BKLYN Community Audio

This episode was originally published on April 27, 2017. In Episode 13 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia celebrate the podcast's first birthday by looking back on the year's most memorable segments and guests.    

This episode was originally published on March 29, 2017. In Episode 12 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia examine the work of a group of remarkable female photographers who have taken Brooklyn as their subject.    

This episode was originally published on February 24, 2017. In Episode 11 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia explore the last decade of the life of iconic Civil Rights leader W.E.B. Du Bois, when he called Brooklyn home.    

This episode was originally published on February 7, 2017. This month, Flatbush + Main listeners get a bonus segment of "Voices of Brooklyn!" On January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of people, including countless Brooklynites, took part in the Women's March on NYC. Julie spoke to several participants about why they marched, what activism means to them, and how their beliefs have evolved since t...

This episode was originally published on January 24, 2017. Episode 10 of Flatbush + Main is a special one - it was recorded live on January 11, 2017 in BHS's beautiful Othmer Library.

This episode was originally published on December 20, 2016. In Episode 09 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia dig into their most delicious topic yet: food and identity in Brooklyn. They speak to historical gastronomist Sarah Lohman to find out exactly what a historical gastronomist is, and to learn about some ingredients that have shaped t...

In today's episode, Riann and Krishna sit down and chat with local interior designer and business owner of Roccoco Design Inc., Usallie Smith. Ursallie was listed as one of NY top 20 interior designers by Lux Pad Magazine in 2017, and also voted Best of Houzz from 2013 – 2022. Ursallie also owns and operates Roccoco Design Home and Gifts located in the heart of Bed-Stuy and not too far from the Ma...

This episode was originally published on November 22, 2016. In Episode 08 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia explore the legacy of veterans from Brooklyn and beyond, and consider the ways that historians have analyzed the often fraught history of American veterans. In the first segment, Julie and Zaheer sit down with historian Phil Napoli...

This episode was originally published on October 27, 2016.  In less than a week, Americans will go to the polls to choose a new president - and for the first time, one of the major party candidates is a woman. In episode 07 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia consider the important legacies left by several of Brooklyn's female politicians,...

This episode was originally published on September 29, 2016.    In episode 06 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia explore the complicated relationship between race, power, and policy in Brooklyn's educational system over two centuries. They speak with journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and historian Ansley Erickson about the rezoning of one Bro...

Welcome back to Bed-Stuy Tea! In today's episode, Riann and Krishna sit down to chat with local Bed-Stuy resident and entrepreneur, Jennifer Small! Jennifer Small is the Founder and CEO of J  Small Services, LLC, a boutique consulting firm based in Brooklyn, NY. Her career spans almost two decades in investment banking, including covering international markets while living in London, and she recen...

This episode was originally published on August 24, 2016. In episode 05 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia do a deep dive into the history and future of Crown Heights, a neighborhood in central Brooklyn, on the 25th anniversary of the 1991 Crown Heights Riot. Throughout Crown Heights' history, its many diverse residents have debated the bo...

This episode was originally published on July 27, 2016. In episode 04 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia examine the history and evolution of hip hop in Brooklyn. Joined by Wes Jackson, founder and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, we consider how Brooklyn shaped the trajectory of this powerful cultural genre - and how h...

This episode was originally published on June 21, 2016. In episode 03 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, Zaheer and I tackle the history of queer spaces in Brooklyn. We sit down with curator and writer Hugh Ryan, who helps us define "queer" as a historical construct and shares some amazing hidden queer histories that he has uncovered. We also visit  Lesbian Herstory Archives...

This episode was originally published on May 24, 2016. In the past several years, Brooklyn's waterfront has transformed into a high-value, celebrated space lined with bucolic parks and new developments. In Episode 02 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia travel back in time to a different waterfront: a 19th- and 20th-century site of productio...

This episode was originally published on April 24, 2016. Last Friday, April 22, was Earth Day, recognized since 1970 as a day to agitate for environmental consciousness and protection. In honor of that, Episode 01 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main tackles one of the most pressing topics shaping Brooklyn's past and future: waste. With the help of guests historian Elizabeth Pi...

This episode originally published on April 24, 2016. Brooklyn Historical Society is excited to launch Flatbush + Main, a monthly podcast dedicated to Brooklyn's many-layered history and its dynamic present. Each week you'll hear co-hosts Zaheer Ali and Julie Golia dig into some of the most compelling stories that we come across everyday in our work as historians at BHS.

To end the tour, we look at some of the ways that residents have advocated for changes in their neighborhood.  

This segment is about Commodore Barry Park, past and present. Ms. Denise Evans shares memories about the establishment of the public pool located in the park. She also talks about Old Timers Day, a day to honor elders in the neighborhood, held in the park annually.

In this segment, public historian Prithi Kanakamedala, professor of history at Bronx Community College and the CUNY Graduate Center, talks about the roots of mutual aid organizing in Fort Greene, and in Brooklyn more broadly, in the 19th Century.

This segment is about Hall Street Shelter Volunteers, a mutual aid group established to distribute food, clothing, supplies to asylum seekers temporarily housed in the shelter on Hall Street, which has closed since the time of the interview. Volunteers Delmy Lendof, Tamar Ettun, and Lizzie Presser talk about building community through this work.

In this segment, listeners hear about One Love Community Fridge, an organization established during the peak of the pandemic to feed community members. Asmeret Berhe-Lumax and Kristina Garrity speak about the community fridge formerly located on Myrtle Avenue. 

This segment includes interviews with Janis Russell and Edward Moran, who each independently moved to Fort Greene in the 1980s, and are members of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (LAPC) in the neighborhood.

In this segment, listeners hear from Ms. Denise Evans, who speaks about the Ingersoll Houses Community Center where she teaches art classes. Ms. Denise reflects on the important role the community center plays in the neighborhood and the positive impact of art therapy. 

An introduction to the Places We Gather audio tour and to the Walt Whitman Library. This stop explores the role that the library plays in the community from the point of view of librarians and library patrons.