If These Walls...

Strap on your mask and get ready for a walk in the park, this week on If These Walls...

It's no secret that the Manhattan Real Estate market has been high-stakes since Dutch Colonial days. But in the case of Seneca Village, New York's first Black neighborhood, the secret is buried very, very deep. Audrey presents our first listener-request episode, diving into the white-washed history of the most-filmed public park on the planet. Also on the roster: to wiggle your way around claims of eminent domain (spoiler alert: it's money. it's always money) and all the movies that Elena can and cannot name.

Episode Resources can be found here: https://bit.ly/2UNTKPd

Theme music:
Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Call the ducktor (quack): we've got a good ol' case of "WHODUNNIT" today! The murder of William Desmond Taylor has long been a Hollywood mystery. In this week's episode, Elena sets the scene for the silent movie era in the early 1920s, bring you allllll the suspects, and spills all the Paramount tea. Sit back, sip your illegal hooch, and get a load of this head scratcher. Plus: how woke is the new Babysitter's Club?? AND: test your movie knowledge in a new game full of balderdash!

Episode Resources: https://bit.ly/2UNTKPd


Episode music:

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Frogs Legs Rag by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5761-frogs-legs-rag
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

But like... no disrespect to the Bangles but... Egyptians don't walk that way...

Audrey transports us to The Valley of the Kings where we'll talk ancient Egyptian politics, curses, archeology, and all sorts of fun facts to put you in the mood for your very own mummy-unwrapping party! Special guest W.E.B. DuBois makes yet another appearance, Elena flexes her hieroglyphic reading skills, and we salute the life and works of Brendan Fraser on this weeks' episode. 

Episode resources can be found here: https://bit.ly/2UNTKPd

THEME MUSIC

Theme music:
Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bust out your terrible German accents and saddle up your grief bacon: it’s time for a trip to Bavaria! Today we explore the Kehlsteinhaus, a gorgeous Third Reich meeting house that Hitler despised. Also included in today’s episode: book and tv show recommendations, German compound word trivia, and lots of metaphoric Nazi punching. Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

Episode resources can be found here.

Theme music:
Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

June 28, 2020, marks the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, long since regarded as the start of modern LGBTQ+ Pride movement. Learn the history of the building at 51-53 Christopher Street, the people that inspired a movement, and the early laws that made it illegal to display your preferred gender in New York for a very long time. Black Lives Matter. Black Trans Lives Matter. Celebrate Pride, but never forget who paved the way. Plus: Pride trivia! And other shenanigans.

Episode 005 donation links and resources: https://bit.ly/2UNTKPd

Theme music:

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We're very strong believers in the idea that you must learn history in order to learn from it. In starting this podcast, we hope to fill in the gaps in our own education, as well as our audience's. With the current landscape of civil injustice in our present, we are looking to the past to gain a greater understanding of the history of racial injustices in our own country. With that in mind, this week we are discussing the Tulsa Race Massacre, and introducing you in as much detail as possible to the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921. After the episode, we will give you resources to talk about how to work on being actively anti-racist with the young people in your lives. All those resources are linked in the show notes below.

Please visit this link for all episode sources and all the resources mentioned: https://bit.ly/2UNTKPd

Theme music:
Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Just how tricky is Dick? That’s right: it’s Watergate time, ya’ll! In the most hilarious and sometimes inappropriate fashion, Elena tells Audrey all about the Watergate break-in at 2600 Virginia Ave in June 1972, and the subsequent fuckery that ensued. Also covered are Watergate conspiracy theories, amazing Nixon impressions, and just how many farts did those Oval Office tapes pick up? Also: Frasier apartment trivia!

As we strive to continue to be good allies in the year 2020, you can also find links below on how you can help the Black Lives Matter movement. Whether it’s through donations, actions, education, or conversation, do the work now to find your place in all of this. If you have questions about how you might be able to help, feel free to email [email protected].

Episode sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_complex

Podcast: Conspiracy Theories Episodes 97-98 “Watergate Pt 1 and 2”

https://www.history.com/topics/watergate-scandal-timeline-nixon

Tom Brokaw’s opinion piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/opinion/trump-nixon.html

Documentary: 13th (2016) directed by Ava DuVernay

How to help in America in 2020:

Bail Funds for Protesters

Columbus, OH: https://www.paypal.me/columbusfreedomfund

New York, NY: https://cash.app/$bailoutnycmay

Minnesota: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/

Other places to donate:

George Floyd Freedom Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Resources:

First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People

https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliawuench/2020/06/02/first-listen-then-learn-anti-racism-resources-for-white-people/#1c86d35016ee

How to be a good white ally, according to activists

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/21278123/being-an-ally-racism-george-floyd-protests-white-people

Theme music:

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

blimps Blimps BLIMPS!!! It's all about the blimps and the boy bands on today's episode! Audrey tells Elena all about famed and shamed boy band mogul Lou Pearlman, and how his gigantic Windemere, Florida mansion contributed to his downfall. Strap in, because this one is crazy ride from start to finish. And we thought blimps were supposed to be smooth sailing...

Audrey and Elena also spend some time discussing the tragic murder of George Floyd, and the subsequent protests in America, AND how you can help. See resources below following the episode sources. Donate, listen, and learn.

Episode 002 Research:

Show Em What You’re Made Of Documentary (2015)- BSB house walk through: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backstreet_Boys:_Show_%27Em_What_You%27re_Made_Of

The Boyband Con- The Lou Pearlman Story -Molestation Allegations, Ponzi Scheme, Norms in the House: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcCRs0Ic3FI

Real Estate Overview: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/15527981/12488-Park-Avenue-Windermere-FL/

Selling the House: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2008-03-09-pearlhouse09-story.html

Billboard Prison Interview : https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5885250/lou-pearlman-prison-interview-boy-bands-ponzi-scheme

How to help in America in 2020:

Bail Funds for Protesters
Columbus, OH : https://www.paypal.me/columbusfreedomfund
New York, NY: https://cash.app/$bailoutnycmay
Minnesota: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/

Other places to donate:
George Floyd Freedom Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Resources:
First, Listen. Then, Learn: Anti-Racism Resources For White People: https://www.forbes.com/sites/juliawuench/2020/06/02/first-listen-then-learn-anti-racism-resources-for-white-people/#1c86d35016ee

How to be a good white ally, according to activists: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/2/21278123/being-an-ally-racism-george-floyd-protests-white-people

Theme music:

Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to If These Wall…! A storytelling and history podcast with a dose of gossip, a hint of mystery, and a lot of ridiculousness. 

In this first episode, Elena and Audrey explain why they decided to start a (new) podcast, and a bit about themselves. Then Elena will tackle the topic of the Petit Trianon at Versailles, and the story of the Petit Trianon Time Slip/the Moberly-Joudain Incident. And to wrap it up, an inaugural game of How Well Do You Know Your Sitcom Houses?

Sources:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/breguet-luxury-watches/marie-antoinette-and-the-petit-trianon/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moberly%E2%80%93Jourdain_incident

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/petit-trianon#history-of-the-premises%C2%A0

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/house-tour-marie-antoinettes-p-90254

Contagious Folly: "An Adventure" and Its Skeptics by Terry Castle

Theme music: Protofunk by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunk
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

NEW PODCAST ALERT! If These Walls...is a storytelling and history podcast about the buildings that house our best and worst secrets. If these walls could talk they would tell you the story...but they can’t, so we will spill the tea for them.