logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
48m 53s

Acting Out

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

In the 1930s, at a women's reformatory in upstate New York, an upstart social scientist made a study that launched the field of social network analysis. It was revolutionary, but missed something happening at the same time at the same school, something we know now in part from the story of the school's most famous inmate: Ella Fitzgerald.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Aug 13
The Staten Island Problem - Part 5: Revenge of the Forgotten Borough
Election night 1993 meets election night 2016. The fate of the island and the country converge in the figure of one man: Rudy Giuliani.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
40m 13s
Aug 6
The Staten Island Problem - Part 4: Wu-Tang vs. Shaolin
At the height of the secession movement, the Wu-Tang Clan forms on Staten Island. We take a tour of early 1990s hip-hop and reveal the hidden history of the group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
33m 14s
Jul 30
The Staten Island Problem - Part 3: The Tuvalu Effect
A group on Staten Island tries to stop secession, squaring off against the secessionists in a heated set of debates and meetings recorded on never-before-seen archival tapes. A set of debates best understood via a detour into the history of a remote Polynesian island.See omnystud ... Show More
31m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Acting Out
Malcolm talks with Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of The Last Archive, about the forgotten origins of a major social science, the missing chapter in Ella Fitzgerald’s life, and what it all has to do with the prison just down the street from Malcolm’s office. Listen, and check out the b ... Show More
36m 34s
Jun 2022
Prison Break
Sometimes people just don't stay where they belong, which leads to some very curious situations. Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes!: https://www.patreon.com/grimandmildSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
11m 30s
Apr 2022
Head of the Class
Two stories that both feature elements way ahead of their time. And in each case, that makes them more than a little curious.Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes!: https://www.patreon.com/grimandmildSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
9m 52s
Jun 2017
Miss Buchanan’s Period of Adjustment
A landmark Supreme Court case. A civil rights revolution. Why has everyone forgotten what happened next? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
30m 39s
Jan 2024
Ep 2: Harlem Czarina
The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s established Black Americans as tastemakers. In the vibrancy of her youth, Eunice moved to Harlem and became a fixture of the literary and social scene. But Eunice hasn’t been remembered as clearly as the artists, communists, preachers, ... Show More
35m 17s
Aug 2022
Itsy Bitsy
Some people are inventive, while others can't seem to get it together. How their stories play out, though, can always be curious.Join our Patreon for ad-free episodes!: https://www.patreon.com/grimandmildSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
10m 36s
Jan 2021
Outside/In: Everybody Knows Somebody
In the mid-1980's a woman who didn't consider herself a feminist was asked to solve perhaps the biggest problem women face. How she and a small group of people seized on that rare moment and fought back in the hopes that something could finally be done.See pcm.adswizz.com for inf ... Show More
57m 55s
Feb 2021
Ella Fitzgerald, Revisited (and a request)
From a rough start on the streets of Harlem, to the Apollo stage, smokey clubs, years on the road and in recording studios Ella led the world through the trends and wild ride that was the musical scene during most of the last century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap ... Show More
1h 9m
Jan 2020
Everybody Knows Somebody
In the mid-1980's a woman who didn't consider herself a feminist was asked to solve perhaps the biggest problem women face. How she and a small group of people seized on that rare moment and fought back in the hopes that something could finally be done.See pcm.adswizz.com for inf ... Show More
57m 34s
Oct 2019
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was forced to hide her light under a bushel until her thirties, when she broke free in spectacular fashion to become the world's beloved Lady With The Lamp - as well as a master statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Learn more about your ad choices. ... Show More
1h 52m