST

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2023 90:36


Follow us on IG @playersplaypodcast Host: @therealteshai Co host: @fknauthentic_, @simplykasss Guest: @liltiabanks Episodes are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: https://linktr.ee/Playersplay #playersplaypodcast #toronto #podcast #playersplay

The Gilded Gentleman
Chasing the Gold: A Gilded Age Tour Up Manhattan

The Gilded Gentleman

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2023 60:40


Some tour guides and historians have said that to understand the early history of New York, just follow the population's migration up the island of Manhattan during the 19th century.  On today's show, historian and tour guide Keith Taillon takes us on a virtual tour and discusses how wealthy neighborhoods like Washington Square, Gramercy Park, Madison Square and of course the "gold coast" of Fifth Avenue developed, and what factors contributed to how it grew the way it did.  Along the way, Keith discusses many well known figures such as Astors and Vanderbilts as well as some lesser known but important trendsetters, such as the outrageous Mamie Fish and  groundbreaking (literally) Mary Mason Jones.  After this show, you'll never look at Manhattan or the Gilded Age in quite the same way again.

Stuff You Missed in History Class
Behind the Scenes Minis: Impossibles and Astors

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2022 19:18


Tracy and Holly talk about the artwork of Zinaida Serebriakova and the personal style of Ella Williams. They then discuss the ruthless business practices of John Jacob Astor and his son William. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports Talk with R&J
Championship Saturday, World Cup, Astors add bat

Sports Talk with R&J

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2022 35:33


Risser and Justin talk about Championship Saturday, the US moving on to the round of 16 and Astors adding a big bat to their line up

Texas Brave and Strong Podcast
High Society Comes to Texas

Texas Brave and Strong Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2022 9:44


High Society comes to Texas, 1898 In February of 1892, The New York Times published its official list of the creme de la creme of New York Society— 400 individuals, a mix of “Nobs”— old money families such as the Astors and “Swells”—the nouveau riche including the Vanderbilts. It was the Guilded Age in New York and the city's influence helped city directories become popular across the country. In 1890, the Census had revealed that Dallas was the most populous city in Texas with 38,067 residents. It was followed in size by Galveston with 29,084 residents and Houston with a population of 27,557. Texas' largest city caught the attention of Holland Brothers Publishing, a company looking to expand its market in high society lists of major cities. Dallas seemed ripe for its own list of who's who in society and Voila! the Red Book of Dallas, Texas was born. The volume had the distinction of being the first Red Book published in Texas. And of course, the book's cover was red. One can only imagine the buzz this created in the city. To fill the book's 137 pages, in what was still somewhat of a frontier town, Holland Brothers Publishing needed lots of filler content. But let's start with the preface from the publisher. “In presenting the [Red Book] to the public, the publishers feel they have supplied a decided need of an important element of the community. To facilitate the requirements of social life and place persons in direct communication with the representatives of the different phases of the best local society, this directory is intended. It is here also that new residents of this city may find the names of any and all persons whom they may desire to include in their visiting list, and whom they wish to meet in any social way.” The small volume contained a high society list of 3,245 adults and children from Dallas, supplemented by 333 from Oak Cliff. If the household had a designated day for accepting in-person visits (or calls, the proper term), that was noted. Also included were the membership lists of eight local clubs, four for gentlemen and four clubs for ladies. Based on the Red Book, Dallas in the late 1800s appears to be a “clubby” city. The Dallas Club for gentlemen was by far the largest and owned its own building—a handsome four story, brick and stone structure completed in 1888 for $45,000 and located at the corner of Commerce and Poydras Streets. The Dallas Club was central to the activities of business, civic, and professional men of the city: however, ladies were allowed for special receptions and parties for visiting dignitaries. The Idlewild Club was a much smaller men's club — about three dozen members— founded with the purpose of giving four grand balls each season, beginning with a ball during the State Fair of Texas. It's hard to imagine that the wives of these men didn't provide input for the planning of these events, whether they were asked to or not. The Ladies' Shakespeare Club, founded in1855, was for the sole purpose of studying Shakespeare's plays. Membership was limited to 45 members. The thirty-two member Ladies Pierian Chatauqua Club reported its object was mutual improvement of its members, the social aspects were a side issue. Apparently a serious literary group. Not to be outdone, The twenty-one member Quaero Club adopted as its course of study “A new method for the study of English literature, which included reading current literature and a weekly review by critics. Two other ladies' clubs, the Standard Club and CLMA club, also existed to study literature. The Phoenix Club for Jewish gentleman was for the mutual benefit and mental, moral, and social advancement for its members and had sixty-five members. The Social Ethics Club was open to any unmarried gentleman over the age of twenty-one and its purpose was to promote the social, musical...

The PayneCast
Episode 52 - Astors Win WS, Tennessee/UGA & Bama/LSU Recap, High School Football Playoffs GA & TN, & Who's Hot/Not

The PayneCast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2022 74:37


This week on the PayneCast:- Astros win the World Series- High School Football Playoffs GA & TN- Tennessee/UGA Recap- Alabama/LSU Review- CFP scenarios- Who's Hot & Who's NotBe sure you leave us a review and a rating. You can follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Facebook, & Instagram! Please send your comments, topics, and ideas to thepaynecast1@gmail.com.

Vamos Houston
Houston Astors, Seleccion Mexicana, Liga MX Femenil - Ep #83

Vamos Houston

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2022 121:55


Houston Astors, Seleccion Mexicana, Liga MX Femenil - Ep #83

Baseball Is Dead
Baseball Is Dead WS Special: McCullers Jr Tipping Pitches

Baseball Is Dead

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2022 56:06


The Phillies blasted FIVE home runs in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the World Series and remain undefeated at home in the postseason. Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh, Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins all took Lance McCullers Jr deep. During and after the game, videos were shared claiming that McCullers Jr was tipping pitches. Lance denies the rumors. Other topics include Hoskins' wife buying beer for Phillies fans, Mr. Ranger shutting down the Astors, and Arod having an awkward hug with Jeter plus the worst take of all time. Enjoy and we'll see you after Game 4! If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY).  Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/ PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Locked On Bets
The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astors is a LOCK in game 3.

Locked On Bets

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2022 14:50


A hidden gem to close out week 8 in the NFL between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals, but it's not against the spread. The World Series is all tied up a 1 game a piece between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros. Game 3? Well, this one is a LOCK. There's a hidden gem in the NBA tonight between two struggling NBA teams with the Charlotte Hornets and the Sacramento Kings.Support us by supporting our sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Locked On Bets
The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astors is a LOCK in game 3.

Locked On Bets

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2022 19:05


A hidden gem to close out week 8 in the NFL between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals, but it's not against the spread. The World Series is all tied up a 1 game a piece between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros. Game 3? Well, this one is a LOCK. There's a hidden gem in the NBA tonight between two struggling NBA teams with the Charlotte Hornets and the Sacramento Kings. Support us by supporting our sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline BetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zolak & Bertrand
Brad Marchand Back In The Lineup // World Series Implications // Today's Takeaways - 10/27 (Hour 4)

Zolak & Bertrand

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2022 39:21


(0:00) - We begin the fourth hour discussing the news that Brad Marchand is making his return tonight(11:10) - We discuss the World Series between the Phillies and Astors and how this looks for the Red Sox(20:50) - The guys listen to Michael Lombardi from his recent podcast about Mac Jones' decision making(33:33) - Today's Takeaways CONNECT WITH ZOLAK & BERTRANDhttps://www.instagram.com/zoandbertrandhttps://twitter.com/ZoandBertrandhttps://www.facebook.com/ZolakandBertrandhttps://www.instagram.com/985thesportshubhttps://twitter.com/985thesportshubhttps://www.facebook.com/985TheSportsHub

SB Nation AM with Tony Desiere & Ronn Culver
2721: 10/27/2022 Wake Up Call Hour 1

SB Nation AM with Tony Desiere & Ronn Culver

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2022 41:27


The wayback machine is getting some extra usage today as Tony & Ronn take it to various stops to watch a bunch or #WorldSeries end on this day, from 1985 to 2020; plus the cringiness of #RussellWilson was on full display yesterday; preview of the #Broncos vs #Jaguars in #London; the pulse of #Houston as the #Astors get set for Game 1 #MLB #TogetherRoyal #LGM #MNTwins #RepBX #GoHalos #DirtyWater #STLCards #AlwaysLA #NFL #BroncosCountry #DUUUVAL

Sports Talk with R&J
Yanks lose in ALCS and Phillies take on Astors in World Series

Sports Talk with R&J

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2022 33:55


Risser and Justin talk about the Yanks getting swept by the Astros and they discuss the World Series between the Astors and Phillies

The Realist & The Visionary
Episode 167- The Titanic Conspiracy

The Realist & The Visionary

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2022 46:34


Like many false flags, the Titanic sinking is one of them. Was The Sinking of The TITANIC Planned To Create the FEDERAL RESERVE? Let's talk about the many red flags leading to the tragic event.

The Gilded Gentleman
A Forgotten Real-Life Gilded Gentleman: The World of Effingham Nichols

The Gilded Gentleman

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2022 54:18


XXV. The Merchant's House Museum is one of New York City's most important and cherished historic house museums.  Built in 1832 and still intact to this day, the house was home to patriarch Seabury Tredwell and his family for just about 100 years before opening to the public as a museum in 1933.  Nowhere can one see the antebellum world of Old New York quite as clearly one can see here with much of the family's original furniture and belongings still in place. Hidden in the Tredwell family tree is Effingham Nichols, the husband of Seabury's eldest daughter.  Born into old Knickerbocker New York, Effingham rose in wealth and stature to become a true player in the Gilded Age that ended the century brushing up against Astors and Vanderbilts.  Join me and my guest, Merchant's House historian Anne Haddad for a look at his life, what he did and where he was, to gather a very personal and extraordinary picture of the life of a long forgotten, but very real, gilded gentleman and just how that life and the life of others like him,  came to be. Credits: The Gilded Gentleman is produced by Kieran Gannon and is a production of Bowery Boys Media.

The W - A Very Good Sports Podcast
The AP Poll Is Out - Where's Texas?

The W - A Very Good Sports Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2022 79:29


The AP Poll is out and one team is unranked that was in the coaches poll - believe it or not, they had 1 first place vote in the coaches poll! Is anyone over ranked or under-hyped? The NFL Preseason is underway! QB's like Pickett, Darnold, Baker, Watson, Love, and more are in the headlines for better or worse reasons. Brady is not in the house. Injuries are happening, including Wilson in New York and Akers again in LA. How many stars will we lose before the season starts?In the baseball world, The Machine lights up again with a 2HR day against a division foe, as Pujols continues his chase for 700. But can he make it? The Yankees are stumbling to the finish line, while the Astors keep on shooting for the moon. The Dodgers are the worst team in the league, or so it feels for a few Dodger fans. While the Phillies are on the cusp of having Harper back at the same time another Wild Card team realizes they won't get their star back due to a P.E.D. suspension. Bye-Bye Tatis Jr. See you next season.

No Credentials with Sean Leary
Madison Bumgarner, Yankees vs. Astors, Dodgers vs. Mets, Kyler, Lamar, Carr, The Gray Man + Top Gun: Maverick

No Credentials with Sean Leary

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 42:14


Sean sits down after a two-week hiatus of traveling & wedding planning! He rips into Madison Bumgarner for being a crotch. The Yankees & Dodgers are poised to make the World Series. They HAVE to for the season to be a success. Kyler got a new deal - Sean doesn't like it! Lamar in for a bounceback? Carr is NOT a hall of famer & it's not close...The Gray Man on Netflix REVIEWTop Gun: Maverick REVIEWJoin the conversation: nocredentialswithseanleary@gmail.com

Fringe Radio Network
Illuminati Families: The Astors - Down The Rabbit Hole

Fringe Radio Network

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 58:52


One of the lesser known families that are purported to be an Illuminati bloodline; the Astors is who we look at in this episode. Accusations and speculations of satanism, occultism, secret societies along with influence and power around the globe follow this family. Are these charges true or were they just the beneficiaries of a hard working patriarch who became the U.S.A.'s very first self made millionaire? It's definitely intriguing and as always; you decide for yourself.

NWCZradio's Down The Rabbit Hole
Illuminati Families: The Astors

NWCZradio's Down The Rabbit Hole

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2022 58:51


One of the lesser known families that are purported to be an Illuminati bloodline; the Astors is who we look at in this episode. Accusations and speculations of satanism, occultism, secret societies along with influence and power around the globe follow this family. Are these charges true or were they just the beneficiaries of a hard working patriarch who became the U.S.A.'s very first self made millionaire? It's definitely intriguing and as always; you decide for yourself. email us at: downtherh@protonmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nwczradios-dtrh/message

Northside Foursquare Church Podcast
May 22, 2022 | [p]astors

Northside Foursquare Church Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 42:10


Pastor Jen Wright shared this sermon at Northside Foursquare Church in Coquitlam BC. https://nsfc.ca

astors coquitlam bc
The Average Fans Take
Episode 5. “Well that went left … Quick!”

The Average Fans Take

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2022 63:15


What's up all you Average Fans! Buckle up this episode goes off the rails a little bit in a spirited debate between Mike and Josh around the Astors and Yankees! The gangs all here and we discuss the NFL Draft and our teams picks and Average Fan thoughts. We also get our bother Chris avid Giants fan to give us his takes on their draft. As always we appreciate you Average Fans for tuning in with us each week and please like, comment and subscribe if you enjoy the content!

Circa Sunday Night
Episode #27: Let's Talk About the Gilded Age

Circa Sunday Night

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2022 65:19 Transcription Available


Oops!  Jennifer forgot the show was called Circa SUNDAY Night,  and posted this week's episode on Monday.   But, we'll forgive her this time because tonight's show is all about the Gilded Age in New York, and as this episode of Circa Sunday Night goes up, a new episode of the HBO drama The Gilded Age is airing as well.  Wait...could this have been part of her brilliant plan all along?  We'll never know.  But what we can say is that tonight's show is weird.  One minute we're talking about Downton Abby, the next we're talking about the Vanderbilts, and somewhere in between we're taking a stroll down memory lane with Jennifer as she recounts key moments from high school at her old hometown's soon-to-be-demolished shopping mall.  On second thought, it's not so weird; it's just another romp around Circa 19xx Land.  Once we leave Jennifer's childhood mall we'll make our way to a sparkling 19th Century dinner party, meet the Mrs. Astor, and learn about the fine art of ormolu.  It's all in a night's work.  Won't you come along?Hey, did you know that Jennifer's on YouTube now?  Please visit her channel and subscribe.  She's desperate.Circa 19xx Land on YouTubeShow LinksReally beautiful and awesome books for this episode:The Gilded Age in New York by Esther CrainA Season of Splendor: The Court of Mrs. Astor in Gilded Age New York by Greg KingWhen the Astors Owned New York by Justin KaplanThe Gilded Age: Overture to the American Century by Alan AxelrodArticleExamples of Ormolu:  The Mayfair GalleryArticle about Ormolu: The Mayfair Gallery BlogUrban Explorer Video about White Lakes Mall that Upset JenniferLook for the Orange Julius Canopy!Circa 19xx LandYouTube ChannelWebsiteInstagramMeet your Podcaster

Storical
THE GILDED AGE: ASTORS VS VANDERBILTS PT. 1

Storical

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2022 18:13


Gilded Age New York was all about flaunting your money. And no one did it better than the first families of excess, the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Part one of a multi part series, today we're looking at the life of Caroline Astor, the “Mystic Rose” and arbiter of taste in New York Society. You'll want to listen to the episode to get primed on the new HBO series, The Gilded Age. Tune in!HISTORICAL FICTIONThe Social Graces by Renée RosenPODCASTSThe Astors and the Waldorf Astoria by The Bowery BoysThe Real Mrs. Astor, Ruler or Rebel? by The Gilded GentlemanThe Mrs. Astor by The History ChicksNONFICTIONSeason of Splendor: The Court of Mrs. Astor by Greg KingWhen the Astors Owned New York by Justin Kaplan

Done & Dunne
25. Keeping Up With The Astors

Done & Dunne

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2021 36:05


This week on Done and Dunne, we are going to scoot through the 1890s from the Astor side of things, including warring cousins and their hotel legacy, the end of Ward McAllister and the 400, and the life, death and legacy of John Jacob Astor IV. Advertise with us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Views From The 573
Braves Win World Series, What to Make Of The First College Football Playoff Rankings, What Should We Take Away From Jordan Love's First Start Against The Chiefs, and More | (Ep. 206)

Views From The 573

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2021 90:29


Ryan McDaniel discusses the Braves defeating the Astors 4-2 to win their first World Series since 1995 (5:16). Then, onto the NFL as he tackles several bits of news off the field with Von Miller traded to the Rams, why Derrick Henry's injury happened at a good time for the Titans, the Henry Ruggs situation, possible landing places for Odell Beckham if he does get cut, and the latest saga with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers and what should we take away from Jordan Love's first start against the Chiefs (12:13). Next, he gets to the Week 8 games including the Cardinals losing their first game, the Jets upsetting the red-hot Bengals and more before looking and picking the games from Week 9's slate (34:49). Then, Gary Patterson is done at TCU and the first College Football Playoff rankings are out: do we really understand the committee's thought process and criteria anymore (56:27)? Finally, taking a look at Week 9's game including a fun one between Michigan-Michigan State, Miami shocking Pitt, and a hot Auburn team taking down Ole Miss before looking at Week 10's games including Hugh Freeze making his return to Ole Miss, a showdown for the number two spot in the SEC West, and Ryan's Vols looking to spoil even more of Kentucky's good season (1:12:43). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

McAnally's Pubcast
3.1 Restoration of Faith: Ragged Angels

McAnally's Pubcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2021 32:07


McAnally's Pubcast - A Dresden Files PodcastThis episode we discuss the short story Restoration of Faith Restoration of Faith Summary:We open on a scene of Dresden desperately trying to corral a wriggly kicking child while crammed into a phone booth, making a call to the licensed Private Investigator under whom Harry is apprenticing. It seems Harry and his partner, Nick Christian, have been hired to find the runaway little girl, Faith Astor, but they've hit a couple of snags.  Firstly, Faith is adamant about not wanting to return home, as Harry's bruised shins will attest to. Secondly, it seems the ‘more-money-than-brains' Astors have decided that admitting their daughter ran away is too mediocre and embarrassing, not to mention damaging to their country club street cred, so they've publicly announced Faith's kidnapping and now Harry's and Nick's descriptions are out there circulating as the prime suspects. Nick promptly advises Harry to ditch the kid where he's at and let the cops find her. Harry argues that he can't do that because he couldn't just leave a kid out here on her own in Chicago in general, and especially not in the sketchy part of town that they're in now. Faith makes another valiant attempt to flee from Dresden, but he manages to snag her again. Harry tries to distract and engage Faith by explaining his wizardy-ness and how he used a tracking spell to locate her, and she expresses some mild interest between the snark and insults. They approach the bridge and Miss Astor makes one last-ditch bid for freedom. Harry is privy to some intel that poor Faith isn't, and while he tries to shout a warning, Faith barrels on unheeding and discovers her mistake too late. A large unpleasant troll lives under this bridge, and a tasty little morsel has just come dashing right up to him. Free home delivery, no tip required. Harry tries reasoning with the ugly bugger to release Faith, but the troll isn't having it, so Harry resorts to a bluff to get Faith and himself out safely. It works, but unfortunately leaves the unlikely duo stranded on the opposite side of the bridge from their ride. While checking to see if she is ok from the encounter, conversation turns to Faith's parents and their total lack of regard for her, beyond what she can contribute to their (perceived) financial and social standing. Harry notices some flashing lights and they closely evade being spotted by some local beat cops checking out a scene as they pass by. He tells Faith to keep close and to not let go of his hand, and they attempt to skirt around the beast's lair, keeping as much distance as they can. Apparently the troll is savvier than Dresden was willing to give him credit for, because the child-chomper has repositioned himself and once again makes a grab for poor Faith. Harry yells at her to make a run for it as the troll knocks the wizard off his feet and attempts to lunge after the girl. Harry grapples unsuccessfully with the fairytale beastie, but as Gogoth aims a deadly blow at Harry he is distracted by a scream from Faith and a blast of pink light. Harry ducks around and runs toward Faith, spotting Nick approaching with the car. Dresden tries to evade the pursuing monster, but stumbles and feels the troll on him again, raising its cleaver. Another yell, and this time Harry is saved by the female cop who had tried to intercept them earlier, and she leaps onto the troll's back, choking it with her nightstick. Harry gets his hands on the thing's cleaver and buries it in its side, where the skin splits and releases a torrent of teeny, tiny mini-trolls, that go scampering off into the night, leaving Gogoth the Troll to deflate into near-nothingness in the semi-darkness. The young officer is revealed to be Murphy and while trying to digest the events that just occurred, identifies Harry as one of the alleged kidnappers. Faith soundly scoffs at the very notion of such absurdity, implying that Harry is in no way clever or cunning,

The Matt Thomas Show
Andre Scrubb On His Early Experiences With The Astors

The Matt Thomas Show

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2020 9:07


Andre Scrubb On His Early Experiences With The Astors

Denver Orbit
Episode Five: The Great Pretender

Denver Orbit

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2017 25:17


Episode Five of Denver Orbit includes these two things: The Roommate Part 2: The Great Pretender by Mike Flaherty (with an assist from Ryan Connell) The song BWC Phoenix by Littles Paia Extra music from Astors, The Platters, and The Mar-Keys The music of Coldnoise, Evgeny Grinko, Broke for Free, Podington Bear, Kai Engel, and … Continue reading "Episode Five: The Great Pretender"