The Free Bin

The gang discusses their New Year's resolutions, and Cindy celebrates National Science Fiction Day with a deep dive into Timothy Zahn's influential Star Wars novels.  In this episode: "Heir To The Empire" (book, 1991) by Timothy Zahn  "Dark Force Rising" (book, 1992) by Timothy Zahn "Dragonriders of Pern" (book series) by Anne McCaffrey "The Last Command" (book, 1993) by Timothy Zahn "The Martian"...

The gang reflects on some of their favorite holiday films and traditions. Sophia's got a brand new nog. Cindy's got a brand new holiday. Harrison gets earnest about Ernest.   In this episode: "Ernest Saves Christmas" (film, 1988) Jim Varney playing dulcimer on "The Chevy Chase Show" (TV, 1993) Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (From "Meet Me In St. Louis") "Meet Me In S...

In preparation for the holiday break, Harrison decides to just do a quick, easy show-and-tell episode about what the gang's been learning this week. It doesn't quite work out that way, and the result is a sprawling discussion of traditional candy, music genres and subgenres, and the wonders and horrors of reality TV.

The gang discusses some lesser-known winter holidays, as well as unique regional traditions from around the world! World Kindness Day fills our hearts with compassion. Two dudes from Albany, Oregon fill our mouths with pirate jargon. El Caganer drops some humanity. A goat burns in Sweden. A barrel burns in Scotland. A log is beaten in Catalonia. A cat receives an answer during an awkward conversat...

Harrison shares some exciting announcements while the gang preps new episodes!

Sophia leads the gang in a discussion of the Salem witch trials, their historical context, and the ways that communities fall into paranoia, persecution, and cat noises. Sophia shares an overview and chronology of the events, and presents a questionable warrant. Cindy discusses Puritans' role in the colonization of North America, and several historical examples of mass psychogenic illness. Harriso...

Content Warning: This episode includes detailed discussion of death, historical embalming practices, and historical cannibalism.  For Spooky Season 2025, the gang ventures deep into the topic of mummies, and how they relate to Western horror fiction, cultural anxieties, history, heritage, and dubious medical practices. In their travels through time, they encounter Chinchorro grief, Germanic myster...

In preparation for National Magic Week , The Magical Mr. B. stops by to discuss the life and work of Harry Houdini , as well as the history of magic in general. 

The gang discusses [redacted] for Banned Books Week ! This conversation covers the rights provided by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I of the Oregon Constitution, the role of public libraries in upholding these rights, why access matters, filter bubbles, the importance of parent/guardian involvement, the ending of Michael Crichton's "Congo" (spoiler alert!), and...

The gang continues to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing stories of some important figures, from history to the present day. Along the way, they encounter mobile puppets, ubiquitous '90s musical collaborations, unfed bears, baseball emergencies, powerful paintings, space flutes, and much more!

Joel Gaddis of Movie Madness drops by to discuss the wild world of "Demented Kids." This is the name Movie Madness applies to its collection of bizarre and unintentionally unsettling family films. In this episode: "Body Troopers" (1996) "Mac and Me" (1988) "The Peanut Butter Solution" (1985) "The Rare Blue Apes of Cannibal Isle" (1975) "Super Xuxa vs. Satan" (1988) "A Talking Cat!?!" (2013) "Treas...

The Toledo Public Library celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep. 15 - Oct. 15)! Sophia provides an overview of the celebration, including its history, the distinction between the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino," and the many contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities to the United States and the world. Harrison gets lost in the interwoven threads of North American history, and introduces a v...

The gang shares some of their favorite (and least favorite) female characters in fiction. Cindy digs up some info on Victorian grave-robbers. Sophia needs Samantha to move on. Harrison addresses the semiotics of hugging. In this episode: "Alien" (1979) dir. by Ridley Scott "The Anatomist's Wife" by Anna Lee Huber "Aunt Dimity's Death" by Nancy Atherton "Death Comes to Marlow" by Robert Thorogood "...

Harrison rocket-starts a conversation about Mario Kart, designing for contradictory audience expectations, the vastly different ways we approach and appreciate popular works, and a bit of philosophy. Sophia brings the tea. Harrison loses badly at chess. Cindy gets overwhelmed by impenetrable online Mario Kart World discourse, especially regarding the applicability of the current meta build to Boo...

Harrison reads the poem " The Mirror " from "Blooms of the Berry" Madison Cawein

Cindy and Harrison discuss some of their favorite tropes in movies, books, and games! Velociraptors build tension. Ghosts play to an empty house. Cindy discusses some common library and librarian tropes. Eldritch tomes awaken ancient horrors. Sam Fisher is conspicuously sneaky. Harrison invites listeners to go space truckin' . In this episode: "The Anatomist's Wife" by Anna Lee Huber "Any Trope Bu...

Harrison reads " Poppa Needs Shorts " (1964) by Walt and Leigh Richmond.

At Captain Sophia's behest, The Free Bin crew hauls up a net full of maritime tales! Cindy makes a hearty meatloaf from sacred cows, and eats it with black raspberries. Harrison gets shanty pedant-y. Sophia and Harrison tag-team the soundboard. The crowd goes wild. In this episode: "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown "The Brilliant Abyss" by Helen Scales "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Chri...

Cindy, Sophia, and Harrison discuss the ever-evolving role of the telephone in fiction, and the myriad ways technology affects the stories we tell. Along the way, they enjoy a refreshing beverage, eat a two-dimensional snack, endure aggressive theater seats, and imagine a more tactile, odoriferous, and traversable future.     In this episode: "84, Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff "Black Christm...

In preparation for our upcoming discussion of the ever-changing role of telephones in fiction, Sophia reads Dorothy Parker 's 1928 short story, " A Telephone Call."   Music: "Night on the Docks - Sax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Sophia invites Cindy and Harrison to share some books from their favorite genres, as well as some unexpected picks. Thrilling adventures, dubious ghosts, and historical tears abound!  In this episode: "The Apparitionists" by Peter Manseau "City of Lies" by Victoria Thompson "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus "The Martian" by Andy Weird "A Murder on Astor Place"...

Cindy, Harrison, and new Library Programs Specialist Sophia discuss the Declaration of Independence, drink some more red juice, and recite the immortal words of Bill Pullman! In this episode: United States Declaration of Independence

See the video episode here! As the library's Joust tournament approacheth, Harrison introduces Cindy to this classic arcade game, and seeks to answer one all-important question: Could we do this in real life? In this episode: Joust "Animals In Motion" (1902) by Edward Muybridge

Cindy teaches Harrison about the history of Father's Day, acknowledges the complicated feelings that the holiday can bring, and caps it all off with a relevant tale from Aesop about a father and his quarrelsome sons. Harrison puts out an RFP for cryptids. President Nixon gets some flowers for your dad. Cindy also announces our upcoming Community Conversations series! Funded by Oregon Humanities, t...