In their four story brownstone at the corner of Fifth Avenue & 128th Street, the Collyer brothers sealed themselves up through the Great Depression, both World Wars, and as Harlem shifted from a rich white suburb to a poor black slum. In the cavernous dwelling, the pair amassed "one of the world’s legendary collections of urban junk." Two-hundred tons of junk by the end. Featuring memoirist Franz Lidz. Learn more at www.ephemeral.show

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<p>In their four story brownstone at the corner of Fifth Avenue &amp; 128th Street, the Collyer brothers sealed themselves up through the Great Depression, both World Wars, and as Harlem shifted from a rich white suburb to a poor black slum. In the cavernous dwelling, the pair amassed "one of the world’s legendary collections of urban junk." Two-hundred tons of junk by the end. Featuring memoirist Franz Lidz. Learn more at <a href="https://www.ephemeral.show/episode/brothers">www.ephemeral.show</a></p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

The best source on our cultural identity is not the official, historical record — ask any anthropologist, it’s the town dump. Ephemera — those things that were just barely saved, and in some cases not saved at all — emanate with secrets we can only glimpse and mysteries we can never completely answer. The stories may be unfamiliar, but the themes are universal; this is a looking glass, a window into our own fragile, material existence that begs the question, “How will I be remembered?”

Ephemeral

The tragic and bizarre tale of New York’s greatest hoarders. Featuring memoirist Franz Lidz.

Brothers

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/7c0c9474-748c-4645-bac1-ae3300403308/transcript