Jan Vrijman - Marathon Interview

Wat zegt het dat de site van de VPRO, het marathon interview dat Felix Rottenberg met Jan Vrijman (pseudoniem van Jan Hulsebos) had, bedeelt met een beschrijving van slechts een enkele zin? Andere interviews hebben een pagina-lange beschrijving en vaak ook nog een tweede pagina waarop de hoogtepunten van het interview worden vermeld. Wat zegt het? Dat het eigenlijk minder een interview was en meer een gesprek; dat het geen hoogtepunten bevatte, of dat er niet uit gehaald werd wat erin zat? Of dat de vijf uur radio zich niet lieten duiden.

Al aan het begin van de uitzending verklaart Jan dat hij een ontevreden man is. Later vertrouwt hij Felix toe dat hij een heel depressief mens is. Er blinkt een niet mis te verstane getormenteerdheid door. Misschien niet de neerslachtige tobber, maar eerder de verwarde man die eigenlijk niet precies weet waartegen in opstand te komen. Maar die kwetsbaarheid wordt in goed Nederlands weggedrukt, soms haast met geweld, zoals op het eind, wanneer allerlei verdriet naarboven komt. Felix Rottenberg kan niet anders dan het zo laten gaan. En daarbij hij wil het zo graag over linkse politiek wil hebben of andere zaken waarover Vrijman gemakkelijk formuleert. Alsof hij het precies weet, maar dan wordt hij haast boos op zichzelf: "Godverdomme! Ik klink meteen als een communist; praten over de concrete situatie en de structuren.'

Kortom, zo was mijn indruk, zo zeker was hij helemaal niet. Dat zou ook passen bij de zoeker waarmee hij zichzelf aan het begin typeert. Daarmee is het interessantst in het interview wat impliciet blijft. Dat maakt het nog niet een gemiste kans; daar kan wel meer dan een regel over geschreven worden en dat is zeker de moeite van het luisteren waard.

Hieronder een fragment uit een film die over Vrijman werd gemaakt door zijn dochter:



Meer Marathon Interviews:
Maarten van Rossem,
Louis Th. Lehmann,
Marita Mathijsen,
Ruud Lubbers,
Jan Leijten.

1000 AD according to Bob

The most prolific of history podcasters, Bob Packett, has reached his 1000th podcast (History according to Bob) and to commemorate this milestone he has embarked on a series of shows around on theme. Bob, is big on theme shows, but usually does them interspersed with other themes. This time however, he has decided to stick to his tune and round off the theme in consecutive shows. The theme chosen, with the magic number 1000 in mind: a tour around the world in the year 1000.

One podcast a day Bob, has started Friday and by now, has hammered through five episodes, reaching far, but not yet finishing, though I reckon he will need no more than two or three additional episodes. And then you will be able to listen to more than two hours worth of traveling at break neck speed from Africa, to the Americas through the Pacific, Asia and Europe. As usual, Bob is so fast, I cannot keep up with him, but since podcasts drop out of his feed rather quickly, I have downloaded them all as a preemptive measure.

My first listening experience was the kick off in Africa. In the same episode he goes through the Americas, so there is a huge and rather unknown world of tribal cultures and extinct and nearly forgotten empires to touch upon. So, the attention is brief and each culture on the list deserves more than the mere mention, but having them mentioned at all in podcast is to be treasured. I like the overview and want to see where Bob is going to take it.

More History according to Bob:
The battle of Tours,
The Franks,
Virginia Oldoini
Alexander the Great,
Special acclaim for Bob Packett,
History according to Bob.

All things Medieval - podcast review

Jim Mowatt of the Historyzine podcast drew my attention to another history podcast named ATM (or: All Things Medieval). As the title suggest; this is a podcast dedicated to the Middle Ages. The host, a Sir Justyn, narrows this down to the period of the eleventh to sixteenth century, what I would call the High Middle Ages, or the Late Middle Ages.

More than a history podcast, I'd characterize this show as a fan, or hobby podcast. This is justified by the name and the content of the show. Sir Justyn speaks of all things related to this period and things could be almost anything, whatever Middle Ages fans and hobbyists would like.

It is my impression, the podcast originated from the middle ages reenactment scene, more specifically in Australia, where Sir Justyn is from, but personally I know these scenes to exist all over the world and have found myself to be a guest in one of them in the Netherlands. Consequently, the areas of interest spill into all corners. Not just the narratives about the Middle Ages (including fiction in books and film), but also specifics like customs, costumes, food, language and on and on.

The result is a varied show with information, not just about history, but also about events, news, museums, expositions, storytelling and also interviews with a range of guests. A similar podcast would be Tudorcast, which is a theme podcast with all items around the Tudor period in English history.

More Historyzine:
The year 1703,
On admirals and more,
18th Century Warfare,
Spanish Succession and History Podcasts.

More Tudorcast:
Tudorcast review.

More Middle Ages:
The Kingdom of Ghana,
Bob on Tours - history podcast review,
Islam and Europe - LSE podcast review,
Gupta History - podcast review,
World history guided by the religions.

BBC's In Our Time (podcast review)

One of my all time favorite podcasts is BBC's In Our Time. I apologize to readers who hope to see my review during the week the podcast is out. I usually listen then, but not always see what to write and schedule in time. The drawback is that after a week, the podcast is replaced by the next one and the former can only be listened to in stream (see archive).

Here is a short overview of the last four issues, since the last review I wrote:

The Black Death; the plague reduced the European populace, but what other traces did it leave behind. More on not just the economic effect of the epidemic.

Heads or Tails; an issue for the mathematically inclined. Statistics are a rather new chapter in mathematics and though it grew out of gambling, its seriousness today makes it indispensable.

Trofim Lysenko; Science under Stalin. How a totalitarian regime makes and breaks scientists.

The riddle of the sands; relations between the English and the Germans pre-1914, both politically as well as culturally.

More In Our Time:
General review of In Our Time,
Library of Nineveh,
The Brain: A History,
Yeats, Enclosures and Materialism,
King Lear.

Nirvana and the Brain

Some time ago I reported about the podcast My Three Shrinks. This podcast is linked with a blog named Shrink Rap, so that it gets easily mixed up with Shrink Rap Radio, the psychology podcast by David van Nuys. For a psychiatry podcast and a psychology podcast to exist with such entangled names and range of subjects, they were bound to meet one day and so they did. Van Nuys took the initiative and invited the three psychiatrist onto Shrink Rap Radio show #156. Dinah, Roy and Clink Shrink took their friendly banter with them and the result was likewise.

Another fine issue of Shrink Rap Radio I heard recently was "Nirvana and the Brain", a fascinating interview with brain scientist Dr. Jill Taylor. What makes Taylor and especially interesting guest to speak on the brain, is that she suffered a stroke, which knocked out part of her brain, forcing her into a recovery track that took nearly a decade. Yet, the stroke did not just cause suffering. Taylor relates also the bliss it brought. Van Nuys tracked her through a video on TED that I link up below.



More Shrink Rap Radio
Psychoanalysis - Shrink Rap radio review,
Conscious Living,
The Happiness Hypothesis,
Sign language for babies,
Doll Work and what with the brain,

More My Three Shrinks:
Conversion Therapies,
My Three Shrinks Podcast.

More TED
Karen Armstrong,
Ben Dunlap. (highly recommended)

The blitz on London - BTHP review

The Binge Thinking History Podcast suffered a long spell of podblock - writer's block for podcasters. The podcast is intent on bringing an episode a month, but couldn't deliver for two months. Host Tony Cocks managed to overcome his creative blockade and two days ago delivered the next installment.

This is supposed to be the penultimate episode about the Battle of Britain. We were served a last chapter of facts and figures and are expected to analyze and draw conclusions in the next edition. The battle has been coined by Churchill (audio fragment on the show) as the war in which a narrow victory was won and never 'so many owed so much to so few', but the question has been raised and is warranted by all means, how decisive and pivotal the bravery of the air men have been. And how close did they come to defeat?

Cocks's execution this episode is superb. The introductory overview of the battle so far, helps to pick up, where we left off and as usual his great voice and captivating story telling is making for a good listen. His use of sound effects and audio fragments is better than ever and gives for a real radio feel.

Previously about BTHP:
Battle of Britain,
The American Constitution's British roots.