Sex Strike, David McCullough, and Doris Day

Past Present Episode 180

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss a proposed “sex strike,” historian David McCullough’s new book, and the life and legacy of Doris Day. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Actor and activist Alyssa Milano this week suggested that women withhold sex from men until women achieve ...
Read More
Sex Strike, David McCullough, and Doris Day

Electability, Caster Semenya, and Rachel Held Evans

Past Present Episode 179

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the concept of “electability,” the gender policing of South African runner Caster Semenya, and the legacy of Christian writer Rachel Held Evans. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: With over 20 Democratic candidates in the running, “ electability” is ...
Read More
Electability, Caster Semenya, and Rachel Held Evans

John Singleton, Anti-Semitism in the New York Times, and TikTok

Past Present Episode 178

In this episode, Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the legacy of filmmaker John Singleton, an anti-Semitic cartoon in the New York Times, and the latest social media sensation, TikTok. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Filmmaker John Singleton has died. Natalia discussed this article by Singleton in the Hollywood Reporter about whether a ...
Read More
John Singleton, Anti-Semitism in the New York Times, and TikTok

Ancestry.com, Vigilante Border Patrol Groups, and Cargo Shorts

Past Present Episode 177

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss outrage over an Ancestry.com ad, vigilante groups policing the U.S.-Mexico border, and the controversy over cargo shorts. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Ancestry.com released – and quickly pulled – an advertisement depicting a romantic relationship between an African-American woman ...
Read More
Ancestry.com, Vigilante Border Patrol Groups, and Cargo Shorts

Notre Dame Cathedral, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and the Center for American Progress

Past Present Episode 176

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the fire at Paris’ Notre Dame cathedral, President Trump’s attacks against Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and the history of liberal think tanks. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: The world watched as Paris’ iconic Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed ...
Read More
Notre Dame Cathedral, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and the Center for American Progress

Reading the Mueller Report

You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime you just might find — you know how to read.

I understand why you wouldn’t want to read the whole thing through: it’s really long, repetitive and dull. But most of all, you will want to react before reading because you just wanted the Trump presidency to be over, right? You wanted Robert Mueller to make the case for why ...
Read More
Placeholder

Stephen Miller and DHS, Measles and the Anti-Vaccination Movement, and Adjunct Professors

Past Present Episode 175

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the influence of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, the resurgence of measles in the United States and the anti-vaccination movement, and the plight of adjunct professors. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: A spate of departures at the Department of ...
Read More
Stephen Miller and DHS, Measles and the Anti-Vaccination Movement, and Adjunct Professors

Reparations, Leggings, and Nipsey Hussle

Past Present Episode 174

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the case for reparations, why leggings are so controversial, and the legacy of rapper Nipsey Hussle. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Reparations for slavery have gained renewed currency among policymakers. Neil referred to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2014 essay, “The Case ...
Read More
Reparations, Leggings, and Nipsey Hussle

Reforming Congress is an Achievable Goal

John Lawrence’s Testimony before the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

Thank you for your invitation to appear today at this hearing, my first from this side of the dais. I want to offer four observations that, along with the advice from these distinguished congressional scholars, may help guide the work of this Select Committee. Despite the cynicism of many critics inside ...
Read More
Placeholder

The Fire This Time

Exiles on 12th Street, Episode Two

Violence against African American people creates pain and outrage, but policy makers offer us few solutions. In this episode, we ask: how can the fight for racial justice be accelerated, even as racism remains as persistent today as it was before the modern Civil Rights movement? In the spirit of ...
Read More
Placeholder

The Mueller Report, the Electoral College, and Arugula Lettuce

Past Present Episode 173

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the Mueller Report, the movement to end the Electoral College, and why not many Americans eat arugula lettuce. Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report has been released, though the public has only received ...
Read More
The Mueller Report, the Electoral College, and Arugula Lettuce