Episode 141: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zines
Zines are DiY publications that grew to prominence in the early twentieth century scifi fan community, then morphed into a punk subculture in the 70s and 80s ... and now…
Warez: The Infrastructure and Aesthetics of Piracy
When most people think of piracy, they think of Bittorrent and The Pirate Bay. These public manifestations of piracy, though, conceal an elite worldwide, underground, organized network of pirate groups…
Public Domain Day 2024
On January 1, 2024, thousands of copyrighted works from 1928 will enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1923. They will be free for all to copy,…
George Orwell’s forgotten wife
George Orwell – the author of classics like 1984 – is a household name. But have you heard of his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy, who convinced her husband to write…
Nerdette – V.E. Schwab says fantasy is more than swords and dragons
This week, we talk about Netflix’s reinvention of the video store, the right way to board a plane, and the art of advice-giving with Chicago Sun Times’ new advice columnist…
What Will Enter the Public Domain in 2024?
At the start of each year, on January 1st, a new crop of works enter the public domain and become free to enjoy, share, and reuse for any purpose. Due…
BBC Arts & Ideas: Libraries
The Great Library of Alexandria had a mission to collect every book in the world. In attempting to do so it created the foundations for the systems and structures of…
Oops: 250000 people came to your book club
In fall 2023 I got to do some IRL events around the country at bookstores, libraries, and some other fun Drac-adjacent spaces. Here's the talk I gave (when possible) about…
The Poet of the Information Desk
Robyn Schiff returns to The Met to read from her poem, “Information Desk: An Epic” in which she recounts what it was like to work at the Museum while establishing…