Drafting the Past

Nov 18 2024 58 ep. 46 mins 151

Drafting the Past Podcast artwork

Drafting the Past is a podcast devoted to the craft of writing history. Each episode features an interview with a historian about the joys and challenges of their work as a writer.

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Episode 56: James Chappel Tames the Waterfall of Detail

Nov 18 2024 43 mins

Hello there, this is Drafting the Past, and I’m Kate Carpenter. In each episode, I interview a historian about their writing process, and today I’m joined by Duke University historian James Chappel. James is the author of two books. His first book is titled Catholic Modern: The Challenge of Totalitarianism and the Remaking of the Church, and it focuses on the transformation of

Episode 55: Robin Bernstein and the Disco Ball of Integrity

Nov 04 2024 51 mins

Episode 55 features Dr. Robin Bernstein. Robin is a cultural historian who specializes in race and racism from the nineteenth century to the present, and is the Dillon Professor of American History at Harvard University. Her first, award-winning book was Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights, and she has written essays and articles on a wide r

Episode 54: Prithi Kanakamedala Invites Us Into the Past

Oct 21 2024 51 mins

In this episode I’m so happy to welcome historian Prithi Kanakamedala to talk about writing with me. Prithi is a professor of history at Bronx Community College CUNY, and is also a faculty member at CUNY Graduate Center. She is an active public historian, who has worked with a wide range of cultural organizations. One of the projects she worked on as a historian and curator for a

Episode 53: Andrew Kahrl Embraces Relevance

Oct 07 2024 49 mins

Welcome to Drafting the Past, a podcast all about the craft of writing history. I’m Kate Carpenter, and in each episode I talk with a historian about the practices, archival frustrations and joys, drafts and revisions and more that go into writing history. In this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by Dr. Andrew Kahrl. Andrew is a professor of history and African American Stu

Episode 52: Helen Betya Rubinstein Coaches Historian-Writers

Sep 23 2024 57 mins

Welcome back to Drafting the Past, a podcast about the craft of writing history. In this episode, host Kate Carpenter welcomes someone a little bit different to the podcast: writer and writing coach Helen Betya Rubinstein. Helen is neither a historian nor a writer or history herself, but she has been working as a writing coach for the past six years, often with historians and ot

Episode 51: Lindsay Chervinsky Loves That Writing Is Work

Sep 09 2024 51 mins

In this episode, Kate Carpenter interviews Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, a historian of the presidency, political culture, and the government, and the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library. Her first book, which came out in 2020, was The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution. She’s also the co-editor of the book Mourning the P

Episode 50: Clara Bingham Lets Her Sources Speak For Themselves

Aug 26 2024 57 mins

Drafting the Past is a podcast about the craft of writing history hosted by Kate Carpenter. If you’ve been listening for a while, you know that oral histories have come up pretty frequently on the show, and that I also work with oral histories in my own current research project. So I was delighted when the opportunity came up to talk with today’s guest, Clara Bingham. Clara is

Episode 49: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, and Lee Mordechai Survive Writing a Book Together

Aug 12 2024 59 mins

In this episode Kate interviewed not one, but three authors: Robert Alpert, Merle Eisenberg, and Lee Mordechai. Together, Robert, Merle, and Lee are the co-authors of a new book, Diseased Cinema: Plagues, Pandemics, and Zombies in American Movies. Robert Alpert is a lawyer and film scholar who teaches at Fordham University and has written extensively about film following his career

Episode 48: Neil J. Young Gives Us Characters

Jul 29 2024 54 mins

In this episode, host Kate Carpenter is joined by historian, writer, and podcaster Dr. Neil J. Young. Neil has been a prolific writer in venues like The Atlantic, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and many more, a contributing columnist to the HuffPost and The Week, and he is also one of the co-hosts of the terrific history podcast Past Present. He also helped to create and produce the

BONUS: Historians at the Movies Episode 88: Twisters/The History of Storm Chasing with Kate Carpenter (Feed Drop)

Jul 25 2024 62 mins

Hey DTP listeners! I'm sharing an episode of Historians at the Movies, a podcast by Jason Herbert, in which I was the guest historian! If you like what Jason is doing, check out historiansatthemovies.com. Historians At The Movies features historians from around the world talking about your favorite movies and the history behind them. This isn't rivet-counting; this is fun. E