Palm Court Podcast By cover art

Palm Court Podcast

By: Palmer Media
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  • Summary

  • Join voices of New College of Florida through the years as we share our stories and reflections on the cultural movement that has emerged from the small, quirky, public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. Dig deeper into the history and meaning of the college that's been pulled into the Culture Wars being fought on U.S. campuses in these polarized times.
    Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.
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Episodes
  • Captain Jonathan White - The Lorax Speaks, A Career in Public Service, and Much More

    Captain Jonathan White - The Lorax Speaks, A Career in Public Service, and Much More
    May 22 2024
    Captain Jonathan White ('87) joins Mike, Grant, and Megan to share his origin story, in which he leaps straight from Lynchburg, Virginia's cradle of the religious right into a volatile time and place in New College history. We return to the story of the "Lorax Rebellion" student protest with a different perspective on how it came to be and the ways the destruction of the native grove represented a brutal defeat and loss of faith in institutions for so many. The lesson forged young Jonathan's steely resolve to quietly and steadily accrue power so that he could do good in the world. His transformative experiences participating in New College's first LGBTQ+ student organization and being a part of the 1987 "Second March on Washington" set the stage for his move to DC post-New College. However, the 90s were not without an uncanny series of career setbacks as Jonathan struggled to find his place in academia and beyond. He decided to try something different and reboot as a social worker, eventually getting his foot in the door at the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, slowly working his way up in the ranks—in uniform! It turns out Jonathan found his true calling in disaster management and crisis response at a time when the world most needed him. Many will remember then Commander White's brave testimony before Congress and his subsequent work reuniting families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. Jonathan urges those who care about New College to take care of each other and not to lose hope but to broaden our scope and adjust our efforts toward achievable goals. Notes: Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority was a keystone of conservative culture in the 1980s. The October 1987 “Second March on Washington” was in part a response to the government’s lack of response to the AIDS crisis as a public health matter, as well as a call for lesbian and gay rights. The SRQ authority is still doing deals with New College administrators. (In this case, the authority has some close, personal connections with the new administrators.) Dean Robert V. Barylski has recorded his own memories of New College events. Joe Caffentzis works as an administrator at Columbia University, and is also active in the Lovecraft fan community. The Lorax is a children’s book by Dr. Seuss that not everyone has read. There was an active aikido community, studying the Japanese martial art based on Taoist principles of reflection, redirection and circular motion; seiza is the formal sitting posture used to teach other body postures. . Justice for Janitors is a movement, a campaign, and an organization. “Kettling” is when police confine protestors (and anyone else on a particular sidewalk or street) for an extended period of time, not allowing anyone to leave. Whitman-Walker has been serving health needs of the LGBTQ+ community since the 1970s. The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is a uniformed service of the U.S. government, active around the world. Hurricane Ike was a large, wet, Category 2 storm that, due to widespread flooding, is the third-costliest hurricane to hit the United States, after Andrew and Katrina. In 2019, White testified during congressional hearings regarding the Migrant Family Separation Policy. Ventilator shortfalls were sort of a big deal in 2020. The word “apocalypse” literally means “unveiling” (apo: “un” - kaluptein: “cover or veil”).
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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Merlin Mann - Part 2: Lando, Olfactory Memories, "Gonna Break All the Windows..."

    Merlin Mann - Part 2: Lando, Olfactory Memories, "Gonna Break All the Windows..."
    May 10 2024
    In part two with Merlin Mann, the free-wheeling conversation picks up speed with the appearance of a special guest (code name: Lando, real name: Christian Pérez), discussing the cultural and creative passing of the baton and DIY inspiration between different New College generations. Merle pays homage to writing coach Jan Wheeler (who he was somewhat paradoxically referred to thanks to the intervention and urging of prof Pete Kazaks in the "Physics for Poets" class). Evocative smells and olfactory memories, both pleasant and painful, are evoked. Merle talks about revisiting the campus and the geography of Sarasota after decades away and everyone shares a surprising class they took at New College. The show wraps up in a Hegelian fashion, synthesizing the contradictions of the past and present, with hopes for progress and the perseverance of the New College spirit. Show notes: Other former Admiral Farragut Academy students include Stephen Stills and Lorenzo Lamas. Merlin’s “On Not Writing About New College.” Miles Davis as a young musician, filled with ecstatic wonder. William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. The Church of the SubGenius now does ShorDurMars online. Photo of Reverend Stang’s TA Event. White Rain was sold to Florida-based Diamond Products in 2000. “Mornin’ Bob” was the beloved physical plant supervisor, a slender man with iron sinews and a sunshiny disposition. The kenning “Mornin’” came from his traditional greeting, no matter what depraved nonsense he happened to have stumbled onto after sunrise. Guillermo Del Toro makes a model kit every weekend, and sometimes shows his work. H.C. Bosman, great writer (compare with H.L. Mencken). The Afrikaner Broederbond, real conspiracy (compare with the SACR). Nadine Gordimer’s July’s People (1981) was Merle and Grant’s incoming-class reading. On Lovecraft and Sonia Greene. Our Episode 11 kicked it with two canonical Surf Fux, throat and bass. Other New College bands mentioned: Ether Mice, Dog School, Skamena.
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    42 mins
  • Merlin Mann - Part 1: The Lorax Rebellion, Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, and the Sociology of Soloflex

    Merlin Mann - Part 1: The Lorax Rebellion, Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions, and the Sociology of Soloflex
    May 8 2024
    Merlin Mann (NCF '86) joins Mike, Megan, and Grant for an entertaining spiel on his days at New College in the late 80s, including another facet of the story of the Lorax Rebellion tree-hugging protest that led to 43 arrests, including his own. It was a tumultuous time in many ways and Merle shares his trials and tribulations navigating it as an RA, student government rep, and member of the foundation board, including a clash with the terrifying General Heiser and remembrances of a huge cast of characters from his cohort. More details emerge about how it came to be that New College students were invited to breakfast with Kurt Vonnegut after creating an intensive 7-week module reading all of his works. Merlin opens up about the challenges of growing up in the "crushing machine" of Florida and the ways New College opened his eyes to perspectives far beyond the limited horizons of his prior education. Throughout, he looks back on his younger self, contemplating the growing consciousness that helped him uncover his privileged blind spots and move beyond the growing pains and traumas. Without veering too far into Proustian reverie, Merle opens up his "bag of hair" and ponders the meaning and importance of New College, where he "learned how to learn," started to fight "hegemonic ideology," and made lifelong friends. Show notes: A “kenning” is “a conventional poetic phrase used for or in addition to the usual name of a person or thing, especially in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon verse, as ‘a wave traveler’ for ‘a boat.’” At New College, it was a way to distinguish between people with the same first name; e.g. “Big Jen, Little Jen, or Littlest Jen?” or “That was Adam Frisbee, not Adam Uniform.” Merlin’s “On Not Writing About New College.” Merlin’s Awkward Hair Odyssey includes a hegemonic ideology T-shirt and mug shot 1988 articles about the Lorax Rebellion Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions has been banned, occasionally. So it goes. Unstuck in Time documentary mentioned. Hegemonic ideology. Ruskin, Florida, is famed for its tomatoes (and vegetable prepackaging technology), but was founded by the Millers as a cooperative community dedicated to the ideals of John Ruskin. Commander (now Captain) Jonathan White testifying in the Senate on the family-separation policy. Back to School, starring Rodney Dangerfield and Kurt Vonnegut The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD. General Rolland V. Heiser, leading light of New College. CGP Grey’s mind-splitting video “You Are Two.” New College zines mentioned: Red Beans and Rice and Crystal Method.
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    1 hr
Political Science Social Sciences
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