An Evening with Sarah Vowell
Overthrown Hawaiian queens, religious zealots, swindlers, cranky cartographers, presidential assassins, and the people who visit their memorials on vacation are all fodder for historian and humorist Sarah Vowell. Vowell’s seven nonfiction books, many of which have topped the New York Times’ best sellers list, explore America’s not-so-squeaky-clean past and create a framework for understanding our modern day values.
Vowell brought her wit to the MIT Communications Forum for a moderated discussion with MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing director Seth Mnookin on what makes the past so funny, the connections between historical research and modern journalism, and much more.
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I enjoy Sarah's ability to tie past and present together.
I know you're there, Little Miss Disappear.
@dehu3010
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First Incredibles related comment nice!
I am glad I happened upon this today. I have read a few of Sarah's books and admire her writing. And I have been grappling with the idea of how to accept the works and ideas of certain people who have done great things and notorious things. This has helped me put my thoughts into perspective. Thanks.
Sarah Vowell she's the voice Violet from The Incredibles or Incredibles 2
Remember her voice from public radio listening in my car
1:33:22 yep
"Not everyone's going to read your book." Which is true, but heh. I wonder if that young woman actually has? I sort of get her point, and in fact I'd like to see more of the negative side in Sarah's books. Sure, it's important to be balanced. But every thought, sentence, paragraph, essay, presentation or even book doesn't have to be balanced. Sarah chooses to focus on the positive, which is, frankly, always the surprising part of history. Looking back, it's amazing any progress was made at all. Or to put it another way, out of the millions of people who have ever owned slaves, very few have written a bill of rights.
1:16:00 girl Ugh!
If I didn't know she's an atheist, the photo suggests prayer.