In The Corner Back By The Woodpile

After World War II, the city of Berlin was divided in four sections with one finding themselves closed off with concrete and barbed wire. A wall was built that separated the free from the enslaved. In the 1970s, Georgina Liu found herself living on one side but getting to venture into the other. Liu shares with us those experiences and observations in living in the city divided. 

It is well known that Harry Houdini had an interest in the afterlife and the paranormal. What if the magician pulled off the greatest trick of his life by escaping the bonds of death? Our guest Charlie Young, along with his sister Cheryl Young, have written a work of fiction called Houdini’s Last Handcuffs which seeks to explore the possibility of the master illusionist reappearing to the world of the living. As you will learn from Mr. Young, the book contains as much historical fact as fiction.

Derek Luptak talks with author Spun Counterguy to talk about the inspirations behind the horror anthology Nest of 'Em. Including Skeleton Key, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Picture of Dorian Gray, Southern Gospel, Chinese folklore and more.

In the early 1800’s when America was debating what to do about those still enslaved and the many black Americans that were gaining their liberty, one solution was to return free people to the continent from which they were bought from: Africa. The American Colonization Society was an organization that embraced this idea and began the process of aiding blacks who wished to return to their place of origin. While some African Americans were sympathetic to the plan, most were not. Dr. Robin West comes Back by the Woodpile to help us understand what were the intentions of this movement and why ultimately it failed.  

Though with the 1896 case of Plessy verses Ferguson, American local and state governments forcing racial segregation was upheld as legal, individuals also chose to enforce the separation even if there were no laws. But all over the nation one can find instances where individuals and groups quietly associated together in spite of the times and in one place that happened on occasion was the recording studio. Author and jazz historian Stephen Provizer has painstakingly investigated the recording logs and records and made a comprehensive discography of recordings where blacks, whites and others made some wonderful truly American music together. His book is called As Long As They Can Blow and Mr. Provizer has come Back by the Woodpile to talk about his experience in putting the book together and gives what backstories he can about some of the specific recordings.

During the 1970s and 1980’s there was a flourishing of musical blending and innovation in the nation of South Africa that infected the whole world. All of this occurred in spite of the violent oppression of the then Apartheid government. One man who not only lived through those times but was an active participant was Benjy Mudie, he working for various record labels including Warner and Tusk and signing some of the most legendary names to come out of the rainbow nation. Listen in as Mr. Mudie talks about his experiences with such artists as eVoid, Johnny Clegg, Malcolm McLaren, Paul Simon, Mango Groove and others in addition to giving us a bit of history lesson of those both wonderful and troubled times.  

Musician Mike Roe (77s, Kerosene Halo, Lost Dogs) came by for a short chat about a handful of topics, including his involvement with Robert Vaughn’s 1991 album “Songs from the Riverhouse”, his friendship with Alternative Records’ Randy Layton and then some musings on existential crisis’s that most creative spiritual folks go through.

Randy Layton of Alternative Records comes on to talk about the story behind Robert Vaughn's Songs from the Riverhouse record and the campaign to have it re-released on vinyl! (Learn more at IndieGoGo)

The conversation with Soup the Chemist continues, he talking about sharing the stage with KRS-One, the last days of Brainstorm Artists International, watching fellow artists leave the faith, his own regrets, his book Through My Windows and brand new material! 

Rapper Soup the Chemist aka SFC aka Chris Cooper joins Todd and Spun for this first episode of Orphans of God to talk hip-hop, Brainstorm Artists International, Gene Eugene, Adam Again, faith and so much more! 

Filmmaker Jaime Prater returns to talk about his newest film Love Song, which further documents the Jesus People USA commune in Chicago, Illinois.  To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Jazz music collector Dave Greer tells all about his quests and chance encounters with all kinds of musicians ranging from King Oliver to Jabbo Smith to Louis Armstrong to Nipper the dog to Victoria Spivey and her prostitute friends.

In the history of early recorded music, one label stands out as a kind of unlikely blessing. A recording studio in the unassuming town of Richmond Indiana would end up making some of the first recordings of now legendary artists in the blues, hillbilly and jazz genres. To help us get a grasp of the contribution that Gennett Records gave to music history is the former president of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, Bob Jacobsen.

Welcome to another edition of That to Which We are Tethered, a discussion of belief and disbelief in light of ever-changing times and trends. On this episode we are joined Pastor Daniel Bradford, the professor of Systematic Theology, Philosophy and Christian Ethics for Kentucky District School of Ministry. Dan helps up parse through the confusion over authority and scripture, the claims of fundamentalists and deviations of progressives.  

  In 1846, a slave by the name of Dred Scott after several attempts to buy his own freedom from his master Eliza Sanford, sued. In one Missouri court Scott won his freedom but then in the appeals process pursued by Sanford, his liberty was taken away. Through a long process the case ended up before the US Supreme Court where a devastating decision delivered by Chief Justice Roger Taney in 1857 said that not only would Scott, his wife and children remain slaves, but in fact the rights of man as defined in the Declaration of Independence had never applied to those Americans of African descent. Dr. Dennis Boman comes Back By the Woodpile to explain the days leading up to the monumental case in addition to its nuances and aftermath. To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Oswaldo Paya attempted to bring Cuba closer towards all the broken promises of Fidel Castro by peaceful, democratic means, which in the end cost Paya his life. Pulitzer Prize winner David E. Hoffman has written a biography call “Give Me Liberty” which tells both the story and thinking of Oswaldo Paya. Join us as we talk with the author about both Paya and the situation of Cuba before and after the communist takeover in 1959.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

The Federalist Papers argued on why the Articles of Confederation needed to be ditched for the United States Constitution. On this episode we learn about what were some of those reasons.

(Finster with Keith Haring) Welcome to our third and final installment of our series on folk artist and preacher Howard Finster. If you haven’t heard the first two episodes, these recordings were made in the late 1990’s at Finster’s Paradise Gardens in North Georgia.     To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on Apple Podcasts click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Originally published in 1961, Houdini’s Fabulous Magic was written by Walter B. Gibson and Morris Young, both of which knew and worked with the said most famous magician of all time. The two authors were able to write the revolutionary book because they not only had had access to Houdini himself but his personal notes and the assistance of friends and family of the performer. The book fell out of print for many years but has finally been reprinted by Vine Leaves Press. Morris Young’s son Charlie Young comes Back By The Woodpile to talk about the contents and history of the book and his own personal memories of growing in a setting where magic and wonder was appreciated and embraced.   To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on iTunes, click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!

Here's part two of filmmaker Todd Zeller's talk with Spun Counterguy regarding his 1980s fantasy homage, The Ten Tracks Mixtape Tasks! To hear on Stitcher, click here! To hear on Apple Podcasts click here! To hear on Spotify, click here!