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Category Archives: Notebook on Cities and Culture

Sixty conversations in London, Copenhagen, and Toronto: Notebook on Cities and Culture’s fourth season Kickstarts Monday

  Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, Mexico City, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara: Notebook on Cities and Culture has visited all these places for in-depth conversations with cultural creators, internationalists, and observers of the urban scene. Last season, we planned on 24 episodes but will put out 31, because hey, underpromise, overdeliver. The podcast’s next season, its fourth […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E29: That’s Livin’ with Gordon Price

Colin Marshall sits above Hastings Street in Vancouver, British Columbia with Gordon Price, Director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, former Councillor for the City of Vancouver, and creator of the electronic magazine Price Tags. They discuss his personal definition of “Vancouverism”; his city as a mid-20th-century version of 19th-century city-building; the balance […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E28: Aesthetic Moments with JJ Lee

Colin Marshall sits down in Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden with JJ Lee, menswear writer, broadcaster, and author of The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit. They discuss where to buy pocket squares in Vancouver (and whether to just have your kids make some); what […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E27: No Mo’ Po-Mo with Paul Delany

Colin Marshall sits down in Yaletown, Vancouver, British Columbia with Paul Delany, professor of English at Simon Fraser University, editor of the reader Vancouver: Representing the Postmodern City, and author of the article “Vancouver: Graveyard of Ambition?” They discuss whether it makes sense to talk about a “postmodern” city in 2013; the influence of Douglas Coupland, William Gibson, […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E26: Fifth-Generation “Japanese” with Leslie Helm

Colin Marshall sits down in Santa Monica with Leslie Helm, former Tokyo correspondent for Business Week and the Los Angeles Times, editor of Seattle Business, and author of Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan. They discuss the Asia connections of Los Angeles and Seattle; Japan’s changing place in the zeitgeist since when […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E25: A Fine and Private Place with Joseph Mailander

Colin Marshall sits down in Los Feliz, Los Angeles with Joseph Mailander, who since 1981 has written fiction and poetry as well as political and cultural analysis in the city. His new collection is Days Change at Night: Notes from Los Angeles’ Decade of Decline, 2003-2013. They discuss his long relationship with Argonaut Street; the unique changelessness […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E24: Aftershave Smile with Jeff Weiss

Colin Marshall sits down in Los Angeles’ Franklin Hills with Jeff Weiss, music writer for the LA Weekly and many other publications, editor of The Passion of the Weiss, co-host of the podcast Shots Fired, and co-author of the book 2pac vs. Biggie. They discuss the total time of his life spent waiting for rappers to show up […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E23: Cut-Rate Crematorium with Patt Morrison

Colin Marshall sits down in Pasadena with journalist Patt Morrison, best known for her “Patt Morrison Asks” column in the Los Angeles Times, her years hosting Life and Times and Bookshow with Patt Morrison on public television as well as Patt Morrison on KPCC, and her book Rio L.A.: Tales from the Los Angeles River. […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E22: Battle Damage with Chris Gore

Colin Marshall sits down in Glassell Park with comedian and man of cinema Chris Gore, who has talked movies on such television shows as The X Show, The New Movie Show with Chris Gore, and Attack of the Show; has written books including The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, The Complete DVD Book, and The […]

Notebook on Cities and Culture S3E21: High-Functioning Freak (HFF) with Tyson Cornell

Colin Marshall sits down above Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles with Tyson Cornell, proprietor of Rare Bird Books and Rare Bird Lit, former longtime Director of Marketing & Publicity at Book Soup on the Sunset Strip, punk rocker, and co-editor of the forthcoming essay collection Yes Is the Answer: And Other Prog Rock Tales. They discuss […]