Episode notes
Alex Schmidt is joined by podcast host/producer Jody Avirgan (‘This Day In Esoteric Political History’ podcast, ’30 For 30′ series) and actor/comedian Benny Wayne Sully (‘My First Native American Boyfriend’ short, ‘NDND’ YouTube channel) for a look at why junk mail is secretly incredibly fascinating.
Visit http://sifpod.fun/ for research sources, handy links, and this week’s bonus episode.
LINKS FOR THE GUESTS:
- ‘This Day In Esoteric Political History’ podcast (Radiotopia)
- Jody Avirgan’s work for FiveThirtyEight
- Jody Avirgan’s work with 30 For 30 (ESPN)
- ‘Oprahdemics’ podcast
- Jody Avirgan’s website
- “My First Native American Boyfriend” (IMDb)
- ‘NDND’ YouTube channel
- Benny Wayne Sully’s website
RESOURCES USED TO INFORM THE EPISODE’S LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
- native-land.ca
- U.S. Department Of Arts And Culture
- The True Native New Yorkers Can Never Truly Reclaim Their Homeland (Smithsonian)
- Mapping Manahatta: 10 Lenape sites in New York City (6sqft)
RESEARCH SOURCES:
- Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History Of The United States Postal Service by Devin Leonard
- Undelivered: From The Great Postal Strike of 1970 to the Manufactured Crisis of the U.S. Postal Service by Philip F. Rubio
- Encyclopedia Britannica entry for Montgomery Ward & Co.
- A History Of Data In American Politics (Part 1): William Jennings Bryan To Barack Obama (‘What’s The Point’ podcast, FiveThirtyEight)
- Spam, the Neverending Story (The Atlantic)
- How Publishers Clearing House makes $1 billion a year (Insider)
- You May Already Be a Winner! The Story of Publishers Clearing House (Mental Floss)
- Postal Strike and Reorganization: Reinventing the System (Smithsonian National Postal Museum)
- How We Ended Up With All This Junk Mail (Vice)
- How Much Did It Cost AOL To Send Us Those CDs In The 90s? “A Lot!,” Says Steve Case (TechCrunch)
- More On AOL’s Disc Strategy: $1.19 Floppies, 50% Of All CDs Made, And Precision Bombing (TechCrunch)
- In memoriam: AOL CDs, history’s greatest junk mail (Vox.com)
- Revisit the ’90s with a collection of AOL CDs (Engadget)
- You’ve Got Mail: A History of AOL’s Free Trial CDs (Mental Floss)
- America, Online!: America Online has been on a rocket ride, rapidly becoming the largest online service provider in the world. Now it would like to morph into an “interactive service company” – before Microsoft and the Web eat its lunch. (Wired Magazine coverage of AOL, from 1995)
In this episode...
Guests
- Benny Wayne Sully
- Jody Avirgan
About the show
A weekly podcast about the history, science, lore and surprises that make everyday things secretly incredibly fascinating. Hosted by comedy writer, emoji creator, and ‘Jeopardy!‘ champion Alex Schmidt. Join Alex & his co-host Katie Goldin for a joyful deep dive into seeing the world a whole new way!
Get in touch with the show
@sifpod
@sifpod
SIF on Discord!People
How to listen
Stream or download episodes directly from our website, or listen via your favorite podcatcher!
New? Start here...
Liked Junk Mail? Listen to these next...
