John Beckman's guest appearances

John Beckman

The 7th Avenue Project

Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine

Fort Wayne High School Sports

Phil Proctor

John Hodgman

Gretel Ehrlich

David Quammen

Ron Howard

David Thomson

James Ellroy

Don Cheadle

Jason Isaacs

David Koepp

Morfydd Clark

Jennifer Finney Boylan

Mary Queen of Scots

Robert Bathurst

Marie Yovanovitch

OwlTail

Dion Graham

Yusef Komunyakaa

Clarence Major

Dion Graham gives a virtuoso performance of fictional bluesman Manfred (Man) Banks. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Graham’s interpretation of this 25th anniversary edition of Clarence Major’s novel. Graham sings, riffs, wails, and weeps as he takes listeners into the soul of the protagonist, a bluesman with the can’t-win-for-losing blues. Man travels from Chicago to Omaha, and trouble follows.Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Penguin Audio.Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.comSupport for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dion Graham gives a virtuoso performance of fictional bluesman Manfred (Man) Banks. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Graham’s interpretation of this 25th anniversary edition of Clarence Major’s novel. Graham sings, riffs, wails, and weeps as he takes listeners into the soul of the protagonist, a bluesman with the can’t-win-for-losing blues. Man travels from Chicago to Omaha, and trouble follows.Read the full review of the audiobook on <a href="https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/209122/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AudioFile’s website</a>. Published by Penguin Audio.Find more audiobook recommendations at <a href="http://audiofilemagazine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">audiofilemagazine.com</a>Support for AudioFile's Behind the Mic comes from PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO, dedicated to producing top-quality fiction and nonfiction audiobooks written and read by the best in the business. Visit <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/?ref=PRHFC1D7640E5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/audiofile</a> now to start listening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

DIRTY BIRD BLUES by Clarence Major, Yusef Komunyakaa [Fore.], John Beckman [Intro.], read by Dion Graham

Cultural historian John Beckman says America's tradition of fun-loving isn't frivolous, it's fundamental to our democracy. Home-grown American fun, John contends, is one way we express our humanity, push back against elites and would-be autocrats, and make a more perfect union. John traces the history of rebellious fun in America from the Massachusetts colony of Merry Mount in the 1620s to the Merry Pranksters of the 1960s, and from the Sons of Liberty to flappers and jazzmen, b-boys and punks in his new book “American Fun: Four Centuries of Joyous Revolt.”

John Beckman on the History of Fun in America