Uncovering the Secret History of a Brooklyn Businessman
My essay on Literary Hub explores how writing about families can lead you down twisting paths.
My essay on Literary Hub explores how writing about families can lead you down twisting paths.
In a new episode, Angus and I discuss Cork Wars and the circumstances that set up one small industry’s unexpectedly critical importance during the war.
Our conversation ranged across the fears of sabotage in America, the role of cork in American industry, innovation, and wartime intelligence.
At the Virginia Festival of the Book’s panel “Commonplace to Critical” Matthew Roth and I spoke with moderator Nina Earnest about everyday items that became sensations. They either went big overnight in wartime, or over the course of a century. Who gets caught in the middle?
In the closing months of World War II, Americans talked about how and when the war would end, and about how life was about to… Read More »Dawn of the Age of Plastics
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a famously unholy mess. After the 2018 celebration, some wondered if it had gone too far. Apart from bacchanalian… Read More »From Microalgae, These Mardi Gras Beads Are Biodegradable
When we arrived in Porto in December 2016, one of the first things I did was try a port wine tasting near the banks of… Read More »Porto’s Unexpected Cork Country
Recently I reconnected with Baltimore friends at the Pratt Library in an evening event and discussion about , Baltimore and World War II. We talked… Read More »Podcast – Cork Wars and Baltimore at the Pratt
Ahead of the events for Cork Wars in Baltimore last week, I spoke with Sheilah Kast in the studios of WYPR, Baltimore’s NPR station. We… Read More »Podcast – Cork and Intrigue with WYPR’s Sheilah Kast
It’s a pleasure talking with international author C.M. Mayo for the Madam Mayo blog about Cork Wars. She brings a keen writerly eye to all… Read More »Q&A with Madam Mayo on Cork Wars