Hey, do you ever have a question about Detroit history and think to yourself, “I wish I could just call Amy, so she could talk at me for 15 minutes? While I file my nails, or whatever?”

If so! That day has come.

I will try to avoid prefacing this with one million apologies. Is this the most boring podcast ever recorded? Probably. Do people even care about podcasts anymore? I don’t know. But I really love them! Because frankly, sometimes I want to learn something and do the dishes/stand up/unpack my groceries/take a walk in the woods.

And sometimes! Sometimes, I get kind of weary of writing, and my glasses give me headaches, and I edit and edit and have a panic attack and edit and then it gets late and I go to bed. Just sitting and talking, as if over a beer, is a nice break.

About a year ago I asked, “Who was this guy?” Then I forgot to find out for a while. And now here we are. This brief discussion of his life and work includes trivia like: who was the first President to visit Detroit? And how did we end up with an animal control department? Can you count how many times I say “Sooo …. ” ?

Sooo … why not learn about Silas Farmer, author of Detroit’s definitive work of pre-20th century history, History of Detroit and Michigan?

Silas Farmer: The Podcast

Supplementary information:

The Central Methodist Church in Grand Circus Park.

The Drinker’s Dictionary: ”The inmates do not see, or at least do not appreciate, the virtue, honor, and peace, the knowledge and favor of God that are enjoyed by so many on the outside. Those on the inside are really on the wrong side of the screen.” (Even if you don’t listen to the podcast, do yourself a favor and check this out.)

Silas Farmer’s essay The Rule of “The Governor and Judges”: An Astonishing Chapter of Territorial History in The bi-centenary of the founding of the city of Detroit 1701-1901.

In the same book, a photograph of Silas Farmer.

So that’s me doing a podcast. I might do more of them, but only if you guys think they’re fun! I enjoyed it, but then again, I am a dweeb.

UPDATE: In a fit of hyperbole I perhaps unfairly neglected to mention Clarence Burton’s City of Detroit, published in 5 volumes in 1922. When I say in the podcast that no one has attempted anything like Farmer’s work since? I should have mentioned Clarence Burton. But that is a much longer story for another day.

Mark reveals himself to be an anti-capitalist anarchist, Dwell reveals himself to be a little OCD about cleanliness, and everyone has a really good time.

You can listen online at ThirdCoast Digest or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

More interviews with illustrators and artists to come in the next couple of weeks!