Circus Stories: A Circus History Podcast

Circus Stories: A Circus History Podcast turns circus history into a running conversation between two people who know very different amounts about it. Callie B hosts and brings the material. Mark, her co-host, knows almost nothing about circus, and on the story episodes he has no idea what the subject will be. The story episodes spell out the setup at the top: Callie B tells the tale, Mark reacts the way a newcomer might, and his questions stand in for the ones a listener would ask. It is a simple device, and it keeps the history from turning into a lecture. The story topics swing between the strange and the gloriously silly. In 'Francesco Lentini: The Three Legged Wonder', a quote about swimming starts the pair guessing whether an extra limb could steer like a rudder or kick like a third leg. 'Le Pétomane: The Fartiste of the Moulin Rouge' includes a read-aloud account of the performer's demonstration for the Moulin Rouge's owner, down to a list of vocal ranges, and the hosts react with open disbelief. The humor is broad and the asides come fast. When Mark is unavailable, the format changes. Callie B has recorded solo episodes, some while recovering from a broken leg, and used them for interviews. Meatball the Clown talks shop, explaining that his clown type was assigned to him rather than chosen and that whiteface makeup shows every wrinkle and trace of stubble. Billy B and Mama B join for episodes on Circus Vargas in the 1970s, and Callie B introduces the Billy B conversation as a chance to interview her own family. These interviews are the show at its most personal: trailers driven to a Manhattan lot while people tried to break into them, a quirky friend who later promoted a jazz festival in Monterey, talk of buying elephants, and a ringmaster whose white gloves and black knee boots were a little more flamboyant than everyone else's. An unlocked Patreon episode has Callie B reading an article about a circus soccer team that practiced every morning, played on Sundays, and held its own against strong teams in different cities. The register is warm, digressive and unpolished. The openings trade playful wordplay, and now and then a more critical note comes through, as when a closing remark suggests that anyone who keeps having to replace their animals, as P.T. Barnum did, maybe should not have them. Sign-offs keep coming back to a reminder to check your boilers, a nudge to take care of each other, and a promise to see everyone down the road. A good first listen is a story episode, which shows the core dynamic at work. For firsthand memory instead of retold history, the Circus Vargas interviews are the place to go.