Palm Court Podcast

How can a New College education prepare you for a brief sojourn in Rikers … and a long career making legal (and delicious) liquor? Ken Klehm discusses the beauty of the New College network – whether it’s bands, lawyers, or roadside assistance – and the pitfalls of growing up a chemistry prodigy and peony heir on an experimental campus with a shortage of guidance and support …

Referenced in the episode:

Callbacks: Surf Füx, Mann, White, Schickler

Please send stories, pictures, audio: [email protected]

What was it like when the Pei Dorms were new and the Uplands were untamed? We get into the heritage of the physical campus, crime novelist John D. MacDonald as NCF president, the lost Ringling dauphin, dream architecture, disco, and the occasional tasteful nudity in a remote Florida outpost. 

Ballyhoo: a tiny swordfish. 

Lovejoy’s Guide

Tom Todd with Dallas Dort and President Elmendorf

Landmark Hotel

1974 movies

Pasolini's Theorem 

David Pini

“Occasional pornography”

In 1969, Pine View was Florida’s first school for the gifted.

Dallas Dort, rancher and presidential poker player.

John D. MacDonald

Club Mary and Cheetah merged & fought the law. 

Bahi Hut, National Landmark of Tiki (no lie!)

Corcoran’s classroom-turned-cigar lounge. 

Bruce Abramson, director of admissions.

East Campus alone is 20 acres. 

Edgar Cayce

“I said hey, babe…”

The Mailroom became the Gender & Diversity Center around 2000. 

Chad Goldberg

Callbacks: F Clayton, Ronca & Bender, Campbell, Waldman, J. Miller

Please send stories, pictures, audio: [email protected]  

Time Stamps:

00:00 Meet Ginger Lyon

01:10 Finding New College

05:43 Charter Class Lore

10:56 Seventies Campus Culture

12:36 Contracts and Evaluations15:20 Film Thesis Era

19:23 Sarasota Arts Scene

22:54 Community Hosts and Jobs

26:44 Tamiami Trail Memories

28:32 Protecting Place and Legacy

32:06 Returning During Troubles

33:19 Corcoran’s Vision

35:02 Dystopian Rebrand Fears

36:42 Public Land Stakes

37:47 Campus Overbuilt Shift

40:28 Crossing 41 Memories

43:25 Dreams and Numinous Places

47:36 Music and Palm Court Parties

53:31 Favorite Places on Campus

58:36 Pei Dorms and Architecture

01:03:20 Tunnels and Farewell

Mike, Megan, and Grant catch up with Libby Harrity as she kicks off her studies at Rutgers Law School in Newark. We hear tales from Hampshire College recorded before its closure was announced. But mostly , we hear what Libby's been up to and what she's looking to do next.

Show Notes

LSAC: Law School Admission Council

Raiders are pirates; the Scarlet Raider is a fox

Aimé Césaire, Martinican poet, theorist, and politician

“Super yachts” is a reference to an infamous alum. 

The recent Truthout cameo

The People’s Electric Law School

Emma Curtis’ On Site/Sight mural depicting sandhill cranes was painted over

CAFA: Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas

Florida’s state government used to be considerably different

DeSantis loyalists aren’t in every university presidency in Florida – just most of them

Betty Osceola and the Miccosukee Tribe have staunchly opposed the Everglades Detention Facility 

Callbacks: Libby Harrity, Amy Reid

Please send stories, pictures, audio: [email protected]

There’s more than one New College documentary out there! We chat with Celi Mitidieri, the Ringling filmmaker of two short docs showing the takeover from the inside, along with several New College alums, main characters of the latest film. They explain how their cohort engaged in the fight for the right to party, how transfers affect culture, and the importance of maintaining a community with real people in real spaces.

Inside info is dropped on the unusual ways the unoccupied Pei dorms are used nowadays and we get a Gen Z take on the diverse historical and fictional end-of-the-world narratives that were the inspiration for apoCOUPlypse 2025, one last joyful celebration of the New College that once was … along with reflections on the way nothing ever really ends. 

CULTURE WAR is a short documentary on the takeover. 

THE END IS NIGH is currently being edited, but you can learn more about it on Culture War’s Seed & Spark and Linktree pages. Maybe sign up for the newsletter? 

Alexandra Levy/Old School Catalyst about the COUP.

“Camilla Mortenson’s silent protest” was a silent march and wall party in protest of walls being shut down over noise complaints. (Camilla may or may not have been one of the organizers, but she was notably present.) 

The party pitch deck. 

The film pitch deck. 

“Zombie studies” was a favorite slam from the governor. 

HCL-8 is the Teaching Auditorium mentioned in previous film-focused eps.

“Transitory population” is a growing problem with NCF student metrics. 

In May 2015, a student and a guest died of fentanyl overdoses.

COUP Crash Course. 

Viet Thanh Nguyen spoke at Alt Grad 2025.

True numbers of international athletes are difficult to determine; many enter in spring semester (in part to avoid counting them against the “First Time In College” enrollment metrics). The official count is 14.3%.  

The New College Student Alliance archives are an ongoing project.

Callbacks: Miles Iton, Jonathan White, Harry Hanbury. 

Please send stories, pictures, audio: [email protected] 

An alum, documentarian, and friend joins us to talk about First They Came For My College, as well as a personal story of coming from a Catholic, all-boys, military academy, wearing a saber on mass transit, Hawaiian shirt reputations, supervising Shark Week, alumni connections with the Avatar franchise, and what it’s like to turn 300 hours of student-shot footage into a 105-minute film. 

The trailer can also be seen at https://newcollegefilm.com … 

…where there’s a screenings page, a "request a screening" form, and a page where people can donate to help bring the film and its protagonists to campuses and theaters around the country.

President Okker was Dean of the College of Arts and Science at Mizzou. 

Holly Herrick has spoken about the film in Austin (check 49 minutes in). 

Harry's thesis is apparently the earliest among New College’s Foucault theses. 

Smitty Smith,’73, and InSync Plus has quite the client list.

Deep Springs also has a student-led system. 

NCF had a more military pedigree than many realize. 

The original Public Ivies list

Retro Report: Voyage of the Mobro 4000

Shark Week Uncaged 

Alex P. Keaton

Warnock and Ossoff

Us Kids featured X González, ‘18. 

AltLiberalArts was Alt New College, until they got a C&D. 

Pahokee

The Gender and Diversity Center Library was student-owned, but dumped during the summer. 

The alt alumni association holds a well-attended Alt Grad annually. 

Grant collects NCF news. 

Fulbrights were once a point of pride. 

The ACT-UP poster 

The director of Mr. Nobody vs Putin talks about New College. 

Callbacks: Old School Catalyst, Libby Harrity, Jeb Lund, Amy Reid.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:14 Festival Premiere Buzz

03:03 Remote Production Workflow

03:34 Student Filmmakers Footage

04:20 Trailer Miracle Story

07:14 Festival Tour Plans

09:48 Swag and How to Support

10:25 Harry New College Origins

11:43 Military School and Closet

13:45 Choosing New College Cheap

17:31 Postgrad Media Career Start

19:56 Shark Week and Hollywood Tie Ins

22:17 From Shark Week to Journalism

23:37 Retro Report Origins

24:34 Teaching Then Pandemic Pivot

26:26 Documenting the Takeover

29:56 Student Filmmakers Inside View

33:39 Resistance and Culture Clash

37:15 Cinema Verite and Fairness

40:05 Higher Ed Under Attack

46:26 Festivals Campus Screenings Next

50:21 Oscar Connection and Farewell

We catch up with former Film Pharaoh Eugene Lowe, along with Tom Ronca and Suzanne Clayton to talk New College films: finding them, watching them, showing them, and making them … both back in the day and touring the festival circuit now. Get your hot Oscar picks right here! Also, a surprise visit from the Madrid metro, a gas-leak power outage, and Ernest Borgnine playing Timothée Chalamet. 

La Strada

Gary McDonogh, anthropologist and scholar of cities

The Village Voice on Thundercrack

Canyon Cinematheque

Rewind This! 

First They Came For My College, you’ll be hearing much more about. 

The trailer for FTCFMC was edited by alum Smitty Smith, whose previous trailer was for Avatar: Fire and Water.

Alum Steve Rosenbluth, halfway to EGOT 

Dreams With Sharp Teeth

“Giorgio with the hair”

Marty 

Magnolia and Hard Eight 

Save the Green Planet!

Uncle Buck’s girlfriend

Train Dreams

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Arco and Chainsaw Man

The Secret Agent  and Sentimental Value 

Color Me Lurid

Darmstadt’s Filmkreis 

The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov 

Apenas Coisas Boas (Only Good Things) 

Kontinental ‘25

The Grandmother, a Lynch short

Hundreds of Beavers

Callbacks: Oscars 24, 25, In Memoriam.

Please send us your stories, pictures, audio: [email protected] 

For your Clone Stamp Greetings card, write Eugene at: [email protected].

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Back Oscars Crew

02:16 New Guest Eugene Joins

03:32 Eugene New College Origins

05:01 Thundercrack Screening Story

06:53 Film Series Programming Rules

09:04 Teatro and VHS Nostalgia

11:02 New College Documentary Buzz

13:04 VFX Awards and Industry Paths

15:09 Ancient Aliens Editing Tales

17:35 Oscars Season Kickoff

22:07 Top Contenders Sinners vs Battle

25:23 Marty Supreme and Chalamet

27:52 More Nominees Begonia Weapons

29:29 Train Dreams Favorite

30:47 Best Picture Longshots

32:10 Hamnet Acting Buzz

33:08 F1 Sound and Editing

34:49 Best Actress Race

35:30 Rose Byrne Dark Horse

37:26 Best Actor and Blue Moon

39:01 Director Song and Score

41:50 Animation and Shorts Talk

43:43 International Film Locks

45:23 Indie Picks and Programming

48:44 Lynch Memoriam Speculation

50:50 Train Movies Metro Cameo

53:07 Signing Off and Thanks

Follow, Like, and Share wherever you get your pods. Visit us at https://palmcourtpod.com for more.

The Palm Court Podcast returns for Season 3, diving deep into the history and future of student journalism at New College! Hosts Mike Palmer, Grant Balfour and Megan Cytron welcome the Old School Catalyst crew: former faculty advisor Maria Vesperi and former student editors Isaac Tellechea and Sophia Brown. They are also joined by a recorded contribution from former Catalyst editor Gaby Batista.

Shownotes:

St. Pete Times was ⁠a journalism innovator⁠

The Catalyst goes back⁠ to 1965⁠

⁠Reagent ⁠was one of several not-quite replacements in the 1980s 

USF Oracle still ⁠covers news⁠

⁠Fall 2020⁠ was a ⁠tough time⁠

Older alums remember the⁠ Anthro Lab⁠ as “The Barn”

Maria Vesperi ⁠stepped down⁠, sort of

Brad Thiessen is now ⁠Florida Poly’s provost⁠

⁠Alaska Miller⁠, outspoken cog-sci student

⁠News structure⁠

Brown spoke at ⁠two 2023 commencements⁠

Alex Levy’s ⁠message to student journos⁠

Chloe Rusek’s⁠ attempt to interview Corcoran⁠

Sophia Brown’s ⁠bookstore series⁠

Florence Fahringer’s and Andy Trinh’s ⁠Childcare Center item⁠

WSLR ⁠reports⁠ on ⁠NCF⁠⁠

Taylor Lorenz⁠ & ⁠Drop Site News⁠

PCP Callbacks: ⁠Sophia Brown/PEN America⁠, ⁠Kathryn Joyce⁠, ⁠Steven Walker⁠

It's a wrap on season two of the Palm Court Pod. Hosts Mike Palmer, Megan Cytron, and Grant Balfour reflect on the past year and discuss what's to come for New College and the podcast itself.

We reflect on a year of change, both geopolitically and personally. We started the pod with the idea that New College was the "canary in the swamp," and as New College went, so might higher education in the U.S. As it turns out, we were right, and now what's happening at New College is being seen all over the country.

We focus on celebrating the parts of New College's culture that we love while keeping track of the challenges. We talked to a lot of interesting people this season, including Libby Harrity, Mike Campbell, and Eric Schickler. We also interviewed journalists who have been covering New College, such as Katherine Joyce, who wrote the article "The New College Gambit."

We note the recent attempt by the governor to place Ringling Museum under New College's control and the new admin's strange hires, weird expenses, and changes to the grading system. This new "grade equivalents" system defeats the whole philosophy of New College, which was to reward intellectual curiosity and allow students to measure themselves against standards established in a relationship with a professor, not a traditional grading scale.

As we look toward season three, we have a number of ideas for future episodes. We've heard stories of new students, including athletes, who came to the school not knowing anything about the New College system and are still sticking with it and thriving. There are also stories of people who came as "culture warriors" but were converted by their experiences at the school.

We plan to continue our conversations with alums, academics, and journalists to understand the shifting landscape of higher education, particularly in Florida. With Governor DeSantis term-limited, we speculate on what the next election might mean for New College.

Finally, we want to hear from you, our listeners.

Subscribe wherever you listen to pods. Video versions are on Youtube and Spotify. We'll be back in the fall with Season 3.

00:00 Introduction and Season Recap

01:05 Reflecting on Season Two

01:25 New College and Higher Ed Trends

02:20 Memorable Guests and Episodes

04:09 Historical Events and Listener Requests

06:03 Challenges and Changes in Higher Education

12:31 Faculty and Institutional Changes

16:32 Student Experiences and Future Outlook

19:17 Culture Warriors and Campus Politics

20:57 Florida's Political Landscape and New College

21:44 Gubernatorial Election and Future Prospects

23:15 Third Party Activity and National Politics

24:37 Podcast Reflections and Future Guests

26:55 Listener Engagement and Community Interaction

27:45 Season Two Evaluation and Future Plans

31:27 Final Thoughts and Hot Takes

Shownotes:

This season started with Libby Harrity and Mike Campbell

The 80s saw a rise in quantitative psychology and sociology. 

Zorn’s Lemma has some relics of the Kingsley Hall experiment (see Ep. 20) 

The “silent protest” involved noise complaints over “walls” - a perennial problem. 

Provost Rohrbacher and the “Floridense” seal

Ep. 30 extras included a glimpse into NCF’s pro wrestling years. 

Ep. 23 talked education, China, and beats

Ep. 27 brought Yippie vibes

Grade-equivalent evaluations have attracted some ire.

Rohrbacher recently wrote on the traditional NCF system.

Anderson Brown (Ep. 3) wrote last year about Rancourt.

Steve Waldman, Interfluidity, 3 May 2023: “We Haunt.”

First five eps can be heard by scrolling way down here. 

Please send us your stories, pictures, audio: [email protected]

This episode of the Palm Court Podcast features an engaging conversation with Dr. Eric Schickler, a New College alum from the class of '87 and the coauthor of Partisan Nation⁠: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era. Eric shares his unique journey and insights into political science and the current state of higher education. Plus there's plenty of new details about the legendary Lorax Rebellion of May 1988.

We kick off with Eric's unexpected path to New College. He recounts his initial culture shock upon arriving in Florida, but quickly highlights the transformative social and academic experience that followed. The conversation then delves into Eric's career as a political science professor at UC Berkeley since 1997, where he continues to be inspired by his New College education. We explore his research on nationalized polarization in the U.S., as detailed in his book, Partisan Nation, co-authored with Paul Pierson. Eric explains how this polarization differs from historical divides, as everything, including state politics, has become nationalized, leading to concerning dynamics within American politics.

Crucially, Eric connects this broader political trend to the recent events at New College, viewing the "hostile takeover" by Governor DeSantis as a microcosm of nationalized polarization. He illustrates how traditionally supportive local Republican legislators, who once valued New College for its community benefits, now align with a national culture war agenda, prioritizing national political aspirations over local interests.

We also discuss Eric's ongoing research into the polarization of higher education over the past 45 years. He points out a significant shift in the Republican party, moving from general support for higher education in the 1980s and 90s to increasing criticism and diminishment of its value.

Then we pivot to Eric's eyewitness account of the Lorax Rebellion in 1988, a key event in New College's history. As SAC Chair at the time, Eric provides an insider's perspective on the student-led efforts to save the "grove" from airport expansion. He details the strategic involvement of lawyers, the formation of the "Save the Green Space" nonprofit, and the challenges faced in securing legal and financial support. Eric vividly recounts the emotional day of the bulldozing, the arrests of students, and the subsequent legal battles, emphasizing the unity and determination of the student body.

Finally, Eric shares insights into his baccalaureate thesis, which explored government policy toward technology in the early 1990s. We close with Eric's reflection on New College's profound and lasting impact on his life and intellectual development, underscoring its unique ability to foster iconoclastic thinkers.

Notes:

Jeb Lund joins Mike, Megan, and Grant to talk about his work in journalism at places like Rolling Stone, The Nation, and GQ, among others and on It's Christmastown, his popular podcast about Hallmark Channel movies.

We learn how Jeb wound up at New College, how his thesis about British cryptography in World War 2 got turned into pulp, and how he wound up covering the Alt Graduation Event for The Nation in 2024. Jeb also provides advice on how to get active in shaping the coverage of New College as political tides in Florida continue to shift.

Want to learn how this podcast was almost named The Canary in the Swamp? Or why people might actually want to listen to smart people talk about inane movies on the Hallmark Channel?

Listen in to find out.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Video episodes now up on Youtube and Spotify.

00:00 Introduction and Welcoming the Guest

01:06 Jeb Lund's Origin Story

03:30 College Life and Challenges

07:57 Career Journey and Writing

11:03 Freelancing and Journalism

11:42 Public Facing Role and Podcasting

14:58 Involvement with New College Alumni

21:25 The Recency Bias in News Reporting

22:39 Challenges in Speculative Journalism

23:11 New College: A Canary in the Swamp

24:01 The Power of Public Pressure

25:03 Corruption in Florida Politics

28:36 The Future of New College

30:14 Sports and Campus Culture

32:10 Journalistic Challenges and Personal Reflections

40:18 Concluding Thoughts and Final Messages

NOTES: