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Music History Neighborhoods Podcasts Writers and Artists

Walking the East Village: Culture Among The Ruins 1976-1996

PODCAST The rebirth of the East Village in the late 1970s and the flowering of a new and original New York subculture — what Edmund White called “the Downtown Scene” — arose from the shadow of urban devastation and was anchored by a community that reclaimed its own deteriorating neighborhood. In the last episode (Creating… Read More

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The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

When Whitman Met Wilde: A Meeting of Literary Giants in 1882

In 1882, Oscar Wilde took break from his lecture tour of North America to meet his childhood idol, the aging poet Walt Whitman, who lived in Camden, New Jersey. Their afternoon together is the stuff of literary legend. Wilde later recounted, “The kiss of Walt Whitman is still on my lips.” On these special two… Read More

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Gilded Age New York Podcasts Writers and Artists

Architect of the Gilded Age: The Triumphant Tale of Richard Morris Hunt

Richard Morris Hunt was one of the most important architects in American history. His talent and vision brought respect to his profession in the mid 19th century and helped to craft the seductive style of the Gilded Age. So why are there so few examples of his extraordinary work still standing in New York City… Read More

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The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

Stealing a Smile: The Theft of the Mona Lisa, Paris 1911

The enigmatic smile of the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, at its longtime home of the Louvre in Paris, has captured the attention of the public for centuries. Few people realize however that on a warm summer morning in Paris in the year 1911, the painting was stolen — and remained missing for over two years.  Press… Read More

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Podcasts Writers and Artists

Nighthawks and Automats: The New York City of Edward Hopper

Within the New York City of Edward Hopper‘s imagination, the skyscrapers have vanished, the sidewalks are mysteriously wide and all the diners and Chop Suey restaurants are sparsely populated with well-dressed lonely people. In this art-filled episode of the Bowery Boys, Tom and Greg look at Hopper’s life, influence and specific fascination with the city,… Read More

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Bowery Boys Bookshelf Podcasts Writers and Artists

The World Before Wordle: A Puzzling Conversation with A.J. Jacobs

Crosswords, jigsaws, mazes, rebuses, Rubik’s cubes, Myst, Words With Friends — and now Wordle? Not only have people loved puzzles for centuries, they’ve actually gone wild for them. Every few years, a new puzzle comes along to captivate the nation. But each of these little games has an extraordinary history and for this special show,… Read More

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Christmas Writers and Artists

Sacred Santa: How a self-proclaimed Messiah became a popular Santa Claus model

Early one spring day in 1922, while dutifully posing at the Art Students League on West 57th Street, Santa Claus had a fatal heart attack in front of a classroom of students. Above — He knows when you’ve been bad or good: A Christmas issue of Judge Magazine from 1919 by Guy Lowy, who studied at the… Read More

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Podcasts The Immigrant Experience Writers and Artists

The story of Jacob Riis and ‘The Other Half’ of Gilded Age New York

In 1890 the Danish-American journalist Jacob Riis turned his eye-opening reporting and lecture series into a ground-breaking book called How The Other Half Lives, a best seller which awoke Americans to the plight of the poor and laid the groundwork for the Progressive Era. Riis exposed more than a humanitarian crisis. He laid bare the… Read More

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The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

Emily Post and 100 Years of Etiquette: The Simple Art of Getting Along

Have you listened to The Gilded Gentleman’s recent episode on the story of Emily Post. No? Where are your manners?! In July of 1922, an unassuming book with a rich blue cover landed on bookstore shelves. Titled simply Etiquette by a moderately successful writer named Emily Post, the book went on to become a cornerstone of America’s social… Read More

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The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

Victory and Apollo: Black Artist Models Hettie Anderson and Thomas McKellar

The tale of two artist’s models named Hettie Anderson and Thomas McKeller — their stories little known until recent years — and the magnificent art they inspired. These muses are the subject of this week’s episode of The Gilded Gentleman podcast. Gazing up at the dramatic gilded statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman being led into battle… Read More

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Hudson Valley Podcasts Writers and Artists

The Hudson River School: The Story of an American Art Revolution

PODCAST: Two landmarks to American art history sit on either side of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River — the homes of visionary artists Thomas Cole and Frederic Edwin Church. Cole and Church were leaders of the Hudson River School, a collective of 19th century American painters captivated by natural beauty and… Read More

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The Gilded Gentleman Writers and Artists

A Sprig of Witch Hazel: Edith Wharton’s Secret Love Affair

THE GILDED GENTLEMAN PODCAST As writer Edith Wharton began to spend more and more time in Paris during the early years of the 1900s, she made the acquaintance of the American journalist Morton Fullerton. Their meeting grew into a passionate and complicated love affair combining joy and emotional pain. Still, the affair led Wharton to some of… Read More

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Podcasts The Jazz Age Writers and Artists

Dorothy Parker’s Last Party: A strange afterlife for the Jazz Age writer

PODCAST Dorothy Parker was not only the wittiest writer of the Jazz Age, she was also obsessively morbid. Her talents rose at a very receptive moment for such a sharp, dour outlook, after the first world war and right as the country went dry. Dorothy Parker’s greatest lines are as bracing and intoxicating as a… Read More

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Know Your Mayors Parks and Recreation Writers and Artists

Mayor Philip Hone, the party host who made Washington Square Park

We’re just a few weeks away from a new mayor in New York City so we think it is time that you Know Your Mayors! Become familiar with other men who’ve held the job, from the ultra-powerful to the political puppets, the most effective to the most useless leaders in New York City history. This… Read More

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Know Your Mayors Writers and Artists

Mayor William Paulding, the very respectable brother

We’re just a couple months away from a new mayor in New York City so we think it is time that you Know Your Mayors! Become familiar with other men who’ve held the job, from the ultra-powerful to the political puppets, the most effective to the most useless leaders in New York City history. This… Read More