In 2009, an old man died in a California nursing home. His obituary included not just his given name, but a long list of the pseudonyms he'd been known to use. In this episode, which we originally released in 2019, we trace the life of Riley Shepard, a hillbilly musician, writer, small-time con man and, perhaps, a genius.
Nov 10
Why Following Your Dreams Isn't Enough
<p>Entrepreneurs typically have no shortage of passion, heart, and vision. But at Stanford University, <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/hayagreeva-rao" target="_blank">Huggy Rao</a> says there are other elements that may matter more when it comes to ... Show More
1h 30m
Aug 2017
Brando, Robert Frost and the Other Men in Patricia Bosworth's Life
<p>Mark Twain once likened biographies to “the clothes and buttons of the man” saying “the biography of the man himself, cannot be written.” The quote is a favorite of Patricia Bosworth, a 1950s model-actor turned biographer known for capturing the lives of Diane Arbus, Montgomer ... Show More
38m 36s
Mar 2024
Short Snorter by Charles Einstein - Short Sci Fi Story From the 1950s
<p><em>His saucer was parked in the woods, and Mr. Steariot (from Venus) was parked in the lobby.... Short Snorter by Charles Einstein</em>, that’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.</p><br><p>What does Willie Mays, Curb Your Enthusiasm, stuntman Super Dave Osborne and the 1991 mov ... Show More
19m 29s
Mar 2022
Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius as Written by Our Genetic Code
<p><em>The Disappearing Spoon</em>, a <a href= "news/the-disappearing-spoon" data-cke-saved-href= "/news/the-disappearing-spoon">podcast collaboration</a> between the Science History Institute and <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author Sam Kean, returns for its third season ... Show More
23m 2s