Taiwan, the Oakland Fire, and Black Santa
Past Present: Episode 63
In this week's episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the future of the One-China policy, the tragedy of the Oakland fire, and the Mall of America's first black Santa.
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Performing the Brown Man Post 11/8
The Looks of Strangers and the Gaze of Phantoms
This piece is part of the OOPS Series, "Social Interaction."
I noticed him straight away. It was not the way he walked, slouched, each step an exercise in ascending and descending; like his legs were made out of the springs that vacillate bobble heads. It was not the casual style in ...
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On Not Giving Up
In the Wake of Donald Trump’s Victory
During the weeks leading up to the election, I must have seen Tammy Duckworth’s TV ads hundreds of times. One of her punchlines, a line that was supposed to sum up her generous democratic egalitarianism and contrast it with the punitive austerity of her opponent, was this: “If you don’t ...
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The Revolt of the Rust Belt
A closer analysis of Trump’s victory
The election is over and a potentially disastrous candidate has won. The damage to civil tolerance and multiculturalism is likely to be profound. A lot of people’s lives will change. Naturally, people are asking the question: who could have voted Trump into office? Well, clearly it’s white people. This isn’t ...
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Donald’s Dick
A Man Against the Institutions
This election is about the sex of state. In the eyes of millions of his supporters, particularly the men who would make him President, America’s manhood is at stake. Donald Trump is running as an erect phallus, a sexually aggressive man who can break through the forms, crush our enemies ...
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The Postcoloniality of Gender
This post is part of the Bodies, Gender, and Domination OOPS Series.
To elucidate further the connection among (post)colonialism, gender, and domination, two texts in particular come to mind: Chandra Mohanty’s “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” from 1984 and M. Jacqui Alexander’s “Not Just (Any)Body Can Be A ...
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Trump and the End of America’s Dreaming
The other day as my son and I walked to his school, he began riffing -- as 5 year-olds are wont to do -- on the wonder of the police. As most kids do at some point, he has developed an interest in uniformed public servants. The police interest him ...
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Prince’s Little Red Corvette
This submissions was part of the #PurpleReigns: A Tribute to Prince event hosted at the New School, Friday, September 23rd.
My Facebook feed filled with amazing stories after Prince died. Revelations sparked by his songs; his mystique. Transformations sparked by fleeting encounters with the enigmatic Artist.
But I hesitated to share my ...
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When Doves Cry
This submissions was part of the #PurpleReigns: A Tribute to Prince event hosted at the New School, Friday, September 23rd.
“When Doves Cry,” was the first Prince song I ever heard. It introduced me to his persona, his fearlessness, his unapologetic blackness, and his refusal to have what all of that ...
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Presidential Debates, Stop and Frisk, and Fat Shaming
Past Present Episode 53
In this week's episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss the presidential debates, the constitutionality of stop and frisk, and obesity and medical care.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
Do presidential debates change election results? Natalia pointed to research that showed debates had only small electoral ...
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Football and Protesting: America’s Pastimes
With the start of autumn in the United States comes apple pie, fall foliage, and football season. The National Football League’s (NFL) 2016 season was kicked off by an unusual symbolic protest that has spurred a national conversation. Colin Kaepernick, a biracial quarterback on the San Francisco 49ers, decided to ...
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Mother Teresa, the Alt-Right, and Taco Trucks
Past Present Episode 50
In this week's episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia debate the canonization of Mother Teresa, the rise of the alt-right, and the menace of taco trucks.
Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:
Mother Teresa has been declared St. Teresa by Pope Francis. Natalia noted the controversy that has ...
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