Episoder
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Alabama Short Stories Podcast! I'm your host, Shawn Wright. As always, it's a pleasure to have you with me. I want to take a moment to remind you about something you might already be familiar with: my books, "Alabama Short Stories, Volumes 1 and 2."
"Volume 1" features stories from our first three seasons. It includes thirty tales about iconic statues, daring pilots, high school athletes, painters, and musicians. You'll also find intriguing stories about falling stars, aliens, and close encounters.
"Volume 2" continues with stories from seasons four to six. This collection includes another thirty stories about athletes and their fans, movie stars, and lives that have become movies. You'll meet beauty queens, devils, a Spider, and even the Beatles. These stories highlight builders, memorable moments, and extraordinary individuals who have helped shape Alabama into the state it is today.
Both volumes are packed with photos to help bring these stories to life.
If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, these books are perfect for you. They’re also great for anyone interested in history – specifically Alabama's rich and diverse history and the American South. Growing up in Alabama, I had heard some of these stories, but during my research, I uncovered many more fascinating tales that I knew others would enjoy.
You can get these books through online retailers like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Bookshop.org. If you own a bookstore and would like to stock these titles, you can find them through IngramSpark.
If you prefer to listen, the stories are also available on Audible.com. However, these are the same stories you can enjoy for free on this podcast, just organized in book order. It's perfect for people who don't want to listen to individual stories on podcasts and prefer long-form audio.
Thank you for your continued support of Alabama Short Stories. I hope you enjoy the books and find them to be a great addition to your collection. They also make fantastic gifts for those hard-to-buy-for family members. Take care, and happy reading!
Purchase Volume 1Amazon
Books-A-Million
Bookshop.org
Purchase Volume 2
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Rickwood Field was built in 1910 so Rick Woodward would have a showplace for his baseball team, the Birmingham Barons. Little did he know that 114 years later, Major League Baseball would host a game on this field. The field has hosted concerts, football, and baseball games. It was also home to the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Southern League. Many famous players suited up at the field, but none more so than Willie Mays, a son of Fairfield, Alabama.
Show Note: An astute listener pointed out that Connie Mack, mentioned in the episode, played for the Philadelphia A's, not the Phillies. We regret the error, and our research department has been sacked.Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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At the end of World War II, another war started, the Cold War. To win the minds and hearts of people around the world against the Soviet Union, the U.S. State Department put together a show of modern art that was to tour the world. The show, “Advancing American Art,” did not win the hearts and minds of some of its people. It was recalled and put up for auction at pennies on the dollar. Auburn University recognized an opportunity and bought 36 paintings, the basis for the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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The University of Alabama accepted a bid to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against powerhouse University of Washington. This was the first time a team from the South was invited to play in this historic event. The underdog Alabama team won the game in no small part because of the play of Johnny Mack Brown. Learn the story of this game and how Brown went from being the “Dothan Antelope” to one of Hollywood's leading men and stars of Western movies.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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We have grown up hearing stories about the gold rush. But it’s always the California gold rush they are talking about. An event so huge that years later, San Francisco’s NFL team called themselves the ’49ers after the prospectors of the 1849 gold rush. But the first gold rush started in the east and as prospectors followed the gold vein, they discovered gold in east Alabama. Learn the story about this event and what happened to the prospectors when the gold ran out.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Mrs. Irene, as she was known to neighbors, was born with a sixth sense. From a young age, she was able to find things, easter eggs, misplaced items, or the missing hunting dog. Her father tried to shield her from the scrutiny fortune tellers received in the community. Instead, Irene Teel became popular with people driving miles for her advice and wisdom. When a small child went missing, and the National Guard was called in, it was Mrs. Rena who was the most helpful.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Music is a vital part of our lives in Alabama, and it covers all genres. This story is about one genre of music called Sacred Harp. It is named after the book of songs of the same name. at the beginning of the 20th century, these songs sounded antiquated to modern listeners. Worried that this style would go away, teachers presented Sacred Harp music as a virtue, a tradition that would be passed down the generations. And some of the most influential teachers and guardians of this tradition were from right here in Alabama.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Zelda Sayre was born and raised in Montgomery, the daughter of a lawyer and politician. She was a socialite and caught the interest of young men from as far away as Atlanta. No one swept her off her feet until she met a young soldier stationed in Montgomery named F. Scott Fitzgerald. Their marriage and volatile relationship became the story ideas for books such as “The Great Gatsby” and made them the poster children of the Jazz Age.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Spider Martin was a commercial photographer in Birmingham, Alabama, who billed himself with a little tongue-in-cheek as the “world’s greatest photographer.” He worked for corporate clients and earned his fair share of awards for his work. But his real claim to fame was as a photographer for the Birmingham News when he stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge documenting what the Alabama State Troopers did to John Lewis and the rest of the peaceful marchers in 1965. He would be with marchers until they arrived at the Capital in Montgomery. This is Spider’s story.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Roads in Alabama go as far back as when indians followed the trails that animals had created. These trails would be widened and “improved” as more people and bigger vehicles used them. When the car came along, it was apparent that we must have good roads and we needed them fast. The good roads movement sprang up to encourage and push state and local governments to build and maintain roads. This is the story of those roads here in Alabama.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Cudjo Lewis was a captive aboard the Clotilda when it entered Mobile Harbor, the last slave boat to the United States in 1860. The story was well known to locals in Mobile but two writers, Emma Langdon Roche and Zora Neale Hurston, went to find Cudjo and tell their version of his story. Over 80 years later, Ben Raines would find the remains of the Clotilda and bring the story to light again.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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I hope you have enjoyed the first 5 seasons of the Alabama Short Stories podcast. When I released season three, I published the book, Alabama Short Stories, Volume 1. This was the perfect solution for those who like their podcasts in written form. And as a bonus, it had pictures to illustrate the stories.
With season six of the podcast upon us, I am proud to announce volume two of the book, Alabama Short Stories. There are 30 more stories covering seasons four through six with photos. There are 50 more pages in this book for the same great price. I don’t know, I guess my stories are getting longer. But they are still short.
You can buy both volumes of the book online at Amazon.com. They come in paperback, hardback and Kindle versions.
If you would like to support your local bookstore, you can purchase paperback versions at Bookshop.org where every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores.
You can also purchase the books online at major brands such as Barnes and Noble. Just search for Alabama Short Stories.
Volume two will be published on March 1, 2024.
Thanks again for listening and reading Alabama Short Stories.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Welcome to Alabama Short Stories. This is Shawn Wright, and I am happy to say that Season 6 starts on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, with more great stories about the state of Alabama.
I will start the season with a story in the news the past couple of years. It’s about Cudjo Lewis and the writers who have been telling this former slave's story for the past 100+ years, and we find the Clotilda in the process.
We take driving on our well-maintained roads around the state for granted, but can you imagine what it would be like without them? Some Alabamians did and became part of a movement of good roads that turned out great.
There is a story about a photographer with a funny name, Spider Martin. A well-known photographer around Birmingham, he made his name on the road from Selma to Montgomery and got to know Dr. King along the way.
Music is a vital part of our lives in Alabama, and for centuries now, groups of people have been holding on tight to a tradition of singing named after a book of songs. Learn the story of Sacred Harp and the people keeping it alive and thriving.
While her husband may be remembered as a great writer, the people of Alabama know that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be nothing without his wife, Zelda Sayre of Montgomery. Listen to their story and how their volatile relationship made them the poster children of the Jazz Age.
I tell the story of a woman who was a psychic and the rush for gold. Both of these stories are in east Alabama, and while they don’t relate, they were both sought out for their life-changing discoveries.
There is a story of Johnny Mack Brown; he traveled to Pasadena with the University of Alabama’s team for football glory and turned that success into stardom as a movie cowboy.
The CIA battles communism with modern art only to find out that the real fight is at home among its people. Auburn University benefits from the pearl-clutching outrage and buys paintings for pennies on the dollar, the basis for their fine art museum.
And we end the season by telling the story of America’s oldest baseball park and the players who played there. Specifically, a son of Fairfield, Alabama, who went on to greatness playing for the San Fransisco Giants.
While you are waiting for the season to start, you can help the podcast out. Call a friend or two and recommend the podcast to them. You can subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast app. And if you are listening on Apple, make sure to rate us. It helps drive listeners to the show.
Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy season 6
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Armistice Day was created at the end of what we now know as World War I. At the end of World War II, one Birmingham native felt a need to celebrate all veterans, and he set out to honor them. Raymond Weeks took his fight to Washington, D.C., and then put his words into action by leading what has become the largest and oldest Veteran’s Day Parade in the nation in his hometown of Birmingham. Listen to this episode to determine if his effort to create a holiday was successful.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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When Alabama Power made plans for Lewis Smith Dam in a rural area of Northwest Alabama, they knew they had plenty of time to clear the basin of trees, buildings, and other potential obstructions before the lake filled. Then the rains came, and the basin started to fill up fast. Learn about the area of Smith Lake and what happened when the rains came.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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What do you do when you have one of the largest buildings in Birmingham that feature a smooth glass finish with lights to illuminate each window. Create art, of course! Learn about how the Regions building changes light colors and has created designs for the holidays, Olympics, and Golf Tournaments for the past 50 years.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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John Henry was a steel-driving man or maybe just a folk tale. John Henry died while competing against a steam drill in West Virginia, or did he? Some think this folk hero, or real-life hero, died here in Alabama at a tunnel south of Leeds close to Dunavant. Listen to the story, and you decide if he was real and where he died. I think you know where we stand on this issue.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Carrie Tuggle and her husband, John, moved to Birmingham in 1883 in search of better work opportunities and social life. They threw themselves into work and growing their family. They both actively participated in the Knights of Pythias, a national fraternal organization. Carrie was a social worker and would see young boys in the court system being sent to prison with adults. It was too much for her to bear. The couple would start the Tuggle Institute to give youth another chance and change the lives of many in Birmingham. Carrie also helped create the Jefferson Family Court.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Harper Lee and Truman Capote are two of this country's most celebrated writers. Lee for her Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill A Mockingbird, and Capote for In Cold Blood, among others. Both writers got their start behind a battered old typewriter brought home by Lee’s father when they were children. They grew up as next-door neighbors in the town of Monroeville, Alabama. They would play a part in each other's most celebrated novels, yet the competition drove them apart as adults. Find out about the unique friendship they shared for most of their lives.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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Hugo Black was a U.S. Senator from Alabama who supported FDR’s New Deal. When an opening on the Supreme Court became available, the President knew he wanted an ally on the court, and Hugo Black was his first choice. If the President had done a little due diligence, he would have discovered that his candidate had a checkered past. In 1923, at the end of a trolley line in Shades Valley and by the remains of a race track and dried lake bed, the Klan had held one of the largest Klan events in the country, initiating 1,250 members, including a Birmingham lawyer named Hugo Black.
Support the show
Support the Podcast
The podcast is free but it’s not cheap. If you enjoy Alabama Short Stories, there are a few ways you can support us.
Tell a friend about the podcast. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://a.co/d/9VhY9cO Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book. https://a.co/d/ef1yunC Want to support your local book store? You can do that by purchasing Volume 1 and Volume 2 through Bookshop.org, which gives back to local bookstores.You can listen to the podcast on the website or wherever you prefer to listen and subscribe to podcasts.
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