Once Upon a Time… at Bennington College. This is a tale of money, murder, madness, and – of course – genius. This is, too, a multi-dimensional expose: the secret history of The Secret History revealed; the secret history of three of the greatest writers of Generation X revealed; and the secret history of Generation X itself revealed.

I first listened to Lili Anolik’s podcast, Once Upon a Time at Bennington College, years ago. I was obsessed. I planned a ‘Bennington’ project, and although I started it (by re-reading Less Than Zero and The Secret History), I never got any further than going down Bennington rabbit holes (of which there are lots).

But new year, renewed effort. There are 14 episodes. I’ll post about each one – not a review as such, but rather highlighting the bits that stood out, interesting quotes, and links to relevant articles or other bits along the way. I’ll also re-read the books by the key Bennington authors.

At a broader level, the podcast also addresses the issue of who owns what, when a group of people share the same memories, and who has the right to profit by them. As a lover of memoirs (and being intrigued by the boundaries of auto-fiction), there’s lots to enjoy, and to consider about the ethics of storytelling.

The link to each podcast episode includes quotes, a list of the key players, and books and films referred to in that episode. Also below, links to further reading for each episode (the aforementioned rabbit holes!).

THE PODCAST EPISODES

01. Dis-Orientation

THE KEY PLAYERS

Bret Easton Ellis (author)
Donna Tartt (author)
Jonathan Lethem (author)

BOOKS AND FILMS

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Letham
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Less Than Zero (film)
White by Bret Easton Ellis

FURTHER READING

Episode 1: Dis-Orientation

The Secret Oral History of Bennington: The 1980s’ Most Decadent College by Lili Anolik
Notes on Charlie Sheen and the End of Empire by Bret Bret Easton Ellis (pay-walled but totally worth the price of admission!)
Did a Podcast About Donna Tartt Go Too Far? by Jo Livingstone
Donna Tartt’s lawyer sends off warning letters over Bennington College podcast by Ian Mohr
Bret Easton Ellis reflects on college days, dating Donna Tartt By Ian Mohr
The Bennington Affair by Nora Ephron (pay-walled)
The Museum of Playable Trash Bin Instruments by The Atlas Obscura team