I never thought I'd finish this new episode of We Defy Augury . . . I was synthesizing together too many books and too many thoughts and I got completely overwhelmed, stuck in the weeds, and gave up-- but then I set the goal of recording at least five minutes of audio a day and I managed to trick myself into conquering the mountain of notes and material I had amassed-- so this is my longest episode, with plenty of tangents and clips and special guests and long-winded bombast, but it is finished, for your listening pleasure:
thoughts on the history and future of the American suburbs (loosely) inspired by four books:
1) Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs by Benjamin Herold
2) The Fifties by David Halberstam
3) Outside the Gates of Eden: The Dream of America from Hiroshima to Now by Peter Bacon Hales
4) The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson
Special Guests: Monty Python, Bill Cosby, Rush, Descendents, Bob and Doug McKenzie, Edward Scissorhands, Arcade Fire, Dead Milkmen, Malvina Reynolds, Helen Keller, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who.
