'How We Disappear' is a Stanford historian's take on our personal archives

'How We Disappear' is a Stanford historian's take on our personal archives

September 1, 2026 · 12 min

About this episode

Thomas Mullaney discusses the significance of personal archives and their role in shaping identity in the context of his book 'How We Disappear'.

Thomas Mullaney is a historian at Stanford University. After his father died, Mullaney began to think about the archive he left behind: papers, documents, photos, objects and more. How We Disappear is a personal and academic history of information – and the role information plays in a naturally chaotic universe. In today’s episode, Mullaney joins Here & Now ’s Peter O’Dowd for a conversation about the small pieces that form our identities, a concept historians called “original order” and why How We Disappear is really a book about entropy. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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