Modern Notion

On todays episode of Modern Notion Daily, historian Emily Bingham joins us to talk about her new book chronicling the life of her great-aunt, Irrepressible: The Jazz Age Life of Henrietta Bingham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2015). Henrietta Bingham was a formidable woman who came of age during the 1920s. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Henrietta attended Smith College and then set off for London with one of her Smith professors who was also her lover. Henriettas life is an interesting look at queerness in early 20th-century America and England; the book also tackles subjects like race relations, family folklore and oral history, womens rights, and, most importantly, dog ownership. This hour we also hear from contributing editor Emma Bryce about the Hellboy-ish dinosaur species discovered 10 years ago.

Music this hour:

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

Kellis Number by U.S. Army Blues, from the album Live at Blues Alley

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

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On todays show, our guest is Alexandra Witze, co-author of Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Covered a Continent in Darkness (Pegasus, January 2015), with her husband Jeff Kanipe. The book traces the history of the 1783 eruption of the Laki volcano on Iceland. Beyond its immediate effects on Iceland and continental Europe, the eruption changed the way humans observed and related to natural disasters. Later in the hour, Mark Hay talks about another natural disaster: gigantic sinkholes popping up across Siberia.

Music this hour:

“Theme M” by Steve Combs andamp; Delta Is, from the album Themes (Vol. 1)

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

“Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel

On todays episode of Modern Notion Daily, were talking with Dan Eatherley, author of Bushmaster: Raymond Ditmars and the Hunt for the Worlds Largest Viper (Arcade Publishing, June 2015). When he was working on various nature films and TV shows, Eatherley discovered Raymond Ditmars, an amateur herpetologist who went on to work for the Bronx Zoo in the first half of the 20th century. Ditmars became transfixed by the bushmaster, a kind of snake, and later in his career he searched for the beast in Panama. Well even hear some archival footage of Ditmars and his daughter; the amateur herpetologist was also an amateur filmmaker. Later in the hour, contributing editor Emma Bryce unearths the Nazis plan to build a Jewish super-ghetto on the island of Madagascar.

Music this hour:

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

“Quasi Motion” by Kevin MacLeod, from the album Global Sampler

On this hour of Modern Notion Daily, our guest is Wendell Wallach, an ethicist, consultant, and scholar at Yale Universitys Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and the author of A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control (Basic Books, June 2015). Wallach thinks that technology, if it goes unchecked, could pose serious threats to humanity in the near future. His book describes ways we can counteract that possibility or prevent machines from taking over. Later in the hour, contributing editor Mark Hay tells us about ayahuasca, an not-so-new hallucinogen thats trending. (Even Lindsay Lohan reportedly uses it.)

Music this hour:

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

The Portal by Little Glass Men, from the album Debut E.P.

This hour were talking with Charlotte DeCroes Jacobs, author of the biography Jonas Salk: A Life (Oxford University Press, May 2015). Salk is best known for creating the polio vaccine that paved the way to eradicating the disease in the United States. Jacobs explores the extraordinary story of how Salk ran trials for the vaccine, and what he did after he achieved his lifes greatest accomplishment.

Music this hour:

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

Forgiven Not Forgotten by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel

On todays show our guest is Steve Jones, a renowned British geneticist and author of The Serpents Promise: The Bible Interpreted Through Modern Science (Pegasus, paperback June 2015). Jones is an atheist—he even won Secularist of the Year—but he thinks the Bible has some historical information to offer us. He doesnt buy that the Bible is completely myth or metaphor; in fact, he says hes more of a literalist when it comes to biblical interpretation than many believers. Later in the hour we talk with contributing editor Emma Bryce about the Colosseums death elevator, which was recently reconstructed.

Music this hour:

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

AcidJazz by Kevin MacLeod, from the album Jazz Sampler

Today we have a bicycle theme on Modern Notion Daily. Our guest is Tim Moore, who recreated one of the worst bicycle races in history and wrote about it in his new book, Gironimo! The Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy (Pegasus, May 2015). Moore fashioned a bicycle that would resemble the wooden-wheeled vehicles of the 1914 tour, donned a period cycling costume, and followed the route that the original cyclists took. We also hear the story of Thomas Stevens, the man who cycled around the world in the 1880s.

Music this hour:

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

“People Are Strange” by The Doors

“Step On” by Jahzzar, from the album Tumbling Dishes Like Old-Man’s Wishes

On todays episode of Modern Notion Daily, our guest is Henry Hemming, author of The Ingenious Mr. Pyke: Inventor, Fugitive, Spy (Public Affairs, May 2015). Hemming discovered Pyke when he was reading a volume about English eccentrics—and Pyke certainly falls into that category. His crowning achievements include sneaking into and out of Germany during World War I, creating a radical kindergarten, and establishing Special Forces in the United States and Canada. Later in the hour, author Tristan Donovan takes producer Cheryl Brumley on a tour of Brighton, England, to learn about the animals that are running wild through our cities. Plus, contributing editor Mark Hay introduces us to Obamas butterfly highway.

Music this hour:

Chicken and Cheese 2 (Foot Village cover) by Tussle

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

This hour, we examine the experience of having bed bugs with Brooke Borel, author of Infested: How the Bed Bug Infiltrated Our Bedrooms and Took Over the World (University of Chicago Press, April 2015). Borel wanted to know why bed bugs became so prevalent in the last decade, and she found plenty of people to tell her their horror stories along the way. We have a few horror stories to share from our listeners, too. Later in the hour, Mark Hay brings us the origins of the necktie and tells us why hell be sticking to plummeting V-necks.

Music this hour:

“get out” by Jahzzar, from the album Sketches

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

Persian Lamb Rag by Heftone Banjo Orchestra, from the album Music Box Rag

On todays show, Lisa Appignanesi, author of Trials of Passion: Crimes Committed in the Name of Love and Madness (Pegasus, July 2015), talks about the intersection of law and psychiatry. She studied several trials, between the years 1870 and 1914, to find out how mind doctors came to play a significant role in how justice was served in the United States, France, and England. Later in the hour, contributing editor Erin Blakemore reveals the surprising inspiration behind Disneys Lady and the Tramp.

Music this hour:

“Elle va au Japon” by Nic Bommarito, from the album A Quiet Age

“Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

Miris Magic Dance by Kevin MacLeod, from the album Oddities