The Last Archive

Here's a preview of a new audiobook we think you'll enjoy, Blockers: an inside look at the early days of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, as told by the public servants it targeted and Michael Lewis, one of America’s best storytellers.

Blockers. It wasn’t a compliment. In the new Washington, it was the worst thing you could be—especially if you worked in the federal government and wanted to keep your job. A Blocker was a holdover, an impediment, someone who didn’t get the message—and, most of all, someone who didn’t belong.

Michael Lewis found six of them. 

Blockers is the story of people who believed they had a calling, who were convinced they were doing something the country couldn’t do without, and then discovered they were no longer wanted. One kept Americans’ most sensitive tax data out of the wrong hands and another made sure that politicians and civil servants played by the rules. One figured out how to stop wildfires from destroying suburban neighborhoods, another helped uncover the mysteries of cystic fibrosis.

There was also a security guard.

It should come as no surprise that the writer who made subprime mortgages gripping (The Big Short) and who turned baseball statistics into poetry (Moneyball) could transform the first two years of the second Trump administration into a thriller about federal employees. But he does.

And he does something else. He puts before us a clear question: If these public servants can’t survive in government today, then what does that say about us?

Get Blockers now at blockers.fm.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Election night 1993 meets election night 2016. The fate of the island and the country converge in the figure of one man: Rudy Giuliani.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the height of the secession movement, the Wu-Tang Clan forms on Staten Island. We take a tour of early 1990s hip-hop and reveal the hidden history of the group.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group on Staten Island tries to stop secession, squaring off against the secessionists in a heated set of debates and meetings recorded on never-before-seen archival tapes. A set of debates best understood via a detour into the history of a remote Polynesian island.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After the Supreme Court takes a close look at New York City government, Staten Island comes out the loser. A local artist begins organizing for secession. We take a deep dive into the psychology of the island, which has a lot to do with the largest garbage dump in the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Naddaff-Hafrey has a new show out! On the 250th anniversary of the United States, he investigates the story of what was, at the time, the biggest secession movement in the U.S. since the Civil War. From Revisionist History, The Staten Island Problem reconstructs the battle for New York City amidst the turbulent early 1990s — the rise of Rudy Giuliani, the peak of the homicide rate, the Wu-Tang Clan, young Donald Trump, and the first Black mayor of New York — all through the prism of the city’s Forgotten Borough.

Staten Island’s secession movement is an early example of the politics of resentment that dominates America today and asks: what do you do when a democracy looks like it’s falling apart?

We'll be sharing all episodes of the series right here on The Last Archive. Here’s episode 1. David Dinkins, the first Black mayor of New York City, faces off with the borough president of Staten Island, and tries to hold his city together. Find more episodes of Revisionist History: The Staten Island Problem wherever you get podcasts. If you want to hear the full series right now, you can binge it with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up on the Revisionist History show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus and use the code RH25 to save 25%.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maya Shankar, host of Pushkin's A Slight Change of Plans podcast, just released a new book, "The Other Side of Change". To celebrate, we're sharing an exclusive excerpt with the Pushkin community. It's about what first sparked Maya’s interest in change, and the story of a woman named Olivia Lewis.

Order “The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans” at changewithmaya.com/book, or wherever you like to buy books.

About The Other Side of Change:
Life has a way of thwarting our best-laid plans. Out of nowhere, we’re confronting the end of a relationship, an unexpected diagnosis, the loss of a job, or some other twist of fate. In these moments, it can feel like we’re free-falling into the unknown.

As a cognitive scientist, Maya Shankar has spent decades studying the human mind. When an unwanted change in her own life left her reeling, she sought out people who had navigated major disruptions. In "The Other Side of Change", Shankar tells their riveting, singular stories and weaves in scientific insights to illuminate universal lessons hidden within them.

When a big change happens to us, it can lead to profound change within us. The unique stresses and demands of being thrust into a new reality can lead us to uncover new abilities, perspectives, and values, transforming us in extraordinary ways. What if we saw moments of upheaval as an opportunity to reimagine who we can be, rather than as something to just endure? Whether you’re processing a past change, grappling with a present one, or bracing for a future one, this book is a wise and thought-provoking companion to help you discover who you can become on the other side of change.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For nearly 200 years, we have credited the most famous poem of the Christmas season to Clement Clarke Moore. But what if we got the wrong man?

This holiday season: A centuries old family feud, a bold claim from an English professor, and the true meaning of Christmas.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, but can also hugely boost your happiness. So we're teaming up with other podcasts from Hidden Brain to Revisionist History to ask you to give to a charity helping some of the poorest people around. We're calling it #PodsFightPoverty.     

Go to givedirectly.org/happinesslab right now and give whatever you can. And the first $500,000 we donate will be matched thanks to our friends at Giving Multiplier!

Even a small donation will make you feel good and have a much larger impact on the world than you thought possible. To help inspire you, this special episode examines the science of giving and shares stories of heartwarming and impactful acts of kindness.   

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a preview of a podcast we think you'll enjoy. It's from the new season of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast, The Alabama Murders. Florence, Alabama. 1988. A preacher has an affair. A woman is murdered. One death cascades into more, stretching across decades and leaving no one untouched — victims, bystanders, perpetrators, and those just trying to help. Eventually, the consequences lead to the center of a hot national debate on who should be allowed to live, who should die, and how the state should kill them. On The Alabama Murders, Malcolm asks: why, in our efforts to alleviate suffering, do we so often make it worse? Find Revisionist History: The Alabama Murders wherever you get podcasts.

Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows.

Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin
Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plus

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.