The Hollow Men

New World Notes #455, 28:51 (November 22)
Broadcast quality MP3 (40 MB)
Decent quality MP3 (13 MB)

First, K.D. contrasts Halloween (good) with Black Friday (bad)--setting the stage for historian Morris Berman's brilliant and witty talk (ca. 2013).

For Berman, the essential hollowness of America's leaders reflects the hollowness at the core of many of us--and the hollowness of The American Dream (which seems to be just a wish for more stuff). "The System" seems to be collapsing--leaving Morris with very mixed emotions.

Then singer-satirist Roy Zimmerman offers a more upbeat view of the oddness of American life. And last, a few lines from the poem Berman is alluding to, T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men."

Thanks to Robin Upton, of Unwelcome Guests, for Berman's talk. http://unwelcomeguests.net.

This installment was previously broadcast, as NWN #297, in November 2013. MP3s downloaded from the links at the top of this page will be identified as #297.