An Intro to Anthro with Two Humans

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An Intro to Anthro with Two Humans Human Number One, John McCray, and Human Number Two, John Lehr, re-assess what it means to be human.

And for those looking for a more contemporary take on "Ne Me Quitte Pas," here is the brilliant Haitian singer Wyclef Je...
27/03/2026

And for those looking for a more contemporary take on "Ne Me Quitte Pas," here is the brilliant Haitian singer Wyclef Jean's take on Brel's classic. I love this version! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6rOmiWkQ_I

For more on Francophilia, see Episode 85: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

Image: https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2017/02/06/03006-20170206ARTFIG00134--ne-me-quitte-pas-wyclef-jean-rend-hommage-au-grand-jacques-brel.php

On this edition of "French Fridays" we feature a Belgian (and it's not Hercule Poirot)! Here is Jacques Brel singing his...
27/03/2026

On this edition of "French Fridays" we feature a Belgian (and it's not Hercule Poirot)! Here is Jacques Brel singing his classic "Ne Me Quitte Pas" ("Don't Leave Me"). Brel wrote it after his mistress, the French actress and singer Zizou, left him. According to Wikipedia, Brel said the song is "a hymn to the cowardice of men." He later said it was "the story of an as***le and a failure. It has nothing to do with any woman." Ah, l'amour! I used to constantly listen to Jacques Brel's greatest hits when I was in high school; no wonder it was so hard to get a date for prom...

To see and hear Jacques Brel sing his masterpiece, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_bq5mStroM (be sure to have some tissues handy)

For more on Francophilia, see Episode 85: Is That A Baguette in Your Pocket or Are Just a Happy Francophile? https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

For more on Jacques Brel and "Ne Me Quitte Pas": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ne_me_quitte_pas and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Gabriello

Image: https://www.amazon.com/Ne-Quitte-Pas-JACQUES-BREL/dp/B00MM5FK7O

And speaking of Maurice Chevalier...Whenever the world gets too depressing, the Marx Brothers are my "go-to." This weeke...
23/03/2026

And speaking of Maurice Chevalier...Whenever the world gets too depressing, the Marx Brothers are my "go-to." This weekend I watched "Monkey Business" again. In the movie, the Marx Brothers are stowaways on an an ocean liner bound for America. There's a great scene where the Marx Brothers steal Maurice Chevalier's passport and then each have to pretend to be Chevalier to try to get off the ship.

To see this classic scene (which seems somehow timely now with ICE at the airports and long TSA lines), go to: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7clor

For more on Francophilia, see Episode 85: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

Image: https://solzyatthemovies.com/2023/11/16/monkey-business-a-marx-brothers-retrospective/

This is Maurice Chevalier, the famous French singer and film star. Imagine being a teenage girl from Kansas City and goi...
23/03/2026

This is Maurice Chevalier, the famous French singer and film star. Imagine being a teenage girl from Kansas City and going on a date with a teenage version of this guy. That's what going on a date with Human Number One was like in high school...

For more on Francophilia, Anglophilia, and the obsession with other cultures, see Episode 85: Is That a Baguette in Your Pocket or Are You Just a Happy Francophile? https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

Image: https://en.notrecinema.com/communaute/stars/stars.php3?staridx=15589

It's French Fridays!! And this week we feature Edith Piaf's "Je ne regrette rien," I regret nothing, a perfect song for ...
20/03/2026

It's French Fridays!! And this week we feature Edith Piaf's "Je ne regrette rien," I regret nothing, a perfect song for incurable, lifelong Francophiles!

To see and hear Edith Piaf sing this classic live, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpHAsb2XQOY

For more on Francophilia and obsession with other cultures, see: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

Image: https://www.amazon.com/Regrette-Rien-gram-vinyl-gatefold/dp/B00SW8W8V6

In an article yesterday, The Guardian discussed the new social trend of "French Sundays." According to the author, Frenc...
19/03/2026

In an article yesterday, The Guardian discussed the new social trend of "French Sundays." According to the author, French Sundays are about "finding your inner Frenchness, on a Sunday." The article further states that "a relaxed, Gallic approach to the last day of le weekend could be just what we all need to feel healthier and happier." Other suggested French Sunday activities include visiting a museum, s*x, and a stroll. I'm ready to start today!

For the image and the entire article on "French Sundays" see: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/mar/18/french-sundays-should-you-dedicate-a-day-each-week-to-s*x-and-a-stroll

For more on Francophilia and the obsession with other cultures, see Episode 85: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! The day when people indulge in their love of all things IRISH!! According to writer Mark Dery,...
17/03/2026

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! The day when people indulge in their love of all things IRISH!! According to writer Mark Dery, for American Anglophiles of the Celt-centric persuasion, Celtica is just a cooler Britannia. When I was drinking, I used to start St. Patrick's Day on my knees in church, spend my day on my bum in a pub, and end my night on my knees in the bathroom. Very cool!! Now it's non-alcoholic Guinness, microwavable potatoes, and my wife's Cher doll head for company. What the hell happened to me?!! Slainte, everyone!!

For more on the obsession with other cultures, see Episode 85: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

For more on Anglophilia, see: Mark Dery, "England My England: Anglophilia Explained." Thought Catalog, Brooklyn, NY, 2013.

Years later I discovered Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding," which actually came out in 1982 before Elvis Costello...
16/03/2026

Years later I discovered Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding," which actually came out in 1982 before Elvis Costello's 1983 version. This has actually become my favorite version of the song...

To hear Robert Wyatt's version of "Shipbuilding": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Res3-YX4X8g . Keep an eye out for Elvis Costello in the background. It should also be noted that Clive Langer wrote the music and Elvis Costello wrote the lyrics...

Image: https://circlesoflife143.wordpress.com/2016/02/22/robert-wyatt-shipbuilding-1982/

I first heard Elvis Costello's song "Shipbuilding" in 1983 on his "Punch the Clock" album. I had bought the album for "E...
16/03/2026

I first heard Elvis Costello's song "Shipbuilding" in 1983 on his "Punch the Clock" album. I had bought the album for "Everyday I Write the Book," which was receiving a lot of play on MTV. However, the song that stayed with me was the haunting anti-war masterpiece "Shipbuilding." According to Wikipedia, the song was written at the beginning of Falklands War and highlights "the irony of the war bringing back prosperity to the traditional shipbuilding areas of Clydeside, Merseyside (Cammell Laird), North East England and Belfast to build new ships to replace those being sunk in the war, whilst also sending off the sons of these areas to fight and, potentially, lose their lives in those same ships."

Here's Elvis Costello singing "Shipbuilding" on Swedish TV in 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuKOngGpdzM

For more on "Shipbuilding": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipbuilding_(song)

And speaking of French translations...While I was in France, I happened to find a copy of Henri Troyat's 1942 novel "Le ...
16/03/2026

And speaking of French translations...While I was in France, I happened to find a copy of Henri Troyat's 1942 novel "Le Mort Saisit Le Vif," the dead seizes the living, at a used book store. Years later, I translated and adapted the novel into the play "George," which was later produced by Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago and directed by the brilliant and creative Shirley Anderson (who was also my wife at the time).

For more on Henri Troyat, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Troyat

For more on Lookingglass Theatre and "George" see: https://lookingglasstheatre.org/plays/george/

Image: https://chicagotheatreposterproject.com/theatres/lookingglass/

While researching the latest episode on obsession with other cultures, I found that while there were many ARTICLES on Fr...
16/03/2026

While researching the latest episode on obsession with other cultures, I found that while there were many ARTICLES on Francophilia, there were few BOOKS on it. I did, however, find the 2006 book "De la francophilie en Amerique: Ces Americains qui aiment la France" by Genevieve and Philippe Joutard which I ordered from Amazon France and translated myself for the show (to quote Ralph Malph, "I still got it!!"). In the book, the Joutards say that Francophilia hits people like a "coup de coeur" or "blow to the heart." I would agree. Francophilia not only struck my heart, it wrestled it to the ground, took its lunch money, and made it say "oncle" for the next forty years.

For more on Francophilia, Anglophilia, and obsessions with other cultures, see Episode 85: https://intro2anthro.podbean.com/e/episode-85-is-that-a-baguette-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-a-happy-francophile/

To order "De la Francophilie en Amerique" by Genevieve and Philippe Joutard, go to: https://www.amazon.fr/francophilie-Am%C3%A9rique-Am%C3%A9ricains-aiment-France/dp/2742759964

Congratulations to Steve M., our newest Intro to Anthro with Two Humans Patreon PhD (shown here in full Intro to Anthro ...
16/03/2026

Congratulations to Steve M., our newest Intro to Anthro with Two Humans Patreon PhD (shown here in full Intro to Anthro doctoral regalia). According to Dr. M, after listening to our episode on HANDS, he has started wearing socks on his hands so as not to ignorantly insult people from other cultures with inadvertent obscene hand gestures. This is the power of anthropology in action! It just shows you that you can go anywhere with education, empathy, a clean t-shirt, and a pair of Watson and Co. socks! Congratulations again, Dr. M. - we'll let you know when the capes arrive!

To find out how you can become an Intro to Anthro with Two Humans PhD, check out: https://www.patreon.com/cw/AnIntrotoAnthrowithTwoHumans/membership

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