35 Memory on the Living Room Wall: Who Controls the Slide Tray?
35 Memory on the Living Room Wall: Who Controls the Slide Tray?  
Podcast: Mossbunker Review
Published On: Tue Mar 24 2026
Description: In this episode, Dr. Liam recalls a Fourth of July family reunion in Kansas in 1962, when his father dimmed the lights and introduced the clan to the wonders of a Kodak Carousel 550 slide projector. What began as a proud presentation of family photographs soon revealed something deeper. Slides were selected, rearranged, mislabeled, corrected, and occasionally replaced as new experiences and perspectives emerged. The family came to understand its past through the images that made it into the tray and the stories that accompanied them. From this gently humorous memory, Dr. Liam reflects on the nature of collective memory. Communities, like families, continually edit the slide tray of the past in order to sustain a sense of identity. Yet the work of the historian requires something more than watching the projection.The episode explores the difference between the past we project and the past we seek to understand.