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Bram Stoker and Dracula

From the 1902 cover of Bram Stoker's Dracula

Wednesday, we’re talking about Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel “Dracula.” Historian Jim Steinmeyer says it wasn’t just folk legends that inspired Stoker’s creation. His book drew from popular theater of the day, from literary contemporaries like Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde, and even real-life headlines of Jack the Ripper. Steinmeyer joins Doug to talk about the monster Stoker made, and why Dracula remains an undead icon today.

Jim Steinmeyer is a historian and designer of stage illusion. His books include Who Was Dracula? [Indiebound|Amazon] and The Last Greatest Magician in the World [Indiebound|Amazon]

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.