We’ve all heard stories of someone finding a napkin with an abstract doodle by a painter who becomes a famous artist, or a discovered manuscript that provides the bridge to competing academic research. How about a lost chord progression that underscores the influence of one artist on a subsequent generation of musicians?

Many of these archival discoveries are famous, have become national news, and are currently driving new and prolific academic inquiry.  

For each story, there is a tireless archivist who uncovered a lost theme that became that famous news story. It was their diligent work that reenergized the purpose of their archive. Like recalibrating a discovery to underscore its importance, the archivist refused to give up on that stories’ significance. They knew it was important.

This is the mission of Archive Secrets, a new podcast sponsored by Starchive.  We know that every archivist has a story to tell, and it’s time for your story to be told.

The Beginning of Archive Secrets

After a decade working with archivists in almost every medium, we found a common theme. Privy to so many ‘aha’ moments and fun anecdotes, we wanted to provide a voice to archivists everywhere. Archivists of all stripes have an important story that has been hidden, glossed over or lost to time that the world should discover.

 Archive Secrets is the podcast where we uncover tales, stories and gems from some of the world’s most intriguing, unknown and previously hidden archives.

Today we launch with four unique stories from four unique individuals.

• Tom Van der Voort on The Chenault Affair: Why would a Senator interfere with a presidential election seeking help from enemies of State? Tom van Der Voort, Media Specialist at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, takes us inside the Chenault Affair.
• Adrienne Harling on The Jackie Robinson of Classical Music: Charles Burrell broke the color barrier in both Classical Music and Jazz. Adrienne Harling, an archivist from the San Francisco Symphony, uncovers his story.
• Alanna Gabin on Photography, Fashion & Art: She knew them all when they were just artsy kids on the streets of New York City. Alanna Gabin – Agent/Creative Consultant takes us from Polaroids to a dress made of meat.
• Lincoln Cushing on Activist Art: Twitter did not exist in the 1960’s, but Lincoln Cushing was alive and well. Lincoln Cushing, founder of Docs Populi, takes us deep inside the world of political posters.