Episode 247: The Controversy over "Cuties"

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the controversial new Netflix film, Cuties.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Cuties, a French independent film released in the United States has inspired opposition. Niki referred to the connection between the critics’ fear of perversion and the current furor over pedophilia among some on the Right, discussed in Rolling Stone.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed Matthew Remski’s Medium GEN article, “Inside Kelly Brogan’s Covid-Denying, Vax-Resistant Conspiracy Machine.”

• Neil shared Doug Mack’s Lonely Planet article, “From Neon Shovels to Crystal Skulls – the Wild History of the Memphis Pyramid.”

• Niki recommended Amanda Mull’s Atlantic article, “Why Everything is Sold Out.”

Episode 246: Jessica Krug and Racial Identity Theft

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the racial dissembling of historian Jessica Krug.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• George Washington University historian Jessica Krug has been posing as a Black woman for years, and recently outed herself online. Neil referred to Martha Sandweiss’ book, Passing Strange: A Gilded Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line. Natalia referenced this interview with Rachel Dolezal.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed the controversy over enforcing “video-on” while teaching remotely.

• Neil shared about Matthew Gilbert’s Boston Globe article, “The Brits do crime shows really, really well.”

• Niki recommended John Hodgman’s book, Vacationland, as well as his podcast, Judge John Hodgman.

Episode 245: Ron Jeremy and the Adult Film Industry's #MeToo Problem

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss new charges of sexual assault against porn actor Ron Jeremy.

On this week’s Past Present episode, Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, and Neil J. Young discuss new charges of sexual assault against porn actor Ron Jeremy.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• More than a dozen women have come forward to accuse porn actor Ron Jeremy of sexual assault. Natalia referred to historian Estelle B. Freedman’s book, Redefining Rape: Sexual Violence in the Era of Suffrage and Segregation and to Lorelei Lee’s personal essay about sex work in n+1.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed this petition put forth by the New York City dance community.

• Neil shared about the HBO documentary, Welcome to Chechnya.

• Niki recommended Nellie Bowles’ New York Times article, “God Is Dead. So is the Office. These People Want to Save Both.”

Episode 244: Lovecraft Country

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the new HBO series, Lovecraft Country.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Lovecraft Country is attracting attention for its blend of historical drama and horror. Niki discussed this hybrid genre, as explained at Vox. She also mentioned the documentary, Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Neil compared Lovecraft Country to Colson Whitehead’s recent novel, The Underground Railroad. Natalia referred to this history of the “sundown town” at Slate and to historian Allyson Hobbs’ work on The Negro Motorist Green Book.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended the Netflix series, Selling Sunset.

• Neil reflected on Jerry Falwell Jr.’s resignation as president of Liberty University amid an alleged sex scandal.

• Niki discussed Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman’s new book, Big Friendship.

Episode 243: The 2020 Democratic National Convention

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• This week, the Democratic Party is holding its national convention – entirely online. Neil referred to Ed Kilgore’s New York magazine article about the role of television in shaping conventions.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Teresa Ghilarducci’s Bloomberg Opinion piece, “Remote College is Still More Valuable than a Gap Year.”

• Neil shared the new podcast series, “Forgotten: Women of Juárez.”

• Niki discussed Jaya Saxena’s Atlas Obscura article, “Rhode Island Has One Great Culinary Invention, and it’s Coffee Milk.”

Episode 242: The Biden-Harris Ticket

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Kamala Harris is the 2020 Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Niki wrote about the significance of her candidacy for Inside Story magazine. Natalia referenced historian Martha Jones’ Washington Post essay; Niki referred to Jamelle Bouie’s New York Times op-ed on Harris’ blackness. Natalia cited this Jacobin article criticizing Harris and to pieces like this one paying new attention to the 1948 vice-presidential candidacy of Charlotta Bass. We previously discussed Kamala Harris on Episode 195 last year.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia shared Evgenia Peretz’s Vanity Fair article, “Keeping Up with the Millers: Stephen Miller and his Wife, Katie, Found Love in a Hateful Place.”

• Neil recommended Padma Lakshmi’s new Hulu show, “Taste the Nation.”

• Niki discussed the Luminary podcast, “Fiasco.”

Episode 241: QAnon

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the conspiracy theory known as QAnon.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Spread online, QAnon is a conspiracy theory that claims “deep state” traitors, connected to a cabal of pedophiles, are plotting to undermine President Trump and the United States. Niki and Neil referred to Adrienne LaFrance’s Atlantic essay contextualizing “Q”’s prophecies. Natalia referred to this Rolling Stone article about the late John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s role in the QAnon imagination.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Irina Aleksander’s New York Times Magazine article, “Sweatpants Forever.”

• Neil discussed the controversy over Ellen DeGeneres’ behavior on set – and how her celebrity defenders aren’t helping her case.

• Niki talked about Barrett Swanson’s New Republic article, “What I Learned From the Worst Novelist in the English Language.”

Episode 240: The Portland Protests

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the continued unrest in Portland and the deployment of federal forces to quell it.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Protests continue in Portland, where President Trump has deployed federal forces. Niki discussed this episode of This Day in Esoteric Political History. Natalia recommended following the Twitter feeds of scholars of fascism Federico Finchelstein and Jason Stanley.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended the podcasts Once Upon a Time…in the Valley and The Last Days of August.

• Neil discussed Christopher Knight’s Los Angeles Times article, “It’s time to chop down the ‘lynching tree’ from this California city’s logo.”

• Niki talked about Heather Schwedel’s Slate article, “It Was the Coolest Phone I’d Ever Seen.”

Episode 239: Margaret Sanger

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the decision by the Planned Parenthood Federation of New York to disavow Margaret Sanger for her ties to eugenics.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Planned Parenthood of Greater New York announced it will remove the name of founder Margaret Sanger from its Manhattan health clinic. Neil referred to this blog post about Sanger’s ableism. Natalia referenced this Twitter thread by Imani Gandy, and this article by legal scholar Michele Goodwin.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Katherine Rosman’s New York Times article, “On the Latest Boutique Fitness Playlist: Black Lives Matter.”

• Neil discussed Emile Dirks’ and James Leibold’s New York Times article, “China is Harvesting the DNA of its People. Is this the Future of Policing?”

• Niki talked about Andrew Kahrl’s New York Times article, “Who Will Get to Swim this Summer?”

Episode 238: Karens

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the “Karen” meme.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• The “Karen” meme, referring to a white woman weaponizing that privilege against people of color, has exploded on social media. Niki referred to this column at The Root and Natalia cited this article by Nina Burleigh.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Mary Trump’s new book, Too Much and Never Enough.

• Neil discussed David Waldstein’s New York Times article, “Scrabble Tournaments Move Toward Banning Ethnic Slurs.”

• Niki talked about Blazedale’s L.A. Taco article, “The Los Angeles Mayor Who Was Also a KKK Leader.”

Episode 237: Student Visas

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss student visas and the most recent immigration restrictions put forth by the Trump administration.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

·         President Donald Trump has threatened that international students attending American universities that are teaching entirely online must return to their home countries. Niki referred to Adam Serwer’s 2018 Atlantic article, “The Cruelty is the Point,” and to this Washington Post opinion piece about how this measure advances Stephen Miller’s restrictionist agenda. Natalia drew on this piece at The Conversation about the impact of a reduction of international students on American universities and society.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed the controversy over Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue’s support of President Trump.

• Neil recommended historian Paul Renfro’s new book, Stranger Danger: Family Values, Childhood, and the American Carceral State.

• Niki talked about the recent SCOTUS decision affirming Native American land rights in Oklahoma and recommended the podcast This Land as well as Episode 159 of this podcast.

Episode 236: Social Media Deplatforming

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the deplatforming of extremists by social media sites from Reddit to YouTube.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Social media platforms like Reddit are taking a harder line on regulating extremist content. Natalia referred to this article about the undisclosed relationship between Ben Shapiro’s conservative sites and Facebook, and to this Vice piece about the effectiveness of social media bans. Niki referenced this New York Times article about YouTube radicalization.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Alec MacGillis’ ProPublica article, “How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing.”

• Neil discussed the unique moment in cultural writing and reporting right now, pointing to New Yorker food critic Hannah Goldfield’s recent reviews of takeout restaurants and frozen food and to Vinson Cunningham’s essay on the African-American playwright, Lorraine Hansberry.

• Niki shared Elaina Plott’s New York Times article, “The Fall of Jeff Sessions, and What Came After.”

Episode 235: Defund the Police

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the movement to defund the police.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Calls to defund or abolish the police have become a rallying cry among protestors of racial violence. Niki discussed Derek Thompson’s call to “unbundle the police.” Natalia referred to this National Review piece that argues many communities want more policing, and to this Jacobin interview with criminologist Alex Vitale.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Lauren Sandler’s book This is All I Got: A New Mother’s Search for Home.

• Neil discussed Noah Ram’s Alligator.org article, “‘Gator Bait’ chant faced opposition years ago. Nothing came of it.”

• Niki shared Kaitlyn Tiffany’s Atlantic article, “My Little Pony Fans Are Ready to Admit They Have a Nazi Problem.”

Episode 234: Bostock v. Clayton County

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss Bostock v. Clayton County, the recent Supreme Court decision protecting gay and transgender people from workplace discrimination.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• In an unexpected victory for LGBTQ activists, the Supreme Court decided last week that the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender people from discrimination at work. Natalia and Niki referred to this helpful Slate piece on the legal theories of textualism and originalism, and to Rebecca Onion’s explanation of the legend behind the “because of sex” clause in the Civil Rights Act. Neil referenced our own conversation on Episode 22 about Justice Antonin Scalia’s judicial legacy.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended the new podcast, Conspirituality.

• Neil discussed Eric Cervini’s new book, The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America.

• Niki shared Jennifer Schuessler’s New York Times article, “The Long Battle Over ‘Gone With the Wind.’” She also referred to Jacqueline Stewart’s CNN article, “Why We Can’t Turn Away from ‘Gone with the Wind.’”

Episode 233: Larry Kramer, Playwright and AIDS Activist

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the life and legacy of playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Pioneering AIDS activist Larry Kramer died this month. Natalia referred to this Vulture interview about Kramer’s legacy. Neil commented on Kramer’s autobiographical play, The Normal Heart.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended the Netflix documentary, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.

• Neil discussed Anastasia Dawson’s Tampa Bay Times article, “Giant Confederate flag lowered amid threats to set it on fire.”

• Niki shared Rick Noack’s Washington Post article, “Sweden blocks plan to honor woman who hit a neo-Nazi with a purse.”

Episode 232: Police Violence

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the recent protests over police brutality.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has set off protests over police brutality across the country and the world. Niki referenced this Slate article, and Neil referred to historian Elizabeth Hinton’s New York Times opinion piece. Natalia cited Anne-Helen Peterson’s coverage in Buzzfeed of small-town protests all over the country, and discussed those in Eastern Long Island in particular.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia shared Sugene Kwon’s digital children’s book, The Unforgettable Story of George Floyd.

• Neil commented on comedian Sarah Cooper’s viral “How-To” videos.

• Niki discussed the new season of the Slow Burn podcast, focusing on David Duke.

Episode 231: Nursing Homes during Coronavirus

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the history of nursing homes in the moment of coronavirus.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Nursing home residents are especially afflicted by the coronavirus. Natalia recommended this article in Washington Monthly about the politics of elder care. Niki referred to this history of the nursing home industry.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed Jeremy W. Peters’ New York Times article, “They Predicted ‘The Crisis of 2020’… in 1991. So How Does This End?”

• Neil reflected on Jonathon Van Maren’s Christianity Today article, “Deathbed Apology: Norma McCorvey’s Pro-Life Friends Tell Another Story.”

• Niki shared the real history behind Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech which she discussed on “This Day in Esoteric History” podcast.

Episode 230: The Inspectors General Firings

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss President Trump’s recent firings of four Inspectors General.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• President Trump has been on a spree of castigating, and dismissing, Inspectors General. Neil referred to this NPR article about the historical function of the Inspector General in American history. He also wrote about the firings in his column for The Week.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended the new podcast, “Wind of Change.”

• Neil reflected on the future of reality television, inspired by this article at Variety.

• Niki commented on Molly Ball’s new book, Pelosi.

Episode 229: Little Richard

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the life and legacy of Little Richard.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Musical legend Little Richard died this month of bone cancer. Niki referred to Margot Canaday’s book The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America and George Chauncey’s book Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. Natalia recommended this GQ article on Little Richard’s inimitable style. Neil commented on Little Richard’s appearances at the 1988 Grammy Awards and on The Dick Cavett Show in 1970.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia recommended Joshua Greenberg’s Washington Post article, “Will Covid-19 End the Use of Paper Money?”

• Neil commented on Evan Osnos’ New Yorker article, “How Greenwich Republicans Learned to Love Trump.”

• Niki discussed this interview she did at The Intercept, “Are Trump and the Anti-Lockdown Militias Itching for Violence?”

Episode 228: Ahmaud Arbery

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• 25-year old Ahmaud Arbery was murdered while running in Satilla Shores, Georgia. Natalia cited this piece at The Conversation by sociologist Rashawn Ray, and tweeted this thread about the racialized history of running. Neil referenced the history of Stand Your Ground laws in Florida.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia reflected on the announcement that J. Crew is filing for bankruptcy.

• Neil commented on the Netflix show Hollywood.

• Niki discussed Ed O’Loughlin and Mihir Zaveri’s New York Times article, “Irish Return an Old Favor, Helping Native Americans Battling the Virus.”