Everett Public Library Podcasts

The Lone Reader turns his gaze to this series of essays and photos describing the fate of the lower Duwamish River, which empties into Elliott Bay in Seattle.   cc Audio: Early morning on Yaquina Bay, by daveincamas Inderhalle  

Samantha "Sam" Power's memoir of her time as a close confidant to President Barack Obama in the realm of foreign affairs. Music: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor "Death and the Maiden," by Franz Schubert, courtesy of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  

Reveals the hidden world of "nomads," financially strapped older people that live in vans and cheap RVs, driving where their work takes them. Music: Darkdance, by Eric Kanold  

Mr. Neutron gives the skinny on this early Lawrence, KS punk band, whose music is "somewhat repetitive, minimal, slow to develop, without much growth or direction. Vocals are stylistically odd and sparse. There is a sloppy feel to the whole endeavor. But it all works together brilliantly!"

A manifesto against the belief that older people are weak, drab, depressed, dimwitted clones of one another. Music: Blues Jam 2011, by Steve Belong  

Alan takes us on a social justice trip to Oakland, through the medium of two recent films: 2013's "Fruitvale Station" and 2018's "Blindspotting."     Music: Flatwound: A View Southward, by John Pazdan

What do Akron Ohio and Portland Oregon have in common? Why, iconic first-wave punk music. Mr. Neutron elucidates...

The story of the engineering of California's water supply. California leads the way, so they say. Unfortunately, as regards water, it seems to be leading us down a sinkhole. Music: Supernal Liquid (Reign Water Remix)

At times funky, possible progenitors of post-punk, filled with the occasional outburst of bubbly pop music, Talking Heads brought a healthy arsenal of tools to their repertoire.

Garry Kasparov, one of the strongest world chess champions of all time, also grew into his prime during the rise of computer chess-playing programs. This is Kasparov's story of the evolution of these programs, including his 1997 loss to the IBM-funded Deep Blue, a dedicated chess-playing supercomputer able to analyze 200 million positions per second.      Music: Petak 13Friday13, by Tomo Sombolac

Savage aliens make the mistake of invading a London council block (low-income neighborhood), the turf of a group of street youths. Outer space meets inner city. A thinking man's action film, bursting with humor and satire. And aliens.

Demonstrating a praiseworthy diversity of styles from this fabulous album. Mr. Neutron is Ron Averill of Everett Public Library (WA).

The Lone Reader follows food guru Michael Pollan's foray into feeding not your body but your head: Reviewing studies in which carefully controlled doses of psychedelics like LSD and Psilocybin are shown effective in treating certain types of mental illness. Music: Beats, by Crooked Vision  

Two films, 87 years apart, put the flutter in our ribcages.

The Lone Reader seeks relief for his tech-driven nightmares through reading a radically different world view: Native American religion, as interpreted by Indian writer Vine Deloria, Jr. It doesn't help.

Alan illuminates some underappreciated noir classics.

Stuart Kaminsky's irascible Soviet detective Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov travels to Siberia to find a murderer in a village full of exiles and incompetents.   Music: String Quartet No. 1, Op 7, by Bela Bartok, performed by the Borromeo String Quartet.

Alan surveys that American celluloid genre called "film noir": sinister, evocative, and doom-laden, both in style and content. Image: "The Photographer," by Joaquim Alves Gaspar

Mr. Neutron explores the dark underbelly of mainstream popular music in the form of Portland's three-sister-act, "Joseph"

The Lone Reader takes aim at Joshua Hunt's scalding critique of the massive influence that the sports apparel manufacturer Nike wields over the University of Oregon and its football program.

The Treatment tips into the recent dark successors of films like "The Maltese Falcon," "Touch of Evil," "Chinatown," and "Reservoir Dogs": "Bad Times at the El Royale," and "Under the Silver Lake."

Everett Public Library's latest podcast explores the Great Book Scare of the early 20th century and how libraries coped with it, particularly here in Everett. The seven-minute-long audio podcast is part of the Smokestacks Soundbites series of local-history podcasts. Credits: Voice actors: Van Ramsey Cameron Johnson Script: Cameron Johnson Audio editing and engineering: Cameron Johnson Music: "Klincek Stojo Pod Oblokom" — Tomo Sombolac "String Quartet N. 14, Op. 131" (Beethoven, Ludwig van) Orion String Quartet IMSLP243528-PMLP03240-beethoven_op131_orion  Cited works: Nice, L.B. "The Disinfection of Books," c1911 "Suggestions For Disinfection," Wisconsin Library Bulletin, April 1906. "Public Library Is A Popular Institution," Everett Herald, 7 April 1906. Sound effects from Freesound.org 233258_xavimuse_escaping-downstairs 325601_sinjohnt_scrubbing 66248_robinhood76_00773-leaking-gas-1 223522_jaraxe_grotesque-laugh-cough 144692_tekgnosis_sneeze    

From punk to country, from old-timey, to sugar-coated power pop, Mr. Neutron scales the best of 2019.

Jonathan White's description of and homage to the mysterious phenomena we call tides.   Music: Francesco Iannuzzelli, "Tarantellamodale"

A new Everett Public Library (WA) audio podcast brings to life the early history of Everett Public Library, in which a small group of determined Everett women parlayed political muscle and donated books into an enduring civic institution. The podcast is part of the City's observance of the 125th anniversary of the library's birth. 21 min. Voice actors: Abigail Cooley, Van Ramsey, Mindy Van Wingen, Ron Averill, Lisa Labovitch, Andrea Wallis, Carol Ellison, Eileen Schnarr, Alan Jacobson, Joyce Peter, Laura McCarty, Cameron Johnson. Script: Cameron Johnson Audio editing: Cameron Johnson Excerpts: 1Clark, Norman H. Mill Town. Seattle: University of Washington Press, c1970. 2Everett News, July 5, 1894 3 Croly, Mrs. J.C. The History of the Woman's Club Movement in America, New York: Henry G. Allen & Co., c1898 4 Dilgard, David. "Origins of the Everett Public Library" [unpublished] 5Book Club Member Frances King Sears, 1921 letter [unpublished] 6 "Woman's Book Club," composed by WBC Historian Nellie R. Hake. Published in A History of Woman's Book Club, November 12, 1962. Foremothers' Luncheon, Elks Home—Everett, WA [Unpublished] 7From: "The Magic City," date unknown, author unknown. [Unpublished] 8Spriesterbach, Cora. History of Everett Woman's Book Club: 1894-1940 [Unpublished] 9Everett Public Library Historical Sketch, 1894-1954 [Unpublished] 10Herald editorial November 1, 1894 11 Spriesterbach, Cora. History of Everett Woman's Book Club: 1894-1940 [Unpublished] 12Origins of the Everett Public Library—date unknown [Unpublished] 13Everett—Thumbnail History. HistoryLink.org 14Origins of the Everett Public Library [Unpublished] 15Herald April 27, 1901 16 "The Origins of Everett Public Library." [Unpublished]   17Everett News, July 5, 1925   18 Everett Herald January 20, 1903 19Spriesterbach, Cora. History of Everett Woman's Book Club: 1894-1940 [Unpublished] 20Application for National Register status [Unpublished] 21 Everett Herald April 7, 1906 22Dilgard, David. EPL Evergreen Branch [Unpublished]   Music: Bach, Johan Sebastian. Cello Suite No. 1 in G. John Michel. Beethoven, Ludwig van. "Choral Fantasia, op. 80", Washtenaw Community Orchestra Chorus, Michigan, 20 December 2009. Barnacled, Cloud Pump. edba-4217 Killian, Joy and Richard Beserra, Exotic Music from Enchanted Lands." Pianodamper. Schubert, Franz, "Piano Sonata #13." STE-043-cut-reverb. Internet archive.   Sound effects from freesound.org: 98479­_juskiddink_flock-of-seagulls 212079_conleec_retail-fabric-store-001 440116_processarus_s-short-applause [01 Front Left].mp3 79572_Razzvia_Old_Fasioned_Auto_Piano 70071zerolagtime_gavel-triplemad 80449_turtlelg_jaildoorclose 105265_carminooch_neighbors 233258_xavimuse_escapting-downstairs 256513_hunter4708_knock-on-the-door

Alan reviews this gorgeously-rendered 2017 Todd Haynes film, which received a three-minute-long standing ovation when it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Mr. Neutron is beguiled by the many flavors of Pacific Northwest pop music, as it infectiously invades his brain and heart with a mishmash of resplendent gravity and joy.

The Lone Reader takes aim at Henry Ford's incredible and futile effort to farm rubber trees and bring Midwestern small-town life to the Amazon jungle. A story of technological hubris and cultural arrogance, it's "Fordlandia," by Greg Grandin.   Music: "Tango," by Mischa Elman, Josef Bonime, I. Albeniz, Elman

A sweet love story set in 1970s Harlem. "Beale Street" features a hypnotically poetic environment, gorgeous cinematography, haunting music, exacting screenplay and incredible performances.   Alan Jacobson supplies "The Treatment".

Mr. Neutron searches his record closet for twang and bonyfidy country western stars from the Pacific Northwest.   Mr. Neutron is Ron Averill of Everett Public Library (WA)

Frank Herbert's "Dune": Interstellar intrigue! Psychedelic mind trips, swordplay, and a righteous triumph! It's time to re-read the most enduringly popular science fiction book in history.   Music: "Music for String Instruments, Percussion, and Celesta." Bela Bartok. Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, Harold Byrns, conductor. Recorded 1949.

Alan gives "the treatment" to Hiromasa Yonebyashi's anime masterwork, a worthy successor to such masterpieces as "Princess Mononoke," and "Spirited Away."

Jug band, hokum, whatever you call it, the Pacific Northwest has it.

Cameron Johnson is the Lone Reader. Kranz's book is the inside story of the geek squad that made the space program possible: Mission Control.   Music: "Beats," by Crooked Vision.

Alan pays homage to a film that "transcends the superhero genre to emerge as an epic of operatic proportions."

Mr. Neutron's panegyric to the varieties of current Pacific Northwest Punk.

The Lone Reader holds forth on David Buerge's magisterial take on the life and significance of Chief Seattle. Music: Wind Quintet op. 43, by Carl Nielsen, performed by James Galway and the Carion Quintet.

Alan gives The Treatment to Kathryn Bigelow's riveting depiction of Detroit's 12th Street Riot of 1967.

Mr. Neutron pontificates on the profusion of fine surf bands in the Pacific Northwest

The Lone Reader talks about Dr. Coll Thrush's book Native Seattle, which credits native peoples' contributions to early Seattle. The book's second edition was published in 2017.   Music is "Klincek stojo pod oblokom," by Tomo Sombolac.

Alan Jacobson's Treatment of Bill and Turner Ross's 2012 film Tchoupitoulas, an immersive documentary about three teenaged brothers rambling on New Orleans' Tchoupitoulas Street at night. It's an impressionist travelogue, a hybrid of dream and documentary, a rite of passage.

...it's not your electropop or your indie pop or your synth pop. Today is about...Power Pop.

The Lone Reader previews this Harvard Law professor's take on the two-edged constitutional tool called "impeachment."   Music: The Firebird Suite, by Igor Stravinsky

Alan gives the Treatment to the newest, and one of the more inclusive and absorbing works of Wenders, the once-towering figure of the New German Cinema of the 70's, which included such monumental works as Buena Vista Social Club, Wings of Desire, The End of Violence, and Paris, Texas.

Mr. Neutron spotlights the soundtrack for the 2017 film Baby Driver, and marvels at its melding of audio and visual.

The Lone Reader looks at Thi Bui's haunting graphic memoir of the Vietnam War and its enduring scars.   Music: Petits planets: Hanoi Funeral

Alan treats Edgar Wright's sublimely slap-happy stylish blockbuster Baby Driver, whose plot is propelled by machine-gun editing, tough as nails genre writing & performances, brooding noir cinematography, and the best use of a pop music soundtrack you'll find anywhere. 

Mr. Neutron is Ron Averill of Everett Public Library (WA). Focus is on music of the Ram Rams, Choke the Pope, and Kulululu.

Writer/director Paul Schraeder directs an echo of the 1976 film Taxi Driver, which Schraeder wrote. First Reformed follows a troubled loner and priest of a small, dying church congregation as he grapples with dark visions and a troubled past.

The Lone Reader homes in on naturalist Sy Montgomery's paen to the giant pacific octopus, Soul of an Octopus.   Music: Beethoven, Ludwig van Symphony No. 6 in F Major "Pastoral," Skidmore College Orchestra.