130: Goodbye-phen to Hyphen
The final episode of VBB has long-time producer and graduating senior Michelle “Hyphen” Polton-Simon as our guest. It’s on to new things for all of us. We sa...
Various Breads and Butters
B.R. Cohen and Simon Tonev talk with guests on the internet’s premier podcast about small college life. Based at Lafayette College’s WJRH, the show is set in academic culture but usually not about it. Michelle Polton-Simon is our producer.
129: Al’s Even Cooler Than He Lets On
Artist, poet, podcaster, playwright, producer, and comic book author Al Letson is on the show. He is good at everything he does and we now claim goodness by ...
128: What’s Lee Upto(n)?
Poetry, literary criticism, essays, fiction, and collaborative art. Our guest, Lee Upton, has published fourteen books so far. Fourteen, our goodness. She’s ...
127: Valley of the Dahl
Our guest’s office is right above the studio, which is the least interesting thing to report but one of the co-hosts thought we needed to lead with that. Tha...
126: Topping the Charts with Rachel Koh
Sustainability scholar, mechanical engineer, community-based designer, Pioneer Valley native, and Vermont school-goer Rachel Koh is our guest. Koh knows thin...
125: How to Train Your Senior Web Applications Developer
Our guest is a web development, railroad, scotch, and B-movie raconteur. Not in that order, we don’t know the order. You can’t order those things. It’s Charl...
124: Angelibrarian
Angela Perkins—research and instruction librarian, screenwriter, AFI graduate, colleague of multiple talents—joins us. We talk Bronx, Hollywood, UT-Austin, S...
123: If Only the Mothers Were Never Something Red
Jen Gilmore is our guest. Our friend the novelist and English professor, author of five books, four of which we smuggled into the build-a-title episode title...
122: Mr. Smith Goes to Easton
Blood-brain barriers, thermal fluids, medicine delivery, mechanical stuff, because mechanical engineering professor Josh Smith is in studio. He’d watch peopl...
121: The Bell of Oechsle Hall
Social psychology, stereotype research, gender studies, that’s what guest, native Californian, and professor in the Psych department Angela Bell studies. Dow...
120: Everything is an NPR Pitch Reel, with Ian Chillag
We conned senior producer of Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, former co-host of How To Do Everything, and current host of Everything is Alive Ian Chillag to come on ...
119: Ed Kerns from Bo Diddley to La Boheme
Renowned abstract expressionist Ed Kerns (who is also Lafayette’s Eugene H. Clapper Professor of Art) is our guest. He was a student of Grace Hartigan of the...
118: The Art of the Spiel
Music Professor Jennifer Kelly is here. She’s a singer, conductor, scholar, Director of the Arts at Lafayette (music, art, theater, writing, film and media s...
117: Farmers Only and Also People Who Aren’t Farmers
Farmer Lisa is on the show, Lisa Miskelly. She’s our College Farmer. We have a farm. It’s called LaFarm. A good amount of the episode is thus about Farmerson...
116: Old MacDonald Had An Enrollment Management Division at a Small Liberal Arts College
It’s a member of the cabinet for our season premier. VP Greg MacDonald, of Enrollment Management, takes time away from enrolling for an afternoon in studio. ...
115: That AD's Show
Athletic Director Sherryta Freeman is our guest for the Season 3 finale. Lafayette has 23 Division I sports. She’s the one who can name all of them. She’s a ...
114: WWF, Superstar
Our guest is Wendy Wilson-Fall, Chair of Africana Studies and encyclopedic knowledge-haver of so many things. Senegal, Niger, Madagascar, eight languages—she...
113: The Time is Miller
Politics, political theory, political organizing, Chicago in the ‘60s, California in the ‘70s, Acorn, get out the vote, put in a stop light, Black Panthers, ...
112: Star Student Mitchell Makes Her Way
Another year, another intern breaks our hearts by graduating. With a nickname like “star student,” it stands to reason we couldn’t expect Summa Cum Laude Env...
111: (Violent) Remains of the Day with Monica
Anthropologist Monica Salas Landa is on the show. She’s not violent, mind you, the title’s a reference to her book title, you’ll get to that part about halfw...
110: Foozy to Gun Billy Right with Coach John Garrett
The head coach of the Lafayette football team is here. It’s John Garrett, entering his second year, bringing a lifetime of football playing and coaching to b...
109: Meg’s a Poet and She’s Aware of the Situation
Poet, science studies scholar, author, English professor, world traveler Megan Fernandes is here. From Canadian origins to Philly, from Santa Barbara to Bost...
108: The Hunt for Equity and Inclusion
Our guest is Chris Hunt, the Dean of Equity and Inclusion. See how the episode title matches? We talk small college life in Pennsylvania, Lafayette changes (...
107: She is Groo
Film history! Film studies! Our guest is Katherine Groo of Film and Media Studies. Here’re some things: non-fiction film, silent film, ethnographic, Avant Ga...
106: The Archivery de Lafayette
A lot of history about the Marquis de Lafayette here, a lot, because our guest, Director for Special Collections & College Archives Diane Shaw, knows mor...
105: The Mayor is Here
Easton’s Mayor Sal Panto, Jr. is on the show. Believe it or not. The Mayor. We get a lot of local history, we hear about what it’s like mayoring, there’s som...
104: Various Breads and Butler
Syllabus: Birds, ornithology, science, biology, home brewing, animals, a new restaurant, city streets, Byrds, Idaho, Arizona, and such. It’s all with Mike Bu...
103: DIY Screenwriting Tips Not Clickbait
You know to cut the green wire, right? You know evil overlords just sit there all day, right? You know Simon can’t Quantum Leap into a 1962 stand-up set, rig...
102: Digitally Human Charlotte
Archives, libraries, digital humanities, Rhode Island, Cornell, Austin, Montreal, NAACP, Queer Oral Histories…all with all-star guest Charlotte Nunes, Lafaye...
101: Enter the JoeZone
Syllabus: coffee, chemistry, chemical engineering, atmospheric science, aerosol, The NYC. It’s Joe Woo, a good guy, a gifted teacher, and a lifelong New York...
100: The Rest of the Riddle
Syllabus: it’s mostly legal mumbo jumbo on our centenary episode, as we welcome our first-post-lost-episode guest back, our longest-serving FOTS/PG Kris Ridd...
99b: The VBB Bingo Card (Bonusode #5)
It’s a bonus episode. Simon lays out the character/personality bingo card and isn’t it grand.
99: Lindsay and the Gang Avoid the Meth Nazis
Season 3 begins: weirdness and/in college, Russian literature, history, sneezing etiquette, new interns, old Scandinavia, some music and passion…with guest L...
98: Glen Tickle is No Joke
Syllabus: Comedian Glen Tickle joins us. Graduate of Ramapo College and native of the Lehigh Valley; haver of thoughts on trying stand-up for the first time,...
97: Amy Rhymes with Orange
Syllabus: the rhyme breakthrough, Cali-Boston-DC, hockey, Japan, robot noodles, federal reserves, Keynes, 10-20-30 music, first/most movie, and Fri/Sun + May...
96: The House that Chawne Quilt
Even imaginary penises on quilts are pretty bad to the traditionalists, we learn. But our guest, mathematician and nationally renowned quilter Chawne Kimber,...
95: Wonderfully Elaborated with Justin & Mike
Summer at College means we wander off campus and so we’ve got return guests Justin Scott and Mike Smith from our sister podcast Poorly Summarized. We also ha...
94: The Interns Host the Show
The show has guest hosts. Recent graduates and esteemed interns Will “Madison Square” Gordon and Ian “Code” Morse take the mics to interview very special gue...
92: Born to Love Volcanoes
If you don’t already love lava, you will after this. If you already love lava, you’re in luck. Our guest is geologist Tamara Carley, a Volcanologist. She use...
91: This Episode is Not a Total Fabrication
Our guest studies deception, or lying, or dishonesty, or insincerity in the workplace. He’s David Shulman, Professor of Sociology at Lafayette. After telling...
90: Shakespeare’s Pretty Good and Michael Witmore Knows It
The Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Michael Witmore, is our guest. He does yeoman’s work to guide us down the Bard’s path. The highbrow character...
89: Never Not Busking with John
Is it VBB’s biggest fan? Will others contest? As is our motto, We broadcast; you decide. John Lach of U.Va. is the guest. Electrical and Computer Engineer, l...
88: The Road to Yiddish with Jessica
“Garbage people,” language, religion, music, Breaking Away, museum no-nos, the whole Seal lyric debate, etc. Our most multi-lingual guest ever, Jessica “The ...
87: Bombing the Spillway with Joel
Surfing and sustainability, there’s a lot of that in this episode. We talk to our third in a trinity of alumni guests, Joel Cesare Lafayette Class of ’04. Su...
86: The Philadelphia Sound with Liam Per Diem
DefCons 1-5 or 5-1 precede an affably ambling chat with Interim Coordinator in Lafayette’s Office of Intercultural Development (the ICLCOID, “The Icklecoid”)...
85: Russian hunchbacks are fast. Apparently.
The history of Easton, our town, through the eyes of one of Lafayette’s most experienced alum, Danny Cohen, Class of ’65 (and no relation to the co-host). Th...
84: An Evening with Renan Sequitur
Producer Emeritus, computer scientist, and Lafayette alum Renan Sequitur Dincer makes it to the interview room. Finally. He’s never been a guest, how about t...
83: E=MC Awesome with Emily Musil Church
[recorded in December] From the XPrize to Lafayette College to West Africa to Philadelphia to a life devoted to human rights, global women’s issues, African ...
82: Engineers are Stoic Fantastic
Engineering, environmentalism, green chemistry, algae burgers, biodiesel, Frisbee golf, music (Lion King, Boyz II Men, jazz), a quiz, Fridays, Sundays…all wi...
81: The Dean CanNOT Book Beyonce for Graduation
How does college work? Dean of Students Paul McLoughlin explains it, more or less. Organizing student life, meal plans, student conduct, Galaga in the studen...
80: Southern Comfort Meets Northern Inanity
Finance, money, cash, scholarships, lucre, dough, moola, large, bones, bread. We talk to Ashley Bianchi, Director of Financial Aid and native Mississippian a...
79: How to Buy a Car with the Goldbach Conjecture
We finally have a mathematician on the show, Rob Root. He and his daughter, Gina, join us to talk social justice, numbers, math, maths, equations, sharks, ob...
78: Acting!
Lots of Broadway, musicals, acting, and theater talk with the inestimable Mary Jo Lodge, professor in the Theater Department at Lafayette. This one makes us ...
77: John Hodgman Skews the Data
John Hodgman is the guest. You probably got that from the title. The Daily Show, The Areas of My Expertise, The New York Times Magazine, HBO’s Bored to Death...
76: Shooshing and Goofing with Sarah
Chapter 1: Kix, because; chapter 2: our guest is here, Reference and Instruction Librarian Sarah Morris; chapter 3: her journey, from NC to PA; chapter 4: 10...
75: Post-Darwinian Electric Boogaloo
The topics: chapter 1: Olympian quantum leap; chapter 2: modern dance and the Charleston; chapter 3: Dolly Parton; chapter 4: animal studies; chapter 5: nume...
74: The Last Days of Distro
This one has a lot of computer talk and communications talk and baseball talk, because John O’Keefe is the guest and he is Lafayette College’s Chief Informat...
73: Area Podcast Interviews This Guy @TheOnion
Senior Editor/Writer for The Onion, recent digital director for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and the author of two books is on the show. He’s Jason Roeder...
72: Sorting Plastics with Andrea
This one’s an environmental episode. We have Andrea Armstrong from Environmental Studies. We talk about water (big part of the environment) and correctly eat...
71: The Title of this Episode will be Included in Orientation
On the docket: Empty coffee cups (#emptycupawards), advising the undergraduate and the modern parent, hypnotized orientations, the amenities race, famous loc...
70b: Renan's Bucket List (Bonusode #4)
Producer Emeritus Renan finished his bucket list in ostensibly dramatic fashion, on the very last day of his college career, with the help of a past guest. L...
70: An Economist Sells Us a Dollar
We finally have an economist on the show, Jonathan Lafky of Carleton College (née Lafayette College). He’s a behavioral economist, studying on-line rating sy...
69: Computers with faces are robots
There’s a lot of pizza talk here, we won’t lie, with a stab at the Chuck E. Cheese origin story plus video games. We debut a new segment, in fact: How to pla...
68: Having Druthers with Happy Hyde
Dean of Admissions Matt Hyde is here to talk about Deaning, Admitting, and being Matt Hyde. Good guy. He’s from Massachusetts. He’s a key gateway for Bert La...
67: Hamilton is the new High Line
The guys from Poorly Summarized are here for Round 2 of The Flintstones Meet The Jetsons. We address New Yorkers self-applauding their cultural features; the...
66: Rock Hard Abs in 7 Weeks
Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, Men’s Journal, New York, The New Yorker, GQ, The New Republic, and ESPN: The Magazine. Stephen Rodrick’s written ...
65: Everglades Foreverglades
The inimitable Dean John McKnight joins us. It’s Florida, gators, educational theory, student development, various universities of Pennsylvania, gospel, Colt...
52b: Renan Hypnotizes Chickens (Bonusode #2)
It’s our second Bonusode because German documentarians are waxing poetic about limited fowl intelligence and Renan wants in so why not.
64: Campus Power Brokers
Pet names, band names, newspapers, websites, student government, students, governments. We charge on with student guesthood by talking to the (plausible) fut...
63: Russian the Mound with Josh
The topics: on-line eyeglasses; Russian history in Maine; the lobster equivalence; golf; baseball; baseball; pens; etc., with the superb Prof. Josh Sanborn. ...
62: Alix’s Very Special Episode
She writes books, she teaches fiction, she’s got screenwriting all about, she’s Canadian, she understands slap bets. She’s Prof. Alix Ohlin and your day just...
61: Recorded Under Protest
If you like edible food, this is not the episode for you. If you like hot dogs, then yes, come on in. Prof. Alan Childs joins us. He’s a psychologist. Social...
60: John Warner Describes the Ruckus
There’s a lot of McSweeney’s talk here, with their long-time web editor John Warner on the line. We talk about other stuff too, garbage disposals included, h...
59: Seating Arrangements with Joel
When you get to the end, there’s an organic recipe for kombucha free of charge. Before that, political scientist Joel Shelton sheds light on things that were...
58: Jelly Munchkins
The show gets religion. Rev. Alex Hendrickson is here for a roundtable on backing up benediction files, avoiding Prezi for sermons, preferring Sonoran Mexica...
57: Defend All Studenthood
The student brain, we try to figure it out. Or take a first crack at it, at least. With Student Jake Garber this episode works through chapters to:
56: Battlestar Sinatraca
Lafayette’s President Alison Byerly is our guest. She debriefs on it all: Crooners come under fire. Canadians also have bands. College Presidents binge shows...
55: Dutch Enclave
Cars should not hit buildings. Airlines should fly east only. High school jobs don’t pay well, or at all. Maine is uniquely mono-syllabic. Curanderismo is fa...
54: Enabling Macros with Jeff
Grocery etiquette, candy status, the bands of Detroit, seemingly never-ending Friday-Sunday chatter, this stuff about computer science…our guest Prof. Jeff P...
53b: iPhones and Danish Orange (Bonusode #3)
This is our third Bonusode. We can’t even begin to explain it except there’s cross-Atlantic remote controlling and juice content.
53: Monks, and Dogs, and Black Magic, and Such
What do you know about monasteries? Read that like a sneer, like, what do youknow about them? Our guest Prof. Rachel Goshgarian can tell you how to do resear...
52: The James Franco Review
Right off, this one has no discussion of blood flow. It’s debunked conspiracy theories instead, Ferrante and Franzen, post-apocalyptic discomfort, literary r...
51: 5-Day Forecast
We have everything: spider webs, Jenga, villas; proper addresses, King’s College, Buddhism; pottery, poetry, rugs. And a modicum of Fri/Sun deliberation. It’...
50: Waltzing in Iowa
F-shaped reading, pupil tracking, 7th grade math in Brooklyn, how many degrees one person can have, way too much about the nation’s liberal arts colleges, au...
49b: Bill Cosby and Woody Allen (a Bonusode)
This is a special bonus episode of the show—our first bonusode—in the “One Question” style. We talk to ethics professor (and future full-ep guest) Owen McLeo...
49: Alley Ep
It’s the last days of Vietnam, orthodontia, a philosophy of technology, the very laughable two factor authentication, weird mascots, another vote for Friday,...
48: Iced Espresso
It’s finally shark week on the show so we welcome Kathleen Parrish, Journalism Professor and Director of Content Strategy at Lafayette College, to help us na...
47: Mango Fridays
With thanks to our guest Prof. Jennifer Talarico and of course producer of the year Renan Dincer. We tackle the flavor of the season, laminated menus, the fr...
46: The Founders of Bowling
With thanks to our guest Annette Diorio, VP of Campus Life at Lafayette College, and of course our intrepid producer Renan Dincer. We’d also like to commend ...
45: American Cigar
With thanks to our guest Prof. Nestor Gil and, as always, producer Renan Dincer.
44: The Tetriscraper Riddle
Kris Riddle, Esq. is here for his return guest appearance and, as always, Renan Dincer is on board with his production skills.
43: All Icing No Cake
We’re solving problems. Small talk, ice cream flavors, fund drives, professors’ tests, fixing stuff in post, you name it