What’s The History Of Pockets? with Dr. Hannah Carlson

Explicit content warning

09/06/23 • 60 min

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You know the feeling when you try on a dress and realize—it has pockets? Those pockets were more than 500 years in the making! Dr. Hannah Carlson joins us this week to discuss why pockets are still not a staple for womenswear, and how people throughout history—from Queen Elizabeth I to suffragettes to a first grader in Arkansas—have taken up pockets as a political cause.

Hannah Carlson teaches dress history and material culture at the Rhode Island School of Design. After training as a conservator of costume and textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she received a PhD in material culture from Boston University. She has contributed articles to Commonplace: the journal of early American life; Dress: the Journal of the Costume Society of America; and MacGuffin: The Life of Things.

She's also the author of the new book Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close.

Still curious? Check out these resources from the episode:

Abraham Lincoln’s pockets

Jan Diehm and Amber Thomas on women’s pockets

First assassination of a head of state by handgun

Pocket tool kits of the eighteenth century

The Macaroni Boys

Reticules

Women’s Army Corps uniforms

One Year’s Dungaree Debris

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our producer is Chris McClure. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo and Anne Currie.

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

She's also the author of the new book Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close.

Still curious? Check out these resources from the episode:

Abraham Lincoln’s pockets

Jan Diehm and Amber Thomas on women’s pockets

First assassination of a head of state by handgun

Pocket tool kits of the eighteenth century

The Macaroni Boys

Reticules

Women’s Army Corps uniforms

One Year’s Dungaree Debris

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

What’s Happening With The Supreme Court? with Strict Scrutiny

What’s better than one constitutional law expert? THREE! This spring we had the honor of speaking with Professor Melissa Murray about the Supreme Court's recent term. Now she’s back, with her brilliant Strict Scrutiny co-hosts, Professors Leah Litman and Kate Shaw. They join Jonathan to discuss WTF is going on with the Supreme Court these days—from Clarence Thomas’ luxury vacations to what the nation's highest court has in store for us this fall. Plus, an epic round of judicial-themed F*ck, Marry, Kill...

You can follow Strict Scrutiny on Twitter @StrictScrutiny_ and on Instagram @strictscrutinypodcast. For more information, check out crooked.com.

Melissa is on Twitter and Instagram @profmmurray. Leah is on Twitter @LeahLitman and Instagram @profleahlitman. Kate is on Twitter @Kateashaw1 and Instagram @kateashaw.

Melissa Murray is a Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, where she teaches constitutional law, family law, criminal law, and reproductive rights and justice and writes about the legal regulation of intimate life. Melissa clerked for Judge Stefan Underhill on the District of Connecticut and for Justice Sotomayor when she served on the Second Circuit. When she’s not reading the SCOTUS tea leaves, she’s practicing the violin, reading People magazine, and keeping up with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

Leah Litman is an assistant professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School. She clerked for Judge Sutton on the Sixth Circuit and Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Leah researches and writes about constitutional law and federal courts. She also maintains an active pro bono practice (and she loves reality television).

Kate Shaw is a Professor of Law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in NYC. She teaches Constitutional Law, Legislation, Administrative Law, and a seminar on the Supreme Court, and writes about executive power, the law of democracy, and reproductive rights and justice. Before becoming a law professor she worked in the Obama White House Counsel’s Office, and before that was a clerk to Justice Stevens and Judge Posner.

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Find books from Getting Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next Episode

How Can We Support Intersex Rights? with Alicia Roth Weigel

It’s a new week—and we’re debuting a new series! Welcome to Curious Now, where every other Monday, we’ll be covering topical issues like elections, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, and beyond. For our premiere episode, we’re honored to be back in conversation with Alicia Roth Weigel, a beloved Getting Curious guest who is advocating for intersex rights. We discuss how recent anti-trans legislation also affects intersex people, and what it looks like to protect the “I” in LGBTQIA+.

We get into our conversation with Alicia 10 minutes into the episode, so skip to then if you simply can’t wait to hear from her! For more information on the news stories we covered this week, head to @curiouswithjvn on Instagram.

Alicia Roth Weigel is a writer and activist working to improve the political and social landscape for marginalized populations in the South and worldwide through her firm, Intrepida Strategy. As a partner for the Pride Fund, Alicia is raising and deploying capital to grow LGBTQIA+-led companies in Texas and beyond. A Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Austin, she continually advocates for the rights of intersex people like her.

You can follow Alicia on Instagram @xoxy_alicia.

Make sure to order her new book Inverse Cowgirl: A Memoir, watch the documentary Every Body, and read fellow intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis' book Nobody Needs To Know. And check out Alicia's first episode of Getting Curious.

Tune in next Monday for the premiere episode of our other new series Pretty Curious, all about beauty! And don’t worry—Getting Curious isn’t going anywhere. We’ll still be releasing new episodes every Wednesday!

Transcripts for each episode are available at JonathanVanNess.com.

Find books from Getting Curious, Curious Now, and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn.

Our executive producer is Erica Getto. Our producer is Chris McClure. Our associate producer is Allison Weiss. Our engineer is Nathanael McClure. Our theme music is also composed by Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall.

Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices