Fascination
FASCINATION is a seasonal exploration that taps into the imagination of podcast creator Angelo D’Agostino – a storyteller whose early life was colored by traditional fables, pop-culture and inherited folklore. The stories that dazzled his early world, set him upon journeys of discovery and fostered a lifelong obsession with the curious and unusual. If you’re new to FASCINATION, start with season one; a ten episode take on the life of screen legend, Marilyn Monroe.
Episodes
November 16, 2021 • 22 mins
What do Tennessee Williams and Herodotus have in common? The story of a woman named Nitocris, a pharaoh, a queen - perhaps entombed or created by folklore itself...but a legend passed on through generations. While disputed (and some would say disproved) it wouldn't be the first time a patriarchal system tried to erase a woman from history completely.
What is it they say about revenge being best served cold...well, it must have b...
What is it they say about revenge being best served cold...well, it must have b...
Mark as Played
October 14, 2021 • 18 mins
"Did you ever hear of the phantom train?"
On Saturday September 6th 1879, readers of The Wichita Kansas Herald were treated to a good ol' fashioned ghost story. What set it apart (aside from it being published and republished nationwide) was the type of ghost, the central character to an old railroad switchman's tale - a phantom train. Not just any train, the funerary train of arguably the most important person in United States H...
On Saturday September 6th 1879, readers of The Wichita Kansas Herald were treated to a good ol' fashioned ghost story. What set it apart (aside from it being published and republished nationwide) was the type of ghost, the central character to an old railroad switchman's tale - a phantom train. Not just any train, the funerary train of arguably the most important person in United States H...
Mark as Played
September 14, 2021 • 16 mins
As the summer fades and the promised autumnal chill comes creeping, we're reminded of the ghoulish traditions of Halloween...
Do you know the Irish tale of Stingy Jack? Before you place a candle in your gourd this year...come with me to a sleepy village in the 1700's - where a miserly old blacksmith, with pint in hand and prank in mind - unwittingly seals his fate, forever.
Park your PSL and gather 'round for a fully realized ret...
Do you know the Irish tale of Stingy Jack? Before you place a candle in your gourd this year...come with me to a sleepy village in the 1700's - where a miserly old blacksmith, with pint in hand and prank in mind - unwittingly seals his fate, forever.
Park your PSL and gather 'round for a fully realized ret...
Mark as Played
September 7, 2021 • 27 mins
As Charlie Chaplin once said of Valentino, he was; "...now one of the immortals..."
Thirteen years after arriving in America, "The Great Lover", Hollywoods first Matinee Idol, was struck down at the height of his fame. At just thirty-one years old, the mononymous Italian actor had burned through the hearts of millions - and dismantled the foundation of American masculinity.
Unlucky in his own pursuits with love, professionally V...
Thirteen years after arriving in America, "The Great Lover", Hollywoods first Matinee Idol, was struck down at the height of his fame. At just thirty-one years old, the mononymous Italian actor had burned through the hearts of millions - and dismantled the foundation of American masculinity.
Unlucky in his own pursuits with love, professionally V...
Mark as Played
August 31, 2021 • 3 mins
Introducing Season Two!
Your host Angelo D'Agostino is back with all the sizzling details this second season has to offer...
Okay, so an entire season dedicated to Marilyn Monroe wasn't your bag? Yah, we heard you...we heard you (sheesh)!!! Hold onto your hats and pigtails, because THIS season, we're switching gears and going full-on episodic! That's right, individual episodes dedicated to the weird, wonderful and fascinating (of...
Your host Angelo D'Agostino is back with all the sizzling details this second season has to offer...
Okay, so an entire season dedicated to Marilyn Monroe wasn't your bag? Yah, we heard you...we heard you (sheesh)!!! Hold onto your hats and pigtails, because THIS season, we're switching gears and going full-on episodic! That's right, individual episodes dedicated to the weird, wonderful and fascinating (of...
Mark as Played
February 7, 2021 • 23 mins
It was 1962 and Marilyn Monroe was en route to Mexico City. Landing to a flurry of activity, it was announced that day, she'd been awarded a Golden Globe and would be presented with the honor at the awards show that season...
The trip, initially meant to be a quick, necessary getaway to purchase furniture and décor for her new home - evolved into a prolonged celebration. Her first night in CDMX, a cocktail reception was held in he...
The trip, initially meant to be a quick, necessary getaway to purchase furniture and décor for her new home - evolved into a prolonged celebration. Her first night in CDMX, a cocktail reception was held in he...
Mark as Played
December 17, 2020 • 16 mins
Long have we been told that when there's blood in the water, the shark comes chasing… but what if the shark was really the one bleeding…what if the desperation was not coming so much from the prey, but from the predator?
When Hildi Greenson gifted her late husband's collection of writings, lectures and ephemera to the UCLA Library of Special Collections, it should have been a relatively quiet transaction.
A credit to any archive, so...
When Hildi Greenson gifted her late husband's collection of writings, lectures and ephemera to the UCLA Library of Special Collections, it should have been a relatively quiet transaction.
A credit to any archive, so...
Mark as Played
December 13, 2020 • 25 mins
Listener's Note: If you may be triggered by topics surrounding mental health, suicide or acts of self harm, please feel free to skip this episode. If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health challenges or need information on resources, please visit afsp.org or text TALK to 741741 for help outside the U.S. please visit save.org for more information.
The John Huston film 'The Misfits' remains Marilyn Monroe's final, c...
The John Huston film 'The Misfits' remains Marilyn Monroe's final, c...
Mark as Played
November 19, 2020 • 16 mins
Casual acquaintances, the world is full of casual acquaintances.
Sometimes casual acquaintances can produce a serendipitous spark…
It was the director John Huston who first introduced Marilyn Monroe to Truman Capote during the filming of his noir crime-caper The Asphalt Jungle… though Capote had a cultural disdain for the Hollywood machine - like anyone and everyone - he was starstruck, and as many artists before and after - the ar...
Sometimes casual acquaintances can produce a serendipitous spark…
It was the director John Huston who first introduced Marilyn Monroe to Truman Capote during the filming of his noir crime-caper The Asphalt Jungle… though Capote had a cultural disdain for the Hollywood machine - like anyone and everyone - he was starstruck, and as many artists before and after - the ar...
Mark as Played
November 16, 2020 • 18 mins
If two’s company…three is most certainly a crowd. At just twenty-two years old, Marilyn was quickly climbing a ladder that would eventually lead her to super-stardom. She’d been through a wild love affair with a man who’s hot and cold sides seemed to ebb and flow with the tide. She had convinced herself that she should marry him, but walked away when he told her he didn’t think a woman “like her” would be the kind he'd want as mo...
Mark as Played
October 22, 2020 • 26 mins
Whether it's a desert oasis or the mental manipulation of a trompe l'oeil, the art of illusion is a delicate craft. We sometimes discount the importance of illusion…it's make believe, false, unreal, pretend. But those who dedicate themselves to the art of illusion would argue that it's the possibility, the belief that something could be real - that spurs the imagination turning the idea of a façade into something much more tangib...
Mark as Played
October 12, 2020 • 47 mins
It's safe to say that we know less in life than we can readily explain away. The people we admire, follow and fear - they've all walked this path - sometimes leaving energetic breadcrumbs along the way...
Pick up a book, read the humanity in the brushstrokes of a painting or seek out the intention in the seamless smoothed marble faces carved by the masters...it's all there.
Whether you're guided by faith, or religion, science or...
Pick up a book, read the humanity in the brushstrokes of a painting or seek out the intention in the seamless smoothed marble faces carved by the masters...it's all there.
Whether you're guided by faith, or religion, science or...
Mark as Played
October 1, 2020 • 45 mins
The hero's journey is beset with obstacles - but flipping through the pages of any legend, you start to get the feeling that each story follows an eerily similar path.
Marilyn was often referred to as "a Siren" - but just like her dizzy blonde character - Sirens have been misidentified, confused and stripped of their original form...they've been cast in a role they were never meant to play.
As a Muse, one of Marilyn's most succes...
Marilyn was often referred to as "a Siren" - but just like her dizzy blonde character - Sirens have been misidentified, confused and stripped of their original form...they've been cast in a role they were never meant to play.
As a Muse, one of Marilyn's most succes...
Mark as Played
September 23, 2020 • 37 mins
WAITING TO BE SEEN: So much of who and what we are, and how we respond to our life as adults is formed in the very beginning stages of consciousness. In this episode, we look at the climate and circumstance in which young Norma Jeane was born into. An unstable mother, an early life full of abandonment and abuse - she survives and transforms - but those early cracks and fissures of trauma only seem to widen with time...
Joining t...
Joining t...
Mark as Played
September 16, 2020 • 15 mins
GO TUX YOURSELF: A few (too many) cocktails on the Upper East Side and a boozy walk down Lexington Avenue unlocks a haphazard tour of Marilyn’s Manhattan. September 15th, 1954 – one high heeled walk onto a subway grate (which in itself is a feat) will become a moment, forever enshrined in our collective consciousness.
@fascinationpod
@fascinationpod
Mark as Played
September 14, 2020 • 4 mins
Who is MM?
It started with a trip to the bank… My lifelong fascination with one of the world’s most enigmatic film stars would begin by unwrapping a black velvet purse under the unnerving hum of fluorescent lights - locked in a room of safety deposit boxes.
Join me, Angelo D’Agostino for Season 1 of FASCINATION - Marilyn Monroe. In this debut series, I unpack, dismantle, and explore the misunderstood genius of her complicated life....
It started with a trip to the bank… My lifelong fascination with one of the world’s most enigmatic film stars would begin by unwrapping a black velvet purse under the unnerving hum of fluorescent lights - locked in a room of safety deposit boxes.
Join me, Angelo D’Agostino for Season 1 of FASCINATION - Marilyn Monroe. In this debut series, I unpack, dismantle, and explore the misunderstood genius of her complicated life....
Mark as Played
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