In this week's episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate the history of the world series, texting while driving, and the history of Vegas.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- The presence of the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series is making history! Niki discussed Sterling HolyWhiteMountain’s essay for ESPN.com on what it meant to grow up on the Blackfeet Reservation as a fan of the Cleveland Indians. Natalia recommended Philip Deloria’s book Playing Indian for a history of how white Americans have appropriated Native American customs, dress, and habits.
- Distracted driving, especially while texting, has become the drunk driving of the 21st century. Natalia compared the movement to stop texting with driving to the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the 1980s, while Neil pointed to the history of seat belt legislation as a model. Niki remembered the crash test dummies public service announcements of the 1980s that frightened Americans into using their seatbelts.
- Vegas, baby! It’s more than just gambling these days as the city’s economy has expanded and even the Strip has become family friendly. Natalia discussed how Michael Green’s history of Las Vegas shows organized crime’s connections to the founding of the city. She also commented on how the Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has poured millions into revitalizing downtown Las Vegas to attract new entrepreneurs to the city.
In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:
- Natalia discussed Megan Daum’s Los Angeles Times op-ed, “All Trump gropes are bad, but they aren’t all equal or equally horrible.”
- Neil commented on the death of the fundamentalist cartoonist Jack Chick.
- Niki talked about the history of Election Cake.