127 – “Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford” with Carla Kaplan

In this podcast is an interview with Dr. Carla Kaplan, author of the biography "Troublemaker: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford." The conversation centers on the extraordinary life of Jessica "Decca" Mitford, one of the famous (and famously eccentric) Mitford sisters. Jessica "Decca" Mitford was an aristocratic British rebel who became a formidable American left-wing activist and muckraking journalist. Born into the famously eccentric Mitford family—where her sisters included a Nazi sympathizer and a fascist—Decca rejected her life of privilege to join the Communist Party in the United States. As the author explains, Decca was a "biographer's gift": fiercely principled, incredibly hard-working, and gifted with a brilliant sense of humor that she used as a powerful tool for activism. Her training in the Communist Party, particularly on the West Coast, taught her to listen to marginalized communities, shaping her into a highly effective and empathetic ally in the civil rights movement. Dr. Carla Kaplan is a distinguished scholar in American literature, women’s writing, African American literature, and feminist theory. She holds the Davis Distinguished Professorship in American Literature at Northeastern University and founded the Humanities Center to encourage diversity and interdisciplinary dialogue. Her academic career includes roles at Yale University, the University of Southern California, Wellesley College, and the University of Illinois. Dr. Kaplan also teaches writing through various arts councils and writers’ centers. She earned a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University. Get the Book: https://www.harpercollins.com/product... Dr. Kaplan’s Homepage: https://carlakaplan.com/ Greg’s Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about Errata: At 55:47: "upper class Brits were supporters of fascism and communism" should have been "upper class Brits were supporters of fascism and Nazism"