The Biographers

We are thrilled to be speaking with incomparable Max Miller of the sensational YouTube channel: Tasting History. Max kindly agreed to work with us on a recent collaboration video about the eating habits of Nikola Tesla, whose culinary preferences are as specific as they are riddled with historical inaccuracies. We got the chance to sit down with Max to discuss our respective research processes, and how "facts" about history are not always what they seem.

We're officially starting series 13, and this time we're focusing on one of the most influential artists of all time: Frida Kahlo! In part one, we discuss Frida's family origins, the political turmoil in Mexico at the time, her early struggles with illness, and her wild years studying at the esteemed National Preparatory School in Mexico City. At school, she rubbed elbows with some of the greatest young minds in Mexico while also causing trouble with her rebellious gang, the Cachuchas. Frida would also experience all the ups and downs of being an angsty teenager, like falling in love, causing trouble, churning up drama, and occasionally detonating small bombs that shattered all the glass windows of her school . But just as her young life was beginning to blossom, she would experience a tragedy that would alter her life forever. (Ep. 071)

Time to sit back and relax for another casual episode of Office Hours. We go through questions and corrections from our series on Mark Twain, and share an amazing story from one of our listeners who has some personal connections to Pancho Villa. We'll be back for our regularly scheduled programming in two weeks, starting into our next biography subject: Frida Kahlo!

This week, we are thrilled to be joined for an interview with one of the world's leading Mark Twain scholars who currently teaches at Stanford University: Professor Shelley Fisher Fishkin (https://shelleyfisherfishkin.com/bio) . Most recently, Professor Fishkin has published a book called "Jim: The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn's Comrade", which aims to debunk the notion that Mark Twain's character, Jim, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racist portrayal. Join us as we explore this complex subject with one of the world's leading authorities on all things Mark Twain.

Buy the book here: https://shelleyfisherfishkin.com/jim
Listen to the audiobook here: https://a.co/d/18NXmE8

It’s finally time to close the book on the life of the incomparable Mark Twain. His final ten years would not be easy, riddled with heartache and devastation, but the world at large would finally awaken to the utter genius in its midst, and his works would take their place among the great masterpieces of literature. Join us as we say goodbye to our pal, Mark Twain. (Ep. 070)