the memory palace
…
continue reading
Nate DiMeo Podcasts
The tides of American history lead through the streets of New York City — from the huddled masses on Ellis Island to the sleazy theaters of 1970s Times Square. The elevated railroad to the Underground Railroad. Hamilton to Hammerstein! Greg and Tom explore more than 400 years of action-packed stories, featuring both classic and forgotten figures who have shaped the world.
…
continue reading
From Nate DiMeo, the creator of The Memory Palace, and Karina Longworth, creator of You Must Remember This, comes a new movie podcast. Each episode, Karina and Nate reach out from their quarantines to a guest who’ll pick a movie they’ve heard is great but never found the time to watch. They’ll watch it, break it down, even play a game or two. All while raising money to support independent movie theaters, film societies, and other places that make us love going out to the movies. Join them an ...
…
continue reading
First-person diaries, sound portraits, and hidden chapters of history from Peabody Award-winning producer Joe Richman and the Radio Diaries team. From teenagers to octogenarians, prisoners to prison guards, bra saleswomen to lighthouse keepers. The extraordinary stories of ordinary life. Radio Diaries is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm
…
continue reading

1
19th Century NoHo: Glamour, Greed, Money, and Murder
1:05:03
1:05:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:03Today's New York neighborhood called NoHo, wedged between Greenwich Village and the East Village, holds the stories of many people and places that then went on to become deeply associated with the great Gilded Age. The Astor family began their dynasty here in both investment and real estate as did the well-known Dutch-American merchant family the S…
…
continue reading
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit …
…
continue reading
As New York City enters the final stages of a rather strange mayoral election in 2025, let’s look back on a decidedly more unusual contest over 110 years ago, pitting Tammany Hall and their estranged ally (Mayor William Jay Gaynor) up against a baby-faced newcomer, the (second) youngest man ever to become the mayor of New York City. John Purroy Mit…
…
continue reading

1
#468 Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue": A Jazz-Age Drama
1:06:27
1:06:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:27On January 3, 1924, 25-year-old George Gershwin was shooting pool in a Manhattan billiard hall when his brother Ira Gershwin read aloud a shocking newspaper article: "George Gershwin is at work on a jazz concerto." There was just one problem—George had never agreed to write any such piece. What happened next would change American music forever. In …
…
continue reading
We love the podcast History Daily, a co-production from award winning podcasters Airship and Noiser, so we're presenting two episodes with a very similar theme -- pirates! -- July 6, 1699. The arrest of Captain William Kidd ends the reign of plunder of one of history's most infamous pirates and sparks rumors of buried treasure -- November 16th, 172…
…
continue reading

1
Summer Reading: Two Transcendent Poems About Public Transportation
18:00
18:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
18:00Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit …
…
continue reading

1
#467 The Brooklyn Theatre Fire: The Forgotten Gilded Age Tragedy
48:53
48:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:53On the evening of December 5, 1876, the glorious Brooklyn Theatre caught fire, trapping its audience in a nightmare of flame and smoke. The theater sat near Brooklyn City Hall (today's Brooklyn Borough Hall), and the blaze which destroyed it could be seen as far away as Prospect Park. The terrible truth emerged by the morning -- almost 300 people d…
…
continue reading

1
#466 Pete's Tavern and McSorley's Old Ale House
1:23:56
1:23:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:23:56The ultimate bar crawl of Old New York continues through a survey of classic bars and taverns that trace their origins from the 1850s through the 1880s. And this time we're recording within two of America's most famous establishments, joined by the people who know that history the best. In Part One, we introduced you to the origin story of New York…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 235: The Girls, their Teachers, their Parents
14:18
14:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
14:18Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit …
…
continue reading
When you spend so much of your life moving around, getting to the next chapter, what's it like to find yourself in the last place? This week, we revisit audio diaries from a retirement home. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesBy Radio Diaries & Radiotopia
…
continue reading

1
#465 The Oldest Bars in New York City
1:20:03
1:20:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:20:03We’ve put together the ultimate New York City historic bar crawl, a celebration of the city’s old taverns, pubs, and ale houses with 18th- and 19th-century connections. And along the way, you’ll learn so much about the city’s overall history — from its changing shoreline to the everyday lives of its working-class immigrant populations. Being an old…
…
continue reading
Eighty years ago, on July 28, 1945, an Army bomber pilot on a routine ferry mission found himself lost in the fog over Manhattan. A dictation machine in a nearby office happened to capture the sound of the plane as it hit the Empire State Building at the 79th floor. Fourteen people were killed. Debris from the plane severed the cables of an elevato…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 234: Looking for Parking, Late Winter, 1996
13:35
13:35
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
13:35Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit …
…
continue reading
Once upon a time New York City oysters were not only plentiful and healthy in the harbor, they were an everyday, common food source. The original fast food! For that reason, the oyster could be an official New York City mascot. Oyster farming was a major occupation. Oyster houses were an incredibly common place for people to eat. The greatest resta…
…
continue reading

1
#463 Gilded Age Golden Girls (Live At City Winery)
1:27:10
1:27:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:27:10A special presentation of our live show Bowery Boys History Live, recorded at City Winery, July 2, 2025 Bowery Boys History Live is a storytelling cabaret of all-true tales and spellbinding secrets from the past, hosted by Greg Young of the Bowery Boys Podcast and brought to you by a rotating roster of the city’s greatest historians. And for this s…
…
continue reading

1
Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl, Revisited
37:17
37:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
37:17When we first met Majd Abdulghani, she was 19 years old, living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We gave her a recorder to keep an audio diary about her life. Majd chronicled her dreams of being a scientist, her resistance to having an arranged marriage, and what it was like to be a teenage girl living in one of the most restrictive countries in the world …
…
continue reading

1
Spirits Podcast: Urban Legends with Greg Young
54:03
54:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:03Ready for a little summertime spookfest? This week we're thrilled to present to you a podcast appearance Greg made back in April on the Spirits Podcast. Hosted by Amanda McLoughlin and Julia Schifini, the Spirits Podcast is a weekly conversational show about all things ghosts, mythology, folklore and urban legends. If you like fun spooky things, ad…
…
continue reading
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Radiotopia is a collective of independently owned and operated podcasts that’s a part of PRX, a not-for-profit …
…
continue reading

1
#462 The Jersey Shore Shark Attacks of 1916
48:58
48:58
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
48:58TERROR ON THE BEACH! Seaside resorts from Cape May, New Jersey, to Montauk, Long Island, were paralyzed in fear during the summer of 1916. Not because of the threat of lurking German U-boats and saboteurs. But because of sharks.On July 1, 1916, Charles Epting Vansant was killed by a shark while swimming at a resort in Beach Haven, a popular destina…
…
continue reading
Vaccines have been in the news recently. Over the last few weeks, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has changed vaccination recommendations and gutted an influential committee that recommends which shots Americans should get. Some experts worry that these changes could lead to outbreaks of diseases the US has long had under control. So this we…
…
continue reading

1
The Gilded Age Mansions of Fifth Avenue
1:29:27
1:29:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:29:27At the heart of New York’s Gilded Age — the late 19th-century era of unprecedented American wealth and excess — were families with the names Astor, Waldorf, Schermerhorn, and Vanderbilt, alongside power players like A.T. Stewart, Jay Gould and William “Boss” Tweed. They would all make their homes — and in the case of the Vanderbilts, their great ma…
…
continue reading

1
#461 The Story of Inwood and Marble Hill
1:36:11
1:36:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:36:11People who live in Inwood know how truly special it is. Manhattan's northernmost neighborhood (aside from Marble Hill) feels like it's outside of the city -- and in some places, even outside of time and space. Unlike the lower Manhattan's flat avenues and organized streets, Inwood varies wildly in elevation and its streets wind up hills and down in…
…
continue reading
To justify mass deportations, President Trump has invoked an old wartime law: the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Alien Enemies Act was last used after America’s entry into World War II. In response to the Axis countries’ detainment of Americans who were deemed potential spies, the Roosevelt Administration came up with an elaborate plan: find and ar…
…
continue reading
The children of the Gilded Age were seen but not heard. Until now! Listener favorite Esther Crain, author and creator of Ephemeral New York joins The Gilded Gentleman for a look at the world of children during the Gilded Age. As she shared in the episode “Invisible Magicians: Domestic Servants in Gilded Age New York” with writings by actual servant…
…
continue reading
.The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. This episode was originally released in 2016 in the days after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It is re-released every year on the anniversary of the incident. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesBy Nate DiMeo
…
continue reading

1
#460 The Brooklyn Museum and the Birth of a New City
52:03
52:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
52:03While you may know the Brooklyn Museum for its wildly popular cutting-edge exhibitions, the borough's premier art institution can actually trace its origins back to a more rustic era -- and to the birth of the city of Brooklyn itself. On July 4, 1825, the growing village laid a cornerstone for its new Brooklyn Apprentices Library, an educational in…
…
continue reading

1
#459 Moses vs. Bard: The Battle for Castle Clinton
1:09:38
1:09:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:09:38In 1939, Robert Moses sprung his latest project upon the world -- the Brooklyn-Battery Bridge, connecting the tip of Manhattan to the Brooklyn waterfront, slicing through New York Harbor just to the north of Governor's Island. To build it, Moses dictated that the historic Battery Park would need to be redesigned. And its star attraction the New Yor…
…
continue reading
A long, long time ago in New York — in the 1730s, back when the city was a holding of the British, with a little over 10,000 inhabitants — a German printer named John Peter Zenger decided to print a four-page newspaper called the New York Weekly Journal. This is pretty remarkable in itself, as there was only one other newspaper in town called the N…
…
continue reading
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. On June 13th, 2025, I'll do a special, one-night-only live show at the Tribeca Audio Festival in New York City, joined by two of the audiobook's readers: Carrie Coon and L…
…
continue reading

1
#458 Parkways and the Transformation of Brooklyn
55:43
55:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:43When Prospect Park was first opened to the public in the late 1860s, the City of Brooklyn was proud to claim a landmark as beautiful and as peaceful as New York’s Central Park. But the superstar landscape designers — Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux — weren’t finished. This park came with two grand pleasure drives, wide boulevards that emanat…
…
continue reading
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-May, 2025, I'm doing a Midwestern book tour, with stops in Minneapolis, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, and Chicago. Find out more at www.thememorypalace.us/events. T…
…
continue reading
It's been 50 years since the end of the Vietnam war. In honor of the anniversary, we're revisiting a story about a notorious American military prison on the outskirts of Saigon, called Long Binh Jail. LBJ wasn’t for captured enemy fighters—it was for American soldiers. These were men who had broken military law. And there were a lot of them. As the…
…
continue reading
On October 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford walked into a press conference at the National Press Club and, using more precise, more eloquent words than legend remembers, but in no uncertain terms, told New York City that the federal government was not going to bail it out. The following day the New York Daily News -- the city's first tabloid newspap…
…
continue reading

1
#456 Walking New York: Manhattan History on Foot with Keith Taillon
59:07
59:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:07Join us for an interview with Instagram historian Keith Taillon (@keithyorkcity), whose detailed posts about New York's history have earned him nearly 60,000 followers and launched a successful tour business. Keith shares the story behind his remarkable pandemic project of walking every single block of Manhattan in 2020, capturing the empty city in…
…
continue reading
Author James Baldwin once wrote, "I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." On this episode, we go back to 1932 when a group of World War I veterans set up an encampment in Washington, D.C., and vowed to stay until their voices were heard. It was a rema…
…
continue reading

1
Episode 230: Helen Hulick Takes the Stand
15:48
15:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
15:48Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememor…
…
continue reading

1
#455 House of Beauty: The Story of the Frick Collection
1:12:10
1:12:10
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:12:10We invite you to come with us inside one of America’s most interesting art museums – an institution that is BOTH an art gallery and a historic home. This is The Frick Collection, located at 1 East 70th Street, within the former Fifth Avenue mansion of Gilded Age mogul Henry Clay Frick, containing many pieces that the steel titan himself purchased, …
…
continue reading
On July 19, 1963, at least 15 Black girls were arrested while marching to protest segregation in Americus, Georgia. After spending a night in jail, they were transferred to the one-room Leesburg Stockade and imprisoned for the next 45 days. Only twenty miles away, the girls' parents had no knowledge of their location. A month into their confinement…
…
continue reading
Order The Memory Palace book now, dear listener. On Bookshop.org, on Amazon.com, on Barnes & Noble, or directly from Random House. Or order the audiobook at places like Libro.fm. During mid-April, 2025, I'm doing a southern book tour, with stops in San Antonio, Houston, Gainesville, Montgomery, New Orleans, and Oxford. Find out more at www.thememor…
…
continue reading

1
#454 Special Delivery: A History of the Post Office
1:22:59
1:22:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:22:59The history of the United States Postal Service as it plays out in the streets of New York City -- from the first post road to the first postage stamps. From the most beautiful post office in the country to the forgotten Gilded Age landmark that was once considered the ugliest post office. The postal service has always served as the country's circu…
…
continue reading