patricia murphy writes about the history of ireland [her books are published in the “hands on history” series by poolbeg] and she does not shy away from “exposing” her young readers to the violent past of their country.
the long and ongoing struggle for irish independence is told through diaries of teenagers who are in the middle of the action and these protagonists [through patricia] write with an honesty and moral clarity that one wishes we adults would retain throughout our lives. enjoy a conversation about “real” history as well as fantastical culture, social justice filmmaking, all topped off with some cold reads and play-acting:
and now for more info on the subject if you want to dig deeper:
- the original live-stream from this past wednesday:
- great tl’dr version of historical context for current situation in ireland [but let me be clear: you SHOULD dive a lot deeper into the subject than scrolling over tweets!]
- we had a great show + engaging post-game talk with patricia about solutions to violence in the struggle for national sovereignty [an issue obviously not confined to ireland!], irish mythology [btw wikipedia does not confirm the creature of drax being a formorian so please: never mistake a bond villain with a one-eyed ghoul!]
- a fantastic short read about a topic that i think about a lot: how to be a good role model for young folks in a time of an onslaught of media [of all varieties: excellent, mainstream and fake …]
- patricia is also a filmmaker, exploring themes that are dear to my heart. here is her look at young parents who are confronted with their children having a disability:
- when i was in my “ireland phase” [meaning: being obsessed with the history and culture of this wonderful island], i listened to the wolfe tones day in day out, learned their songs and annoyed my then girlfriend who was more into pink floyd …. [yes i know there is much more great and also current music but alas nostalgia why not!]
- if i would not have to constantly read [because you know … book club prep …] i would probably binge-watch “the derry girls” which patricia constantly pressures me to do … [yes i was there on student exchange … ask me anything …]
- what else is happening in second life? lots, as ever, but it is also the 10th anniversary of the “kansas to cairo” project, a collaborative building project with students from los angeles and cairo working side by side in sl. i documented this project in a 3-part series:
the drax files radio hour is a weekly production of draxtor … and media for all!
the show is supported by fabeeo breen, ragvr, vinyl, masoom, delacruz industries, zero-one heavy industries corporation, aeros avatars, time portal, hextraordinary fine magical goods, bay city you know for kids, botanical, strawberry singh, abranimations, kahruvel design, {what next} and landscapes unlimited.
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