The Farmers’ Almanac will publish its last edition this year, ending a run that began in 1818. So how will we know when to plant our crops going forward? Don’t worry: there’s still the Old Farmers’ Almanac, which is now functionally the Only Farmers’ Almanac. Today we’re talking about the once-crowded landscape of American almanac publishing and flipping through a few examples from the late seventeen and early eighteen hundreds. In addition to covering agriculture, there were popular almanacs on medicine, navigation, abolition, and Christianity—and even satirical almanacs that parodied the genre. Designed to entertain as well as inform, these volumes offer a fascinating look at the everyday lives of average Americans hundreds of years ago, plus a wealth of folksy wisdom that may still apply today. Listen to learn more about a disappearing genre on this bucolic new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #139 - A Russian Diary
Today in the studio we have a diary that was kept by a teenage girl during her family’s emigration odyssey from Russia to the United States. They left Moscow in 1917, embarking on a year-long journey that took them across the continent on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, then through Vladivostok, Yokohama, Hawaii, and San Francisco. Mostly written in Cyrillic, the diary contains photos, little English-language jokes, and references to Jascha Heifetz, a family friend—and violin prodigy—whose family took a parallel trip when they left Russia. Learn about what makes a diary interesting, our translation processes, and the importance of treating these historical documents with respect on this meandering episode of the #brattlecast.