The Free Bin

Sophia invites Cindy and Harrison to share some books from their favorite genres, as well as some unexpected picks. Thrilling adventures, dubious ghosts, and historical tears abound!

In this episode:

"The Apparitionists" by Peter Manseau

"City of Lies" by Victoria Thompson

"The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus

"The Martian" by Andy Weird

"A Murder on Astor Place" by Victoria Thompson

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

"Sahara" by Clive Cussler

"Sandstorm" by James Rollins

"Shattered" by Dick Francis

"Timeline" by Michael Crichton

"The Unidentified" by Colin Dickey

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah

Cindy, Harrison, and new Library Programs Specialist Sophia discuss the Declaration of Independence, drink some more red juice, and recite the immortal words of Bill Pullman!

In this episode:

United States Declaration of Independence

See the video episode here!

As the library's Joust tournament approacheth, Harrison introduces Cindy to this classic arcade game, and seeks to answer one all-important question: Could we do this in real life?

In this episode:

Joust

"Animals In Motion" (1902) by Edward Muybridge

Cindy teaches Harrison about the history of Father's Day, acknowledges the complicated feelings that the holiday can bring, and caps it all off with a relevant tale from Aesop about a father and his quarrelsome sons. Harrison puts out an RFP for cryptids. President Nixon gets some flowers for your dad.

Cindy also announces our upcoming Community Conversations series! Funded by Oregon Humanities, this three-event series will focus on Toledo's past, present, and future, through educational presentations and discussion.

Cindy and Harrison explore the public domain and beyond in this discussion of copyright, its implications for software preservation, and how to support the wild Pac-Man population! Cindy reads Shakespeare's Sonnet 29. Harrison finds a disturbing Edwardian comic strip.

In this episode:

Betsy Bouncer and Her Doll

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

United States Copyright Act Section 108

Internet Arcade (Internet Archive)

Project Gutenberg

Public Domain Super Heroes Wiki

Standard Ebooks

Harrison and Cindy discuss the interesting case of "Unknown Man E," the Harem Conspiracy, and what this case can teach us about official records, historical erasure, compassion, and what we each leave behind.

2020 BBC Science Focus piece about the reconstruction of the priest Nesyamun's larynx

2018 article from The Verge about the sarcophagus "bone juice"

Oxford online course material on crime and punishment in ancient Egypt

Cindy steps into Doomguy's armor-plated boots to rip and tear through a discussion of Doom (1993), the evolution of PC game control schemes, and the ways in which cultural knowledge of modern gameplay conventions can affect the retro-gaming experience.

Check out our bonus video episode here!

In anticipation of this year's game-centric Summer Reading Program, Cindy and Harrison discuss some notable film adaptations of video games. Cindy is a Peach, and Harrison is a Peachette.

In this episode:

Doom (franchise)

Ludonarrative Dissonance

Super Mario Bros. (franchise)

Tomb Raider (franchise)

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Polybius (urban legend)

Prince of Persia (1989)

On the eve of her retirement, Denyse shares some favorite memories with Cindy, Harrison, and you, the listener. We've laughed, we've cried, we've dressed as dementors.

Harrison briefly explains why we've been quiet for a couple of weeks. Short answer: We have a lot of new stuff on the way!