Episode 75: Jessica Lepler Knows That Criticism Is Praise
Listen to an interview with Jessica Lepler about her book Canal Dreamers, her writing process, the founding of a second book writers workshop at SHEAR, and more.
Episode 74: Mary Frances Phillips Works From a Place of Play
Download 07e56be2-483d-456b-b7cb-5a06e0382f70.mp3 I’ve talked to many historians who have interviewed sources in order to write their histories over more than 70 episodes of Drafting the Past, but I don’t think any has spent quite as much time getting to know their subject in
Episode 73: Tyler Anbinder Revises Every Day That He Writes
Download ed48b984-d5ee-425f-bb06-c2277b4aa8b8.mp3 Historians never quite know what kind of discoveries will enable them to write a history. For today’s guest, the list of things that contributed to his most recent book included a long-shot grant proposal, an elementary school fundraiser, and the rise
Episode 72: Joanne Paul Isn't Afraid to Call Herself an Artist
Download d6ab0cb2-f93d-435d-b455-f18e4da1e852.mp3 Even though Dr. Joanne Paul had wanted to be a writer for a long time, she had lost sight of that identity and had to find her way back to it. But now, she has embraced creativity and imagination as a historian, and
Episode 71: Raphael Cormack Makes Meaning from Unreliable Sources
Download b6879124-3e73-4dd2-9d3b-b6cc4129e791.mp3 How do you write a history if you’re not quite sure which—if any—of your sources is telling the truth? All historians have to deal with sources who exaggerate, or mislead, or just come from differing perspectives. But my guest in
Episode 70: Tracy Slater Finds Her Footing as a Narrative Historian
Download 9ce2b815-1f46-454c-b891-46d24b1a6059.mp3 I talk to a lot of history professors on this show, of course, but I’m always excited when I get a chance to talk to someone who is writing great history but working outside of a university setting. And my guest today
Episode 69: Andrew Hartman Takes the Time to Get It Right
Download 639f14f4-e4d0-475d-8211-b383e510bafe.mp3 Dr. Andrew Hartman is a professor of history at Illinois State University. Before that, as you’ll learn in this episode, he was a high school social studies teacher, and he specializes in teaching future social studies teachers. He is the author of
Episode 68: Ruby Lal Paints a Lush World
Download 67ce98d0-3bba-4262-aca3-ebd4af32e755.mp3 In this episode, I’m thrilled to be joined by historian Dr. Ruby Lal. When I first started thinking about this interview more than a year ago, I read Ruby’s book Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan. I was swept away
Episode 67: Stephanie Gorton Puts Authentic Interactions on the Page
Download d3462ccb-bb80-4216-afd0-08456b1b51d1.mp3 Stephanie Gorton is a writer, editor, and journalist whose work has been published in a range of outlets including The New Yorker, Smithsonian, and Paris Review Daily. She has worked in editorial roles at several independent presses, and her first book came out
Episode 66: Padraic Scanlan Makes the Medicine Go Down
Download 21ba1df5-b749-4701-b171-df6dbd8e9e19.mp3 In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Padraic Scanlan. Padraic is an associate professor at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the history of labor in Britain and the British empire. He’s the author of three books, including Freedom’