Ephemeral
The best source on our cultural identity is not the official, historical record — ask any anthropologist, it’s the town dump. Ephemera — those things that were just barely saved, and in some cases not saved at all — emanate with secrets we can only glimpse and mysteries we can never completely answer. The stories may be unfamiliar, but the themes are universal; this is a looking glass, a window into our own fragile, material existence that begs the question, “How will I be remembered?”
26
Alice Guy
61 min
27
Acoustic Fossils
41 min
28
Five Paintings
17 min
29
Kika Kila
55 min
30
Trailer: Season Two
2 min
31
Thanksgiving Leftovers
With so much to be grateful for this year, we wanted to express our thanks by sharing some of our favorite, never-before-aired clips from four interviews of the past season. Featuring Ian Nagoski, David Weinstein, Sarah Wasserman, and Elizabeth Cobbs.
32 min
32
The Haunted Orchard
A traveller seeking solitude finds it at an old farmhouse in which everything seems forgotten and yet remembered. Written by Richard Le Gallienne. Narrated by Peter Yearsley.
23 min
33
Handmade Records
Why put music on plastic in 2019? Featuring Seth Nicholas Johnson of Haunted Birthday Records and the music of Elias Mason & June Yorke, pumashock, and Undercover Monsters.
72 min
34
The Tallest Rock
A strange left turn in the story of Merigail Moreland.
13 min
35
Taped Over Interview: Matt Frederick
A conversation with our producer Matt on family, recording, and all things ephemeral.
49 min
36
Taped Over
Who records your family’s history?
59 min
37
Sounds of Silence
Four minutes and thirty-three seconds that changed the course of music history.
46 min
38
Switchboard
WWI, women’s suffrage, and one of the most important inventions of the 20th century: the telephone.
50 min
39
Sketch + Puzzle
How much paper is printed every day? Who's designing it and who's keeping on tabs on how much we have?
38 min
40
Reputation
What if you had a song stuck in your head, but had no way to find out anything about the artist?
37 min
41
Brothers
The tragic and bizarre tale of New York’s greatest hoarders. Featuring memoirist Franz Lidz.
40 min
42
DuMont
At the outset of commercial television, there were just four networks. Three you’ve heard of – they are still around today. The fourth is almost entirely forgotten. Featuring an interview with media historian David Weinstein of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
49 min
43
EphemaWHAT?!?
You’re telling me people actually like this old stuff? What is ephemera and why is it worth studying? Interview with Sarah Wasserman, professor of Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware.
29 min
44
Diaspora
What makes American music American? If the history book is written, what chapters are missing? Featuring music researcher Ian Nagoski of Canary Records.
59 min
45
Pilot
Found objects – misplaced artifacts of mysterious origins – can be sources great of inspiration.
18 min
46
Trailer: Answering Machine
Lost materials, dropped threads, forgotten stories. Ephemera in the way that it’s intertwined in our lives. All those things, tangible and intangible, that you wish you could take just one more look at before they vanish into the past.
8 min