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Plans Change, Pal: A Conversation with Henry Bernstein (IOT 10)
In Chronicles, Dylan writes of a mid-1950’s encounter with Gorgeous George, “Suddenly, the doors burst open and in came Gorgeous George himself. He roared in like the storm, didn’t go through the backstage area, he came right through the lobby of the building and he seemed like forty men. It was Gorgeous George, in all his magnificent glory with all the lightening and vitality you’d expect” (44). Dylan describes the troupe accompanying Gorgeous George – the coterie of wrestlers, valets, women with roses – and seems impressed with the spectacle and energy of the scene. He continues, “He brushed by the makeshift stage and glanced towards the sound of the music. He didn’t break stride, but he looked at me, eyes flashing with moonshine. He winked and seemed to mouth, “You’re making it come alive” (44). Real, fabricated, or imagined, this encounter reveals something about Dylan’s approach to performance. In this episode, my good friend, Dylanologist, and fellow January baby, Henry Bernstein expands the reach of this show’s focus by discussing the parallels between Bob Dylan and professional wrestling. From babyfaces to heels to the spectacle of performance and Dylan’s influence on professional wrestlers, Henry combines two of his loves to illustrate the depth and breadth of Dylan’s social and cultural influence. Henry Bernstein is the host of the fantastic new(ish) Dylan podcast Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, which I highly recommend (link below). Through his encyclopedic knowledge, his enthusiasm for all things Dylan, and generous interviews, Henry is deepening our understanding of Dylan’s work one song at a time. When he’s not talking, posting, and texting about Dylan, seeing Dylan, or generally obsessing about Dylan, Henry works in Operations and Logistics for a Jewish Day School in Chicago. In addition to Dylan and wrestling, Henry’s great loves are his family, the Chicago White Sox, Superman, Star Trek, and Taylor Swift. A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club Links: Bluesky: @hentrybernstein.bsky.social Songs Of Experience: https://www.youtube.com/@songsofbobdylan MORE LINKS Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Drop us a note at [email protected]. We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network
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1:14:12
"I Contain Multitudes" A Conversation with Paul Haney (IOT 09)
During a 1966 interview with Robert Shelton, Bob Dylan shared his thoughts on love and sex. Challenging heteronormative concepts, Dylan said, “Sex and love have nothing to do with female and male. It is just whatever two souls happen to be. It could be male and female, and it might not be male and female. It might be female and female or it might be male and male. You can try to pretend that it doesn’t happen, and you can make fun of it and be snide, but that’s not really the rightful thing. I know, I know.”[1] Since then, critics and scholars such as Rebecca Slaman, Andrew Warwick, and Charles Kaiser have explored Dylan’s support of the queer community. I have often thought Dylan’s January 16, 1993, performance of “Chimes of Freedom” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial signaled support of the incoming administration’s policies on AIDS and the queer community after a decade of absent, botched, or ineffective policies. In this episode, Paul Haney joins me to talk about his personal memoir and its connections to Bob Dylan, queer readings of Dylan’s work, and Dylan as a queer ally. Executive Editor of the Dylan Review, Paul Haney is a queer writer, educator, and Dylanologist in the Boston area. His Bob Dylan writing has appeared in such outlets as The Rumpus, Hobart, Glide, the Potomac Review, and the anthology Teaching Bob Dylan (Bloomsbury 2024). Other work has appeared in Slate, Boston Globe Magazine, Fourth Genre, Normal School, Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. He's spoken on Bob Dylan panels in Tulsa, Orlando, and Odense, Denmark, and his manuscript in progress is a queer Bob Dylan memoir. [1] “Interview with Robert Shelton from No Direction Home.” Cott, Jonathan. Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews. Wenner Books, 2007. 85.. A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club Links: X, Instagram: @paulhaney Paul Haney, "He's Funny That Way," The Rumpus Paul Haney, "Infidels," Has Have Had Paul Haney, "Blood on Your Saddle: Bob Dylan's Homicidal Voices," The Dylan Review MORE LINKS Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Drop us a note at [email protected]. We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network
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1:12:28
John Radosta (IOT 08)
Whether he’s lifting lines from old films for lyrics, crooning “The Night We Called it a Day” over the Nash Edgerton-directed video, or taking us to the Bon Bon club in Shadow Kingdom, Bob Dylan’s interest in and admiration of film noir has long been apparent. He seems drawn to the hard-scrabble, world-weary protagonists who travel through the seedy underworlds of big cities and end their stories unredeemed. In this episode, author, scholar, and educator, John Radosta and I talk about his scholarly work, his extraordinary short stories and novels, film noir, and, of course, how all of this relates to Bob Dylan and his work. A novelist and author of many short stories, John Radosta teaches high school English near Boston, Massachusetts. Under both a pseudonym and his real name, his fiction has appeared in many magazines, including Yellow Mama, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine,Wildside Black Cat, and Tough Crime. A veteran of more than 50 Bob Dylan concerts, he is the co-author with Keith Nainby of Bob Dylan in Performance: Song, Stage and Screen, as well as other Dylan and Woody Guthrie articles. A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club Links: "The Simple Art of Music" in the Dylan Review "The Loveliest and the Best: Dylan and Omar Khayyam" in the Dylan Review jmtaylorcrimewriter.com "Rideshare" In Tough "Fanning the Flames" in Yellow Mama MORE LINKS Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Drop us a note at [email protected]. We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network
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1:06:59
Bob Dylan Examined: A Discussion with Harold Lepidus (IOT 07)
Since Robert Shelton’s New York Times review of Bob Dylan was published almost exactly 63 years ago, on September 29, 1961, Dylan has been the subject of intense critical focus. Journalists, academics, and fans have created an expansive catalog chronicling the minutiae of Dylan’s seven-decades in the public sphere. From studio releases and live performances, through books and films, to personal relationships and shifts in identity, every aspect of Dylan’s life and career has been scrutinized to gain a greater understanding of his oeuvre. In this episode, journalist and podcaster, Harold Lepidus, and I further expand the catalog as we discuss Dylan through the lens of Harold’s work, his fandom, and the expectations the sustained focus has created, and how Dylan has defied them. Harold Lepidus is the author of Friends and Other Strangers - Bob Dylan Examined, an anthology of writings from the Bob Dylan online column he wrote for Examiner.com. He is a prolific content creator across his social media platforms, sharing his experience and insight on Dylan, the Beatles, Robyn Hitchcock, and music more broadly. His most recent review is VIETNAM, WATERGATE, AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: Bob Dylan/The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings (Linked below). A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club Links: VIETNAM, WATERGATE, AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE: Bob Dylan/The Band - The 1974 Live Recordings. Friends and Other Strangers: Bob Dylan Examined - Kindle edition by Lepidus, Harold. Instagram: @hlepidus Twitter: @dylanexaminer MORE LINKS Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Drop us a note at [email protected]. We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network
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1:26:55
Myth, Memory, and Identity Construction with Court Carney (IOT 06)
From the beginning of his career, critics, scholars, and fans have attempted to define Bob Dylan’s identity. Countless interviews and biographies and even Dylan’s 2004 memoir Chronicles: Volume One include myths, half-truths, and obfuscations, leading to lingering questions. These questions are compounded by the public’s perception of him and public images of Dylan used to serve a particular agenda – most often associated with his early protest period. Indeed, public and historic figures’ identities have oft been altered, distilled, diluted, or corrupted through their representations in popular culture. In this episode, Court Carney and I discuss his forthcoming book on Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, identity construction and public memory, and how Bob Dylan’s identity has been constructed throughout his career. Court is a cultural historian who writes on public memory. He is a full professor of history at Stephen F. Austin University where he teaches courses on Black history and American cultural history. He is the author of Cuttin Up: How Early Jazz Got America’s Ear and Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory will be released on September 17, 2024. He is the co-editor of The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances, a collection of essayson Bob Dylan’s setlists and a forthcoming collection of essays reconsidering Dylan’s work in the 1980s. A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club Links: Court Carney, Ph.D. Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory: Carney, Court: 9780807171530: Amazon.com: Books Instagram: @court_carney Substack: A Song and a Mood | Court Carney | Substack EXTENDED EDITIONS To get Extended and Bonus Episodes of our shows: Subscribe to FM+ : Click the subscribe button in Apple Podcasts or sign up here. (One subscription covers all our network podcasts for one low price !) Join FM Premium: Get an FM+ Subscription plus video interviews, blog posts, a weekly bonus email and more. MORE LINKS Infinity Goes Up On Trial - Episode Directory Search all of our podcasts by album, song, or topic. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Drop us a note at [email protected]. We're a proud member of The FM Podcast Network
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1:22:36

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About Infinity Goes Up On Trial

“Infinity Goes Up on Trial” focuses on ideas central to the depth of Bob Dylan’s music, art, and writing in a broader social, cultural, and political context. Discussing these concepts with scholars, artists, educators, activists, and myriad experts, we explore how Dylan’s ideas reflect and encompass all aspects of human existence.

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