This week on the show, we’re taking a multifocal look at translation processes. Come along as we consider its tectonic, idiosyncratic, and uncharted terrains in conversations with Haun Saussy, Yoon Sun Yang, and the Co-op’s own Jeff Deutsch and Adam Sonderberg. With Rosanna Warren, Saussy discusses translation theory and translations of Baudelaire into Chinese; Yang talks about the formation of the concept of the individual in early colonial Korean literature; and Jeff and Adam take a lap around another vista difficult to put in words: the Co-op’s Front Table.

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This week on Open Stacks, discussions about two of the most fervently debated and scrutinized institutions: prisons and public schools.

First, Touissant Losier sits down with Michael C. Dawson to discuss the book Losier and Dan Berger co-authored, Rethinking the American Prison Movement. Then, Bill Ayers and Crystal Laura talk about Laura’s book, “You Can’t Fire the Bad Ones!”: And 18 Other Myths about Teachers, Teachers Unions, and Public Education, co-authored with Rick Ayers.

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This week on Open Stacks, the many relationships of art to time, as elucidated in photography, theater, and the lives of artists. Pamela Bannos discusses her book Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife, which details the life and work of the posthumously celebrated photographer; and Laura Letinsky and John Muse talk about their respective books Time’s Assignation and Microdramas.

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This week’s episode of Open Stacks features William Pelz discussing history from below; Lisa Lee, David Stovall, and Bill Ayers in conversation from the Singing In Dark Times series; and a discussion with Nate Marshall and Jeremy McCarter, about activists and art.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week Marc Lamont Hill and John Joe Schlichtman discuss their book Gentrifier, and local activist Sharon Nelson-Payne, a co-founder of STOP (Southside Together Organizing for Power), talks about gentrification in Woodlawn and nearby neighborhoods of Chicago.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week’s episode explores the world of French-language literature. Alison James talks about literary movements, such as Oulipo. Kit Schluter discusses of the joys and sorrows of the translator. Adam Hocker sends word of new books, including finalists for the Albertine Prize.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week’s episode explores the history and present of Black Musics. Melanie Zeck discusses the influence of Black Musics and how they traveled around the world. Adam Gussow talks about symbolism and resistance. Chief Wicked (Ben Glover) discusses lyricism and rap.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week’s episode examines prejudice in technological development. Marie Hicks discusses her book “Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing.” Tom Mullaney talks about “The Chinese Typewriter: A History” which examines the development of a modern, nonalphabetic information infrastructure.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week myths and folktales take the stage in their basic and abstract forms. William Hansen recounts ancient Greek and Roman folktales from his collection, “The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths.” Wendy Doniger joins us in talking about cross-cultural mythologies surrounding rings and their connection to love and sex as she writes about in her recent book, “The Ring of Truth.”

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week on Open Stacks, signs of life in film and filmic renditions of life. Noa Steimatsky, Robert Pippin, and Carl Skoggard share in the cinematic tradition of building and relaying stories and worlds with the smallest of details.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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This week we explore the embodied aspect of mental illness. Resmaa Menakem discusses racial trauma and his book “My Grandmother’s Hands.” Andrea Petersen discusses anxiety and her book “On Edge.” Yael Shy shares mindfulness tips and a guided meditation.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores.

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Can history predict the future? Where do we fall in history’s great cycles? History professor Alfred McCoy, author of “In the Shadow of the American Century,” and historian and podcaster Mike Duncan, author of “The Storm Before the Storm,” weigh in. 

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores.

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Poet David Ferry reads from his translation of Vergil’s Aeneid. Poets Mai Der Vang, Emily Yoon, and Zhou Sivan share stories of conflict and displacement. Eduardo Rabasa, Erika L. Sanchez, & José Ángel Navejas discuss the immigrant experience.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. 

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Art critic Jed Perl talks Alexander Calder and his new book “Calder: The Conquest of Time.” Historian and critic Liesl Olson shares revelations from “Chicago Renaissance: Literature and Art in the Midwest Metropolis. Translator Sho Sugita reads poems by Japanese futurist poet Hirato Rekichi.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores.

This episode was produced by Kit Brennen, Imani E. Jackson, Marina Malazoniya & Joshua Edwards.

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Augustus Rose reads from his acclaimed debut, “The Readymade Thief” and Baird Harper reads his linked short story collection, “Red Light Run.” Plus, booksellers share the joy of reading with excerpts from their favorite books this year.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen & Imani E. Jackson.

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This week, we hear from Masha Gessen on ‘The Future is History’ and Putin’s Russia, Julia Alekseyeva on ‘Soviet Daughter,’ and Franz Nicolay on ‘The Humorless Ladies of Border Control’ Plus, U. Chicago Professor William Nickell gives a crash course in the Russian Revolution & its legacy.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen, Imani E. Jackson and Marina Malazoniya. 

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This week, we explore the political side of hunger. Anti-hunger activist Andrew Fisher tells the story of his book “Big Hunger.” Then, “Modern Hungers” author and historian Alice Weinreb explores the political uses of hunger in 20th Century Germany.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen.

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This week we explore the power of community activism in Chicago and beyond. Featuring labor organizer Steve Early, activist and historian L.A. Kauffman, and three women who founded organizations in Chicago: Saadia Shah, Suzanne Sahloul and Page May.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstore. This week’s episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week, we hear from the current generation of classic Chicago literature. Eve Ewing reads from “Electric Arches,” Angela Jackson reads from “Roads, Where There Are No Roads,” and Kevin Coval reads from “A People’s History of Chicago.”

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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“Penguin Book of the Undead” editor and medieval history expert Scott G. Bruce shares stories of zombies and restless souls. Egyptologist and curator Foy Scalf shares spells from “The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt”. Plus, a very spooky What’s In the Box with the Co-op’s own Jeff & Adam.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, we face the future of work, data and technology. First, Ilana Gershon takes on the future of work in the information age, as discussed in her book “Down and Out in the New Economy.” Then, Adam Greenfield on “Radical Technologies,” which explores the future of technology and data, from smart phones to Bitcoin.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

Special thanks to Data & Society for sharing their recording for this episode. 

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This week, we explore literature that traverses the sacred and profane, with Eileen Myles on “Afterglow (a dog memoir),” Jennifer Scappettone on “The Republic of Exit 43:Outtakes & Scores from an Archaeology and Pop-Up Opera of the Corporate Dump,” and Peter O’Leary on how to be a religious poet.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstore. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with activist and historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, discussing “All the Real Indians Died Off,” Virgilio Vicente and Andy Carter discussing “Margarito’s Forest” and Ramesh Srinivasan on “Whose Global Village.”

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, we bring you a celebration of new fall literature, featuring rising star Camille Bordas, author of “How to Behave in a Crowd” and literary sensation Karl Ove Knausgaard, best known for the My Struggle novels, author most recently of “Autumn,” a collection of reflective essays. Plus, a smattering of fall literature recommendations from our booksellers.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, we celebrate the new school year at our neighbor, the University of Chicago. We’ll hear from Professors Catherine Zuckert and Nathan Tarcov on “Machiavelli’s Politics,” and Robert Richards and Michael Ruse on their book, “Debating Darwin”. Plus, a very special interview with UChicago teacher, the Co-op’s own Katy Weintraub.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen & Imani E. Jackson.

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Norman Bolotin discusses his book “Chicago’s Grand Midway,” detailing the park’s role in the World’s Fair of 1893. David Garrow discusses Obama’s early political career and his book “Rising Star.” Plus, Susan Eleuterio on local favorite Valois Cafeteria.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, music writer Joe Bonomo reads from his essay collection “Field Recordings from the Inside,” which traces Bonomo’s relationship to pop music, and music writer John Corbett and Matt Macaughan of Superchunk discuss their shared passion, record collecting. Plus a new segment with two of our favorite Co-op personalities.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-op. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week we explore Tamil language and literature. David Shulman and Wendy Doniger discuss his new book Tamil: A Biography. Poet Ravi Shankar reads his translations of the poet Andal. Plus, a performance of Dhrupad music, Indian classical singing.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani Jackson. 

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This week on Open Stacks, Carolyn Purnell talks about the history of the senses and her delectable book “The Sensational Past.” Bianca Bosker talks about her book “Cork Dork”, which explores the wild world of wine-obsessed sommeliers. Plus, tasting notes from local somm Derrick Westbrook.

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This week’s episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani E. Jackson.

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This week on Open Stacks, we hear from members of the faith community who advocate for a woman’s right to choose. Dr. Willie Parker talks about his journey to become an abortion provider in the Deep South and explains his moral argument for choice. D.A. Dirks tells the history of the Clergy Consultaion Service, a group of clergymen who assisted women to find safe abortions before Roe v. Wade. 

Open Stacks is the official podcast of the Seminary Co-operative Bookstores. This episode was produced by Kit Brennen and Imani Jackson.

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