BONUS: The Paper Menagerie

BONUS: The Paper Menagerie

Author: Reflecting History May 6, 2021 Duration: 35:33

Ken Liu's amazing short story "The Paper Menagerie" is simple but poignant. It provides an opportunity to think about some of the most important things in life: love, culture, history, regret, memories, identity, and more. But maybe above all it is the story of the bond between a mother and her son. 

Thanks for the support!

Read the story here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5838a24729687f08e0321a15/t/5bf2bdfa562fa782871c6252/1542635003373/The-Paper-Menagerie+by+Ken+Liu.pdf

-Consider Supporting the Podcast!-

Leave a rating or review on apple podcasts or spotify!

Support the podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory

Check out my podcast series on Piranesi, Arcane, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart here: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/bonuscontent

Try my podcast series "Nazi Germany and the Battle for the Human Heart"-- What led to the rise of Nazi Germany? The answer may surprise you…Why do 'good' people support evil leaders? What allure does fascism hold that enables it to garner popular support? To what extent are ordinary people responsible for the development of authoritarian evil? This 13 part audio-course explores these massive questions and more through the lens of Nazi Germany and the ordinary people who collaborated or resisted as the Third Reich expanded. You'll not only learn about the horrifying, surprising, and powerful ways in which the Nazis seized and maintained power, but also fundamental lessons about what fascism is-how to spot it and why it spreads. Through exploring the past, I hope to unlock lessons that everyone can apply to the present day. Check it out on my Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory.

Try my podcast series "Piranesi: Exploring the Infinite Halls of a Literary Masterpiece"-- This course is a deep analysis of Susanna Clark's literary masterpiece "Piranesi." Whether you are someone who is reading the novel for academic purposes, or you simply want to enjoy an incredible story for it's own sake, this audio course goes chapter by chapter into the plot, characters, and themes of the book..."The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; it's kindness infinite." Piranesi lives in an infinite house, with no long-term memory and only a loose sense of identity. As the secrets of the House deepen and the mystery of his life becomes more sinister, Piranesi must discover who he is and how this brings him closer to the "Great and Secret Knowledge" that the House contains. Touching on themes of memory, identity, mental health, knowledge, reason, experience, meaning, reflection, ideals, and more…Piranesi will be remembered as one of the great books of the 21st century. Hope you enjoy the course as much as I enjoyed making it. Check it out at https://www.patreon.com/reflectinghistory.

Subscribe to my newsletter! A free, low stress, monthly-quarterly email offering historical perspective on modern day issues, behind the scenes content on my latest podcast episodes, and historical lessons/takeaways from the world of history, psychology, and philosophy: https://www.reflectinghistory.com/newsletter.

 

Podcast Episodes
BONUS: The Library of Babel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:48
Hello everyone, here is a bonus episode from my Patreon feed. Hope you enjoy it. It's been an amazing run for a long time now, so thank you for all the support and appreciation over the years. It means a lot. Hope you ha…
Episode 134: Roma Part II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:56
This is Part II in a two part series on Alfonso Cuaron's 2018 masterpiece "Roma." This episode covers the second half of the movie and discusses themes of loneliness, isolation, and belonging. It also looks at struggles…
Episode 133: Roma Part I [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:52
The story of an indigenous housekeeper in 1970's Mexico City allows us to examine themes of Mexican history-class, race, status, violence, and more. As the Dirty War rages in the Mexican countryside, that violence starts…
Episode 132: The Mexican Dirty War Part VI-Spaces of Memory [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:52
For the victims of the Mexican Dirty War and their families, all that's left of it now is spaces of memory. This episode is Part VI in a series on the Mexican Dirty War and takes a final look at the ideas of historical n…
Episode 131: The Mexican Dirty War Part V-Massacres and Memories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:56
Does it make any sense to compare individual personality and memory to historical and collective memory? Much like our own memories, the past is often remembered according to the needs of the present. The Tlatelolco Mass…
Episode 130: The Mexican Dirty War Part IV-Violence and Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 17:39
Is violence necessary for change? The Mexican Dirty War provides an interesting lens through which to view this question. Leftist geurrilla movements in Mexico were made up of a diversity of disaffected and disenfranchis…
Episode 129: The Mexican Dirty War Part III-Revolution of the Mundane [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:05
What caused the Mexican Dirty War? A combination of economic, social, and political grievances built up over the course of hundreds of years to finally explode in the mid-20th century. The geurrilla warfare and the bruta…
Episode 128: The Mexican Dirty War Part II-Spectres of Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:10
How does the broader context of history affect our personal lives on a daily basis? How does historical memory and narrative storytelling change the way we view the past and the present? This episode asks these questions…
Episode 127: The Mexican Dirty War Part I-The Politics of Memory [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:24
The Mexican Dirty War was fought from the 1960's into the 1980's between the Mexican government and geurrilla insurgents. Geurrilla warfare and government counter-insurgency would be a reality of life in many parts of Me…
Episode 126: Reconstructing Emotion in History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:48
"History is a dialogue between the past and the present." So how do we know anything about history? To what extent is our knowledge of history merely modern day historians projecting their own thoughts and interpretation…