HeyJaredBrattlecast: A Firsthand Look at Secondhand Books
At one of America's oldest bookshops, there are just as many stories to be told outside the pages as in them.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 6
- Latest publication
- Sep 15, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest episodes
Brattlecast #243 - The Condom Affair (opens the original)
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This week, we’re unwrapping (not literally) a little piece of local journalistic history: one of 150,000 condoms distributed by The Boston Phoenix. In 1987, the alternative weekly published an issue that included a condom—donated by Trojan—and a guide to safer sex with every newspaper. They intended to raise awareness of the burgeoning AIDS crisis, and to court some controversy at a time when contraception itself was still up for debate in heavily Catholic Boston. As usual on this podcast, the s
Brattlecast #242 - Highs and Lows (opens the original)
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When you visit a different stranger’s home almost every day of your working life, you end up having a lot of interesting experiences—some incredibly elevated, and others rather harrowing. On today’s episode, we’re going over some of those highs and lows from Ken’s decades in book buying, from palatial estates filled with priceless antiques to hoarding situations infested with fleas. We never know what we’re going to find when we set out in the morning, which is what makes this job such an advent
Brattlecast #241 - A Typical Week (opens the original)
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Ken’s a busy guy—we’re lucky he can even make time for this podcast. In today’s episode, he’ll break down one of his typically action-packed weeks, from early morning chores and laborious book buys to photo shoots at the shop and high-end appraisals. We say at the Brattle that Ken only works half-days: from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. Make some room in your schedule to learn more about the demands and rewards of bookshop proprietorship on this occupying new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #240 - Ebony Magazine (opens the original)
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Today we’re flipping through some fresh arrivals to the shop: issues of Ebony magazine from the 1970s. In print from 1945 to 2019 (and still published online), Ebony documented mid-century Black life in the United States with the same upbeat and aspirational tone that mainstream magazines once reserved for white America. From glossy fashion spreads and celebrity profiles to coverage of politics, civil rights, and everyday life, Ebony built a vivid visual record of a rapidly changing country. Tod
Brattlecast #239 - Communication Changes (opens the original)
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The Brattle has been in Ken’s family since 1949—before GPS, electronic mail, or even the podcast. In today’s episode, we discuss how modern tools have changed our daily routines at the shop, from appraising collections and setting up appointments to navigating the roads of New England. One piece of communication technology that hasn’t changed? The books themselves. They still deliver information and delight readers just as well as they did fifty, one hundred, or two hundred years ago. Join us fo
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