featuring:
“Deprogramming America: Bob Dole and the Anti-Cult Movement of the 1970s” by Audrey Coleman
Although you could argue that politics is similarly dogmatic, Bob Dole – former presidential candidate, Senate Republican Leader, war veteran, and native Kansan – isn’t typically associated with cult activity. Yet in the 1970s, the Senator found it necessary to address the “cult phenomenon” at the highest levels of government. We’ll explore his activities – and those of infamous cults of the day – using archival collections found in the Dole Archives and Spencer Research Library.
Audrey Coleman, the Senior Archivist at the Dole Institute of Politics, loves Kansas and Kansans (and other places and people too – but they have to try harder). A newly-minted mom of two, this represents one of her first attempts to think on an adult level for an extended period of time.
“No comprende! It’s a riddle: The mysterious sounds of numbers stations” by Courtney Shipley
For over 40 years shortwave radio listeners have been reporting ghostly, unclaimed radio stations.Unacknowledged by any official agency, these strangely melodious number sequences have been delivering coded messages via radio wave for anyone to hear.
Courtney is a native Lawrencian who holds a degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Kansas. She and her handsome husband have recently adopted two charming children from Russia. Although she’s seen more movies than human health should reasonably withstand, and in spite of her LEGENDARY collection of Garbage Pail Kids, this charter member of the celebrated PBR Bookclub will not consider herself a respectable nerd until she has presented at Lawrence Nerd Nite.
“The Not-So-Secret Society of the Hash House Harriers” by Chad ‘PoFo’ O’Bryhim
Hashing! It’s the underground society that mixes athleticism and sociability with hedonism and hard work. Since its humble hungover 1938 beginnings, worldwide growth and word-of-mouth gossip has made it the world’s largest running club. In that time, its use of symbols, language and song have given hashing a dynamic coded culture all its own. Come have a drink and learn why they prefer their trails shitty, their dresses red and their bush shiggy.
PoFo lacks any reputable certification to qualify himself as an expert on this topic or any other. He has, however, hashed across the continent, successfully founded new hash kennels, and generally talked his way out of bigger pickles. His enthusiasm and detailed passion for all things nerdy, secret, and debaucherous are qualifications enough.
