Politics and Prose
Politics and Prose
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James Shapiro — The Playbook: A Story of Theater, Democracy, and the Making of a Culture War
Watch author James Shapiro's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C.
PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9780593490204
From 1935 to 1939, the Federal Theatre Project staged over a thousand productions in 29 states that were seen by thirty million (or nearly one in four) Americans, two thirds of whom had never seen a play before. At its helm was an unassuming theater professor, Hallie Flanagan. It employed, at its peak, over twelve thousand struggling artists, some of whom, like Orson Welles and Arthur Miller, would soon be famous, but most of whom were just ordinary people eager to work again at their craft. It was the product of a moment when the arts, no less than industry and agriculture, were thought to be vital to the health of the republic, bringing Shakespeare to the public, alongside modern plays that confronted the pressing issues of the day--from slum housing and public health to racism and the rising threat of fascism.
The Playbook takes us through some of its most remarkable productions, including a groundbreaking Black production of Macbeth in Harlem and an adaptation of Sinclair Lewis's anti-fascist novel It Can't Happen Here that opened simultaneously in 18 cities, underscoring the Federal Theatre's incredible range and vitality. But this once thriving Works Progress Administration relief program did not survive and has left little trace. For the Federal Theatre was the first New Deal project to be attacked and ended on the grounds that it promoted "un-American" activity, sowing the seeds not only for the McCarthyism of the 1950s but also for our own era of merciless polarization. It was targeted by the first House un-American Affairs Committee, and its demise was a turning point in American cultural life--for, as Shapiro brilliantly argues, "the health of democracy and theater, twin born in ancient Greece, have always been mutually dependent."
A defining legacy of this culture war was how the strategies used to undermine and ultimately destroy the Federal Theatre were assembled by a charismatic and cunning congressman from East Texas, the now largely forgotten Martin Dies, who in doing so pioneered the right-wing political playbook now so prevalent that it seems eternal.
James Shapiro is Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He has written several award-winning books, including Shakespeare in a Divided America, The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606, and 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, and the New York Review of Books, among other places. He has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Foundation, and The New York Public Library Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. In 2011, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He currently serves as a Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at the Public Theater in New York City.
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Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics and Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.'s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics and Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online.
Переглядів: 582

Відео

Nicola Yoon - One of Our Kind with Sabaa Tahir
Переглядів 26620 годин тому
Watch author Nicola Yoon's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9780593470671 Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California hoping to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Libe...
Chukwuebuka Ibeh - Blessings - with Tayla Burney
Переглядів 22720 годин тому
Watch author Chukwuebuka Ibeh's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9780385550642 This event is in partnership with the Washington Literacy Center. Obiefuna has always been the black sheep of his family sensitive where his father, Anozie, is pragmatic, a dancer where his brother, Ekene, is a natural athlete. B...
John Copenhaver - Hall of Mirrors - with Tara Laskowski
Переглядів 25323 години тому
Watch author John Copenhaver's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9781639366507 In May 1954, Lionel Kane witnesses his apartment engulfed in flames with his lover and writing partner, Roger Raymond, inside. Police declare it a suicide due to gas ignition, but Lionel refuses to believe Roger was suicidal. A mo...
John Darnton - Burning Sky - with Steven R. Weisman
Переглядів 240День тому
Watch author John Darnton's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9781648210242 In Burning Sky, three generations of a family confront the life-and-death challenge of global warming. The first, a cantankerous climatologist, raises the alarm. The second, a brilliant scientist with a lust for power that spawns a d...
Deborah Paredez - American Diva: Extraordinary, Unruly, Fabulous with Gayle Wald
Переглядів 409День тому
Watch author Deborah Paredez's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9781324035305 This event is in partnership with the Washington Literacy Center. What does it mean to be a “diva”? The term has been used both to deride and celebrate charismatic and unapologetically fierce performers like Aretha Franklin and th...
Percival Everett - James - with Ron Charles
Переглядів 3,3 тис.14 днів тому
Watch author Percival Everett's book talk and reading at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. PURCHASE BOOK HERE: www.politics-prose.com/book/9780385550369 When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn ha...
Thomas E. Ricks - Everyone Knows But You: A Tale of Murder on the Maine Coast
Переглядів 91814 днів тому
Thomas E. Ricks - Everyone Knows But You: A Tale of Murder on the Maine Coast
June Thomas - A Place of Our Own- with Christina Cauterucc
Переглядів 28514 днів тому
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Sarah Thornton - Tits Up- with Claire Shipman
Переглядів 37914 днів тому
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A reading of John Balaban's "Passing Through a Gate" - with Laurie Burgess and Spencer Goyette -
Переглядів 17314 днів тому
A reading of John Balaban's "Passing Through a Gate" - with Laurie Burgess and Spencer Goyette -
George Stephanopoulos - The Situation Room - with Jonathan Martin
Переглядів 10 тис.Місяць тому
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Jen Psaki - Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World - with Kara Swisher
Переглядів 4,1 тис.Місяць тому
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Chianti Lomax - Evolving While Black - with Glory Edim
Переглядів 241Місяць тому
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Colm Toibin - Long Island with Hillary Kelly
Переглядів 2,8 тис.Місяць тому
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Hampton Sides - The Wide Wide Sea
Переглядів 646Місяць тому
Hampton Sides - The Wide Wide Sea
Taj McCoy - The Good Ones Are Taken
Переглядів 453Місяць тому
Taj McCoy - The Good Ones Are Taken
Fareed Zakaria - Age of Revolutions - with Tom Friedman
Переглядів 19 тис.Місяць тому
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Ali Velshi - Small Acts of Courage - with Yamiche Alcindor
Переглядів 1,3 тис.Місяць тому
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David Ignatius - Phantom Orbit with Dan Hoffman
Переглядів 958Місяць тому
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Joseph E. Stiglitz - The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society - with Timothy Noah
Переглядів 2 тис.Місяць тому
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Millicent E. Brown - Another Sojourner Looking for Truth- with James Counts Early
Переглядів 406Місяць тому
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Переглядів 237Місяць тому
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Переглядів 1,2 тис.Місяць тому
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Переглядів 1,1 тис.Місяць тому
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David E. Sanger - New Cold Wars with Michael Beschloss
Переглядів 3,8 тис.Місяць тому
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Paul Yamazaki - Reading the Room: A Bookseller's Tale with Bradley Graham
Переглядів 4982 місяці тому
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Anne Lamott - Somehow - with Marion Winik
Переглядів 1,7 тис.2 місяці тому
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Nell Freudenberger - The Limits - with Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Переглядів 4582 місяці тому
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Переглядів 3552 місяці тому
James Rhee - red helicopter- with Debbi Jarvis

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @tyfromuzi5871
    @tyfromuzi5871 День тому

    Crashing 10 times in a row trying to watch this video, maybe person monitoring my viewing is angry about the message

  • @hrumi8748
    @hrumi8748 2 дні тому

    It's not a beautiful book. It's a dark and disturbing book which lingers on describing horrors in painstaking detail over and over and over again

  • @briannicklas109
    @briannicklas109 2 дні тому

    I loved watching this yet again. I met Richard when we were about 18. I miss him greatly.

  • @TamasPanyi
    @TamasPanyi 3 дні тому

    3 900 000 war criminals caught. 170 000 trialed. 50 000 fined. 1000 put to prison.

  • @richardturner8495
    @richardturner8495 3 дні тому

    My first wifes parents were native Germans , who moved to America as young children immediately after WWII . I met her paternal grandfather in Sidney ,Ohio nursing home literally on his deathbed in 1980 right after our wedding . When I waljed into the room I was stunned , I still to this day sm 100% convinced that frail little man was Adolph Hitler ! Then a couple years later , her older brother was stationed in Germany just before he got out of the USAF. Jim was a very friendly guy , and actually went to try to connect with several family members still living there , whom he had never met . Every single relative scolded him , ibstead of welcoming him and told him it was rude and that is not acceptable in Germany today ! Not a single person welcomed him or let him in their home ! Weird @

  • @Madronaxyz
    @Madronaxyz 3 дні тому

    I love this book! It reads like the best thriller.

  • @barbarabavier675
    @barbarabavier675 4 дні тому

    My least favorite SK novel. You know the tagline of the book, “something happened?” Nothing happened.

  • @TheYeti308
    @TheYeti308 5 днів тому

    The man @ 49 :10 very interesting .

  • @witwisniewski2280
    @witwisniewski2280 5 днів тому

    Successful, respectful adults usually had happy childhoods. Development of thinking skills, and adjustment to real life has to happen before college.

  • @beingrealistic2562
    @beingrealistic2562 6 днів тому

    🇺🇸 is like, "Hey nothing personal just business " 😆 😅😂

  • @LeroyColin
    @LeroyColin 6 днів тому

    Watching these ten years after it was published.... man, the older generation that is trying to say that their operation paperclip father or grandfather was actually a good guy is astonishing to me. Whether they were Hitler's right-hand person or just a person who added a specific chemical to a compound that caused someone to die... they all contributed to something that is probably the worst atrocity in humankind. Your family member was still associated with it. It's OK to be ashamed of that family member and to move forward and to make the world better because your father or grandfather chose not to. It's astonishing to hear family members justify their pasts.

  • @Jackjack-zl4nt
    @Jackjack-zl4nt 6 днів тому

    Here in Australia, after the war , immigrants poured in , guess what it comes out latter german x guards,Yugoslav nazi guards ,snuck in ,ended up in Melbourne,,city..police and early formed asio. Had well documented names of hundreds x nazi guards etc..jewish imagrants evan saw them.picked them out on the boats comming to Australia. Some guards disappeared..theres a case of a jeweller male person in Melbourne who disappeared, never found,,its all in public domain..just needs some author to connect it all for a book of truth....😮

  • @NicholasVincent-ol1zk
    @NicholasVincent-ol1zk 7 днів тому

    F.o.o.d. 4 thought?

  • @hasanmasud5296
    @hasanmasud5296 8 днів тому

    I am 51 and i love to find & listen to someone like the Author. God Bless You.

  • @johndurrer7869
    @johndurrer7869 10 днів тому

    So sad to see what happened to him later In life with his conspiracy theories.

  • @user-yn7xw7yj6v
    @user-yn7xw7yj6v 10 днів тому

    thank for your service

  • @avalonjustin
    @avalonjustin 13 днів тому

    Great talk, I enjoyed it the whole way through. Oh, and the jumper cable joke was worth the wait!

  • @ranjanarawat4336
    @ranjanarawat4336 15 днів тому

    I found this book and saw reviews, seeing it's sad as hell. So I bought it to read out of curiosity to see, "How bad it can be really".. But now I'm in love with it, with Jude, Willem, their friendship, love. Sad parts apart, this is really a beautiful book in its own ways. This is always gonna be my favorite book. ❤

  • @PapaCubScout
    @PapaCubScout 15 днів тому

    Read Stanley Payne for a full comprehensive history of the inner strife of the Spanish Civil War. It was the actual Spanish Socialists, Communists and Anarchists that overthrew the legally elected government. The overthrow was internal. Franco and the rest of the Army senior staff was reticent to become involved. It was the violence brought on the scene by the actual left-wing putschists that cause the Civil War. Payne has shown this with the same documentation and detail that Kotkin has demonstrated with his knowledge of Stalin. And yes, Stalin’s only interest in Spain was the Spanish gold. Later on when Stalin seized control of the Republican secret police.

  • @PapaCubScout
    @PapaCubScout 15 днів тому

    Read Stanley Payne for a full comprehensive history of the inner strife of the Spanish Civil War. It was the actual Spanish Socialists, Communists and Anarchists that overthrew the legally elected government. The overthrow was internal. Franco and the rest of the Army senior staff was reticent to become involved. It was the violence brought on the scene by the actual left-wing putschists that cause the Civil War. Payne has shown this with the same documentation and detail that Kotkin has demonstrated with his knowledge of Stalin. And yes, Stalin’s only interest in Spain was the Spanish gold. Later on when Stalin seized control of the Republican secret police.

  • @jamesleonard2870
    @jamesleonard2870 15 днів тому

    Funny you mention Michael Lewis. He said in a podcast that the NBA tried Voice to Skull technology when they introduced instant replay to the league. The refs hated having a voice in their head. Not surprisingly

  • @DreamCather147
    @DreamCather147 15 днів тому

    Trump is spewing the same BS.

  • @planetearth6204
    @planetearth6204 16 днів тому

    I wrote an article in the Bangor Daily News when I was staying there in 1992. Mr King read my article and liked it. He said if I sent him two of my favourite King novels, he would sign them for me. Well, when I got home to Australia I did just that, and got Gerald's Game and Dolores Caliborne personally signed by Mr King.

  • @thefreese1
    @thefreese1 16 днів тому

    Rosa Brooks is an evil entity.. actually try to start a coup using the guise of protecting the constitution... When in reality she's a far left winger that wants to do exactly the opposite.... They are discussing the issue of removing a legally elected president from office in the event that he wins .. This is unbelievable...and if Trump happens to be elected she makes case to make him unable to achieve anything through political prosecution..

  • @liz-iy6zm
    @liz-iy6zm 17 днів тому

    thank you Annie Jacobsen for your good work.

  • @liz-iy6zm
    @liz-iy6zm 17 днів тому

    the Nazis are still running the US. MK ULTRA served the CIA and the Deep State.

  • @Firethistimejb
    @Firethistimejb 17 днів тому

    This book wrecked me

  • @creepingstarfish
    @creepingstarfish 18 днів тому

    What did she mean when she said she wanted to be "more Cathlic, more openminded" with her book tastes? Is that a thing? I'm so confused!

  • @timmotel5804
    @timmotel5804 18 днів тому

    Good Day Annie. The Evil and the Lies that are used for cover, that Governments and Religions Indulge in is beyond compare. They Both Excell in Evil. I enjoy your talks and your books. Actually, I find that "Nuclear War" is the most useful. This applies to NOW rather than to what has been and may still be going on. This IMO is "fore knowledge" for me. I don't expect anything... Peace and Best Regards

  • @user-co5st1id1q
    @user-co5st1id1q 20 днів тому

    This idiot decided that if he knows chess, he knows everything else.

  • @jairenesereno4519
    @jairenesereno4519 20 днів тому

    More please!

  • @lindapegoda9726
    @lindapegoda9726 20 днів тому

    I appreciate your writing. I don't know why you fear me.

  • @1969billy1970
    @1969billy1970 20 днів тому

    PAPERCLIP VS BARBAROSA(Lulled into Winners Atrophy)(IE 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. RESETTLEMENT AND RELOCATION and The Lull of Winners Defeat Atrophy(BARBAROSA 1941) 1939-2024(85 years of 1000 or 92) VS 1941-2024(83 years of 1000 or 92)

  • @thebestofu-tubebytheresaes5189
    @thebestofu-tubebytheresaes5189 20 днів тому

    There all good

  • @thebestofu-tubebytheresaes5189
    @thebestofu-tubebytheresaes5189 20 днів тому

    Who would do that lol

  • @norma5882
    @norma5882 20 днів тому

    Trump is mentally ill, full of nothing but lies, and always fails to support the trut

  • @rsgglo6362
    @rsgglo6362 21 день тому

    38:12

  • @ConsumerReportsUSA
    @ConsumerReportsUSA 22 дні тому

    Thanks

  • @bayarea650warrior
    @bayarea650warrior 22 дні тому

    "Who snitched on who" she has a lil hood in her😂

  • @DogDaze66
    @DogDaze66 22 дні тому

    Now do Biden

  • @paganda_pro
    @paganda_pro 24 дні тому

    so... and NATO, EU, UN?

  • @markdavis7345
    @markdavis7345 24 дні тому

    The serial perjurer who sold out his own boss. What a cowardly little scumbag this man is.

  • @m1zzara
    @m1zzara 25 днів тому

    This is such a fabulous text for adults, too. It’s a heartening way to think about out history and our possible future.

  • @iansepion7131
    @iansepion7131 25 днів тому

    Wow!! Impressive! I've got to read this guy''s book

  • @dinajackson9444
    @dinajackson9444 26 днів тому

    My son has Philadelphia Chromasone we're African American which makes it even rare. We're being treated in Rochester ny at the U of R great hospital.. praying for my son and the doctors

  • @tbnrplayz8848
    @tbnrplayz8848 27 днів тому

    Neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist covers what happens in the brain ( right hemisphere). Jill Bolte Taylor too. The self direction aspect with music is so interesting but I think it’s taught wrong for the right brain dominant kids, they have to be able to self direct and possibly have mentorship to help feed in a little theory ( which is innate in them due to being right Brain dominant and sending ‘whole’ in patterns and relationship which all the arts are)

  • @tbnrplayz8848
    @tbnrplayz8848 27 днів тому

    I needed this, I love this content and their relationship. I didn’t know he struggled at school die to his talents and passion in music not being recognized. I have a child similar and school is even more restrictive, super bright child in music maths and physics but school is wrecking ( to the point where a osych had to sign off and I found another school that had about 20 guitars lying around the upstairs as they recognised some kids are just different and to go out diverse minds. My child adores Dave Grohl so I’ll play this to

  • @tbnrplayz8848
    @tbnrplayz8848 27 днів тому

    I needed this, I love this content and their relationship. I didn’t know he struggled at school die to his talents and passion in music not being recognized. I have a child similar and school is even more restrictive, super bright child in music maths and physics but school is wrecking ( to the point where a osych had to sign off and I found another school that had about 20 guitars lying around the upstairs as they recognised some kids are just different and to go out diverse minds. My child adores Dave Grohl so I’ll play this to

  • @lucienovakova5298
    @lucienovakova5298 27 днів тому

    love the book

  • @AA-jh1mc
    @AA-jh1mc 27 днів тому

    Incredible meeting. Thank you