The immeasurably famous Irving Berlin seems like the perfect example of a U.S. immigrant success story. But reality is complicated and imperfect, and so was Berlin’s music-filled life.
Today
SYMHC Classics: Paul Cuffe
This 2020 episode covers Paul Cuffe, who protested taxation, built wealth for himself in whaling, became a Quaker and used his fortune for the betterment of others. He also advocated creating a colony in Africa for of African ancestry to immigrate to.See omnystudio.com/listener f ... Show More
30m 50s
Jan 14
Unearthed Year-end 2025, Part 2
Discussion of things literally or figuratively unearthed in the last quarter of 2025 continues. It begins with potpourri then covers tools, Neanderthals, edibles and potables, art, shipwrecks, medical finds, and repatriations. Research: Abdallah, Hanna. “Famous Easter Island stat ... Show More
40m 41s
Jun 2024
EXTRA: The Fascinatingly Mundane Secrets of the World’s Most Exclusive Nightclub
<p>The Berlin dance mecca Berghain is known for its eight-hour line and inscrutable door policy. PJ Vogt, host of the podcast <i>Search Engine</i>, joins us to crack the code. It has to do with Cold War rivalries, German tax law, and one very talented bouncer.</p><p> </p><ul><li> ... Show More
44m 58s
Sep 2023
Beyond the Wall: What Life Was Really Like in East Germany
When the Iron Curtain fell in 1990, East Germany ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the German Democratic Republic presented a radically different Germany than what had come before and what exists today. Soci ... Show More
43m 10s