Episode Transcript
Transcripts are displayed as originally observed. Some content, including advertisements may have changed.
Use Ctrl + F to search
0:00
Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. Recently, I asked
0:02
Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless
0:04
companies are allowed to raise prices due
0:06
to inflation. They said yes. And then
0:08
when I asked if raising prices technically
0:10
violates those onerous to your contracts, they
0:12
said, what the fuck are you talking
0:14
about? You insane Hollywood ass. So to
0:16
recap, we're cutting the price of Mint
0:18
unlimited from $30 a month to just
0:20
$15 a month. Give it a try
0:22
at MintMobile.com/switch. $45 up front payment equivalent
0:24
to $15 per month. New customers on first
0:26
three month plan only. Taxes and fees extra.
0:28
Speed slower above 40 gigabyte details. Hi, this
0:30
is Freddie Wong from Dungeons and Daddies
0:33
and this episode is sponsored by Rocket
0:35
Money Blast Off. That's right, Rocket Money
0:37
is a personal finance app that empowers
0:40
you to save more, spend less, and
0:42
take control of your financial life. Basically,
0:44
you can see all of your checking,
0:46
savings, credit, and investments in one convenient
0:49
place. You can understand your spending trends,
0:51
and most importantly, you can categorize those
0:53
expenses and set up a custom budget
0:55
by identifying top spending categories. Listen, you
0:58
want track, bank statements. It's very difficult.
1:00
Rockett Money to help keep track
1:02
of all your finances. Rockett Money
1:04
is over 5 million happy members
1:07
and it's saved its users over
1:09
$1 billion across all of the
1:11
app's premium features. Let Rockett Money
1:13
help you reach your financial goals
1:16
faster. Get Rockett Money Today at
1:18
Rockettmoney.com slash All In One. Hey Clever
1:20
Listeners, it's Amy. I have a
1:22
quick announcement. We'd love for you to
1:25
complete our listener survey. It's brief and
1:27
easy and it'll really help us out.
1:29
Just go to clever podcast.com/survey. Clever
1:31
is an independent podcast, entirely supported
1:34
by sponsorships, advertising, and donations. And
1:36
I know ads can be annoying,
1:38
but if you fill out the
1:40
survey, it will help us work
1:43
with advertisers that actually may have
1:45
something you find valuable. And that
1:47
makes it a win for you,
1:49
a win for clever, and a
1:52
win for the sponsor. And to
1:54
entice you to complete the survey,
1:56
we're offering a $50 visa gift
1:58
card to one lucky listener. Again,
2:00
that's Clever Podcast.com/survey. Thank you
2:02
in advance for filling out
2:05
the survey, and as always,
2:07
thank you for listening. Good
2:10
evening. What you are about
2:12
to witness is an unrefers,
2:14
uncensored interview. My name is
2:17
Mike Wallace. The cigarette is
2:19
Philip Morris. Tonight, we go
2:22
after the story of one
2:24
of the most extraordinary men
2:26
of our time. You see
2:29
him behind me. He's 88-year-old
2:31
Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps the
2:34
greatest architect of the 20th
2:36
century, and in the opinion
2:39
of some of America's formal
2:41
social rebels. I feel large.
2:43
I feel at large and
2:46
encouraged. Intensify more powerful. Because
2:48
why? Because in one instance,
2:51
you're inspired by nature. And
2:53
the other instance, you're inspired
2:55
by an artificiality contrary to
2:58
nature. Am I clear? You
3:00
are clear, although I must
3:03
say that I don't agree,
3:05
because whatever inspires press every
3:07
action of the sort, we
3:10
give ourselves the way. Somebody
3:12
said the museum out here,
3:15
because they have no look
3:17
like a washing machine. This
3:19
one is your building. That's
3:22
one of my buildings. Well,
3:24
I've heard a lot of
3:27
that type of reaction, and
3:29
I've always discounted it, as
3:32
worthless, and I think it
3:34
is. I understand that last
3:36
week in all seriousness you
3:39
said if I had another
3:41
15 years to work I
3:44
could rebuild this entire country
3:46
I could change the nation.
3:48
I did say that and
3:51
it's true. was busy in
3:53
Chicago developing the design of
3:56
the ill-fated midway gardens, concert
3:58
venue, and summer garden. Some
4:00
200 miles northwest in Spring
4:03
Green, Wisconsin. Martha Borthwick, a
4:05
translator, librarian, and Wright's longtime
4:08
mistress, was just sitting down
4:10
to lunch with her two
4:13
children on the porch of
4:15
the couple's country retreat
4:18
that Wright had
4:20
dubbed Taliescen. Though
4:22
almost everyone else called
4:24
it the love cottage, or
4:26
Wright's love castle. Wright had
4:29
met Borthwick, who everyone called
4:31
Mamah, a decade earlier when
4:33
she and her then husband
4:35
Edwin Cheney, had hired Wright,
4:37
who also happened to be
4:39
their neighbor, to design a
4:41
new home for them. Wright
4:44
was immediately taken with Cheney's
4:46
wife and set about wooing
4:48
her. The couple developed what
4:50
was referred to by outside
4:52
observers as an open closeness,
4:54
and what insiders called a
4:56
deep... and deeply scandalous love.
4:59
Wright was married with six
5:01
children at that time. Bothwick
5:03
had two. Wright, 47 years
5:05
old and already considered one
5:08
of America's greatest architects, was
5:10
a sought-after media darling. He
5:13
could always be counted on
5:15
for a controversial quote that
5:18
would sell papers. He had
5:20
almost single-handedly created American modernism.
5:22
and was perhaps the single
5:25
biggest critic of American
5:27
moralism. Wright famously decreed
5:29
that there was one set of
5:31
societal rules for the ordinary person,
5:34
and another set of rules, which
5:36
in Wright's parlance really meant no
5:39
rules, for intellectual heavy weights, or
5:41
as he liked to say, geniuses.
5:43
And in his mind, and many
5:46
others, he very squarely sat in
5:48
the rarefied corner of the latter.
5:51
Wright's notoriety obviously did not
5:53
help the couple's attempts at
5:55
a hush-hush affair. They first fled
5:57
to Europe in 1909 to escape the...
6:00
glaring lights, prying eyes, and
6:02
general scorn being heaped upon
6:04
them from all sides. On
6:06
this trip, Mamon or husband
6:08
officially divorced, but Wright's wife
6:10
Catherine refused, leaving Wright's critics
6:12
seething. Despite the six children
6:15
he and Catherine shared and
6:17
Catherine's refusal to grant a
6:19
divorce, Wright effectively checked out
6:21
of his family's life. Upon
6:23
Wright and Mamon's return to
6:25
the States, Wright purchased property
6:27
in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and
6:29
set about building a fantastic
6:31
mansion which he would call
6:33
Taliesin, or Shining Brow in
6:35
Welsh, where Mamon and her
6:37
children could escape the ridicule
6:39
of the press and neighbors,
6:41
and she and Wright could
6:43
enjoy their torrid and now
6:45
very public affair. The
6:48
peace and tranquility would
6:50
not last long. One grisly
6:52
summer afternoon, two years
6:54
after moving to Spring Green,
6:56
Wright and Mamon's world
6:58
would very literally go up
7:00
in flames. I'm
7:07
Amy Devers, and this is
7:10
Clever Confidential, where we dig
7:12
into the lesser -told stories
7:14
of the darker side of
7:16
design, the shadowy, sometimes sordid
7:18
tales hiding under a glossy
7:20
top coat of respectable legacy.
7:23
This is Episode 3, Frank
7:25
Lloyd Wright and the Murders
7:27
at Taliesin. As
7:31
always, here to help me tell
7:33
this truly shocking tale is writer
7:35
and editor Andrew Wagner. Mamon
7:39
and her two children, John
7:42
12 and Martha 8, were sitting
7:44
down to lunch at Taliesin
7:46
East in Spring Green on that
7:48
summer afternoon. Taliesin
7:50
was a hive of
7:53
activity, as it generally was,
7:55
with many of Wright's
7:57
gardeners, draftsmen, carpenters and colleagues
7:59
running about, working on far-flung
8:01
projects as well as Talieson itself. As was
8:04
common at the time, Talieson
8:06
also employed a number of
8:08
servants, including a recent
8:10
hire from Barbados, Julian
8:12
Carlton. As Mamon and her children
8:14
sat down to lunch on the front
8:17
porch, 25 feet away the workers
8:19
ate their soup at another table, when
8:21
suddenly a 19-year-old draftsman,
8:24
Herbert Fritz, noticed something
8:26
unusual. We heard a switch
8:28
as though water was thrown through
8:30
the screen door, Fritz would later
8:33
recall. Then we saw some fluid
8:35
coming under the door. It looked
8:37
like dishwater. It spread out all
8:39
over the floor. Carlton had
8:41
just served lunch to Mamah
8:43
and her children. When he turned
8:45
to his wife Gertrude, also a
8:48
servant of rights, and instructed her
8:50
to leave. He then returned to
8:52
the porch with a hatchet and
8:55
brutally attacked Mamah and the kids.
8:57
When he finished his unbelievable
8:59
act of cruelty on the
9:01
porch, he quickly doused the
9:04
floors with gasoline. The dishwater-like
9:06
liquid Fritz had noticed, while
9:08
slamming the door, locking it,
9:10
and sending the whole house
9:13
into flames. In the frenzy that
9:15
followed, Drasman Emil Brodale, Handyman
9:17
Thomas Bunker, and Ernest Weston,
9:19
the son of rights carpenter
9:21
and master craftsman, William Weston.
9:23
would meet the same grisly
9:25
fate as may monitor children.
9:27
While it is safe to
9:29
assume there could be no
9:32
fate worse than being engulfed
9:34
by flames, the five unlucky
9:36
souls that frantically fled for
9:38
their lives that afternoon would
9:40
meet an end just as
9:42
fatal. Waiting on the porch,
9:44
acts in hand, Carlton made
9:46
quick work of each individual
9:49
as they unwittingly jumped from
9:51
one horrible end to another. Carlton
9:53
swung his axe. in frenetic
9:55
fashion, as his former colleagues
9:57
broke through the barricaded door.
10:00
jumped from a nearby window into
10:02
the courtyard. Fritz,
10:04
the 19 -year -old draftsman, had managed
10:06
to escape the burning house
10:08
and by rolling down a nearby
10:10
hill put out the flames
10:12
that had consumed his hair and
10:14
clothes only to look back
10:16
and witness Carlton's continued attacks. Ernest
10:20
Weston, the master craftsman who
10:22
had built Taliessen and gardener
10:24
David Lindblum would also manage
10:26
to escape and run more
10:28
than a half a mile
10:30
to the nearest house with
10:32
a telephone, quickly alerting authorities
10:34
to the atrocity. As residents
10:37
and police ran to the
10:39
scene they found the bodies
10:41
of Mehma, Martha, her daughter,
10:43
John her son, Ernest Weston,
10:45
Thomas Bunker, and Emil Brodell.
10:47
Lindblum, the gardener who had
10:49
escaped, would later die due
10:51
to complications from burns. In
10:54
the span of 20 minutes
10:56
seven people had died tragically at
10:58
the hands of one man,
11:00
but why? Carlton
11:02
was found in the basement
11:04
hours later, barely conscious after having
11:06
swallowed myriotic acid. He would
11:08
die seven weeks later from starvation,
11:11
having never provided a motive
11:13
for the horror he inflicted that
11:15
day. His wife
11:17
would later say that he seemed to
11:19
be suffering from a mental break
11:21
in the weeks leading up to the
11:23
attacks, while some of his colleagues
11:25
at Taliessen would claim that he had
11:27
been the recipient of racial slurs
11:29
in the preceding days, possibly inciting an
11:31
incendiary rage. Still
11:34
others have claimed that Mehma
11:36
had told Carlton and his wife
11:38
that they were to be
11:40
fired, perhaps even that afternoon. Though
11:43
the brutal crime was an open
11:45
and shut case, the motive remains a
11:48
mystery to this day. I
12:00
think it is. I think any
12:02
man who really has paid himself
12:05
will be dubbed Aragon by his
12:07
fellows. I think that's what happened
12:09
to me. Support for Clever
12:12
comes from Portbun.com. Named
12:14
the number one domain registrar
12:17
by USA Today for 2023
12:19
and 2024. Portbun helps you
12:21
establish your trusted online presence
12:24
with a dot-pro domain. The
12:26
dot-pro, that's dot-p-r-O. Domain extension
12:28
is perfect for any online
12:31
professional from freelancers to small
12:33
business owners and beyond. What
12:35
a perfect way to show
12:38
off your skills, connect with
12:40
potential clients, and provide instant
12:42
credibility to your online portfolio.
12:45
The experience gets even better
12:47
when you choose Porkbun.com because
12:49
every domain comes with free
12:51
features. like who is privacy,
12:53
SSL certificates, web and email
12:55
hosting trials, and more. After
12:57
all, why pay for things
12:59
that should be free? The
13:01
simple user interface makes it
13:04
easy to manage everything about
13:06
your domain from one place.
13:08
Plus, it all comes back
13:10
by personalized five-star support 365
13:12
days a year. Get ready
13:14
to level up
13:16
your professional online
13:18
presence for a
13:20
limited time. Go
13:22
to Porkbun.com/Clever Bun
13:25
and use the
13:27
promo code Digital
13:29
Pro to get
13:31
a DotPro domain
13:33
for only $1
13:35
for the first
13:37
year. Again, that's
13:40
Porkbun.com
13:42
slash Clever Bun with promo
13:44
code Digital Pro. a way for us
13:46
all to try and do a little
13:48
bit better than we did last year.
13:51
And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is
13:53
to not be a raging and raise
13:55
the price of wireless on you every
13:57
chance I get. Give it a try.
14:00
Try at mintmobile
14:02
.com/switch. $45 up from payment
14:04
required equivalent to $15 per month,
14:06
new customers on first three month
14:08
plan only, taxes and fees extra,
14:10
speed slower above 40 gigabytes on
14:12
Unlimited. See mintmobile .com for details. Work
14:14
takes up most of your time.
14:16
That's why you should use Stamps
14:18
.com to save time with your
14:20
mailing and shipping and have flexibility
14:22
to focus on more important things.
14:24
Stamps .com can handle all your mailing
14:26
and shipping needs with rates up
14:28
to 88 % off USPS and
14:30
UPS. Add flexibility to your day
14:32
with Stamps .com. Go to
14:34
Stamps .com/program to sign up
14:36
for a special offer.
14:39
No contract, cancel anytime.
14:41
That's Stamps .com/program. This
14:46
story is the one that got Clever Confidential
14:48
started. We were curious as to why more
14:50
people didn't know about it. While everyone
14:52
knows Frank Lloyd Wright, how could
14:54
it be that this gruesome chapter
14:56
remains underreported? Was it Wright's
14:58
own seeming unwillingness to confront the
15:00
demons of this tragedy? Did
15:03
he court disaster with his flagrant
15:06
flaunting of moral norms? Wright
15:09
is famously quoted as saying, laws
15:11
and rules are made for the average.
15:13
The ordinary man cannot live without rules
15:15
to guide his conduct. It is
15:18
infinitely more difficult to live without
15:20
rules. But that is
15:22
what the really honest, sincere
15:24
thinking man is compelled to
15:26
do. We wanted to
15:28
know how this and other
15:30
tragedies surrounding America's greatest architect affected
15:32
the man and even the
15:34
architecture itself. We wanted to
15:36
know how Wright's beloved home state of
15:38
Wisconsin shaped him in this event and
15:40
subsequently how this event has
15:42
shaped Wisconsin. How is
15:44
it perceived in Wisconsin versus the rest of
15:46
the world? Did the rest
15:48
of the world turn a blind
15:50
eye to the architect's seemingly sociopathic
15:52
tendencies because they were so enamored
15:54
of the architectural genius to
15:58
help us gain some cultural context? We
16:00
asked Chicago -based architect Brad
16:02
Lynch, himself a Wisconsinite like
16:04
Wright, to help us paint
16:06
a picture of the place,
16:08
the profession, and the sometimes
16:10
twisted, sometimes tragic nature of
16:12
creative professions. My name is
16:14
Brad Lynch. I'm in Chicago,
16:16
Illinois. And I'm the founding
16:18
principal of the architecture and
16:20
design firm Brennan Stolen Lynch.
16:22
I was born in Racine,
16:25
Wisconsin. The youngest of five
16:27
children. I was the only
16:29
one born in the United
16:31
States. My dad's from Ottawa,
16:33
Ontario. And my mom's from
16:35
New York. And they moved
16:37
to Racine, Wisconsin just before
16:39
I was born. And I
16:41
grew up there until I
16:43
went away to school. I
16:45
lived just a couple of
16:47
doors down from a Frank
16:49
Lloyd Wright house. I think
16:51
that, you know, the aesthetic
16:53
that he developed, which I
16:55
think was his own, you
16:58
know, it's certainly like all things
17:00
are his influence. You can't say that
17:02
he started from scratch and just
17:04
came up with these ideas. But he
17:06
did make them his own. He
17:08
made them his own in terms of
17:11
design and capability and talent. But,
17:13
you know, he always had to have
17:15
a story behind it in order
17:17
to sell it. First of all, you
17:19
know, you got to remember the
17:21
general public only knows two names of
17:23
architects in America. Right. One is
17:25
Thomas. Right is one
17:27
of them. And the other one is Thomas Jefferson. And the
17:29
only reason they know his name is because he was president.
17:33
And the other thing is that architects,
17:35
you can't get away from a
17:37
major influence like Frank Lloyd Wright. You
17:40
know, you can say Wright had
17:42
nothing to do with your work,
17:44
but I would challenge any way
17:47
that's doing contemporary modern work that
17:49
doesn't have some love of Wright's
17:51
work. I would
17:53
say that for me, I
17:56
spent a lot of
17:58
time not wanting to
18:00
have influence from Frank Lloyd Light,
18:02
but I can't do anything about
18:04
it. But even the days
18:07
of Taliesson, in terms of
18:09
people coming there to work
18:11
as apprentices, they were coming
18:13
from all over the world. He
18:15
had a, even back in the 20s, he
18:17
had a worldwide reputation. And
18:20
as an important figure
18:22
in architecture, he was
18:24
just all around. You can't get
18:26
away from him. And And then
18:29
as I grew older than I
18:31
heard stories and so forth about,
18:33
you know, some of the things that
18:35
he had done. Wisconsin
18:37
has a very interesting and unique
18:40
history, more so than a
18:42
lot of other states. And
18:44
it was a very progressive
18:47
state. It was the first state
18:49
that had a university system
18:51
where the Wisconsin idea were
18:53
within you could go to
18:56
any. college or university within
18:58
70 miles of you. So it
19:00
was, and it was the 33rd
19:02
largest state, and it
19:04
had the third largest university
19:07
system. It was the birthplace
19:09
of public radio and public
19:11
television, and it was just a,
19:14
it was a very progressive liberal
19:16
state. It was the birthplace
19:18
of the Republican Party, and
19:20
there was the progressive wing
19:22
of the. Republican Party, which
19:24
was kind of run by
19:26
this family called the Volfolits,
19:28
and they promote this
19:30
Wisconsin idea, Wisconsin idea in
19:32
terms of education, in terms
19:35
of resources, and in terms
19:37
of the ability to get
19:39
services from the state. And
19:41
Wisconsin had, like I said, one
19:43
of the first welfare systems, which
19:45
was actually developed by Republicans. and
19:48
they were the Republicans were the
19:50
conservationists so they kind of tells
19:52
you how things have flipped around
19:54
and most of these ideas
19:57
came from German and
19:59
Scandinavian transcendentalists. settled in the
20:01
area. And Milwaukee was, had
20:03
a socialist mayor until I
20:06
believe the 60s, from like
20:08
the 20s to the 60s, something
20:10
like that. And so it was,
20:13
it was a state that was
20:15
very interested in, I
20:17
think, hard work and beautiful
20:19
state in terms of landscape
20:21
and property and, you know,
20:23
and I think, I think,
20:26
right load it. I think
20:28
he loved it. the fact
20:30
that his forebearers
20:32
and uncles were farmers and yet
20:34
they still, you know, read at
20:37
night and would wear a bow
20:39
tie when they went out on a horse
20:41
with a plow and, you know, there
20:43
was all these cultural aspects
20:45
that were, they were kind
20:48
of unique to Wisconsin. I
20:50
didn't know about the fires at
20:52
Elias and then the murders
20:54
until I was probably in
20:57
my 20s. So, you know,
20:59
that. that particular story I
21:01
wasn't really aware of until
21:04
I was older and
21:06
doing more studying
21:08
but the the the during
21:10
my lifetime there was a
21:13
lot of people that met
21:15
right that were still alive
21:17
and they all had something
21:20
to complain about it was
21:22
you know the roof leaked
21:24
you know he was Charlton,
21:27
he, you know, would drive
21:29
into a gas station and
21:31
fill up his gas and
21:34
then drive off and say,
21:36
I'm frankly right. And, you
21:38
know, there was just
21:40
countless stories. When Mrs.
21:42
Wright died in Arizona, in
21:44
her will, I don't know
21:47
how this happened, but she,
21:49
in her will, had Wright's
21:52
body dug up at the
21:54
cemetery and spring green. in
21:56
the middle of the night,
21:59
creamy. and then sent down to
22:01
be set next to her in Arizona.
22:03
And that was kind of a big
22:05
story. And my brother-in-law, who used to
22:08
be the DA up in Madison, he
22:10
was driving me out there to this
22:12
farmhouse. And he was just like so
22:14
mad about, you know, the beginning of
22:16
the night. And he said, boy, if
22:18
I still was in a prosecutor, I
22:21
would have gone after that and never
22:23
would let that happen, blah, blah. And
22:25
I go, well, well, and I go, well, well,
22:27
well, I go. And he goes, yeah,
22:29
but he was our asshole.
22:32
I just don't know anybody
22:34
that I've ever met in
22:36
regards to a client, a
22:38
client that wasn't in a
22:40
fight with him. But even
22:42
Kauffman's, you know, that he
22:45
had so much trouble with
22:47
falling water and so forth,
22:49
you know, even saying a
22:51
bad word about him. So,
22:53
you know, they called him Mr.
22:56
Right. believed in his work and
22:58
they believed in what they accomplished for
23:00
him even though some of it
23:02
was you know didn't work correctly
23:05
functionally and it didn't keep
23:07
out the rain necessarily in
23:09
some instances but they still
23:11
like them same with the apprentices
23:13
so I don't know how you
23:16
balance that you probably heard this
23:18
story but this is the one
23:20
that I know her hearing from
23:22
the daughter is that Herbert Johnson
23:24
nickname was Hib. And so there's
23:26
like an opening above the table
23:29
that he had designed this dining
23:31
table. It's ridiculous. It's still there
23:33
if you were going to wing
23:35
spread, but the table slides into
23:38
the kitchen. And it's a very
23:40
long, long table. The slides into
23:42
the kitchen, they load the food
23:44
on the table and then then
23:47
slides it and slides back out.
23:49
And so there's like an opening
23:51
above the table that you pull
23:53
back these shutters. And you come
23:56
back and the tail comes out
23:58
and it was poor. pouring rain,
24:00
first big dinner and that he's
24:02
having in the house with supposedly,
24:04
you know, a lot of important
24:07
people there. And he's sitting at
24:09
the end of the table. He's
24:11
bald. And the next thing you
24:13
know, there's water dripping right on
24:15
his bald hat. And
24:19
this is actually a true
24:21
story. So he calls, the
24:23
phone's behind him, he picks
24:25
up the phone, gets the
24:27
operator says, give me Frank
24:29
Lloyd Wright in Tucson, Arizona.
24:32
And he goes back in those
24:34
days, that's how you made a
24:37
call. And so he gets right
24:39
on the line. He goes, I'm
24:41
sitting here having dinner with a
24:43
group of my friends. And it's
24:45
pouring rain on my head. And
24:47
Wright's response was, move your chair
24:49
hip. I
24:54
don't think having tragedy in
24:56
your life makes you unlikable. I
24:58
don't either. I think a
25:00
tragic events, who somebody who's creative,
25:03
only makes them more determined
25:05
in terms of their work. Yeah,
25:09
that's, that's interesting to think
25:11
about like how it may
25:13
have galvanized his resolve, maybe
25:15
even, you know, made him
25:17
come face to face with
25:19
his own mortality and then
25:21
resolve to achieve even more
25:23
before that happened. He certainly
25:25
was concerned with his legacy.
25:27
There's no question. Yeah. And
25:29
the I think that he's
25:31
also concerned about how what
25:33
what what people's perception of
25:35
him was in regard to
25:37
his legacy. So I think
25:39
that had a lot to
25:42
do with his the stories
25:44
that he did make up
25:46
because he wanted to be
25:48
thought of in a certain
25:50
way. Deep
25:53
down, I am sure he was very
25:55
insecure. And I think a lot of
25:57
the things that he did were to
26:00
give his way of
26:02
life and his approach
26:04
to life, some
26:06
meaning. And one
26:08
of the, one of the,
26:10
one of the, I can't
26:13
remember who
26:15
wrote about this, but
26:17
when, when his first
26:20
wife died before
26:22
he did, he was
26:24
actually very
26:26
grief stricken.
26:28
and depressed in his
26:31
last couple of years. So,
26:33
you know, because that was the
26:35
beginning of his life. And
26:37
he was reaching the end
26:39
of his. There's so many
26:42
different tragedies and
26:44
stories that surround that,
26:46
you know, it's like, where do
26:48
you begin? And I think that
26:51
for someone who has the
26:53
perseverance to move on from
26:55
those, you know, I think
26:57
people are intrigued by those
26:59
stories, but I don't know what
27:02
that really has to do with his
27:04
work. I can tell you why I'm
27:06
intrigued and what I think it
27:08
has to do with his
27:10
work. I don't know that
27:12
it influenced his architecture, but
27:14
I think we've immortalized him
27:16
by calling him a genius.
27:19
And in doing so, we've
27:21
oversimplified him to be this
27:23
sort of inaccessible... gifted,
27:25
singly faceted person, but when
27:28
you become aware of the
27:30
richness of his life, some of
27:32
it marked by tragedy, you start
27:34
to think of him more as a
27:37
human, and when you start to
27:39
think of him more as a
27:41
human, then his work becomes even
27:43
that much richer because he's not
27:45
like, he wasn't beamed from outer
27:47
space, he's a real person who,
27:50
you know, against a lot of
27:52
odds, just, you know, was able to...
27:55
transcend boundaries of
27:57
existing architecture. And then
27:59
I also think when we revere him
28:02
as an architect and celebrate
28:04
him as a human who also
28:06
had a full life, you
28:08
know, with the full spectrum of
28:10
emotion and tragedy and consequence,
28:12
then it becomes less inaccessible for
28:14
future architects to attempt something
28:16
like that. I think it's really
28:18
important to talk about people
28:20
as full humans. Yeah, it's interesting.
28:22
I think that's, and perhaps
28:24
this was, you know, a Frank
28:26
Lloyd Wright thing, was he
28:28
is sort of caught in that
28:31
middle. And a lot of
28:33
people are, I think, between being
28:35
an artist and being an
28:37
architect. And I think an artist
28:39
is granted a lot more
28:41
leeway in terms of doing what
28:43
they want to do because
28:45
an artist is supposed to be
28:47
singular. And architecture and design
28:49
is much more about, sorry, collaboration.
28:53
But if you're an artist who
28:55
is doing architecture, I could see
28:57
how you can run into some
28:59
challenges. I feel like the work
29:01
is even that much more interesting
29:03
when you know the context under
29:05
which it was created, you know,
29:08
like dealing with this intense insecurity,
29:10
this public criticism of his lifestyle,
29:12
this tragedy that he almost had
29:14
to brush under the rug because
29:16
if he gave the public any,
29:18
you know, inch, they would have
29:21
taken a mile in terms of
29:23
condemning his lifestyle. And in terms,
29:25
I think they even said the
29:27
angel of vengeance or somebody was
29:29
responsible for this. So he almost
29:31
had to make it go away
29:34
so he could continue doing his
29:36
work. But now in terms of
29:38
investigating his legacy, I don't think
29:40
we do him or ourselves any
29:42
favors by
29:44
immortalizing him and mythologizing him as
29:46
some sort of inhuman genius.
29:49
To me, it feels like you
29:51
can't separate the two. You
29:53
know, his work is his life
29:55
and like you can't separate
29:57
it. And Yeah, it's not like
29:59
he clocked out at five. Right.
30:02
Yeah, exactly. And so I
30:04
think, like you said, it
30:06
adds this just real richness
30:08
when you start to see
30:10
the totality of the person
30:12
responsible for bringing this work to
30:14
life. Do
30:18
you believe in your personal
30:20
immortality? Yes. And
30:23
so far, as I am
30:25
immortal, I will be immortal.
30:27
To me, young has no
30:29
meaning. It's something you can
30:32
do nothing about, nothing at
30:34
all. But youth is equality.
30:36
And if you have it,
30:39
you never lose it. And when they put
30:41
you into the box, that's your immortality.
30:50
Could Wright's tendencies to ignore
30:52
the negative have played a role
30:54
in the tragedy at Taliesin? Could
30:57
the tendency to ignore or to try
30:59
to ignore the challenges simmering below the
31:01
surface lead to an explosion, murders in
31:03
this case, in one form or another? Rather
31:07
than confronting the problems head on
31:09
and putting out fires, both literal
31:11
and figurative, before they become tragic,
31:13
Wright seemed to ignore any and
31:16
all criticism and do what he
31:18
believed was right. Could
31:20
this have exacerbated the problems
31:22
brewing at Taliesin? Could
31:25
FLW or anyone have seen the
31:27
murderous tendencies of Julian Carlton
31:29
if they had chosen to? Creative
31:33
people are so often pushed into adversarial
31:35
relationships with critics. They are told
31:37
to ignore bad press and plow ahead.
31:39
But is there another way to
31:41
exist in relation to critics and criticism?
31:43
A way to not let the
31:45
critics crush you as a creative but
31:47
to embrace it and use the
31:49
criticism to get better and be better?
31:52
Might understanding life with
31:54
all its inconsistencies and
31:57
tragedies as well as its
31:59
triumphs. point us to a
32:01
more meaningful relationship with, and a
32:03
deeper understanding of, not just
32:05
ourselves, but others? We
32:08
think so. Thanks
32:12
for listening to Clever Confidential. To
32:14
see images and more, head to
32:16
cleverpodcast .com. For our next episode,
32:18
we will be delving into the
32:20
story of Italian design legend Olivetti
32:22
and all of the international mysteries
32:24
and scandals surrounding the race to
32:26
create the world's first desktop computer.
32:28
If you like Clever Confidential and
32:30
want to hear more, please support
32:32
us by telling your friends and
32:34
letting us know what you think.
32:36
You can find us on Twitter,
32:38
Instagram, and Facebook at Clever Podcast.
32:41
Thank you to Brad Lynch, a
32:43
Brennan Stuhl and Lynch Architects for
32:45
lending his expertise, insight, and colorful
32:47
commentary. Clever Confidential is
32:49
produced by 2VDemedia. Camille Stennis
32:51
lended her audio wizardry for editing
32:53
and sound design. Ilana Nevenst
32:55
did some heavy lifting production assistance.
32:57
Our huge thanks to both.
32:59
Our theme music is Astronomy by
33:02
Thin White Rope from their
33:04
album In a Spanish Cave, courtesy
33:06
of Frontier Records. Thanks to
33:08
the Harry Ransom Center at the
33:10
University of Texas for the
33:12
clip of Mike Wallace interviewing Frank
33:14
Lloyd Wright. Clever is part
33:16
of the Airwave Media Podcast Network.
33:19
Visit airwavemedia .com to discover more
33:21
great shows. They curate the
33:23
best of them, so you don't
33:25
have to. I
33:53
think I can't put his hand up. Hey
34:02
there Clever listeners, it's me Amy again. Thanks
34:04
for listening through to the end of
34:06
the episode, I really appreciate you. This is
34:08
your reminder about the listener survey we're
34:10
doing right now. It is so short, it
34:12
will take you less than two minutes
34:14
to complete, and it will help us to
34:16
understand a little bit more about you
34:18
so that we can work with advertisers who
34:21
want to reach you. Yes, that
34:23
is how we keep the lights and
34:25
mics on, pay our team, and keep
34:27
producing new episodes. And if I'm being
34:29
honest, times are really tough right now
34:31
for this indie podcast. So
34:34
that's why we really need your
34:36
help. And to sweeten the deal, we're
34:38
offering a $50 Visa gift card
34:40
to a random listener who completes the
34:42
survey. Yes, this is a bribe. I
34:45
really hope it works. Just go
34:47
to cleverpodcast .com/survey and fill
34:49
it out. It's super easy
34:51
and super quick and it really makes a
34:53
huge difference for us. Thanks
34:55
a million from me and the whole
34:57
clever team. Did
35:02
you know one in two women wear
35:04
the wrong foundation? Matching foundation is hard,
35:06
but Il Maquillage makes it easy. Take
35:08
the Power Match quiz to find a
35:10
perfect match in seconds, customized to your
35:12
unique skin tone, undertone, and coverage needs.
35:14
With 600 ,000 five -star reviews, woke up
35:17
like this as our best -selling foundation for
35:19
a reason, available in 50 shades of
35:21
weightless natural coverage. And with Try Before
35:23
You Buy, you can try your full
35:25
size at home for 14 days. Just
35:27
pay shipping. Take the quiz at ilmaquillage
35:29
.com/quiz. That's I -L -M -A -K -I -A -G -E.com/quiz.
35:32
If you haven't noticed, it's winter. And
35:34
now more than ever, I'm in need
35:36
of a little treat. That's why
35:38
I joined First Leaf, a wine club
35:40
that delivers my favorite types of
35:42
wine right to my door. Because there's
35:44
really no better treat than a
35:46
glass of delicious red, white, or rosé.
35:48
So go ahead and treat yourself
35:50
to world -class wines from First Leaf.
35:52
Go to trifersleaf .com slash winter to
35:54
get your first six bottles for just
35:56
$44 .95 with free shipping. That's T
35:58
-R -Y -F -I -R -S -T -L -E -A. When we feel
36:00
stuck, it can be hard to picture what's
36:03
possible in the new year. But sometimes
36:05
a small change, like refreshing your
36:07
dinner routine, can make a big
36:09
difference in your day-to-day. Cook unity
36:11
makes it easy to reset your meal
36:13
habits with a variety of vibrant,
36:16
healthy meals, crafted by ward-winning chefs.
36:18
The chefs you see on TV and
36:20
in five-star kitchens are the chefs who
36:22
craft each small batch meal, and they're
36:25
delivered directly to your door ready
36:27
to enjoy. There's no cooking
36:29
required and it's way healthier and
36:31
cheaper than other delivery options.
36:34
Experience the convenience of
36:36
dishes made from local
36:38
in-season ingredients delivered
36:40
straight to your door. It's an
36:42
effortless way to save her high
36:44
quality chef-prepared meals while
36:47
feeling good about what you eat. Take
36:49
a step toward a fresh
36:51
start with Cook Unity.com/podcast before
36:53
checkout to get 50% off
36:55
your first week. That's 50%
36:58
off your first week
37:00
at Cookunity.com/podcast.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More