Listen "#124: Dressing for Disaster"
Episode Synopsis
The COVID-19 pandemic exposes just how connected the world is, while, at the same time, circumscribing our individual worlds much more. How do we dress for these new circumstances, where our trips outside the house are limited to neighborhood walks and forays into the yard? Our guest today, Shahidha Bari, has been thinking deeply about how we interact with our clothes since long before the current pandemic. She’s a professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and a fellow of the Forum for European Philosophy at the London School of Economics. Her new book, Dressed, is what you get when you cross a philosopher with a fashion critic. She writes about the feeling you experience when your feet are mercifully dry in a pair of yellow rain boots, or what the subtle pull of a tie can do to your spine and your personality.Go beyond the episode: Read an excerpt for Shahidha Bari’s new book, Dressed: A Philosophy of ClothesFollow these historical clothing accounts on Instagram for a bite of fashion history: @defunctfashion, @katestrasdin, @coraginsburg, @lagrossetoile, @tatterbluelibrary, @georgian_diaspora, @fidmmuseum, @museumatfit, @metconstumeinstitute, @the_art_of_dressTune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek and sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa Society.Subscribe: iTunes • Feedburner • Stitcher • Google Play • AcastHave suggestions for projects you’d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More episodes of the podcast Smarty Pants
For the Love of Foraging
17/10/2025
From Sofia to Chicago
03/10/2025
Why the Bronx Burned
12/09/2025
What Lies Beneath the Levee Camp Holler
29/08/2025
The Art of *Doing* Politics
15/08/2025
The Linguistics of Brain Rot
25/07/2025
Michael Douglas Explains It All
11/07/2025
Once in a Lifetime
27/06/2025
Family Values
13/06/2025
Lingua Obscura
23/05/2025