Midd Moment: Recent Episodes
Middlebury College
A podcast of ideas with Middlebury’s leaders: independent thinkers who create community. Hosted by Laurie Patton, president of Middlebury and professor of religion.
Email: middmoment@middlebury.edu
Website: go.middlebury.edu/middmoment go/middmoment
Social Media: #MiddMoment
For some, finding your career, life, and purpose can be a lifelong task. But Rebecca Makkai knew she wanted to be a writer since she was 7 years old. But it wasn't until graduate school that her journey took her to Middlebury.
Rebecca Makkai is the Chicago-based author of the novels I Have Some Questions for You, The Great Believers, The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, as well as the short story collection Music for Wartime. The Great Believers was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and received the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize, among other honors. Makkai is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University, and she is the Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago.
She joins host & President of Middlebury Laurie Patton to discuss her teaching career, overcoming writer's block, her time at Bread Loaf, dabbling in other genres or mediums for inspiration, and her deep personal roots to Vermont.
MiddMoment is a production of Middlebury College and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
On building a character
20:57: I know a lot of writers who start with character. They start with a vibe on a certain character, and then the work early on that they have to do is figuring out how to push that character into action. What is this character going to do? What will they get up to? For me, I start almost always with plot. I start with the main things that I want to have happen. I don't have it all worked out necessarily, and then I need to work backwards from there to reverse engineer a character. I need to think about who is the character, who would be the most susceptible to these circumstances, who would be the most vulnerable to this, or the most changed by the events of the novel.
A skill that any artist should have
10:38: One of the best skills any artist can have is the ability to distinguish between being stuck for reasons of craft and being stuck for psychological reasons.
The similarity between painting and writing a short story
18:20: When you write a short story, it's like painting a picture on the head of a pin to get everything in there. And when you write a novel, it's like painting this giant mural; when you're working on it, you're too close to see the whole thing.
Show Links:
- Rebecca Makkai website (https://rebeccamakkai.com)
A fearless virus hunter. That’s how many describe today’s guest, who has been on the front lines researching emerging infectious disease for nearly three decades.
Anne Rimoin is an epidemiologist who is an internationally recognized expert on global health, disease, surveillance, and immunization.
Anne is a 1992 graduate of Middlebury College and earned a Master's in Public Health from UCLA and a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. Currently, she holds the Gordon Levin and Dow Chair in infectious diseases and public health at UCLA's Fielding School of Public Health, where she directs the Center for Global and Immigrant Health.
She sits down with host & President of Middlebury Laurie Patton, to discuss her time in the PeaceCorps, white savior complex & parachute science in the global health space, vaccine hesitancy, and finding the joy in this work despite the white hot glare of polarized debates.
MiddMoment is a production of Middlebury College and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
The core of the DRC program
19:26: The basis of my program in DRC is this deep, fundamental connection with the people there and my interest in trying to understand, well, what do you need? What do you want? What can we do to make your life better? And I think that training from being a student at Middlebury and having this just very different kind of approach as opposed to a completely science-based approach has made all of the difference in the world.
The importance of applying methods to health situations
15:14: What I tell people all the time is don't focus on what the disease is; focus on what the methods are and be able to apply them to any health situation.
Show Links:
- Anne Rimoin - UCLA
- Anne Rimoin - NIH Bibliography
- Anne Rimoin - Twitter
- Guinea Worm Eradication Program in Benin in West Africa
- World Heath Organization
- APLA Aids Project
- John Spencer
- Spencer Prize in Oratory
Hi, this is Laurie Patton, President of Middlebury, Professor of Religion, and host of this podcast, MiddMoment. Though there is still about a foot of snow on the ground here in Vermont, my thoughts are on spring and the return of this podcast, my conversations with Middlebury folks that tackle ideas of the day. I'm so excited for this season, season 3.
Among our guests will be an epidemiologist, colloquially known as a virus hunter, a critically acclaimed novelist, a filmmaker, a cultural geographer, and much more. I hope you'll join me for the upcoming season of MiddMoment.
If you're not already a subscriber, you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Talk to you soon!
"MiddMoment Podcast is a production of Middlebury College and is produced by University FM."
24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues series, "Unknown Caller" by Dan O'Brien starring Jessica St. Clair.
Life Shrinks by Dan O'Brien
Without Evidence by Dan O'Brien
Jessica’s latest space comedy, "Space Force," premiered Friday 05/29 on Netflix.
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Waterbourne by Algae Fields via Blue Dot Sessions
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Ghost Byzantine by Blue Dot Sessions
- Mom Stuck Inside by Alyssa Limperis
GO Pats!!! by Alyssa Limperis
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Undying by Banana Cream via Blue Dot Sessions
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Di Breun by Architect via Blue Dot Sessions
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Oriel by Architect via Blue Dot Sessions
Off-Campus Storytelling Project
Music credits:
- Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Gambrel by Architect via Blue Dot Sessions
Social: Twitter: @sabinepoux, @middcampus
In this special season of Midd Moment, Laurie Patton checks in with members of the Midd community to talk about how they are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this first episode, Dr. Mark Peluso, Middlebury's director of health services, shares the moment he first heard the word “COVID-19,” and when he realized the College would have to take big steps to help flatten the curve.
Music credits:
- Intro: Slimheart by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
- Outro: Bridgewalker by Bitters via Blue Dot Sessions
www.Lifeisgood.com
Music credits:
- Theme song: The Serene Quartet by Little Red Church link
- “Cross Stitch” by Chad Crouch via Sound Picture
“Tessalit” by Azalai via Blue Dot Sessions link
Special thanks to Juliette Luini for reporting.
Music credits:
Thannoid by Body Tonic via Blue Dot Sessions (Sessions.blue)
Daymaze by Orange Cat via Blue Dot Sessions (Sessions.blue)
www.alaskasudan.org/our-story
Music credits:
- Theme song: The Serene Quartet by Little Red Church link
Music credits:
- Theme song: The Serene Quartet by Little Red Church link
- Eminence Landscapes by Ian Post via link
- Thrum Room by Dr. Nonono via Mixcloud link
- Waterbourne by Algae Fields via Blue Dot Sessions link
- President Patton’s reflections on her time with Adun Samon and Mr. Punnawit for Middlebury Magazine.
-
thaicaverescue
Music credits:
- Theme song: The Serene Quartet by Little Red Church link
BiancaGiaever.com
Hell Yes! A profile of Anais Mitchell for Midd Magazine by Bianca Giaever (2019)
Two Years with Franz Bianca’s work on Franz Write (2018)
The Scared is Scared (2013)
Holy Cow, Lisa (2012) Taken from a real conversation with Bianca’s college adviser.
Music from The Scared is Scared is by Alpenglow and used with permission.
Music credits:
- Theme song: “The Serene Quartet” by Little Red Church link
- “Cross Stitch” by Chad Crouch via Sound Picture
- “Heliotrope” by Aeronaut via Blue Dot Sessions link
- “Tessalit” by Azalai via Blue Dot Sessions link
- Follow Temie Giwa-Tubosun on twitter @temite
- Life Bank Nigeria
- The Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela
Music credits:
- Theme song: “The Serene Quartet” by Little Red Church link
- “Cases to Rest” by BodyTonic via Blue Dot Sessions link
- Vela Vela by Flatlands via Blue Dot Sessions link
- Partly Sage by BodyTonic via Blue Dot Sessions link
- www.juliaalvarez.com
- How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (1991)
- In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (1994)
- Read more about the story of Scheherazade, which inspired Julia’s passion for writing here
- Visit Middlebury Special Collections
Music credits:
- Theme song: The Serene Quartet by Little Red Church link
- Waterbourne by Algea Fields via Blue Dot Sessions link
- Cross Stitch by Chad Crouch via Sound Picture
● Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out by Bill McKibben (2020)
● The End of Nature by Bill McKibben (2006)
● https://350.org
Music credits (in order of appearance)
● Theme song: “The Serene Quartet” by Little Red Church link
● “Soothe” by Body Tonic via Blue Dot Sessions link
● “Capilla” by Castle Danger via Blue Dot Sessions link
● “Tessalit” by Azalai via Blue Dot Sessions link
● “Cases to Rest” by Body Tonic via Blue Dot Sessions link
Midd Moment introduces independent thinkers who create community and inspire positive change. Hear their stories, ideas, and Middlebury connections in conversation with President Laurie Patton.