The Big Listen ended production in May 2018. While this site is no longer updated, all the content remains available for archive purposes.
Harry Leslie Smith at a refugee and migrant encampment called Calais Jungle, in use from January 2015 to October 2016 in Calais, France.
Harry Leslie Smith was born into poverty in the north of England in 1923. In the years that followed, the global Great Depression put 2.5 million Britons out of work, including Harry’s father. So at 14, Harry struck out on his own and never looked back.
Now nearly 95, the WWII veteran is trying to sound the alarm bell about the rise of global fascism and the collapse of the welfare state. And he’s doing it with a podcast called Harry’s Last Stand.
Harry is also kind of a Twitter star. At more than 150,000 followers, might be the most followed nonagenarian in the social media universe.
Tell Me More Stuff To Check Out!
- Keep It — “Keep It” is Ira Madison III’s signature Twitter catchphrase. It’s a nice way for Madison to say “no thanks, get the hell out of here with that noise.” Some things he’s said “Keep it” to recently: Kevin Hart wanting to star in a Mrs. Doubtfire reboot; Ed Sheeran writing a theme song to the next James Bond film unprompted; and the New York Times profile of a Nazi sympathizer.
- Scene On Radio‘s “Seeing White”— This amazing seven-hour, 14-part series from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University tries to unpack the meaning of whiteness. It particularly focuses on the last 600 years or so of history in this landmass we call America. Host John Biewen and his pal Prof. Chenjerai Kumanyika dig into how and why race was created, the origins of slavery and white affirmative action, among other topics.
- Breasts Unbound — If you’re going to do an audio series about breasts, you’ll have to come up with about a million euphemisms for them. Science journalist Florence Williams figured she used about 20 for her show — bazungas being the most ridiculous, IMHO. But don’t think that Williams’ show is all boob jokes. Williams delves into the history of breast implants, the scholarly debate over the evolution of breasts and male breast cancer. And she should know: she wrote a book about it called “Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History.”
- Very attractive listener recommendations: The Worst Writer In The World and By The Book
Call Me!
Do you have a podcast recommendation you’d like to share with us? We want to hear it! Give us a jingle on the Pod Line at 202-885-POD1 and leave a message. Then we’ll put you on the radio and hot spit, what fun that’ll be!
Thanks for listening, pals! ‘Til next time…keep listening, America.
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