Stuff about Things: An Art History Podcast

Will your biographer say you died from "amorous excesses"? Are you saving yourself for unicorn hunting? Have you ever heard of death by spiked wheel? You have now! In this episode, we dive deep into an alleged Raphael masterpiece known as the portrait of a Young Woman with a Unicorn. Come for the art historical facts, stay for the excursus on the benefits of hosting a two year old's...

All hail the queen of monsters, Niki de Saint Phalle! This episode is a deep dive into Niki de Saint Phalle, her career, and the culmination of her life’s work: the Giardino dei Tarocchi, or Tarot Garden. Come for the facts, stay in spite of the bad puns. #nikidesaintphalle #tarot #giardinodeitarocchi #tarotgarden #nana #monumental #sculpture #tinguely #modernart #arthistory #arthistorian #arteduc...

Columns, thorns, and superscriptions, oh my! This episode is a deep-dive--not into the Tiber River but rather the almost 2000 year history of the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome, Italy. It includes background on the bridge's ancient past, a little dip into the biography of Gianlorenzo Bernini, and even an excursus on the bridge's appearance in cinematic masterpieces (ahem...)such as Angel...

Good God, dear Basil! There is a podcast episode about your portrait of Dorian Gray! Just kidding. Basil Hallward and Dorian Gray aren't real, but Oscar Wilde, Ivan Albright, and the many Pictures of Dorian Gray certainly are! This episode is a deep dive into Ivan Albright's sickeningly masterful Picture of Dorian Gray, which the artist painted for the 1945 movie adaptation of Irish auth...

Lambeau, Lombardi, and Leaps! This episode finishes the two-part series on the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field Stadium, from 1959 to today. Note: edited as of 11/19/2020 to remove a meaner-than-necessary jab at Brett Favre that I felt bad about in retrospect. Sorry, #4.

Meat packing! Hot pretzels! Stock options! As a podcast love letter to my hometown, this episode (part one of two) covers the early history of the Green Bay Packers, including the first iteration of what will eventually become known as the famous... the infamous... Lambeau Field Stadium. Come for the history, stay for the declarations of me not being a "football scientist."

Ghosts, glass, and guns, oh my! The Winchester Mystery House stands as one of the greatest houses in American history... and not just because it is allegedly haunted. Join me for this deep dive into the house and its history, including that of its patroness, Mrs. Sarah Winchester. Come for the spirits, stay for the stories!

Napoleon! Barack Obama! Charles I! LL Cool J! What do all these dudes have in common? They were all painted (more or less) by contemporary artist, Kehinde Wiley. This episode is a deep dive into how Kehinde Wiley is working to make art history a more inclusive space, one work of art at a time. #BlackArtistsMatter

Plague! Corpse dismemberment! Pretty costumes! Derpy greyhounds! Necrotic Herbs! This episode has a little bit of everything. It takes you on a journey through five centuries to discuss the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s obsession with Boccaccio’s story about a young woman named Lisabetta and her most beloved pot o’basil. Come for the learning, stay in spite of my telling you how to carry the body o...

Mineralogists! Lapidary tools! The human crrrrrranium! This episode is an art historical deep-dive into the origins of the so-called "crystal skulls" and the people who made them famous.

Eggs! Bricks! Spine o' the fish! This episode covers a biggie, both figuratively and literally! Brunelleschi's dome for the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. With this project, Brunelleschi pulled off the impossible, utilizing 4 million bricks to build what remains the world's largest masonry dome. Come for the dome, stay for the random story about the martyred,...

Heads on sticks! Heads in wax! Heads in trunks! This hour-long episode is a deep dive into the life and work of Anna Maria Grosholtz... though you may call her Madame Tussaud. This episode covers it all—from little Marie’s birth in 1761 to the present-day process of making a new celebrity waxworks! Come for the wax heads, stay in spite of the bad French accent.

Clocks, candy, and human connection, oh my! This episode is a deep-dive into the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, a Cuban-born American artist active in the 1980s and 1990s. FGT was known for his use of "non-traditional" materials and his artistic engagement with the HIV/AIDs epidemic. This episode touches on a little on it all. Come for the knowledge, stay for the random digression into t...

Steel, drunken brawls, creeper derricks, oh my! Episode 17 is a deep dive into the development, design, and construction of Eero Saarinen's Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO. Come for the facts, stay for (or in spite of) the bad jokes! Happy listening.

Immortality, mercury, and 7,000 warriors, oh my! Episode 16 covers the mausoleum and terracotta army of China's first emperor and a supremely odd duck, Qin Shi Huangdi. Come for the knowledge, stay despite my terrible Chinese pronunciation!

Cobras, canaries, and curses, oh my! This episode is the second half of a two-part deep dive into the discovery of King Tut's tomb, beginning with the discovery of the tomb in early November of 1922. You also get to hear me gush about my love of the 1999 cinematic masterpiece, The Mummy.

A boy pharaoh, a tempestuous archaeologist, and a rich English aristocrat walk into a bar... This episode is part one of a two part episode duology on the discovery of King Tut's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922. Part I covers years 1350 BCE - 1922, from Tutankhamun to telegrams. The story continues in Part II, which covers the discovery and its aftermath.

Episode 13 is a deep dive into a mysterious object indeed: The Shroud of Turin. Listen to a skeptic (me!) work through the history of the shroud, the controversies surrounding it, and the arguments for its authenticity or its forgery. Gospels, arson, rogue restorations, oh my!

Episode 12 covers our biggest topic yet: a "madman" and a building 136 years in the making. Listen to learn about Antoni Gaudí, the Sagrada Família, and a pesky little thing called a building permit. There is also an enthralling story about Gus getting stuck in a culvert pipe (spoiler: he's fine). Happy listening!

Episode 11 recounts the story of the Bruges Madonna as Nazi war booty in WWII. Come and learn all about her snatching by the Germans and eventual recovery by the Monuments Men. George Clooney, eat your heart out! Matt Damon, sorry about your face! It is Gus's now. *episode re-uploaded on 11/26/18 to fix sound issue*

Episode 10 dives into a work of art that I know better than almost any other: Michelangelo's Bruges Madonna. This gorgeous statue of the Madonna and Child is one of Michelangelo's most beautiful but least known works of art. Why is that? Listen to the episode to find out!

Episode 9 tells the story of Maya Lin and the creation of the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington D.C. The episode covers the basics of the Vietnam War, a group of veterans with a vision and how a 21-year-old senior of Yale University created one of the most highly regarded memorials of the modern age. As always, visit the podcast's website, StuffaboutThingsPodcast.wordpress.com, to s...

Episode 8 takes a deep and dirty dive into the life of the painter Caravaggio and his "lost" painting of the Taking of Christ, a painting that rocked the art history world when it reappeared in 1990 after it had been deemed "missing" for hundreds of years. Artichokes, lizards, and prisons, oh my!

Travel with me to the Bamiyan Valley in Northern Afghanistan to learn about the majestic (majestic!) Bamiyan Buddhas, two colossal statues of the Buddha that were blown up in 2001 because terrorists are dopes.

Episode 6 delves underneath the city of Naples, Italy, to wander through the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, an underground burial complex with a history that spans over 1,500 years. Frescoes, graves, and skulls, oh my!