Documenting Our Personal Heritage


Hi Reader!

When I was pregnant this year, podcasts were my go-to content format as I drove to and waited at a doctor's appointment.

After giving birth, I got an email about Jaime Roque's podcast, ReCurrent - a podcast about what we gain by keeping the past, present.

I truly enjoyed the first season, and I was thrilled to have Jaime on my podcast, Curiosity Meets The Past, in the midst of ReCurrent's second season. His episode came out today!

There are so many resonant gems in his episode, but one part that stood out was our chat on documenting our lives BUT not posting publicly.

I thought this was a refreshing and personally resonant perspective. I rarely post about my kids, but they are the majority of my photos and videos on my phone.

It's been fun to look back at photos from when my oldest was my youngest's age. It was around the time "Live Photos" were rolled out on iPhones. I'm so grateful for those little sound and video bites that are now part of my family's personal heritage.

Fresh from the Field 🗺️

A quick round-up of my latest videos, podcasts, and features


Here is the most recent podcast episode:

🎙️ Episode 16: The Sound of Living Heritage
Podcast producer and host of ReCurrent, Jaime, brings us inside his storytelling process that connects sound and living heritage. Through examples from the field and from his own life, we explore how documenting the present, listening closely, and meeting people where they are allows us to keep the past present in meaningful and unexpected ways.

YouTube | Spotify | Apple | More Options

Check out the latest episodes of Artifact of the Day below:

🏺 How This Ancient Greek Artifact Reframes Color and Identity

video preview


🏺 The Armenian Artifact That Preserves 4 Millennia of Astronomical Knowledge

video preview

Small Finds 👝

Sharing things that sparked my curiosity recently

🎙️ ReCurrent by Jaime Roque & The Getty
This is Jaime's podcast, and if you like Curiosity Meets the Past, then I think you might like ReCurrent. If you're not sure which episode to try, Jaime offers his recommendations in our Patreon bonus segment.

🎵 This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
As I was editing Jaime's episode, I kept thinking about this book by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas that I read years ago.


Dig Back In ⛏️

Revisiting something curious from the archive

If you're curious to learn more about voices and how they can carry personal histories, check out this video.


Thank you so much for reading!

Until next time,
Smiti

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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Field Notes by Smiti Nathan

Hi! I'm Smiti and I'm an archaeologist. This newsletter is for anyone who’s curious about the past and how it still shows up in our lives today, perhaps even in unexpected ways. It's also a way for us to stay in touch every other week or so :)

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