Kelly Pollock has always been the kind of person who asks questions — lots of questions — to anyone who will listen and answer. With a BA in Religious Studies from Northwestern University and an MA in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara (where she wrote a thesis on feminist witches), she has now turned my questioning to history where she digs deep into stories that aren’t getting enough attention. By day Kelly is the Dean of Students in the Division of the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, where she has worked since 2004. She lives on the south side of Chicago with her husband, the two best kids in the world, and two senior cats. Kelly joined me today to talk about “All That She Carried” by Tiya Miles, a book whose language and terminology changed my understanding of how I have always learned about enslaved persons. We also discussed why such a humble object is so profoundly affecting, and how, ultimately, this is a story of hope. Follow the Best Book Ever Podcast on Instagram or on the Best Book Ever Website Do you have a book you want to tell me about? Go HERE to apply to be a guest on the Best Book Ever Podcast. Host: Julie Strauss Website/Instagram Guest: Kelly Therese Pollock Website/Twitter/Instagram/Unsung History Podcast/Uncorked History This episode is sponsored by my new book, a werewolf romance called Lover's Moon, written with my dear friend and frequent guest of the show, Mark Leslie. It's a Meat-Cute love story. C'mon, I know that made you laugh. Discussed in this episode: All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, A Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles Knitting Brigades of World War 1 (Unsung History Podcast) The Jackson State Shootings (Unsung History Podcast) Julia Chinn, wife of Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson (Unsung History Podcast) Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence and the Archive by Marisa J. Fuentes (this contains Fuentes’ method of “reading against the grain” Wake: The Hidden History of Women Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall When Everyone Around You Is Talking About the End, Talk About Black History (Tiya Miles Op-Ed in the New York Times – may have a paywall, but I promise, this is WELL worth a read.) A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder (Book 1 of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series) by Dianne Freeman Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress by Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink Public Faces, Secret Lives: A Queer History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement by Wendy L. Rouse Recasting the Vote: How Women of Color Transformed the Suffrage Movement by Cathleen D. Cahill (Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning I get a few bucks off your purchase at no extra expense to you. Anytime you shop for books, you can use my affiliate link on Bookshop, which also supports Indie Bookstores around the country. If you’re shopping for everything else – clothes, office supplies, gluten-free pasta, couches – you can use my affiliate link for Amazon. Thank you for helping to keep the Best Book Ever Podcast in business!) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bestbookeverpodcast.substack.com

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related