About this episode

The episode features stories of activist archivists and cultural keepers, highlighting their roles in preserving history and information.

The Keepers, from The Kitchen Sisters and PRX with host, Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand. Stories of activist archivists, rogue librarians, curators, collectors and historians. Guardians of history, large and small. Protectors of the free flow of information and ideas. Keepers of the culture and the culture and collections they keep. In this hour Henri Langlois’ legendary Cinémathéque in Paris, The Keeper of the National Archives, Nancy Pearl: the first librarian action figure, The Dark Side of the Dewey Decimal System and stories of Prince’s epic vault in Minneapolis and the Lenny Bruce Archive.

People in this episode

Host: Frances McDormand

Topics covered

• activism
• archiving
• history
• libraries
• culture
• information

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Kitchen Sisters, PRX

Books & works: Prince’s epic vault, Lenny Bruce Archive

Places: Paris

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• Everyone's a Casting Director – The First-Ever Academy Award for Achievement in Casting with Host Frances McDormand · March 4, 2026 · 1h 16m
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