I subscribe to too many podcasts while simultaneously having less time to listen to them. Forgive the interlude as I catch you up on two weeks of podcasts.
Brattle Film Podcast :: Behind the Scenes on Boston Movies
The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge had a great series on Boston Movies and all four podcasts are worth listening to, but I particularly liked this final podcast where they interview on-set dresser Adam Roffman about the behind-the-scenes production of movies in Boston and how they’ve changed over time.
Fresh Air :: Jeffrey Toobin On The ‘Tragedy’ Of The Mueller Report
How the Democrats were out-maneuvered by the Trump administration allowing him to get away with obstruction of justice.
Radiolab :: Uncounted
An episode on voting rights focuses on the District of Columbia’s non-voting delegate to Congress and the movement to lower the voting age to 16.
This American Life :: Nice White Parents
A public middle school in Brooklyn with a predominately non-white student body deals with an unexpected influx of white students and the effects that of white parents involvement in the school operations. This is the first episode of Chana Joffe-Walt’s series called Nice White Parents that is both fascinating in its exploration of the changes at one school over time and cringe-inducing by the careless and clueless behavior of white parents (and the school districts who cater to their interests). I particularly like that Joffe-Walt asks tough questions and doesn’t let people get away without answering them.
Have You Heard :: Pandemics Pods: Parents, Privilege, Power, and Politics
Speaking of Nice White Parents, you may have heard of the latest trend of “pandemic pods” where parents pool together funds to hire a teacher or tutor to educate a small group of students at home instead of returning to school during the Covid-19 pandemic. This podcast explains the devastating effects this latest form of “white flight” will have and how it opens the doors to the worst offerings of disaster capitalists.
99% Invisible :: Policing the Open Road
A century ago, the rise of the automobile as a predominant form of transportation led to an increase of policing to enforce road rules. The changes lead to a vast increase in ordinary peoples’ interaction with the police, increased police power and professionalization, and even the loss of Constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizures.
Throughline :: Reframing History: The Litter Myth
In the 1950s, industry leaders organized to create Keep America Beautiful that produced public service announcements against littering. The seemingly benign ads had the effect of transferring responsibility for the environment from industries that made disposable single-use packaging to the personal responsibility of consumers. This conflict in how to deal with environmental issues persists to this day, and corporations still rely on “greenwashing” to make them look environmentally responsible.
Code Switch :: Kamala, Joe, And The Fissures In The Base
If you listen to pundits, and the Democrats 2020 presidential candidate, you might come to believe that Black Americans are a monolithic voting bloc. This myth is dispelled in Code Switch where the diversity of opinions and conflicts even within Black families over politics are strong.
Decoder Ring :: Mystery of the Mullet
The mullet hairstyle, short in front and long in back, is worn by a diversity of people ranging from macho men in rural communities to lesbian women, from hockey players to heavy metal heads. But the Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term “mullet” only to 1994, surprisingly late for a hairstyle identified with the 1980s. Willa Paskin investigates this linguistic mystery. Personally, I never heard the term mullet until the late 1990s and had heard them called short-longs prior to mullet gaining popularity.
RUNNING TALLY OF PODCAST OF THE WEEK APPEARANCES
Panorama of the Mountains 