The Past and the Curious podcast, hosted by Mick Sullivan, brought its live, multimedia show to Oak Park’s Maze Library on April 5, where families enjoyed a unique blend of humor, music and historical storytelling.
Sullivan, a curator of Guest Experience at the Frazier History Museum, is also a writer, musician and audio creator based in Louisville, Kentucky, where the museum is located. He crafts monthly episodes for The Past and The Curious, a history podcast for kids and families. The podcast show has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian and School Library Journal.
Sullivan is constantly reading and researching, looking for interesting events or people and then digging deeper to uncover unique stories. Sullivan incorporates lyrics from a specific time period into his songs and storytelling, using them to enhance the narrative and create connections.
At the performance, attended by about 40 people, he showcased several songs and shared the history behind each one. He performed “Long Handle Time in Tennessee,” a call-and-response tune inspired by the comedy duo Homer and Jethro, as well as John Banvard’s “Three-Mile Painting,” a massive moving panorama of the Mississippi River. He also delivered a rendition of “How Many Biscuits Can You Eat,” a classic bluegrass song.
As a child, Sullivan frequently visited his aunt Elise Wachspress in Oak Park during the summers. He recalls crossing the street to visit the local library, where Wachspress worked and spending time there both when she was working and when she wasn’t. These visits left a lasting impression on him, eventually influencing his decision to create his show at the Oak Park Public Library’s Maze Branch.
“When I was looking for a place in Chicago, I thought, ‘I feel comfortable at Oak Park’s Maze Library. I know that place.’ Plus, I had heard that there were a lot of families in that neighborhood, which made sense for a kid’s show,” Sullivan said.
When asked how the Maze Branch influenced his approach to storytelling in his work on The Past and the Curious, he said that libraries have had a big influence on him.
“I have friends in the libraries in Louisville and I do events there all the time and I use the resources. We have access to JSTOR and other historic databases, like Newspapers.com, which I use constantly. I’ll log on through my library portal, which is awesome for accessing all that. I also enjoy being in a library and use it as a writing space as well,” Sullivan said.
At the end of the performance, one audience member asked Sullivan about the origins of his love and dedication to unique histories. Sullivan said that it started while he was in charge of a camp program at the Frazier History Museum, where he enjoyed working with children.
He explained that he initially struggled to find a way to incorporate music into his storytelling, but eventually used his audio skills to create content, leading to the evolution of his show.
Sullivan emphasized the importance of meeting people where they are. He explained that for families in the car looking for an engaging way to learn, a podcast can be a great option. However, he noted that podcasts aren’t everything; they should be seen as a supplement to other learning methods.
“A lot of people connect with things auditorily, with their ears. So, I don’t think podcasting is going anywhere; it’s not going to change. Any parent would agree that as many ways as you can expose kids to cool and important things, you want to do it. If I can be a part of that, I’d love to,” Sullivan said.