Atlantic editor Vann R. Newkirk II talks to Kim about the mutability of memory, as seen through two portraits of the abolitionist John Brown. He also explains how a photograph of his mom helped him to appreciate the fragility of democracy in the United States, and why he tries to keep a garden wherever he goes.

See the portraits we discuss:

George Washington Carver

John Brown daguerreotype

John Brown painting

Marylin Thurman Newkirk