In this week's episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the causes of the Fyre Festival fiasco, the anniversary of the LA uprisings, and the history of US-North Korea relations.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
- After the last-minute cancellation of the Fyre Festival, we discussed the history of music festivals and how they have become VIP luxury experiences. Neil noted that advertisements for Woodstock in 1969 showed it was a money-making venture.
- 2017 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Los Angeles uprising. Natalia commented on the public memory of the events, including the documentaries that have been made like A&E’s L.A. Burning. Niki observed how Spike Lee’s 1989 movie, Do the Right Thing, had reflected L.A.’s inter-ethnic tensions that were made more visible during the events of 1992.
- As Donald Trump appears to be pursuing a new course with North Korea, we discussed the history of North Korea and U.S. relations with the Korean peninsula. Neil shared his memories of visiting the Demilitarized Zone and the Joint Security Area, where North and South Koreans meet to negotiate. Niki contrasted Trump’s foreign policy approach with Ronald Reagan’s outreach to right-wing dictators, a strategy shaped by Jeane Kirkpatrick’s influential 1979 essay, “Dictatorships and Double Standards.”
In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:
- Natalia commented the American Health Care Act passed by the House.
- Neil discussed the how Wall Street is now ignoring Donald Trump.
- Niki talked about the Heritage Foundation board’s removal of its president, Jim DeMint. We discussed this history of think tanks in Episode 47.