Ninety years after the start of the Spanish Civil War the past is not past, it’s not even over. Nick Lloyd, who moved from Britain to Barcelona over three decades ago, explains that the left and right in Spain remain profoundly divided over the memory of the Civil War and these divisions have only deepened in recent years. Described by renowned television and travel personality Rick Steves as the “crescendo” of his visit to Barcelona, Nick has made his living over the past twenty-five years enthralling thousands, including myself, with his Spanish Civil War tours of Barcelona. In the February 3rd episode of Realms of Memory I will be sharing my conversation with Nick about his book, Forgotten Places: Barcelona and the Spanish Civil War and his experience telling the story of the Civil War past in Barcelona.

In the age of climate change and global pandemics how do we remember the victims? University of Madison, Wisconsin historian Richard C. Keller examines this question through his study of the 2003 heat wave in Paris. This was the worst natural disaster in French history claiming some 15,000 lives. In his book, Fatal Isolation: The Devastating Paris Heat Wave of 2003, Keller explains the myriad ways in which victims were forgotten and the disaster was misremembered. From the science of counting the dead to historically rooted animosity toward marginalized, elderly women, Keller unpacks the causes and consequences of the skewed memory of the 2003 heave wave.

In his study of the 2003 heat wave in Paris, historian Richard C. Keller reveals the myriad ways we forget the victims of natural disasters. We relegate marginalized and vulnerable populations to the most precarious housing then blame them for the inevitable outcome of their own life choices. We formulate categories of susceptible, at-risk populations whose subsequent deaths become unsurprising, anticipated, and less memorable. From the architecture of modern cities to the science of deciphering mass death counts, the reasons we forget the victims of natural disasters are increasingly relevant in our current age where calamity can strike any of us at any time. A conversation with Dr. Richard C. Keller about his book, Fatal Isolation: The Devastating Paris Heat Wave of 2003, next on the January 6th episode of the Realms of Memory podcast