How do you like it so far?: Recent Episodes

Henry Jenkins, Colin Maclay

Academics Henry Jenkins and Colin Maclay use their combined knowledge to dig deeper and ask more ambitious questions than most pop culture podcasts out there – not doing recaps or just remaining on the level of entertainment coverage. For them, popular culture offers resources for asking questions about who we are and where we are going, questions that can be political, legal, technological, economic, or social, but often cut across all of the above.

MIT Media Lab’s Mitchel Resnick speaks with us about the development of his Lifelong Kindergarten research group and their efforts to affect the educational landscape through creative technological activities. Throughout the conversation, we describe the shifts in academic environments, starting from the free-form, highly imaginative kindergarten rooms to the stricter halls of higher learning. Mitch relates these changes to different uses of technology within the classroom setting and the differences in learning methods. He emphasizes that participatory uses of technology, such as remixing media or sharing projects, invite creativity and community for students. We compare Mitch’s practices to those used by fandom and liken them to building LEGO masterpieces without instructions; both emphasize the sharing of information and building communities. This conversation with Mitch is filled with the hope that curiosity and creativity will keep people as lifelong learners.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Lifelong Kindergarten
MIT Media Lab
Mindstorms (book)
Scratch platform
OctoStudio
A New Guide for Building Neurodiversity Oases for Connected Learning through Role Playing Games, FabLabs, Minecraft, BTS Fandom, and More (article)
Pointing at the Wrong Villain: Cass Sunstein and Echo Chambers (article)
Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media (book)
Start with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio (book)

People & Places:

Stewart Brand
Natalie Rusk
Seymour Papert Henry writes about Papert’s “Samba Schools”
Jean Piaget
Tod Machover
Mizuko Ito
West Coast Computer Faire
Samba school
Reggio Schools
David Weinberger
Cass R. Sunstein
Karen Brennan
James Paul Gee

Media:

LEGO
LEGO Mindstorm Kits [history, shop link]
The Hundred Languages of Children (poem)
The Sims [videogame franchise]
SimCity

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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USC professor of English, gender & sexuality studies, and American studies & ethnicity, and chair of the Department of Gender & Sexuality Studies Karen Tongson and NYU Assistant Professor of History Adrian De Leon join us to talk about their adoration of baseball and reality TV. Using their piece “Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series,” we discuss the affective and cultural dialogues sports media creates. Karen and Adrian draw from their own Filipino upbringings and fandom of the MLB to showcase the complexities between corporate actions, fan desires, and the influence of imperialism in athletics. We then relate the creation of narratives and societal reflections in sports to reality TV shows like The Amazing Race and Traitors. The conversation culminates in a description of how sports fandom and reality TV watchers are more strongly alike than others think. Karen and Adrian suggest that people both enjoy and be critical of sports and reality TV because they can assist with understanding the world around us. Or, they can help us laugh at social rules within romantic relationships or sports rituals.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Both Sides Now: On the 2025 World Series
The Latinos of Asia: How Filipino Americans Break the Rules of Race
Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries
Journal of Popular Music Studies
The Filipino National Anthem
Tender Labour Migrant Care Work, Filipina/o Young People, and Family Life across Borders
Glenn Burke, 1st openly gay MLB player, is shunned no more — 40 years after coming out
Henry writes extensively about reality television in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

People & Places:

Media:

2025 MLB World Series
MLB
NFL
NBA
Traitors (US)
- The Traitors Official Podcast
American League Division Series
The Real Housewives franchise
Bravo TV
Joey Bautista's bat flip
Kawhi Leonard’s Iconic Buzzer-Beater vs 76ers
All-Star Baseball (Video game)
Strat-O-Matic
Top Chef
Iron Chef (Japan) [YouTube, Wikipedia]
Survivor
The Amazing Race
The Gaymazing Race (podcast)
2026 Olympics
- Alysa Liu Gold Medal
- CAN vs USA Women’s Hockey
US vs CAN women’s hockey rivalry
WWE
- Smackdown (TV show)
AEW
Pope and Chicago Bears memes [Instagram, TikTok]
Heated Rivalry

See even more links for this episode on our website!

For another perspective on reality television, check out our earlier episode with Diane Winston on Religion and Reality Television

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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University of Chicago Assistant Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies,

AE Stevenson and Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Brooklyne Gipson join us to talk about digital Black feminism online. We start our discussion with America’s relations with the platform TikTok, and how it is a large social media site for Black creators. We then explore how to define community and culture, especially for Black people online, in a world resistant to progress. Building from this, AE and Brooklyne discuss how certain communicative practices in the Black community focus on storytelling as a vehicle for critical thought rather than a lack of media literacy education. This leads to the larger topic of online discourse around the films Sinners and One Battle After Another. We end with dissecting how the recognition of, or lack thereof, Black culture affects people’s views of these films. Although they both feature Black actors, they interact with culture very differently. Ultimately, we push for an awareness of the multilayered discussions of media seen as progressive or discursive. They should think about what cultures and communities are being featured and how.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code
Algorithms of Oppression
Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness
Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok
Digital Pleasure and Danger: A Roundtable Discussion
Niggas on the Internet: Scenes of a Black Social Life (Dissertation)
Sites of Chaos: Scenes of a Black Social Life (book in progress)
he Black Mirror World: Racialized Disinformation and Misogynoir Online (book in progress)
The Comet (1920) [short story, article]
The Souls of Black Folk
Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans

People & Places:

Ruha Benjamin
Ryan Coogler
Teyana Taylor
Safiya Noble
Simone Browne
Jasmine Crockett
Centinela Drive-In
Steve Jobs
Charli D'Amelio
Leonardo Chiariglione
Toni Cade Bambara
W. E. B. Du Bois
Denzel Washington
Lupita Nyong'o
Michael B. Jordan
Nia DaCosta
Sonja Norwood (wickdconfections)
Leonardo DiCaprio
Timothée Chalamet
Sam Raimi
Kevin Samuels
Andrew Tate
Candace Owens
Charlie Kirk
Erika Kirk
Nicki Minaj
Steve Bannon
Paul Thomas Anderson
Maya Rudolph
Minnie Riperton

Media:

Michael B. Jordan Wins Best Actor | 98th Oscars Speech (2026)
Sinners (2025)
One Battle After Another (2026)
Twister (1996)
OscarsSoWhite and The Legacy of Halle Berry by Be Kind Rewind
Scream franchise
- Scream (1996)
- Scream 7 (2026)
Scary Movie franchise
- Scary Movie (2026 film)
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Bugonia (2025)
Magnolia (1999)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
Inherent Vice (2014)
Phantom Thread (2017)
Licorise Pizza (2021)
Moonlight (2016)
James Bond series
- Live and Let Die (1973)
Oregon Trail (game)
Lex Marie artwork
A Thousand and One (2023)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
The Jazz Singer (1980)
TikTok finalizes deal to form new U.S. unit with major American investors
Is the new US TikTok safer?
Candace Owens takes on Erika Kirk in 'The Bride of Charlie'
Erika Kirk Accidentally Mixes Up 'Grift' Instead of 'Grit' in Awkward Moment at Turning Point USA Event
Vine
TikTok
YouTube
Wickdconfections Black American recipe series
Exalted (book)

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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None

Showing her love of movies, Izzy from Be Kind Rewind chats with us about her process of creating video essays and connection to researching actresses in the Hollywood system. We discuss how her fannish love of TCM films turned into a passion for making videos and navigating complex topics often overlooked or simplified into gossip. Diving deeper into this, Izzy speaks about her recent video on actress Merle Oberon’s race as it relates to William Wyler’s Wuthering Heights (1939) and its latest adaption by Emerald Fennell. There we discuss how the construction of stardom and the text of a piece impact readings of race as a racialized work attempts to become de-racailized by directorial choices. Using her Vanessa Redgrave video, Izzy also talks to us about the Oscars,its relationship to politics, and how it impacts actresses. We end this longer epsiode with a hint of the future for Be Kind Rewind and our 2026 Oscar predictions. Afterwards, Samantha and Henry give their Oscar predictions in every category.

This episode is filled with fun, fandom, and just a touch of Hollywood magic! We get into what passions drive a video essayist and the interesting topics that can happen about the film industry if we are not strictly going by salacious headlines. It is an episode that not only asks viewers to watch more films but, also challenges them to think about the wider implications of the moving image.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Some Suggested BKR Videos:

YouTube [Channel Link]
Nebula [Channel Link]
Merle Oberon and the Whiteness of Wuthering Heights
Why Vanessa Redgrave Gave the Most Controversial Oscar Speech Ever
How Carrie Fisher Blurred Fact and Fiction
Performing Authenticity: The Cinema of Lady Gaga
Sofia Coppola and The Godfather Part III Disaster
How Michelle Yeoh Went from Bond Girl to Best Actress Oscar Winner in the American Media
The Feud of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford | 1963: Pt. 2

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans Hardcover
WMC Investigation 2026: Gender and Non-Acting Oscar Nominations - Full Report
Why Analyze Inclusion at the Oscars?
Hollywood Diversity Report
JSTOR
Hollywood Babylon

People & Places:

Media:

TCM
Oscars
- The 98th Academy Awards (2026)
Wuthering Heights (1939 film)
Wuthering Heights (2026 film)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Did Yoko Break Up The Beatles?
Sadly, Wuthering Heights Discourse Is That Deep
1978 Oscars Vanessa Redgrave Win
Kanopy
Criterion Channel
Tubi
Little Gold Men podcast
Film Comment podcast
Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast
Funny Girl (1968)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Bad Cinderella
Gone With The Wind (1939)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Sinners (2025)
One Battle After Another (2025)
Hamnet (2025)
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Hollywood (TV mini series)
Feud (TV series)

You might also enjoy our previous Oscar Themed episode and the Oscar Watch series Henry is currently running on his blog.

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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Professor of Journalism at USC Annenberg, Robert Kozinets, and Henry Jenkins speak with us about their ongoing book series Frames of Fandom. Both authors explore how they met, their ever-evolving work in fan studies, and what inspired them to create a 16-book series. Both scholars discuss the complexity of fandom as it intersects with consumer culture and subcultures. They even ask if fandom itself can be considered a subculture or something akin to religion! The conversation ends with a discussion of accessibility to academic texts, their choice of writing personal ethnographies throughout the books, and the future of the book series.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Frames of Fandom book series [Amazon Link]
Netnography Unlimited Understanding Technoculture using Qualitative Social Media Research
Influencers and Creators Business, Culture and Practice
Convergence Culture
Convergence Culture Consortium
Textual Poachers

People & Places:

Led Zeppelin
Camille Bacon-Smith
Constance Penley
Eric Arthur von Hippel
Rogers Centre
Disneyland
- Haunted Mansion
Jonas Brothers
George Lucas
Pop Mart
JK Rowling
Daniel Miller
Michael Baxandall
Angela McRobbie

Media:

2025 MLB World Series
1993 World Series
CFL
MLB
Super Bowl LIX
Labubu
Reddit
Facebook
Star Trek
Aurora monster models [Article on toys]
Dark Shadows
Universal Monster Films
Famous Monsters of Filmland
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
Strange Sports Stories [Article on the comic series]
Space Jam (1996)
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Harry Potter
HBO
Magic The Gathering
Monster Hunter
Fortnite
Dragon Ball
Ford Mustang
Disney Bounding [Blog Guide]

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, Bertha Chin— Senior lecturer and the Director of the National University of Singapore’s Communications And New Media program— and Swapnil Rai—Associate Professor Film, Television and Media Associate Professor Communication and Media at the University of Michigan—join us to speak about the global streaming media landscape. From Bollywood to Hollywood, Rai and Chin dissect the complexity of media movements as both parts of cultural imperialism and the widening of fandoms. Both scholars lead us through discussions of the transnational circulations and development of series on streaming platforms, relating them to the wider topic of power relations within globalization. By the end, we are left to examine how we engage with transnational shows, who produces them, and how other countries have interpreted the same show. Is streaming the best way to be exposed to other cultures, or is it trying to mobilize the audiences and resources of other countries?

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

Transnational Streaming Television Reshaping Global Flows and Power
Networked Bollywood How Star Power Globalized Hindi Cinema
Crowdfunding the Future Media Industries, Ethics, and Digital Society
Eating Fandom Intersections Between Fans and Food Cultures
Bollywoodizing Netfix or globalizing Hotstar? The cultural-industrial logics of global streaming platforms in India
Modi vs. Wild: Celebritized Politics and the Mediations of a Spiritual Strongman
What Is Arthouse Cinema? A Guide to Movies Off the Mainstream Path [Article Link]
Netflix Subscribers Statistics 2026 [Link]
South Korean Panda discourse [News Link]

People & Places:

Venice International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
Trader Joe’s
Ted Sarandos
Reed Hastings
Lori Morimoto
Julia Sonnevend
Moo Deng
Narendra Modi
Bear Grylls
Victor Orban
Priyanka Chopra
Lee Jung-jae
Quentin Tarantino
Sergio Leone
Bong Joon Ho
Dave Chappelle
Takashi Miike

Media:

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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In this episode, we chat with Ethan Zuckerman— a Public Policy, Communication and Information professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst— about his views on the present political climate and major movements occurring in reaction to the Trump administration. From the anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis to memes on the internet to the Boston Massacre, we discuss the various forms of resistance the public can perform in the face of adversity. Zuckerman also delves into the historization of mass movements and how their retellings, or lack thereof, can shape how we perform and learn about resistance. We end by circling back to a discussion of memes and AI as they influence how America views current events. Zuckerman leaves us wondering what America looks like and how the celebrations will roll out as we hit its 250th birthday in 2026. In particular, we explore what monuments and memorials might look like if they emerged bottom-up from the people rather than top-down from government institutions.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

How Right Wing Influencers Used AI Slop to Turn Renee Good Into a Meme
Gramsci’s Nightmare: AI, Platform Power and the Automation of Cultural Hegemony
Mistrust Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them
Digital Cosmopolitans Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It
1984

Historical Events or Celebrations:

America’s 250th bicentennial
Boston Tea Party
Boston Massacre
1992 Los Angeles riots/ Rodney King Riots
Watergate
Lincoln Brigades
Kent State shootings

People & Places:

Alex Pretti
Renee Good
Rodney King
George Floyd
- George Floyd Memorial
Eric Garner
Elon Musk
Alexander Hamilton
Antonio Gramsci
Jill Lapore – These Truths
Heather Cox Richardson
Stone Mountain
National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Harold Innis: Marble vs. Papyrus
James Mitchner on Kent State

Media:

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
1776
Hamilton
Mary Tyler Moore Anti-ICE statue [Link]
JD Vance Couch Meme [News Link]
US Tries to Take Greenland [News link]
White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest [News link]
Grok “Woke Bias” [News link]
Trump White House “Walk of Fame” Plaques [News link]

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, Mathew Klickstein , the host of Comic-Con Begins, and Emily Schindler, Senior Director of Learning and Engagement at the Comic-Con Museum, educate us on the history of and learning opportunities at San Diego Comic-Con. Mathew discusses how Comic-Con formed and why he documents that history in his podcast and his book, See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture. Emily informs us about what is displayed at the Comic-Con Museum and the educational programs she runs. She describes the outreach and collaboration that happens between the museum and institutions around San Diego County.

At the heart of this conversation is the formation and nurturing of communities that occur because of Comic-Con. Mathew tackles this as a SDCC historian and Emily as an SDCC educator. By the end of the episode, we ask how the culture and construction of SDCC have changed since its inception. We also question what being part of the Comic-Con means and how it's preserved.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic/Educational readings and resources:

See You At San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture
Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age
Diary of Anne Frank
Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World
Connected Learning Initiative
Only at Comic-Con Hollywood, Fans, and the Limits of Exclusivity
Comic-Con Kids
Comic-Con Museum
- Comic-Con Museum Educational Access Program [Link]
San Diego State University Comic Collection
Comic-Con Kids

People & Places:

Media:

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Slimed!: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

In this episode, we welcome Melanie Kohnen, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies for Lewis & Clark College, and Billy Austin Tringali, an Instruction Librarian at the Indiana University Indianapolis and the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS), to discuss the culture and function of pop-culture conventions (“cons”). Melanie shares her research on the encroaching influence of media companies on spaces such as San Diego Comic-Con, especially as they literally extend their promotions to outside of the convention center. Meanwhile, Billy speaks about his work running the annual JAMS@AX Symposium at Anime Expo and his own research regarding animanga content.

This conversation examines the intersection of academia and non-academic spaces, like fan events, and how media businesses build relationships with their audiences. Melanie and Billy explore how both academics and con-goers can experience conventions as fans and build a sense of community at these pop-culture events. They offer various modes of experiencing conventions and ways of accessing fans as part of larger promotional content. From Japan to the US, Billy and Melanie show us that conventions are places of scholarly work, fun, and play!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Readings, Journals, and Resources:

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
“The experience economy of TV promotion at San Diego Comic-Con”
“From Comic-Con to Amazon: Fan conventions and digital platforms”
Journal of Anime and Manga Studies (JAMS)
- JAMS@AX
Mechademia
Anime and Manga Studies
Swarming SDCC
Manga in Libraries
Anime Con search website [link]
Henry’s “Performing Our Collective Dreams: The Many Worlds of San Diego Comic-Con”
Henry’s Frames of Fandom book series

People and Places:

Dr. Suzanne Scott
Jillian Rudes
Maria Bonn
Frenchy Lunning
Maria K. Alberto
Emilie Waggoner
Dr Zoe Crombie
Theodore Gournelos
Dr. Roman Gomez
- Physics of Anime lecture [video]
Janine Sun
Werner Herzog
Benedict Anderson
Ryan Murphy
Anime Expo
San Diego Comic-Con
Wonder Con
Dragon Con
Kingston Public Library
Comiku Girls
Anime Boston
- Boston Cosplay Human Death Match [link, video]
Petco Park
Dashcon
Rose City Comic Con
Gallifrey One
MagicCon

Media:

Abbott Elementary
- SDCC 2025 Abbott Elementary Block Party
Pokémon [website, anime]
Yu-Gi-Oh [card game, anime]
Dragon Ball
Television Without Pity
Howl’s Moving Castle
Demon Slayer
Walking with Dinosaurs
Peacemaker
- Peacefest SDCC 2025 [link, video]
HBO Max
Tubi
Pluto TV
Psych
Glee
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Playstation
Mortal Kombat 1
The Good Place
- SDCC Panel 2018 [video]
Superstore
- SDCC Panel 2019 [video list]
Magic the Gathering
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Crunchyroll
Toho Animation
Delicious in Dungeon
Dungeons and Dragons
Kimba the White Lion
Yu Yu Hakusho
House of the Dragon
Dr. Who

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
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In this episode, Professor Brian Hu from SDSU helps us tackle the world of Asian and Asian American cinema as they travel throughout various locales. Hu’s position as a film scholar and Artistic Director of the San Diego Asian Film Festival leads us through conversations about how people connect with and discover Asian culture. We touch on how regionality and heritage influence people’s interactions with Asian and Asian American media. We also discuss the shifting definitions of Asian American and how that plays out in AAPI/AANHPI film festival creation. Hu guides us through the process of film curation and circulation at AAPI/AANHPI film festivals. In the end, we ask Hu what to look forward to for the upcoming 2025 SDAFF on November 6-15. Our discussion with Hu leaves us wondering what the future holds for Asian and Asian American media as global industries become more invested in Asian works like K-pop, anime, and Labubus.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Readings:

Worldly Desires: Cosmopolitanism and Cinema in Hong Kong and Taiwan
Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video
Making Asian American Film and Video History, Institutions, Movements
Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.: Gen Z to AAPI Direct Marketing and Its Effects on Native Hawaiians (chapter)
Pop Cosmopolitanism: Mapping Cultural Flows in an Age of Media Convergence (chapter)

Names and Locations:

Payal Kapadia
Anna May Wong
Nancy Kwan
Lisa Lu
James Shigeta
Peter X Feng
Jun Okada
John Woo
Dante Bosco
Ingyu Oh
Daniel Dae Kim
Bruce Lee
Jackie Chan
Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli
Satoshi Kon
Big Bang (group)
Ang Lee
Seafood City

Film Festivals:

San Diego Asian Film Festival
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Cinecon
Festival de Cannes
Busan Film Festival
Golden Horse Film Festival
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Berlin Film Festival

Movies, Shows, and Media:

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, we chat with Diana Leon-Boys— Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Communication Arts—about her lifelong work examining the navigation of girlhood through a Latinx lens. Her book Elena, Princesa of the Periphery: Disney’s Flexible Latina Girl extends conversations about minority representation and the complex relationship it has with child development. We host a dialogue between Diana’s research and Henry’s observations about boyhood in his book Where the Wild Things Were: Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America. We discuss how both scholars pull from their own personal experiences growing up in America and how they interacted with their childhood media.

We explore how the proliferation and production of children's and family media shape ideas of adolescence. Diana and Henry relate this back to their roles as parents within an ever-evolving media landscape where funding for educational children’s content is dwindling. They further discuss how representation within media has changed over time and minority groups’ relation to it. This is where Diana brings in her newer projects about depictions of Quinceañeras and Día de los Muertos in TV and films. We are left to ask what the politics of childhood are and what reforms can be done with current children’s media.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Texts

Diana Leon-Boys:

Elena, Princesa of the Periphery: Disney’s Flexible Latina Girl

Quinceañeras: Latinidades and Girlhood in Popular Culture

Henry Jenkins:

Where the Wild Things Were: Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America

The Children’s Culture Reader

“Just a Spoonful of Sugar: Permissive Child-Rearing and Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins”

“‘You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught’: The Whiteness of Permissive Culture”

MIT Salute to Doctor Seuss

Interview about the book

Others:

Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life

Kids in the Middle: How Children of Immigrants Negotiate Community Interactions for Their Families

Latina Teenhood: Intersectionalizing subjectivities in the post-network era.

Crafting Public Opinion: The Effectiveness of China’s Media Control Policies under Xi Jinping

Made to Play House: Dolls and the Commercialization of American Girlhood, 1830-1930

Advice Books:

The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care

Dare to Discipline

People, Places, Toys, and Holidays

Philippe Ariès

Dr. Vikki Katz

Día de los Muertos

Quinceañeras

Benjamin Spock

Margaret Mead

Dr. Seuss

Fred Rogers

Stephanie Pérez

Raquel Reyes [American Girl Doll]

Samantha Parkington [Doll]

Julie Andrews

Walt Disney

Disneyland and Disney World

Paper Dolls

FDR

Sigmund Freud

Shows, Films, and Other Media

Pee-wee’s PlayHouse

Dennis the Menace [59-63’ show, Comics]

Leave It To Beaver

The Cosby Show

One Piece [Anime, Manga, Live Action]

Disney+

Encanto

Coco

Snow White [Animated, Live Action]

Little Mermaid [Animated, Live Action]

Chinese State Media sounded like Fox Media

Rogue One

Sesame Street

Gordita Chronicles

Baker and the Beauty

Bluey

Descendants film franchise

On My Block

Wednesday

Mary Poppins

Saludos Amigos

Harry Potter film series

Dora The Explorer

The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Mad Magazine

Classic Illustrated

Gabby’s Dollhouse

Quinceañeras episodes

Super Sweet 16
Wizards of Waverly Place
Dora the Explorer

News

Defunding of PBS

Quinceañeras in Protest

One Piece Flags in Indonesia

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Neta Kligler-Vilenchik— Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem— and Ioana Literat— Associate Professor of Communication, Media, and Learning Technologies Design at Columbia University— discuss their book, Not Your Parents' Politics: Understanding Young People's Political Expression on Social Media. They create a dialogue around the ways young people engage with politics using social media, noting the differences between platforms and regions. Kligler-Vilenchik and Literat tie this into the 2016 and 2024 election cycles, along with international bureaucratic frictions.

Both scholars tell us about their growing research on youth cultures’ interactions with politics and how those have shifted over time. They cover how younger people are often involved in politics, whether it be via fandom or other forms of civic imagination. They end by suggesting that these intersections between the younger generations and politics can be optimistically inspiring.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Texts

Not Your Parents' Politics: Understanding Young People's Political Expression on Social Media

[Oxford, Amazon]

By Any Media Necessary The New Youth Activism [NYU Press, Amazon]

Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance [TWC]

The Image War Moves to TikTok Evidence from the May 2021 Round of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict [Taylor & Francis Online]

Dynamics of scale shift: Contentious places and hybrid activism on social media [Sage Journal]

People Mentioned

Joe Rogan

Kamala Harris

Donald Trump

Barrack Obama

Hillary Clinton

Xi Jinping

Nancy Pelosi

Alexandra Pelosi

David Hogg

Lillian (Lilly) Boxman-Shabtai

Taylor Swift

Keren Tenenboim- Weinblatt

TV, Films, and Other Media

Captain America [IMDB]

Harry Potter [IMDB]

Donald Trump Speech LipSync [YouTube link]

Extra Fun Tidbits + News

Civic Paths [Website Link]

Scratch Online Coding Community [MIT Site link]

Fandom Forward [Link]

Little Pinks [Article Link]

South Korea President Removed From Power [Article Link]

Romanian TikTok Election Scandal [BBC Link]

Teen Activism Against School Shooting After Parkland [PBS Link]

Slacktivisim [Article Link]

Henry Jenkins on Emma Gonzale’s Jacket and youth activism [Brown Journal of Public Affairs]

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (Connected Youth and Digital Futures)

None

In this episode, we welcome Abigail De Kosnik, an Associate Professor and Director of the Berkeley Center for New Media and the founder of Fan Link, and Jinyi Li, the technology chief of Fan Link, to discuss their groundbreaking platform connecting fandoms with education and activism. Abigail shares how Fan Link fosters media, racial, and gender literacy through creative fan-driven projects and real-world action, empowering fans to make a difference.

The conversation also examines the differing fandom strategies used by Democrats and Republicans in the recent election. Abigail and Jingyi explore how fan communities can influence political narratives and inspire collective action, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of fandom and politics.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

About our guest:

Abigail De Kosnik | Research UC Berkeley

Abigail De Kosnik Introduces Fanlink - News/Research - Berkeley Center for New Media

Fandom + Piracy: Fandom & Race Panel - Events - Berkeley Center for New Media

Interesting Facts and Fan Events mentioned:

Leslie Grace Says the 'Batgirl' Cancellation Felt 'Like Deflating a Balloon'

The 27 Club: A Brief History

The School for First Ladies Is Now in Session

The Herald on the 2017 Trump Inauguration TV listing as Twilight Zone episode

Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping film cast

Dragon Con

San Diego Comic-Con

Japan Expo

New York Comic Con

Osaka Comic Con Hannibal

People mentioned:

Braver Angels

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries – Proudly Representing the 8th District of New York

Bernie Sanders Official Website

Stormy Daniels Official Website

Academic Essays Mentioned:

New Audiences, New Textualities: Anti-Fans and Non-Fans - Jonathan Gray, 2003

Hillary Clinton fans

fandom and fan politics in the Philippines,

Series, Films, and Podcasts mentioned:

When Harry Met Sally… IMDB, “I’ll have what she’s having” [YouTube clip]

Groundhog Day IMDB

Hannibal on Prime

RuPaul’s Drag Race on WOW Presents Plus and Paramount+

The West Wing on Max

The Apprentice on Prime

Listen to Call Her Daddy on Spotify

Watch Friends on IMDb

Watch Survivor on CBS, IMDb, and Netflix

Watch The Bridge on IMDb and Apple TV

Joe Rogan

Check out our previous Episode 94: Curious Conversations Across the Divide with Mónica Guzmán

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, Jon Taplin— director Emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California—joins us to discuss his early years working with Bob Dylan, to his recent research on tech billionaires' growth in legislative influence. Taplin historicizes the changes in media’s ties to politics between the McCarthy era to the 2024 election cycle.

The discussion delves into the power of music to spark political thought and changes in people’s connection to pop culture during difficult times. We ask whether the media landscape has become more nihilistic and if there is room for local community-driven efforts. Taplin leaves us questioning where the relationship between pop culture and politics will go in America, as the system seems to be limiting the powers of creativity and political disobedience.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Academic Texts

The End of Reality: How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto [Amazon]

Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy [Amazon]

The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock-and-Roll Life [Amazon]

People Mentioned

Bob Dylan

Edward R Murrow

Rhiannon Giddens

John Perry Barlow

Elon Musk

Jeff Bezos

Peter Thiel

Charlie Parker

John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

Mike Bloomfield

Alan Lomax

Shows, Films, and Other Media

A Complete Unknown IMDB

Mean Streets IMDB

The Last Waltz IMDB

Squid Game watch on Netflix

Beast Games watch on Prime

Ted Lasso watch on Apple TV+

Schitt’s Creek watch on

Double Indemnity IMDB

Clipped watch on Hulu

Breaking Bad IMDB

Mad Men watch on AMC+

Succession watch on Max\The Wire IMDB

Homicide: Life on the Street IMDB

Hill Street Blues IMDB

Matlock (2024) watch on Paramount+

Knives Out IMDB

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery watch on Netflix

Columbo IMDB

Grand Theft Auto [YouTube Clips of Trailers for GTA 1-6]

The Sopranos IMDB

Newport Folk Festival of 1965 Bob Dylan Performance [YouTube clip]

FanDuel [Website]

Potluck [Website]

Virginia Public Radio [Website]

Extra Fun Tidbits + News

What does “kayfabe” mean in wrestling?

Criterion Channel “Dangerous Work: Cy Endfield, Film Noir, and the Blacklist” series

LA Fire Mutual Aid

LA Community Combats Fires

Poker Face Is the New Columbo

What does culture eats strategy for breakfast mean?

Trump vs 60 Minutes Lawsuit and Paramount Merger with Skydance

Public Media Defunded

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Magic Years: Scenes from a Rock-and-Roll Life

None

In this episode, Elizabeth Losh, Professor of English and American Studies at William and Mary, joins us to explore the transformative role of digital technology in politics, from past presidents' strategies to the present-day campaigns shaping our future. We dive into Kamala Harris’s first presidential run, examining her use of Instagram Live and how her social media presence has evolved since then. We also discuss her approach to engaging with voters this election cycle in public spaces, creating a dynamic connection between candidate and community.

We dissect the phenomenon of the memification in the election cycle, revealing how viral moments can shape narratives and influence public perception. Plus, we look at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s savvy social media tactics to galvanize voters.

Finally, we ask the question: if Kamala Harris secures the presidency, how can the momentum of youth engagement and enthusiasm cultivated through social media be sustained? Tune in for a thoughtful discussion on the future of political engagement in the digital age!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Selfie Democracy: The New Digital Politics of Disruption and Insurrection by Elizabeth Losh

Obama administration’s We The People platform

Obama addressing the interest in legalizing marijuana at the first ever White House online town hall

“Kamala is Brat” / Coconut tree tiktok

Vance’s Epic Egg Fail https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5BWPmIfFKo&t=70s

“Eating the dogs” remix from tiktok

Tim Walz car repair video clip

Jon Lovett on Survivor

Kamala Harris is reclaiming what it means to be a "woman in the kitchen" (Salon.com)

Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris/Walz on Instagram

Trump Uses AI for Church Photo https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/03/23/donald-trump-shares-fake-ai-created-image-of-himself-on-truth-social/

US Representative Mike Garcia https://mikegarcia.house.gov/

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, Professor and chair of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication, Aram Sinnreich, and Jesse Gilbert, an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of visual art, sound and software design, join us to explore the presence of data in our life and the future of data. The conversation starts with personal experiences at rallies and the challenges of digital activism. The guests reflect on their long-standing collaboration, which began in high school and led to their recent book, The Secret Life of Data.

Key themes include data privacy, the ethical implications of technology, and the influence of corporations on our digital lives. We examine the limitations of AI, the psychological impact of surveillance, and the need for technology to reflect societal values. This episode offers concise insights on building a more equitable tech future.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Aram Sinnreich

Jesse Gilbert

The Algorithmic Mirror: Reflecting data's role in modern life

“The Carrier Wave Principle” – International Journal of Communication

Health Care Reform Initiative · Clinton Digital Library

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Foucauldian discourse analysis

John Henry (folklore)

What Did Cambridge Analytica Do During The 2016 Election?

Watch Black Mirror on Netflix; IMDb

Steve Mann

The Truman Show on IMDb

Donna Haraway Archives - EERA Blog

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, David Wolinsky, author of The Hivemind Swarmed: Conversations on Gamergate, the Aftermath, and the Quest for a Safer Internet, and Sam Close, Assistant Professor at DePaul University College of Communication, join us to unpack systemic challenges in the video game industry. From gender and racial discrimination to toxic workplace culture, they highlight the need for moral courage, ethical decision-making, and structural changes to foster a more inclusive and equitable environment.

The discussion revisits key moments like Gamergate, a flashpoint that exposed deep-seated harassment, and explores movements like the "girls game movement" that sought to empower women in gaming. Despite progress through women-led initiatives and increased awareness, the industry continues to grapple with significant barriers to inclusion and diversity.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

The Hivemind Swarmed: Conversations on Gamergate, the Aftermath, and the Quest for a Safer Internet

Gamergate - Wikipedia
Gamergate | Summary, Facts, & Zoe Quinn | Britannica
What Gamergate should have taught us about the 'alt-right'

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell on why life is 'a game'

Purple Moon

What makes a AAA game a AAA game?

Party Like It's 1995: The Rise and Fall of the Girl Game
The ‘Girl Games’ of the ’90s Were Fun and Feminist

The Three Theories of Criminal Justice

Conclave on IMDb, official trailer

Watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb

Metacritic

Books Mentioned:

Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L. Evans

From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games, edited by Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins

Games Mentioned:

Hunt The Wumpus

Play the original Super Mario Bros Game Online

List of LucasArts games

Play Monkey Island Collection on Steam

The official home for The Legend of Zelda - Home

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

Sierra - King’s Quest,Sierra - King’s Quest

Pong Game

Home of the Cyberpunk 2077 universe — games, anime & more

baldursgate3.game

DOOM Eternal

Candy Crush

Play Tetris | Free Online Game

Maxis Studios – Official Electronic Arts Sites

Discover The Last of Us

Never Alone

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

None

In this episode, professors Colin and Henry, along with T.L. Taylor, Director of the MIT Game Lab, explore the rise of game studies as an academic field. Taylor shares her journey from studying virtual worlds in the 90s to becoming an expert in live streaming and eSports, shedding light on gaming's cultural impact and academic challenges.

They delve into the interactive relationship between game designers and players, examining how games reflect socio-technical systems. The conversation also touches on eSports, its growth into a major profession, and the influence of game developers and venture capital.

The episode wraps up with a discussion on the broader concept of play, including theme parks and the desire for "re-enchantment" in everyday life, highlighting the intersection of games, play, and self-expression.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Games Mentioned
Everquest
World of Warcraft
I Love Bees
The Beast

Important Concepts in Games
Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs)
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)
Minmaxer

T.L. Taylor publications
Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming
Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming
Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture
Games Matter (Knight Foundation)

Other Research Mentioned
Pew research on gaming, 2017
Nancy Baym and Jean Burgess, Twitter: A Biography (hashtags as a user-generated intervention)
Alice Marwick (networked harassment)
Eric von Hippel (innovation)
Jane McGonigal, Why I Love Bees: A Case Study in Collective Intelligence
Chris Weaver, ‘Elder Scrolls 6’: How the Series Became a Hit With Elderly Gamers
Jean Beaudrillard
Bruno Bettelheim

Other Mentions
Twitch
Twitch Top Streamers 2024

Gamergate

World Cyber Games

USC Esports
UC Irvine Esports

Sherry Turkle, also see Episode 89: Sherry Turkle on Empathy and the Narratives That Shape Our Lives, and her book Life on the Screen

Cory Doctorow Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom ; also check out our previous Episode 45: “Radicalized” with Cory Doctorow

Check out our previous Episode 92: Disney Theme Parks with Rebecca Williams and Lauren Sowa

This Is What U.S. Presidents Would Look Like With Mullets, According to AI (Newsweek)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, we chat with Charlie Jenkins, whose lifelong passion for wrestling sparked a remarkable journey into writing. He started writing fan fiction around the age of five, dictating stories for his father to type on the computer. In high school he became an active player and game master in e-wrestling, an online roleplaying game that allowed fans to write their own pro wrestling characters and storylines, and now Charlie has crafted a unique voice in wrestling literature. His novel American Wrestling 1989 fills a niche in wrestling-related fiction, weaving together the complex narratives of individuals in the industry and capturing the vibrant essence of 1980s wrestling beyond traditional sports stories.

We explore the emergence of wrestling fiction as a genre, influenced by the mainstream success of wrestling personalities and Charlie’s own experiences working with a small wrestling franchise. The conversation examines how American wrestling shapes cultural narratives and its global representation, alongside the transformative role of WWE and Vince McMahon in the industry's evolution.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Charlie Jenkins’ book: American Wrestling, 1989 buy on Amazon, Audible

Clips featured in the episode:

The Undertaker
Dusty Rhodes
Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair
Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger address Glenn Beck

Wrestlers Mentioned

The Undertaker and his instagram
Hulk Hogan
Dwayne Johnson and his instagram
John Cena
Dave Bautista
Rick Flair
Dusty Rhodes
Yokozuna
Bret Hart
Mick Foley
Gorgeous George
Anthony Bowens
Sonya Deville
Shayna Baszler
Toni Storm
Nyla Rose
Sonny Kiss
Becky Lynch
Jake Hager

Creature From the Black Lagoon (movie)

Pee-wee Herman

WWF Superstars of Wrestling
Young Rock (watch on NBC)
Heels (watch on Netflix)
GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling - watch on Netflix)
Masters of the Universe (watch on Netflix)

Cirque du Soleil

The WWE and AEW

Lucha VaVoom de La Liz

Wayne Cowan

Vince McMahon
McMahon Family
Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, by Abraham Riesman

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

None

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the evolution of food television, from the early days of simple, instructional shows to today's diverse and dynamic culinary landscape. We'll explore how icons like Betty Crocker shaped early cooking programs, empowering women in the kitchen, and how trailblazers like Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, and Guy Fieri pushed boundaries—changing not just how we cook, but how we see race and gender in food media.

We’ll also journey into the origins of Iron Chef, its impact on Asian identity, and how it became a global cultural phenomenon. Plus, we’ll reflect on the genre's transition to streaming, where shows like Chef’s Table have brought a more artistic, inclusive approach to the culinary world. And as food competition shows shift from cutthroat to kind, what does the future hold for food media?

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Books by Tasha Oren: Food TV; Global Asian American Popular Cultures

Joyce Chen

Eddie Wang

David Chang

The Evolution of Television Formats

MasterChef Junior: Watch on Hulu

Project Runway: Watch on Netflix, IMDb

Survivor: Watch on CBS

Julia Child
Julia Child’s The French Chef by Dana Polan
The French Chef with Julia Child
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum ; Julia Child clip

Emeril Lagasse ; Emeril Live clip

Iron Chef ; Netflix Trailer

Wall Street (1987 film)

Hillary Clinton and the Return of the (Unbaked) Cookies - New York Times
Hillary Clinton explains "Bake cookies" remark April 1992 - Dailymotion

Betty Crocker - history; Betty Crocker on the radio

Guy Fieri

Food Network

Curtis Aiken

Mind of a Chef: Watch on Youtube, IMDb

Chef’s Table trailer; Watch on Netflix, IMDb

Jeff Yang's new book, The Golden Screen

William Shatner

Hell's Kitchen: Watch on FOX, IMDb
Gordon Ramsay on Hot Ones

Baking Impossible trailer

The Great British Bake Off

Bong Appetit: Trailer; Watch on Youtube, IDMb
Vanessa Lavorato & Miguel Trinidad (Bong Appetit) - The Smokebox
Cooking with Cannabis

Bake Squad trailer

The Bear trailer: Watch on Hulu, IMDb

Simply Sara (YouTube)

Check out our previous Episode 61: Broken Bread with Chef Roy Choi and KCET’s Juan Devis

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

None

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating journey of Barry, a visionary who started as an aspiring theme park ride designer and evolved into a groundbreaking toy creator and educator. We explore how divergent and convergent thinking shape creativity, and how toys serve as more than just playthings – they're tools for limitless imagination. From Lego’s transformation to society’s expectations on toy use, we challenge the restrictions imposed on children’s creative freedom. Discover how kids naturally hybridize toys like Barbies and action figures, and why the industry’s focus on specialization might be stifling their innovation. We also examine the role of franchising in shaping toy creativity, and dive into the often-overlooked world of industrial design, pondering how media could elevate its visibility. And yes, we even touch on poop technology!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

x.com/kudrowitz

design.umn.edu/directory/barry-m-kudrowitz

Sparking Creativity: How Play and Humor Fuel Innovation and Design

MIT East Campus: Building Tradition with an East Campus Roller Coaster

David Robert Wallace

Nerf Super Soaker

Comparative Media Studies Degree Programs MIT

Incongruity theory of humor

Jake The Dog Adventure Time Handmade Plush Toys (12 inches)

The Lego Movie

Harry Potter™ Toys and Gifts | Official LEGO® Shop US

Rocket Racoon

Tinkerer

Burn Notice

Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)

Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking: Finding Balance [2024] • Asana

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking

Pretend Play Toys and Play Sets

Home | Official LEGO® Shop US

The LEGO Movie (theme)

Toy Story | Official Disney Site

Weird Barbie – Barbie The Movie

Soakies

The 'Unitasker' Kitchen Gadgets Alton Brown Loves To Loathe

Will It Waffle?

Top 20 toys

What is Incremental Innovation?

Furby

Tamagotchi

MrBeast Lab Collection

Flamin' Hot

Air

Tetris

Play Tetris | Free Online Game

BlackBerry

Project Runway

RuPaul's Drag Race

RuPaul's Drag Race (@rupaulsdragrace) • Instagram photos and videos

Junkyard Wars

Scattergories

The History of Poop Is Really the History of Technology

How your poop can help train AI

Erik Erikson

Erikson's Stages of Development

Squatty Potty

Toilets of the World - Harvard Book Store

Pooping Rainbow Soft Serve Unicorn

squattypotty.com/products/dookie-plush-unicorn?srsltid=AfmBO…DQkq

Dude Wipes

This Shark Tank winner has a $1 billion plan to replace toilet paper

Shark Tank Success: Dude Wipes Flush The Competition

TUSHY - The Modern & Sustainable Bidet Company

The best bidets of 2024, tested by editors | CNN Underscored

PRISTINE Toilet Paper Spray: As Seen on Shark Tank, the More Natural Alternative to Flushable Wet Wipes & Personal Cleansing Wipes, Spray Toilet Paper to Create Flushable Wipe, Original 4oz

Toilet Paper Sprays | Biodegradable Flushable Wipes | Pristine Sprays

Watch The Great American Baking Show (2023) Online for Free | The Roku Channel | Roku

The Great American Baking Show (@thegreatamericanbakingshow) • Instagram photos and videos

Great British Bake Off - Homepage

Watch The Great British Bake Off

Check out our previous episode with Jackson Bird

Transmission podcast

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet

https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet

Spaceship by Lesion X

https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream:

https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental

Free Download / Stream:

https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship

Music promoted by Audio Library

https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Grace L. Dillon is an American academic and author. She is a professor in the Indigenous Nations Studies Program, in the School of Gender, Race, and Nations, at Portland State University. She received her PhD in literary studies with an emphasis in sixteenth-century literature, and her recent research regards Science fiction studies, especially the use of science fiction by indigenous peoples around the world. Similar to the concept of Afrofuturism, Dillon is best known for coining the term Indigenous Futurisms, which is a movement consisting of art, literature and other forms of media which express Indigenous perspectives of the past, present and future in the context of science fiction and related sub-genres. Dillon is the editor of Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction, which is the first anthology of Indigenous science fiction short stories, published by the University of Arizona Press in 2012. Previously, Dillon has edited Hive of Dreams: Contemporary Science Fiction from the Pacific Northwest, which was published in 2003 by Oregon State University Press. This is an anthology of science fiction from writers living in the Pacific Northwest, and features works from authors such as Greg Bear, Octavia Butler, and Molly Gloss. She also coedited The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms with Taryne Jade Taylor, Isiah Lavender III, and Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay. Here, we discuss with Grace her origins into science fiction and the mentorships she received from the distinguished feminist science fiction writer, Ursula K. LaGuin. We define the concept of Indigenous Futurisms and its origins, taking time to understand the representation of the future and of tradition and what indigenous scientists have taught us about environmental sustainability. She also discusses the genre in other media, including film, television, and graphic novels, all of which are experiencing the growth of native contributions in recent years.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

In the article that inspired the episode, friend of the podcast Jeff Yang wrote about indigenous responses to James Cameron’s Avatar:
Opinion: The awkward truth about the new ‘Avatar’ is far bigger than its bottom line | CNN

Grace Dillon Books
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigeneous Science Fiction
The Routledge Handbook on Co-Futurisms

Her Mentor:
Ursula K. LaGuin
The Dispossessed

Futurisms and other Science Fiction Subgenres:
Indigenous Futurisms
Afrofuturism
African Futurisms
Gulf Futurisms
Israeli Futurisms
Asian Futurism
Latinx Futurism
Native Time Slips
Alternate Histories
Splatterpunk
Slipstream

Roots of Afrofuturism:
Mark Dery; Flame Wars
Samuel R. Delaney
Tricia Rose
Alondra Nelson
Nnedi Okorafor

Indigenous cultures and policies:
UNDRIP
Two Spirit
Lost generations
Mi’kmaq Language
Crystal Echo Hawk

Native Science and Scientists:
Gregory Cajete
High context vs low context science
Robin Wall Kimmerer; Braiding Sweetgrass
Global Weirdness
Spiral to the Stars
Kyle Whyte
Indigenous Mobilities
Anthropocene

Literary Works (including Graphic Novels):
Moon of the Crusted Snow
Louise Erdich; Future Home of the Living God
Claire G. Colman; Terra Nullius
Sherman Alexie
Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection

Film and Television:
Reservation Dogs
Molly of Denali
Taika Waititi
Night Raiders
Jeff Barnaby
File Under Miscellaneous
Resident Alien; “Radio Harry”
Helen Haig Brown
The Cave
Wayne Blair; Cleverman
Alien races on Star Trek
Richard Dreyfuss

Further Resources suggested by Grace Dillon:
Indigenous Community: Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh Fire by Gregory Cajete (2015)
Sandtalk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta (2020)
Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez (2022)
We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (2017)
Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities by Michaela Stith (2021)
Daniel H. Wilson – Robopocalypse; Robogenesis
Rebecca Roanhorse
Antlers – Directed by Scott Cooper (2021)

Check out these previous episodes:

Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk
Episode 83: Indigenous Voices for Environmental Justice with Candis Callison & Julian Brave NoiseCat

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Robopocalypse: A Novel

Time Shifts: Experiences of Slipping into the Past and Future

We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet

Robogenesis: A Novel

Caty Borum, Executive Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact and Provost Associate Professor in the School of Communication at American University, joins us again to discuss her new book, The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power. Starting with what Caty finds funny and how she uses comedy as part of her practice as an educator, we go on to talk about how comedy can allow us to approach territory where we feel uncomfortable and provide a forum to share the diversity of our lived experiences. Drawing on Caty’s experiences working with comedy writers and comedians, we explore what’s necessary to create comedy that engages audiences around societal issues and helps move social change. Of course, we couldn’t resist sampling some of Caty’s favorite clips along the way, which are linked below.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Caty Borum - Center for Media and Social Impact
The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power (2023, NYU Press)
Author Caty Borum discusses how comedy will fuel the future of social change (WAMU)
A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice (2020, Univ of California Press)
Story Movements: How Documentaries Empower People and Inspire Social Change (2020, Oxford University Press)
Yes, And...Laughter Lab

Some of the videos we talked about:
Inside Amy Schumer - Season 4, Episode 3: "Guy-gles"
Georgia Tech - Freshman Convocation - Epic Welcome Speech
Life's a F***ing Fantasy for Santos - A Randy Rainbow Parody
You're Welcome America: Episode 3 Mental Health
Ain't Your Mama's Heat Wave | Official Trailer | Think 100% FILMS
The Hammer - Comedian Corey Forrester
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Reservation Dogs

Also, see the ongoing list of Guest Hosts for The Daily Show (and watch episodes) HERE

And check out our previous episodes:
Taking risks: Comedy as Tool for Social Justice, with Caty Borum
Play as a Precursor to Participation, with Reanne Estrada and Benjamin Stokes

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In addition to being Henry’s former dissertation advisee, Meryl Alper is am an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies (College of Arts, Media, and Design) and Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (Bouvé College of Health Sciences) at Northeastern University. At Northeastern, she studies the social, cultural, and health implications of communication technologies, with a focus on disability, digital media, and children and families’ technology use. Her books include Digital Youth with Disabilities (MIT Press, 2014) and Giving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality (MIT Press, 2017), which was awarded a 2018 PROSE Award Honorable Mention from the Association of American Publishers and the 2018 Outstanding Publication in the Sociology of Disability Award from the American Sociological Association. Her latest book, Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), explores the media and technology practices of young people on the autism spectrum, as well as what it means to be “social” in a socially mediated world.

She also drew on her professional experience in educational children’s media as a researcher, strategist, and consultant with Sesame Workshop, PBS KIDS, Nickelodeon, and Disney. In this conversation, we explore basic concepts such as “spectrum” and “neurodiversity” and what they mean for parents living with autistic children. We learn more about the methodologies she uses to learn more about families living with autism and how she incorporates the perspective of the children themselves in her research. We consider the role of schools and parents in helping to create a world where such students thrive. Above all, we dig deeper into their relationship with media, ranging from the ways media creates sensory experiences to the importance of games, from adaptive technology to fandom. We also consider how autistic people get represented across a range of media properties. And we close with the issue of what she would change about the world if she had magic powers.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Meryl Alper

Meryl Alper interviewed on Imagine Otherwise podcast
Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age
Giving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality
Digital Youth with Disabilities
T is for Transmedia

Debates about spectrum
Neurodiversity
Fandom and Neurodiversity
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Other Researchers
Bruno Bettelheim
Sue Fletcher-Watson
Steve Silverman – Neurotribes
Kathryn Ringland
Marshall McLuhan

Media Mentioned
Autcraft
Roblox
Big Bang Theory
Community
Atypical
The Good Doctor
Rain Man
Sia – Music
Heartbreak High – Chloe Hadden
“Loop”
The Good Fight
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
Wonder
Warrior Cats
PBS Kids
Hero Elementary

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week we’re joined by USC Faculty colleagues Alison Trope, Clinical Professor of Communication, and DJ Johnson, Associate Professor of Practice, Cinematic Arts. Together they direct the Critical Media Project (CMP), a free media literacy web resource for educators and students (ages 8-21) that enhances young people’s critical thinking and empathy, and builds on their capacities to advocate for change around questions of identity. The website includes around 700 pieces of media and wraparound pedagogical resources that focus on seeing across difference, in order to surface questions that can then be addressed in the open. It can be used independently, and is also aligned with the Common Core for use in schools. Throughout this episode we’ll listen to media examples with Alison & DJ to discuss how CMP works and how it can be used.

Alison and DJ begin by telling us about their own media backgrounds, and how they reconcile their own positionality in these issues of identity when teaching and bring that conversation into the classroom, so it can become a shared space of engagement for all. After digging into some of the areas of identity currently tackled by CMP, we discuss how students and educators have engaged with it, both by using the resources as well as creating their own media, and through their latest curricular project, the fully-online Critical Makers Lab.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Alison Trope
DJ Johnson
Critical Media Project
Critical Makers Lab
CMP DIY Activities:
I am, but I'm not...
Making Change
Mapping My World + Community
Identity Collage

Applying the Common Core - Critical Media Project

Alison & DJ’s childhood TV favorites:
Wonder Woman (TV Series 1975–1979) - IMDb
Charlie's Angels (TV Series 1976–1981) - IMDb
CHiPs (TV Series 1977–1983) - IMDb
Battle of the Planets (TV Series 1978–1980) - IMDb

Videos we watched and discussed, as they appear with discussion questions on the CMP site:
Zootopia - Press Conference Scene
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED Talk
Rise (dinner table)
I'm Trans, But I'm Not
Ships at a Distance

Also mentioned:
educator, author, and media literacy advocate Renee Hobbs
W.E.B Du Bois’s 1890s infographics

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Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Robeson Taj Frazier is an associate professor of communication and director of IDEA (the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg), as well as the author of The East is Black: Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination and KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell, and producer of IT'S YOURS: A Story About Hip-Hop and the Internet and Hip-Hop and the Metaverse on PBS. Reflecting on his roots and early influences, he takes us through his journey from New Jersey to China to academia, having produced both books and multimedia along the way.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Robeson Taj Frazier
IDEA: Institute for Diversity & Empowerment @ Annenberg

Books:
The East Is Black: Cold War China in the Black Radical Imagination
KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell

Film/TV:
IT'S YOURS documentary
Hip-Hop and the Metaverse | PBS

Early influences:
Mr T. as B.A. Baracus on the A-Team
GI Joe
Jem
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson with Charles S. Dutton
Watermelon Man

American Culture in China (1990s):
Mariah Carey / Yanni
W.E.B. DuBois
Paul Robeson
Discman
Darlie toothpaste

Marguerite de Bourgoing

The Misadventures of AWKWARD Black Girl (Issa Rae)

Tricia Rose

Lupe Fiasco

Roblox

Ben Caldwell / KAOS Network:
Project Blowed, a workshop space utilized by:
The Pharcyde, Freestyle Fellowship, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar
Leimert Phone Company project

MIT Radiation Laboratory history / video

Welcome to Meta

Second Life

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

As a former volunteer and later employee of Fandom Forward (what was then called The Harry Potter Alliance) and a transgender man, Jackson Bird’s feelings about Harry Potter have certainly evolved, especially given the extremely divisive statements JK Rowling has made about the transgender community. He shares how what was once an important part of his identity has faded away and why, as well as how he feels about his memoir four years later and what he’s working on now.

Here are some of the references from this episode for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Jackson Bird

Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place (A Transgender Memoir) (Simon & Schuster)

Jackson Bird - YouTube

Cool Stuff Ride Home podcast

First Draft Theater newsletter

The Infinite Wrench — The New York Neo-Futurists

Henry’s writing about the Harry Potter Alliance:
"Cultural acupuncture": Fan activism and the Harry Potter Alliance

Wizard Rock

Fandom Forward > (formerly The Harry Potter Alliance)

Jackson Bird: ‘Harry Potter’ Helped Me Come Out as Trans, But J.K. Rowling Disappointed Me (NY Times Opinion)

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast

Judy Blume clarifies J.K. Rowling remarks: ‘I wholly support the trans community’ (The Hill)

Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival

Florida Anti-Trans Legislation

Rick Riordan on Trans Youth and LGBTQ Characters

Harry Potter TV Series

Fan Petition Against “platforming” Rowling

‘Grapevine’: An original podcast from NBC News Studios - a story about fringe religious movements trying to remake the American education system based on their biblical values

Velshi Banned Book Club on Apple Podcasts

Pottermore

Moving Trans History Forward Conference

Amazon Erases Orwell Books From Kindle Devices - The New York Times

Episode 101: BBSs and Early Internet Communities with Author Kevin Driscoll

Episode 69: The Power of Fan Activism with Janae Phillips and Shawn Taylor

By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (NYU Press)

Scholastic criticized for optional diverse book section - ABC News

Scholastic Backtracks on Isolating Works on Race and Gender at Book Fair - The New York Times

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin, and the How Do You Like It So Far? team! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music & Additional Audio:
HBO Harry Potter Series announcement video

The Witch Trials of JK Rowling podcast

Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Our guest today is Maggie Hennefeld, McKnight Presidential Fellow and Associate Professor of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, who has co-curated a dvd set of the medium’s early female comedians titled Cinema’s First Nasty Women. Maggie talks us through the current resurgence in interest in silent cinema and the global landscape of festivals, supporters and restoration projects, as well as her own journey of scholarship in the field that led to her collaborating on this important project. All this interest seems long overdue considering the fantastically experimental and entertaining material, which is raucous, varied and vast, often making radical social commentary that still resonates today. Maggie vividly describes several highlights in this comprehensive collection, and the women who were behind and in front of the camera. In addition to assembling, restoring and annotating the films, the team also engaged over 45 mostly female composers to write and perform both traditional and avant-garde scores for each film, and she talks extensively about that process. We also discuss the erasure of this material from the silent film canon, and women from comedy (among many other fields) in general, and how these films both give us a new understanding of comedy in this era, even as they inform our on-going struggles with sexism and racism today, by showing us images of women that are simultaneously empowering and troubling. All films are contextualized with expert commentary, allowing them to be used in classrooms or otherwise as jumping-off points for deeper conversation. Finally, Maggie shares some thoughts from the book she’s currently working on about the notion of “hysterical laughter” and its supposed danger to women.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Cinema’s First Nasty Women
DVD Booklet Insert

Maggie Hennefeld’s other publications:
Death from Laughter, Female Hysteria and Early Cinema
Specters of Slapstick and Silent Film Comediennes

Other Curators of the set:
Laura Horack – Girls Will Be Boys
Elif Rongen-Kaynakci – EYE filmmuseum

Henry Jenkins, What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy and the Vaudeville Aesthetic
Charlotte Greenwood
Winnie Lightner
Lupe Velez
Fanny Brice
Sarah Silverman
Ali Wong
Wanda Sykes

James Agee – “Comedy’s Greatest Era”
Charlie Chaplin in Mable’s Strange Predicament

Silent Film Culture
Women and the Silent Screen
Nitrateville
Silent London
Edward Everett Horton
Steve Massa and Ben Model – silent comedy Watch Party

Silent Film Festivals
Pordenone Film Festival
Bologna Film Festival
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
El Festival Internacional de Cine Silente México
Hippodrome film festival

Trump – “Nasty Women”

Film Scholars
Shelly Stamp
Liza Black
Arigon Starr

Female Filmmakers
Lois Weber
Sarah Duhamel
Mabel Normand
Bertha Augustus
Leontine
Alice Guy-Blache
Minnie Deveroux – “Fatty and Minnie He-Haw”
Faye Tincher
Dorothy Arzner
Texas Guinan
Ida Lupino

Silent Film Music
Gunther Buchwald
Steven Horne
Neil Brand
Jose Maria Serralde Ruiz
Dana Reisen – Score
Dreamland Faces

Nasty Women team on Nitrateville Radio
Our previous Episode 30: The forgotten women of early filmmaking

History of the Tom Boy
Nancy Walker
Peg Bracken – I Hate Housework

Daisies

The Unknown

Arrest Warrant – Ukranian silent cinema

What’s Up Doc?

Undercrank Productions (silent film restoration)

Online screenings from the Bologna and Pordenone film festivals

Ziegfeld Follies
Hal Roach Studios

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Listen to the original episode HERE.

Bonus content not released as part of Episode 108 - hear the original episode here: https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/?p=1307

We’re thrilled to be joined by Academy-Award winning Production Designer Rick Carter, who has four decades of experience working on Hollywood productions, including with his own personal “Mt. Rushmore” of blockbuster directors: Stephen Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. Carter walks us through how he tackled his latest Oscar-nominated project, The Fablemans, and recounts numerous other experiences on some of the most memorable movies over the past 40 years, as he elaborates on his approach to the role of the Production Designer, and how his understanding of cinema as an art form has evolved over the years.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Rick Carter's exhibit at El Segundo's ESMoA

Some of the projects Rick has worked on:

The Fabelmans (2022)
Amazing Stories (TV Series 1985–1987)
Back to the Future (1985), Part II (1989), Part III (1990)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Avatar (2009)
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
complete IMDB credits

Other movies and moviemakers mentioned:
Steven Spielberg
Robert Zemeckis
James Cameron
J.J. Abrams
Leni Riefenstahl
John Ford

Blow-Up (1966)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Mogambo (1953)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Gunga Din (1939)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Minority Report (2002)
Charlie Chaplin’s “The Tramp” character

The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, 1964

For more on world-building check out these episodes:
Episode 11: Alex McDowell on world-building, production design, and Ready Player One
Episode 12: Ann Pendleton-Jullian on world-building, architecture, and wicked problems

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
John Williams - The Fabelmans (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The Wizard of Oz: Complete Soundtrack by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
John Williams ~ Amazing Stories

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

We’re joined by Alexandria Arrieta, doctoral candidate at USC Annenberg and Christopher Cayari, associate professor of music education at Purdue University, about how music creators are using platforms like YouTube and TikTok to not just share performances but actually create content and hone their craft. By providing a distribution outlet for amateur artists, these platforms have spawned not just viral sensations, but also new fandoms, new genres, and new paths to composition, technical mastery, and community. Where use of commercial music on these platforms was initially a concern for the industry, it has now become a metric used by the industry to gauge success. Join us for a deep dive into music on these platforms as we consider, what is the real goal behind this content creation – an specific artistic product, or the surrounding process and engagement? You may find yourself a new playlist!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Articles by Alexandria Arrieta:
‘This audio has potential’: Platform Lip-sync on TikTok (Journal of Popular Music Studies)
Splice and the platformization of hip hop production: Navigating the online music platform for royalty-free samples (Journal Global Hip Hop Studies)

Christopher Cayari’s YouTube Documentaries of his research

Lil Nas X “Old Town Road” sparked conversations about racial gatekeeping in country music, as well as virality

TikTok creators fund

Stacey Ryan open verse challenge Please Don't Text Me When You're Drunk

David Wesley Virtual Choir

Yochai Benkler - Intellectual Property

Musical.ly (precursor to TikTok)

Intense labor required to be successful on these platform - artists’ complaints about being pushed to create “viral” TikTok content by their labels

Lensa AI art app, copyright ethics questions

History of Napster

Rob Drew - Karaoke Nights

For more on collaborative co-creation, check out Episode 107: Co-Created Media and Collective Wisdom with Kat Cizek and William Uricchio

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
Ally Arrieta, Fairweather Friend

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus, Old Town Road

Stacey Ryan, Please Don't Text Me When You're Drunk

David Wesley Virtual Choir, Nothing But the Blood

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

We begin to talk about the story between MIT’s Open Doc Lab and our guests’ book Collective Wisdom with Kat’s experiences working for the National Film Board of Canada and how this provided a precious chance for her to dig into collective wisdom. William Uricchio brings in the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT and two major characteristics of its cross-media study: remarkable community and applying humanity to work. Then we talk about the diversity of co-creation, and our guests’ definitions of some key terms, including the difference between co-creation and collaboration. Looking at the deep roots of these practices from long before the modern notion of single-authorship, Kat & William’s book lifts up alternatives for dealing with today’s “wicked problems.” It also dispels the concept of a fixed narrative for an open one, making way for participatory culture. Through examples like MIT Co-Creation Studio’s Worlding initiative, AI, and Art/Science experimentation, we talk about decentralized decision-making, the ownership/authorship of co-creation, and re-think existing models of co-creation between arts and science. Finally, our guests are careful not to present co-creation as a panacea, and that accompanying strategies are necessary to make it productive.

Katerina Cizek is an Emmy-winning documentary director working across many media platforms: digital media, broadcasting (radio and television), print, and live presentations/installations. Her work has documented the Digital Revolution and has itself become part of the movement. As a filmmaker-in-residence, she has helped redefine the National Film Board of Canada as one of the world’s leading digital content hubs for a community-based and globally recognized documentary.

William Uricchio revisits the histories of old media when they were new; explores interactive and participatory documentary; writes about the past and future of television; thinks about algorithms and archives; and researches narrative in immersive and interactive settings. He is Professor of Comparative Media Studies, founder and Principal Investigator of the MIT Open Documentary Lab, and Principal Investigator of the Co-Creation Studio. He was also Professor of Comparative Media History at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and has held visiting professorships at the Freie Universität Berlin, Stockholm University, the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Lichtenberg-Kolleg), China University of Science and Technology, and in Denmark where he was DREAM professor. He has received Guggenheim, Humboldt, and Fulbright fellowships, the Berlin Prize, and the Mercator Prize. His publications include Reframing Culture; We Europeans? Media, Representations, Identities; Die Anfänge des deutschen Fernsehens; Media Cultures; Many More Lives of the Batman; Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media Within Communities, across Disciplines and with Algorithms, and hundreds of essays and book chapters, including a visual "white paper" on the documentary impulse (momentsofinnovation.mit.edu). He is currently leading a two-year research initiative on augmentation and public spaces with partners in Montreal and Amsterdam.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Collective Wisdom

National Film Board of Canada - Highrise

George Stoney

Colin mentioned “Bear 42,” but meant Bear 71 (and apologizes for failing memory). Here’s a short article on that film and the newer VR version of the original screen-based film.

Henry on Archive of Our Own

J.R.R. Tolkien on Subcreation

Waves of Buffalo and other MIT Co-Creation Studio Worlding projects

ISeeChange collective climate change study

Stephanie Dinkins, AI artist

Gina Czarnicki Artwork - Heirloom

Google Smart City Experiment in Toronto

Goncharov: The Fake Martin Scorsese Film the Internet Brought to Life

Check out our previous episode with Mike Monello

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

We start by digging into each of our guests’ definitions of “meme” (in contrast to Richard Dawkins), zeroing in on the agency of the meming process, how it connects with politics, and the need to be responsive to the way popular culture and the participating communities are using and defining these terms. Whitney offers “trolling” as an example to show how terms can be conflated and the consequences that result. Our guests talk about their recent research focuses: Sulafa has been looking at multilingual memes in the global south for an upcoming book, and Whitney’s early work on subcultures has led her to study mainstream political discourse. This leads to a rich discussion about current political discourse over new media platforms in the US and across the globe. Finally, Whitney and Sulafa each offer their strategies for media literacy in this interconnected media ecosystem.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Whitney Phillips
You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape
The Ambivalent Internet: Mischief, Oddity, and Antagonism Online
This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

Sulafa Zidani
chapter in: Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination: A Casebook
How to Conduct Internet Meme Research
Global Meme Elites: How Meme Creators Navigate Transnational Politics on the Multilingual Internet (forthcoming)
Global Meme Project

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

ROFLCon

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Kevin discusses possible futures of the internet and online communities. Be sure to check out the original episode at https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/episode-101-kevin-driscoll/

This week, we have Paul Mihailidis, Sangita Shresthova and Megan Fromm talking about their insights, stories, and theories in their book Transformative Media Pedagogies. We start with the three authors’ inspirations for their book, and then our guests share their definition of transformation, before discussing more detailed contexts for transformative media pedagogies and their mutual and crucial experiences at the Salzburg Academy which inspired them to write the book. Last but not least, we specifically talked about three sections in the book: care, imagination, and agency, and their importance for transformative media pedagogies, commenting on how to build those transformative experiences into teachers’ specific teaching contexts.

Paul Mihailidis's research explores the nexus of media literacies, community activism and engagement in civic life. He is the Founding Graduate Program Director of the newly launched MA in Civic Media: Art and Practice, a 12-month applied masters program that pairs students with organizational partners to solve problems at scale, and Faculty Chair and Director of the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change, a program that annually gathers scholars and students from around the world to investigate media and global citizenship. His most recent books, Civic Media Literacies (Routledge), Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice (w/ Eric Gordon, MIT Press) and Media Literacy and the Emerging Citizen: Youth, Engagement and Participation in Digital Culture (Peter Lang) explore the ways in which citizens use media to meaningful participate in civic life in the digital age.

Sangita Shresthova is a writer, thinker, speaker, researcher, and doer. She is an expert in online learning, media literacies, popular culture, cross-cultural performance, digital media, and civic engagement.

Megan Fromm is an affiliated faculty member in Emerson College and got her PhD in the University of Maryland.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Transformative Media Pedagogies

Max Reinhardt

Margaret Mead on Original Salzburg Academy on American Civilization

Spreadable Spectacle in Digital Culture: Civic Expression, Fake News, and the Role of Media Literacies in “Post-Fact” Society

Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change

Student Press Law Center

Paolo Freire: Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Kevin talks about what was happening in the 80s in France with Minitel

As one of the most influential musicians in Turkish history and the first modern pop star of Turkey, Zeki Müren gained huge popularity beginning in the 1950s across all different communities in Turkey, in spite of his groundbreaking behaviors like cross-dressing, and can be seen as an LGBTQ+ trailblazer. Even now, Zeki Müren continues to have a profound influence on Turkish society and on the Turkish people. We begin discussing how he became so popular with such a wide audience, then Beyza and Jeff talk about their own experiences with Zeki Müren, and what led them to create the interactive documentary Zeki Müren Hotline. After that, we compare the pop culture background while Zeki was performing with the current Turkish pop culture environment, and also discuss how Zeki kept the balance of pushing boundaries and also being conservative, how he used some survival behaviors, and what made him a national hero. Finally, our guests Beyza and Jeff share some stories from the Zeki Müren Hotline.

Beyza Boyacıoğlu is an award-winning documentarian and film editor from Istanbul, currently based in Brooklyn. Her work has been exhibited at MoMA, IDFA, Anthology Film Archives, RIDM, MoMA PS1, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Venice Biennial, Creative Time Summit, Barbican Centre, UnionDocs, Maysles Cinema, Morelia International Film Festival, !f Istanbul and many others.She created the interactive documentary Zeki Müren Hotline at the MIT Open Documentary Lab with Jeff Soyk.

Jeff Soyk is an award-winning media artist with experience in storytelling, direction, UX design, UI design, front-end development, animation, and film/video. His credits include co-director and UI & UX designer on Zeki Müren Hotline (2022 Webby Award Honoree: NetArt, 2017 !f Istanbul exhibit, 2017 RIDM exhibit, 2016 IDFA DocLab nominee), co-creative director and UI & UX designer on PBS Frontline’s Inheritance (2016 News & Documentary Emmy Award winner, 2016 Peabody-Facebook Award winner), and art director, UI/UX designer and architect on Hollow (2014 News & Documentary Emmy Award nominee, 2013 Peabody Award winner).

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Zeki Müren Hotline
Zeki Müren Hotline Kickstarter (w/ background info)

The Republic of Love: Cultural Intimacy in Turkish Popular Music

Turkey as Major Television Exporter
"Letter of Sorrow"

MIT Open Documentary Lab

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode, Lynn Spigel, Chair of Screen Cultures in the Department of Radio/TV/Film at Northwestern University, and our hosts discuss her research and new book, TV Snapshots: An Archive of Everyday Life, on snapshot technology and TV history. While working on a research grant for smart houses, Lynn began researching the ways in which everyday people pose with computers and TV sets. From there, she went on a journey of scouring thrift stores, vintage shops, and Ebay for more examples of these home photos of people posing with their televisions. According to her, these photos are not just evidence of conspicuous consumption but rather a myriad of other things: a backdrop of self-presentation, an erotic stage, a portal object, etc. These snapshots combine the snapshot camera and the television, two dominant technologies of middle and working class life during the mid-twentieth century, and expose a new counterhistory or countermemory of television that is more diverse and inclusive than we are used to seeing. To view these photos or upload your own examples, visit Lynn’s website, tvalbum.com. Selected photos are also available on this episode’s webpage.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A lot of parents nowadays are concerned about their children spending too much time on screens. We begin by discussing how screen time is inevitable in this post-pandemic era and that screen time itself might not be the problem. Lynn shares her own parenting experiences to state that parents also can use screen time and technology to build a good children-parent relationship and bond the family together. We then discuss the relationship between screen time and young people’s mental health, pointing out that the problem lies somewhere else instead of timing itself and we should consider other contexts like personal life when it comes to young people’s mental health. Also, regarding issues like “policing” and children’s rights, the key is the balance, and how parents use technology to create a wholesome societal environment are discussed.

Sonia Livingstone is a professor in the Department of Media and Communication at London School of Economics and Political Science. Much of Sonia’s research focuses on children’s rights in the digital age. Sonia has published 20 books on media audiences, especially on children and young people’s risks and opportunities, media literacy and rights in the digital environment, including The Class: Living and Learning in the Digital Age (New York University Press, with Julian Sefton-Green) (view here). Her new book is Parenting for a Digital Future: How hopes and fears about technology shape children's lives (Oxford University Press), with Alicia Blum-Ross (view here).

Lynn Schofield Clark is a media critic and researcher focused on media studies and film studies. She is a prize-winning author of several books and articles on the role social and visual media play in the lives of diverse U.S. adolescents. In her 2017 book co-authored with Regina Marchi, Young People and the Future of News, Clark and Marchi utilize an ethnographic approach to tell the stories of how young people engage with social media and legacy media both as producers and consumers of news. The book received the 2018 Nancy Baym Book Award from the Association of Internet Researchers and the 2018 James Carey Media Research Award from the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research Clark's book regarding parenting in the digital age is titled The Parent App: Understanding Families in a Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2012). Clark’s main contributions are in the areas of family media studies, media rich youth participatory action research and the mediatization (media) of world religions.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Parenting in the Age of Screen

Parental mediation theory for the digital age

The parent app: Understanding families in the digital age

Young People and New Media: Childhood and the Changing Media Environment

Gradations in digital inclusion: Children, young people and the digital divide

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Music:

In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet

https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream:

https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental

Music promoted by Audio Library

https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Kevin Driscoll, author and associate professor of Media Studies at University of Virginia, discusses the history of BBSs, or bulletin board systems, and how they have been overlooked as part of the history of the internet. Developing out of his early experiences with local online communities, Kevin approaches the history of the internet from a grassroots perspective, offering up true stories and examples of how everyday people developed communities online. He outlines how BBSs, from the late 1970s to the 1980s, develop from a space for computer club members to share information to a place where marginalized groups, for example gay men, could gather online. Using BBS lists that were either regional or interest-oriented, Driscoll has been able to uncover the various communities and practices of early online interactions that laid the groundwork for contemporary online social groups and platforms.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Kevin Driscoll Bio
Book, The Modem World

Fred Turner’s Research on The Well
Howard Rheingold’s Research on The Well
Byte Magazine Vol. 3 number 11 featuring Christensen and Suess Article on CBBSs
Kristen Haring’s Work on Postwar Ham Radio Culture
Susan Douglas’ Work on Ham Radio Culture
Charlton McIlwain’s Work on AfroNet

Relevant Background Information:
WIRED Article on The Well
Minitel
Quartz Article on Stacy Horne and Echo
MIT Project Athena
Internet as Third Space
Sherry Turkle
Amy Bruckman

Check out our previous episodes with Howard Rheingold and Sherry Turkle

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q

This week we are joined by archivist Jacqueline Stewart and historian Tyree Boyd-Pates to discuss the power of museum curation. The role of the museum curator is critical to the way that museums are experienced. We begin by discussing museums as “safe spaces for dangerous ideas” – in other words, how museums can be harbingers of racist and colonialist rhetoric when spaces are improperly curated. Museums can not only present history through materials, but also have the power to represent the present materials. We then discuss how museums can be spaces of change through seeing not only more presentation of anti-colonial materials, but also seeing those materials represented through an anti-colonial gaze. The guests stress the importance of having more African American curators in order to not only tell the history of a people, but of the community as well.

Jacqueline Stewart is film scholar, archivist, curator and a Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies and the College, Director of Arts + Public Life at the University of Chicago. She is also the Chief artistic and programming officer at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. She also serves as an appointee to the National Film Preservation Board and hosts Silent Sunday Nights on Turner Classic Movies.

Stewart is also the author of Migrating to the Movies Cinema and Black Urban Modernityand William Greaves Filmaking as Mission, and is an editor of L.A. Rebellion Creating a New Black Cinema.

Tyree Boyd-Pates is a historian, speaker, and museum curator at the Autry Museum of the American West as the Associate Curator of Western History. He previously held the position of History Curator and Public Program Manager at the California African American Museum. He began his career as a Professor of Africana Studies at California State University Dominguez Hills. He has curated shows for notable institutions such as the Smithsonian, the LA Philharmonic, The Getty, and more.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

“Where Are the Jews?”

Black Films at TCM

Black Cinema at the Academy Museum

“Oscars So White”

Iris Barry

Lewis Jacob

Oscar Micheaux

Anna May Wong ; Academy Series

Academy Museum Podcast

Making film history more inclusive

Racism in Animation

Gene Autry

Community Curation

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Our guest this week is Diana Williams, who, after 30 years in the entertainment media industry working on premier content like the Star Wars Marvel Cinematic universes, has founded a new company, Kinetic Energy Entertainment, focused on partnering with creatives to build new intellectual property (IP) for today’s rapidly changing media landscape. Starting with a clear and holistic definition of IP as being a story world with multiple points of entry for an audience, Diana sees this as a way to honor rich content by developing the ABC’s – Audience, Business, Creative – in tandem with specific media formats, thus building authentic engagement with the audience from the start, rather than marketing to them after a product is developed. We look at how entertainment revenue models have changed with streaming, and how business is struggling to change to fit that reality. Talking through one of her current projects, a PC game called Political Arena developed with pundit Eliot Nelson, we get a closer look at some of the strategies that guide this venture, and also the changing role of entertainment as a source of education. Without having the primary goal to educate, entertainment increasingly, if unwittingly, fills that gap, but does that make it a responsibility? While audience demand may still be dragging the legacy entertainment industry kicking and screaming toward changes in representation, that is the tide, and Diana is betting that building entertainment around audience truth is the way to develop solid and loyal fan relationships that will in turn feed into better content.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Diana’s company, Kinetic Energy Entertainment

More about the Peabody Interactive Board
And the inaugural Winners for Digital and Interactive Storytelling, which were announced on 3/24/2022

Some of the press coverage of Political Arena game:

Washington Post
NPR
Washingtonian
MarketWatch
Mic
The Times UK
Cheddar

Steam page, including the "attack ad" trailer for the game

Political Arena creator and HuffPost columnist Eliot Nelson (book, The Beltway Bible)

Science and Entertainment Exchange

Controversy over whether to recast T’Challa (Black Panther) in the MCU

For more on games-based learning, see:

Kurt Squire

James Paul Gee

Zoe Corwin

Katie Salen Takinbas

For more about building out story worlds, check out our previous episodes with Nonny de La Peña, Alex McDowell, and Ann Pendleton-Julian

We’ve also done several episodes about Transmedia Storytelling

For more on games-based learning, listen to our episode with Kurt Squire and Katie Salen Tekinbas.

… and for more discussion of Fast & Furious fandom, check out our previous episode with Sue Ding!

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week we are further diving into the recent banning of Art Spiegelman’s Maus by a school board in TN by speaking with comics scholar Hillary Chute, Distinguished Professor of English and Art + Design at Northeastern University and associate editor of MetaMaus. She discusses the history of the original publication of Maus and Spiegelman’s roots in the Underground Comics movement, which led to the elevation of the graphic novel. Then we move on to looking at why the book has been banned by the McMinn County, TN education board and situating those reasons within a larger context, including issues of otherizing Jewish histories and complicated parent/child relationships. She also uses examples from Maus to explain the power of comics as a teaching tool, and a way of processing trauma.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Our previous episode on the broader context of recent comics censorship, with critic Jeet Heer & Jeff Trexler of the CBLDF

Maus
MetaMaus
Original publication of Maus in 1972 Funny Aminals anthology

Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary (Justin Green, who passed away just before we released this episode)

History of Raw magazine, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly

Zap Comix, Robert Crumb

McMinn, TN Education board censorship of Maus

Other Holocaust narratives taught in schools (and banned):
Night and Fog (1956 film)
Banning Anne Frank – A Case of Censorship

Spiegelman and Sendak Collab Strip about kids reading Maus

Spiegelman’s Support for Children Comics:
Toon Books Imprint
Little Lit anthology series

Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe

Hillary’s forthcoming book of essays about Maus, Maus Now

Our previous episode with comics theorist Scott McCloud

Hillary’s recommendation: Joe Sacco

Our previous episode with Carol Tyler & Mimi Pond and the emergence of female-centered underground comics

In the Shadow of No Towers (Henry’s own writing on No Towers can be found here)

Reprinting classic comics – Sunday Press Fantagraphics

(NSFW or kids!) Wally Wood’s “Disneyland Memorial Orgy”

Will Eisner

Classics Illustrated comics

Librarians and Comics

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week Henry and Colin are joined by writer and comics critic Jeet Heer and Jeff Trexler, Interim Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, to discuss the broader context for the censorship of graphic novels in schools. Jumping off from the recent censorship of Art Spiegelman’s Maus by a TN school board, we review the long history and reasoning of censorship, policing, gatekeeping of comics – from early newspaper strips, to the first magazine books sold to kids in drug stores, the Senate investigation and self-censorship code of the 50s, and on to the Underground comics movement for adults and the independent comics of the 80s. Recently, we’ve seen the same concerns arise anew as equal protection laws have brought things that were once considered private into the public sphere, and the pandemic brought the classroom and its educational use of graphic novels into the home. We point out the changes that have led teachers and librarians to “switch sides” in this argument and become proponents of comics as literature, and talk about the role comics can play in engaging readers of all ages, as well as helping to express the full diversity of American culture. We end with some thoughts about how individuals can respond to the challenges comics are once again coming under and support their role in this dialogue.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Jeet Heer, columns in The Nation, The New Republic

books: Arguing Comics, A Comic Studies Reader, The Superhero Reader, In Love with Art

Jeff Trexler, Interim Director, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

McMinn, TN Education board censorship of Maus; Jeet’s writing immediately after
Leander, TX school district banning of graphic novel versions of The Handmaid’s Tale & The Lottery

Early newspaper comics: Katzenjammer Kids, Mutt & Jeff

Comics for older youth:
Duck Comics, Carl Barks
Crime Does Not Pay, Charles Biro
EC Horror comics, William Gaines
For more about the history of horror comics, see Episode 74: Horror, Social Change, and
Experimentation with Michael Monello and Qiana Whitted
Frederic Wertham and Moral Panic around Horror and Crime Comics
Frederick Wertham speech
The Comics Code

Underground Comics and the origins of the CBLDF:
Friendly Franks comics shop
Dennis Kitchen, comics publisher
Zap Comix, Robert Crumb
Raw, Art Spiegelman & Françoise Mouly
Film, Comic Book Confidential

Independent comics of the 80s aimed at adults:
Watchmen
The Dark Knight

The new wave of graphic novels aimed at youth again:
Bone, Jeff Smith
TOON Books, Françoise Mouly
Manga
Books By Raina Telgemeier

Other critically-acclaimed yet controversial graphic novels:
Gender Queer, Maia Kobabe

Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

Early proponent of comics for children Josette Frank
And today: Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table of the American Library Association

Henry’s book Comics and Stuff

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In this episode Stephanie Toliver, Assistant Professor of Literacy and and Secondary Humanities at University of Colorado Boulder and lifelong sci-fi nerd chats with Henry and Colin about her experience writing her hybrid PhD dissertation. As part of her PhD, Stephanie got the opportunity to work with the DEEP Center’s Block to Block Program teaching middle-school age black girls how to write science fiction. Her now published dissertation combines the stories written by those girls with theory and methodology to outline how Stephanie centers Black girls in her academic research. In this conversation they discuss how Stephanie’s leading style during the workshop was informed by the girls’ own interests and their storytelling instincts rather than the typical teacher-student model. As a group they engaged with afrofuturist stories from Black authors like Octavia Butler, Sherri L. Smith, Tracie Baptiste, and Nnedi Okorafor and used those stories to inform their own work. In detailing her own process, she explores with the hosts how academia should encourage storytelling, especially for scholars of color, rather than enforcing that they write in a more standard voice and tone. As a professor she encourages educators to use young adult literature to bridge the gap between learning and storytelling and more information about that can be found on her blog readingblackfutures.com.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Documentary on the DEEP Center’s Block by Block Program: Block by Block's Guide to Resilience 21-22

USC Annenberg’s Civic Media Fellowship

Henry’s Civic Imagination Project

On Spiritual Strivings, Cynthia Dillard’s Book that inspired Toliver’s teaching methods

Stephanie’s Blog Post Defining Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism Defined Elsewhere:
Afrofuturism: From the Past to the Living Present | UCLA
A Beginner's Guide To Afrofuturism: 7 Titles To Watch And Read (Essence)
How Afrofuturism Can Help the World Mend | WIRED
Afrofuturism: From Books to Blockbusters | It's Lit! (PBS)

Afrofuturist Texts Mentioned in the Episode:
Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
The Jumbies by Tracie Baptiste
Octavia’s Brood edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha
“Sera” by Nicola Yoon from Because You Love to Hate Me edited by Amerie

For more visit Stephanie’s blog here: https://readingblackfutures.com/black-girl-sffh/, https://readingblackfutures.com/black-boy-sffh/, https://readingblackfutures.com/black-sffh-anthologies/

Raymond Williams, “Culture is Ordinary”

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week Henry and Colin are joined by Cathy Cohen, a distinguished professor at the University of Chicago and Jen Humke, a senior program officer at the MacArthur Foundation to discuss Participatory Civic Media. Cohen discusses her work with The Black Youth Project and GenForward, projects that are focused on building independent institutions and influencing media institutions, respectively. These projects are supported by Humke through the MacArthur Foundation. We discuss the work introduced by the guests as they focus on engaging youth of color, predominantly Black youth in how they are represented and the way they represent themselves within digital media. Participatory civic media allow marginalized groups who have not had a voice in media, particularly in the political sphere, to now have one. We then consider the danger in focusing on voice more than power. More and more people may find their voice through a growing democratic digital media landscape, but that does not mean they are sharing in the power. How do we enact a power shift to give an equal playing field to all voices?

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Cathy Cohen is the David and Mary Winton Green Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. She is also the creator of The Black Youth Project and the GenForward Survey.

Cohen is the author of Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics and The Boundaries of Blackness: AIDS and the Breakdown of Black Politics. She is also a co-editor of Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Reader.

Jen Humke is the Senior Program Officer for the Journalism and Media program at the MacArthur Foundation. Her grantmaking work focuses on participatory civic media.

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Henry Jenkins, What Is Civic Media?

Black Youth Project
genForward Survey

Civic Imagination Project
Atlas of the Civic Imagination

Civic Media Fellowship

Danielle Allen on Reconciliation

From Voice to Influence: Understanding Citizenship in the Digital Age

Robin Kelly, Freedom Dreams

Alissa Richardson: Bearing Witness While Black: African-Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest Journalism

Megan Stielstra

Color of Change

Define American

Darnell Moore

Nicholas Negroponte – Being Digital

Crystal Echo Hawk
Reservation Dogs
Illuminative Podcast
Illuminative Netflix program

Connie Yowell

danah boyd

Mimi Ito

Digital Media and Learning
Youth and Participatory Politics

Joe Kahne

March for Our Lives

Q-Anon

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture (Fifteen Years Later)

Podcasting Origin Stories
BBC’s Noise: A Human History, “Radio Everywhere” (14:37)
FDR fireside chat 1 (12:57)
Norman Corwin (56:28)
Edward R. Murrow

Podcast and Discord
Radio Free Georgia
Ear Hustle
Nancy
How to Be a Girl; Peabody Award

Plus, check out these earlier earlier episodes:
Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk
Episode 22: Benjamen Walker and Wu Ming
Episode 81: Warren Hedges on the Fantasy Roots of the Capital Insurrection
Episode 48: Digital Diversity with Craig Watkins, Mimi Ito and Katie Salen
Episode 82: Bridgit Antoinette Evans and Tracy Van Slyke on the Intersection of Art and Activism
Episode 69: The Power of Fan activism with Janae Phillips and Shawn Taylor

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Mónica Guzmán, author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, is the Director of Digital and Storytelling at Braver Angels which is a cross-partisan nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging America's widening political divide. Mónica’s background in journalism and her own life experiences brought her to Braver Angels as a person interested in conversation without judgment. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants who considered themselves Republicans and a journalist, Mónica understands political party differences on a personal and professional level. In the episode she describes her journey to Braver Angels and details how the organization creates spaces, through workshops, where citizens across party lines can have difficult conversations. As she and Henry explore divides within family structure she notes how family ties put more at stake in these political conversations but how that can be extremely powerful even though it is uncomfortable. Trust and listening are more important than people may think when trying to have these conversations and Braver Angels helps people develop those skills. The end of the episode also addresses some of the controversy the organization has had recently surrounding the conservative opinions related to the January 6th Capitol attack and Henry and Colin discuss how Braver Angels transparently discussed their podcasting practices in relation to misinformation and conspiracies.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Mónica Guzmán

Book: I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times

Braver Angels
Mónica’s earlier journalism for The Evergrey (Seattle)
Interview with The Daily Kos (“you don’t have to talk to a Nazi tomorrow”)

Braver Angels’ list of roles we play in family conversations about politics

USC Norman Lear Center research on media consumption among liberals, moderates and conservatives

Jonathan Haidt: The moral roots of liberals and conservatives
And more about his book, The Righteous Mind

Braver Angels podcast and controversy:
Depolarization in the Age of Misinformation | Jonathan Rauch with David Blankenhorn & Ciaran O'Connor (our clip starts around min 7)

A Conservative Perspective on January 6th & the 2020 Election | Peter Wood with Ciaran O'Connor (our clip starts around min 17:00)

Braver Angels national debate to open up the larger question—"Should we draw lines?"—to hundreds of people. President David Blankenhorn chimes in toward the end of the video

Braver Angels Podcast host Ciaran O'Connor’s op-ed in the Deseret News with more of the product of Braver Angels’ reflection on what happened, and also YouTube's role

Mónica’s own reflection on the issue in an interview with the American Press Institute asking "what might journalism learn from 'bridging'?."

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times

For more with Josie Duffy Rice, listen to Episode 93!

This week Henry and Colin catch up with AnnLab Civic Media Fellow Josie Duffy Rice to talk about the stories we hear and tell about our criminal justice system, and how we can reframe them to focus on people, not punishment. Josie recalls how her early experiences as a journalist covering public prosecutors quickly made her realize how opaque the system was and how she continues to work to humanize issues of criminal justice reform and abolition through her work as a writer and podcast host on What a Day. We discuss how fictional narratives, like the myriad police procedurals on television, inform much of our common understanding (and mis-understanding) of the issues, and wonder what abolition media might look like, and how it can play a central role in the real work of transitioning our culture toward one where we don’t need police and prisons.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Josie Duffy Rice, Twitter, Instagram
What a Day podcast
Vanity Fair article, The Abolition Movement
The Appeal
Josie’s earlier work on Daily Kos

60 Minutes story about Glenn Ford, wrongly convicted to Death Row
Prosecutor Marty Stroud’s public apology

David Foster Wallace - This is Water

Progressive policing imagined on The Wire
Harvard Law School’s class on The Wire

Becoming Abolitionists by Derecka Purnell
Abolitionist Mariame Kaba

Conflict on Star Trek

Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk

This episode features clips from:
Friends: Season 7 Episode 11 "The One with all the Cheesecakes" and Season 6 Episode 9 "The One Where Ross Gets High."
Law & Order SVU: Season 15 Episode 7 "Dissonant Voices"
The Wire: Season 3 Episode 4 "Hamsterdam"
Scandal: Season 4 Episode 14

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Rebecca Williams and Lauren Sowa discuss Disney theme park fandom from Disneyland California to Disney theme parks across the globe. Williams and Sowa share their history with Disney films and how that love has translated into their love for the theme parks as adults. We then dive further into the theme park as a space of play for adults and why being a childless adult at Disney has been unjustly stigmatized. Even with strict rules and regulations, Disney theme parks offer spaces of play for adults who have very little safe spaces to play outside the parks. We also discuss the Disneyfication of adult source material and how that further translates into the transmedia brand universe that is specific to Disney theme parks. Disney theme parks have been spaces of ritual and transformation for both children and adults. As Disney continues to consume our fantasies with its continual purchases of franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel, how do children and adults alike contend with the rapidly expanding trans media universes that come together within the Disney theme parks while the outside world contends with its own racist, sexist, and culturally insensitive past and present.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

About Lauren Sowa

About Rebecca Williams; Faculty Page
Books:

A Fan Studies Primer
Theme Park Fandom: Spatial Transmedia, Materiality and Participatory Cultures
Post-Object Fandom
Everybody Hurts
Torchwood Declassified

How to Properly Dress at Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge
What is DisneyBounding?
Disney Bounding Fan documentary

Janet Wasko, Disney Project

Henry Jenkins, Transmedia Storytelling 101

Splash Mountain revamp
You Must Remember This on Splash Mountain
Brides for Sale on Pirates of the Caribbean ride
Revisions to Jungle Cruise

Lauren Sowa on Disney Princesses as Feminist Icons

Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood and Corporate Culture – critical documentary on Disney culture

Sparks Program

The Official Album of Disneyland/Walt Disney World ride theme music
Walt Disney's Tour of Disneyland
Disneyland - Lands - Wonderful World of Color - Walt Disney
The Disneyland Story (Disneyland Episode #1): October 27th, 1954

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week we’re joined by a whoopensocker of a guest - Erica Halverson. After telling us all what a “whoopensocker” is, she brings us up to speed on her education intervention of the same name, where teaching artists employ the rules of improv to encourage kids to express themselves and engage in collaborative storytelling. Those stories are then presented back to them in the form of a professionalized vaudeville show on the Whoopensocker podcast and YouTube channel. We discuss how these methods confront some of the failings of traditional learning environments and assessments in the classroom today, as well as honor the importance of The Arts in education in a way that seems absent from most STEAM programs.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

More about Erica Halverson, past and present projects: https://www.ericahalverson.com/
Book: How the Arts Can Save Education
The Whoopensocker Project
Whoopensocker Podcast
Whoopensocker YouTube

What the heck is a Whoopensocker?

Playmakers Laboratory, Chicago
Bossypants by Tina Fey (see: “the rules of improv and how they can change your life”)

Henry’s blog series on his open-laptop exam:
The Question
Knowledge Community
What Happened Part One Part Two
Open Laptop Activities Part One Part Two

Baking Impossible
Portlandia: Put a Bird On It!
Making It with Amy Poehler & Nick Offerman

Carole King - Really Rosie

Kids’ pop culture references:
Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks
Fortnite
Dabbing
Five Nights At Freddy's
John Cena

Seymour Papert
Mitch Resnick
Computer Clubhouse
Shirley Brice Heath

Constructionism - constructivist theory of learning

Six, the musical

Sputnik Crisis
Margaret Mead - A Creative Life for Your Children
Amy Ogata – Designing the Creative Child

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week Henry & Colin are joined by Lori Kido Lopez, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and Director of the Asian American Studies Program at University of Wisconsin-Madison, to discuss her new book, Micro Media Industries: Hmong American Media Innovation in the Diaspora. Lopez shares some background on this little-known ethnic community’s place in the U.S. and how their unique media ecologies serve their needs. We also consider the many innovations in format, genre, and technology that have developed where traditional media outlets would not be viable for this relatively small population with a largely oral culture, notably the use of teleconference lines that serve effectively as 24-hour radio stations. With a mix of participatory and broadcast media thriving outside of a commercial revenue model, there is a lot to consider about the future of the mass-market media landscape.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Lopez’s books:
Asian American Media Activism: Fighting for Cultural Citizenship
Micro Media Industries: Hmong American Media Innovation in the Diaspora

Jon Oliver segment about misinformation in diasporic media

hoomchim Hmong LGBTQ podcast

What is Clubhouse

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Micro Media Industries: Hmong American Media Innovation in the Diaspora

This week, Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and author, joins Henry & Colin to discuss her new memoir, The Empathy Diaries. Sherry and Henry talk about their shared experiences of teaching arts & humanities at MIT. Since Sherry’s work is usually interpreted as a critique of technology and Henry’s work is interpreted as a support of technology, they both start by sharing some recent optimism that Sherry has about technology, and some recent pessimism that Henry has about technology. Sherry expresses concerns about people’s apathy about the increasing intrusion of technology in our lives, and how that could potentially lead to the erosion of our rights. Sherry reflects back on the process of memoir writing and questioning her own assumptions earlier in life. She shares a story about being asked to make dinner for Steve Jobs instead of being invited to a meeting with him, and how reflecting on that was a humbling experience. Ultimately, Sherry ends with posing a question about not only how we can see empathy as a pathway into politics, but how we can expand the definition of empathy and apply that to our own lives.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Sherry Turkle’s new memoir, The Empathy Diaries

Falling for Science, one of the books she edited of her students’ writing

Henry’s blog interview with Sherry Turkle

Sherry Turkle’s TED talk

The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen

Henry and his son on the ASMR community

Hannah Arendt on Totalitarianism

Trump’s statement that republicans shouldn’t vote in 2022 and 2024 elections

Depaysement

Fiction that shaped Sherry’s childhood:
Nancy Drew - The Secret of the Old Clock
Jane Austen - Pride & Prejudice
My Fair Lady stage musical

Current TV she’s enjoying:
Succession (Influence of King Lear)
Dickinson

Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life

Henry’s memoir piece about comics and mourning can be found in Turkle’s Evocative Objects book

Allissa Richardson, Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones, and the New Protest #Journalism

Henry Jenkins’s Farewell to MIT

John Perry Barlow, “Declaration of Independence in Cyberspace”

Julian Dibbell, “A Rape in Cyberspace”

Atlas of the Civic Imagination

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemme
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Cult of the Amateur: How blogs, MySpace, YouTube, and the rest of today's user-generated media are destroying our economy, our culture, and our values

Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies)

This week, Henry & Colin are joined by three fan studies scholars, andré m. carrington,author of Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction; Abigail De Kosnik, author of #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation; and Rukmini Pande author of Fandom, Now in Color and Squee from the Margins. We talk about how race has been addressed (or not) in fandoms and fan studies, digging into recent fandom controversies over race, such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the legacy of fandom’s roots in America. We ask how Squid Games can be the most popular series on Netflix, even as we are seeing an unprecidented wave of anti-Asian hate crimes or why fandom has tended to ignore some of the characters of color who have emerged through popular entertainment franchises. Ultimately, how can we look beyond the competing narratives of “fandom will save us” vs. “toxic fandom” for more nuanced ways to understand and deal with societal biases through fandoms?

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

andré m. carrington - Associate Professor of English at the University of California-Riverside, author of Speculative Blackness: The Future of Race in Science Fiction

Abigail De Kosnik - Associate Professor and Director, Berkeley Center for New Media, author of #identity: Hashtagging Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Nation

Rukmini Pande - Associate Professor, Literary Studies and Writing, Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities, author of Fandom, Now in Color and Squee from the Margins

Original Star Trek series – origins of fandom

Star Wars Last Jedi trolling - Kelly Marie Tran, Krystina Arielle, John Boyega

Tolkien fandom dust-up

Early Sherlock Holmes fan clubs

Star Trek, Blake’s 7 60s-70s

Early internet fandom – usenet, geo cities, yahoo groups

Live Journal

Fan Pressure to integrate:

Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone Reboot

Ava duVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time

Disney’s live action version The Little Mermaid

The Flash – pushback on casting Iris as Black

Netflix announces Squid Game is bigger than Bridgerton

Wendy Chun – High-Tech orientalism

Concept of “ships”/"shipping"

Bong Joon-ho, Steven Yeun

Bruce Lee (actor) vs. Kato in the Green Hornet (character)

Simu Liu (actor) vs. Shang-Chi (character)

Korean media wave: BTS, Parasite

Fan fiction and diversity/inclusion

Sorry to Bother You (Boots Riley)

Tenoch Huerta as Namor (Black Panther character)

Oscar Isaac

Tony Leung

Lead Users and Democratizing Innovation book by Eric Von Hipple

Robert Kozinets

Review of #Republic (and the value of deliberating enclaves) by David Weinberger

Michael Saler - a public sphere of the imagination

Episode #79: Hope for New Online Public Spaces with Talia Stroud and Eli Pariser

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week, we are joined by Te Rita Papesch, a legendary figure in the Maori tradition of Kapa Haka, and Sharon Mazer, her friend and an American performance studies researcher. Together, they converse about Kapa Haka as a manifestation of the historic relations between the Maori people and their “Kiwi” colonizers, one which is embedded in the everyday life of the community but also undergoing constant change as performers adjust to the increased global visibility of their performances. Mazer describes the national Kapa Haka gatherings, which attract thousands of attendees and are nationally televised, as “a theatrical event incorporated into an Olympic competition encased in a ritual frame.” Papesch is the consummate insider, the matron of a family of Haka performers, whose influence stretches back to the 1970s, whereas Mazer offers the perspective of an informed outsider who has been observing the performances for more than twenty years. Together, they model bicultural conversation as they teach us how to read Kapa Haka’s place in the cultural politics of New Zealand.

A full transcript of this conversation will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Co-authored writing by Te Rita Papesch & Sharon Mazer:
Breaking the Stage: From Te Matatini to Footprints/Tapuwae
But can it be Art? Kapa Haka as a contemporary indigenous performance practice
Maori Performance/Cultural Performance: Stages of Powhiri

More about Te Rita Papesch
Waka Huia profile: Part One; Part Two
Performance: Nga Roimata
Ōtairongo (audio portrait of Te Rita by artist Maree Sheehan)
Tainui Waka Kapa Haka Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018
Selected writing:
Creating a Modern Māori Identity Through Kapa Haka (2015 PhD Thesis)
Te Rita Papesch: case study of an exemplary learner of Māori as an additional language

More about Sharon Mazer
Selected writing:
Performing Māori: Kapa Haka on the Stage and on the Ground
Performance: Ethnographer/Tourist/Cannibal
Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle

Kapa Haka
National Kapa Haka Festival
Rules of Competition
Maori Television – Kapa Haka commentary; Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau-ā-Apanui
Te Whare Wananga o Waikato at the NZ Polynesian Festival, 1981

All-Blacks and Haka
Hobbes and Shaw – Haka
Haka tourist shows
Game of Thrones Haka
Beyonce does Haka

Diana Taylor – The Archive and the Repertoire
Konstantin Stanislovsky – “As If”

Haka in support of Black Lives Matter
Maori Protest Movements

More Maori culture:
Maori Powhiri (welcome)
Ta Moko – Maori tattoo
Raranga – Maori Weaving
Maori Musical Instruments
Maori Religion
Maori Weapons

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music & Audio clips:
Te Whare Wananga o Waikato (1981)
Kapahaka Roopu Te Haona Kaha
Te Whānau a Apanui whakaeke- Te Matatini - 2015 - Entrance (Game of Thrones)

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week's media recommendations come from Ioana Mischie, a transmedia artist working with creative writing, film, and virtual reality, and Howard Blumenthal, a television and new media creative, to talk about how children can shape the future of education and our world. Their recommendations span everything from jazz to emerging futuristic fiction. You'll love em!

This week we invited Ioana Mischie, a futurist and transmedia artist working with creative writing, film, and virtual reality, and Howard Blumenthal, a television and new media creative, to discuss the future of education and the role of children in shaping the field. Mischie’s work includes Government of Children and Tangible Utopias, which both place children as the arbiters of new types of governments and cities, and Blumenthal was heavily influenced by his time on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? to interview children around the world for his series, Kids on Earth in the 21st Century. The two note general differences amongst different populations of children; areas with greater civic education from an earlier age tend to be more involved in social issues such as immigration reform and class, whereas those without that background might be more distanced. For the most part, though, both Mischie and Blumenthal agree that children are more willing to respect different perspectives and compromise than adults. They’re also full of simple yet potentially innovative ideas; they note concepts such as multi-level traffic systems and cities built for people, animals, and vegetation that have come up in their conversations with students. They argue that the best way to formulate these ideas is through the power of play, a method the current education system suppresses by institutionalizing and protecting teaching, not learning. Together, the two guests posit a better education system that brings together people of different disciples, producing ideas that are imaginative, co-creative, and tangible. It is also important to draw from the most successful elements of all methods of schooling while also incorporating self-education. Most importantly, however, we must give children a stronger platform, which would look like eliminating some rules and providing them rights in school that parallel those of adults. In other words, education must allow children to tell their stories.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Some of Mischie’s works:
Government of Children
Tangible Utopias

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, which Blumenthal developed

OMNIVERSITY, a VR university founded by Mischie

Art Linkletter – Kids Say the Darnedest Things
Linda Ellerbee – Nick News

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
School’s Out by Alice Cooper

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week's media recommendations come from scientist turned author S.B. Divya and philosophy student turned conceptual artist Jonathon Keats. Their list includes everything from 1960s architecture collectives to a weekly science fiction podcast!

This week's conversation with scientist turned author SB Divya and philosophy student turned conceptual artist Jonathon Keats continues our series on climate futures by beginning with the notion of a thought experiment, and how that is manifested in both Divya’s fiction and Jonathon’s art projects. They discuss the tools each of them uses to invite their audiences to participate with them in optimistic speculation about the future, and how they try to overcome resistance to that journey through entertainment and playfulness. In questioning why we tend to look for definitive answers and discount our own subjective experiences, they lead us to home in on the commonalities between creativity or “the artistic mindset” and the scientific method, which are often presented as opposing each other. And recalling our previous episode with James Paul Gee, if we are able to let go of the assumption of human exceptionalism—for example considering time in terms of the cycle of a river, or the life of a tree—we are able to gain new perspectives on our humanity.

A Full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

SB Divya’s work:
Machinehood
Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse and Other Possible Situations
Runtime

Jonathan Keats’ work:
Thought Experiments
Pornography for Plants
Strange Skies - Travel documentaries for plants
DIY Universe Kit
The Century Camera
The Millennium Camera
Fables: The Book of the Unknown
Work with the Earth Law Center
Flux Exchange

Black Mirror (Netflix)

Stanley Milgram

Caesium Standard (for the atomic clock)

What Is a Human? By James Paul Gee
Episode #80: James Paul Gee

Henry’s course: Science Fiction as Media Theory

Buckminster Fuller: Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth

Episode 84: Sarena Ulibarri and Ed Finn on Solarpunk
Episode 83: Indigenous Voices for Environmental Justice with Candis Callison & Julian Brave NoiseCat

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
Koyaanisqatsi - reverse ( ISTAQSINAAYOK ) (from the original by Philip Glass)

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week's media recommendations come from two writers/scholars of the Solarpunk movement: Sarena Ulibarri, Editor-in-Chief of World Weaver Press and a science fiction writer whose works include Glass and Gardens and Biketopia, and Ed Finn, the Director of the Center for Science and Imagination at Arizona State University.

This week, we’re joined by Sarena Ulibarri, Editor-in-Chief of World Weaver Press and a science fiction writer whose works include Glass and Gardens and Biketopia, and Ed Finn, the Director of the Center for Science and Imagination at Arizona State University, to talk about how solarpunk can shape our understanding of climate change, social issues, and the future. They discuss the immense potential of storytelling in defining an achievable vision for a more sustainable world through a version of science fiction that offers a balance of realism and imagination. In fact, this imagination, Ulibarri and Finn argue, is one of our greatest tools; because issues such as climate change and various sociopolitical concepts have many solutions, applied imagination can help us explore the wide variety of potential solutions as an alternative to fatalism or denial. They also touch upon the unique optimism of solarpunk, particularly in how proposing a better future through the lens of fiction has the ability to excite and invigorate readers towards enacting change. They note that people’s innate desire to feel good means that we must create a new language for debating the immense changes coming our way. This kind of optimism might be niche now, but Solarpunk literature and culture models alternatives and recruits people who actively work to achieve them.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Some of Ullibarri’s works:
Glass and Gardens
Biketopia
Adventures in Zookeeping

Organizations, programs, and foundations mentioned:
World Weaver Press (Ulibarri is Editor-in-Chief)

Center for Science and Imagination at Arizona State University (Finn is Director) Projects include:
Future Tense, a collaboration between ASU, New America, and Slate magazine
Luna City
The Weight of Light
Cities of Light

The Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Media mentioned:
Solarpunk Chobani commercial

Authors mentioned:
Jeff VanderMeer
Marian Womack, author of The Swimmers
Neal Stephenson, author of “Innovation Starvation”
Margaret Atwood
Kim Stanley Robinson, author of ”The Coronavirus and Our Future”
Raymond Williams
Francesco Verso

For more on Solarpunk:
Imaginary Worlds Podcast: “Solarpunk the Future”

Trajectory of “Punk” artistic movements:
Punk Rock
Cyberpunk
Steampunk

Check these past episodes we referenced:
Episode 45: “Radicalized” with Cory Doctorow
Episode 64: Japanese Science Fiction with William O. Gardner
Episode 65: Design Fiction and the Pandemic with Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tešanović
Episode 66: The Legacy of Octavia E. Butler with Damian E. Duffy, John Jennings, and Shelley Streeby
Episode 36: Korean Science Fiction: Imagining other worlds

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
Sieudiver: Solarpunk City

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Biketopia: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories in Extreme Futures (Bikes in Space)

Adventures in Zookeeping

This week's media recommendations come from Julian Brave Noisecat and Candis Callison, leading Indigenous journalist and scholar, who share with us podcasts and books that highlight their voices -- and fantasy basketball.

Candis Callison, an environmental journalist and associate professor at the University of British Columbia, and Julian Brave Noisecat, a Senior Media Fellow at the NDN Collective, join us today to talk about the role of Indigenous people in achieving environmental justice. They discuss methods that will better accommodate the inclusion of Indigenous voices in the present, particularly in approaching their stories through narratives that already exist such as marriage equality and climate change. There are, however, key differences between Indigenous perspectives on climate change and climate change as it is often presented in scientific and political spheres; Callison and Noisecat raise the concept of Indigenous knowledge to describe the largely historical and relational outlook on climate that Indigenous people have. They suggest that Indigenous people need to be included in the climate conversation but on their own terms, in ways that fully acknowledge and respect the deep history and context with which they live. This, of course, also requires that mainstream media shift their perspective on Indigenous populations, which, as it stands, mostly fits them into a victim-hero mold that fails to connect individual problems to larger Indigenous concerns. As journalists better understand the power they wield in shaping the media and our perceptions of the world, Callison and Noisecat argue that it’s important to bring Indigenous people into the present and future, respecting them not as simply victims or heroes, but as nuanced and human as any other community.

A full transcript of this episode will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Apocalypse Then and Now – Julian Brave Noisecat’s piece in the Columbia Journalism Review
More of Julian’s writing

Candis Callison’s books:
How Climate Change Comes to Matter: The Communal Life of Facts
Reckoning: Journalism's Limits and Possibilities

Some of the Indigenous voices invoked in this episode:
Cowboy Smithx
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Patricia Cochran
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Ghost Dance of the Lakota Sioux
International Indigenous Research Conference
Jenni Monet, Pueblo of Laguna
Debra A. Haaland
Grace Dillon

Catherine Porter’s article on the Inuit
NAJA’s calls for an apology of the above
Problematic NYT reporting on Deb Haaland Cabinet nomination

Indigenous organizations and publications:
NAJA – Native American Journalists’ Association
Indian Country Today
APTN (Canada)
mediaINDIGENA podcast

Threshold Podcast – not an Indigenous production, but a sustained journalistic engagement with native communities

Also check out Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL (Official Video)

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

You'd bet that the Pop Culture Collaborative would have good pop culture recommendations! And you're not wrong -- today's media recs come from Bridgit Antoinette Evans and Tracy Van Slyke, who touch on the big and bright sit-coms like The Office, Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and how we might revisit them in the light of last year. Also, we have the immortal works of Cicely Tyson, who left this world to ever appreciate her presence earlier this year.

Bridgit Antoinette Evans and Tracy Van Slyke, co-founders of the Pop Culture Collaborative, join us today to talk about the meaning of a pluralistic society, pop culture for social change, and the intersection between the arts and social activism spheres. They delve into the notion of narrative oceans, how they can be used to unify people’s experiences but also drive harmful stereotypes of populations, such as the anti-Islamic rhetoric post-9/11 that informed media depictions and created swirls in the ocean. They posit that it’s our work to not only reform existing narrative oceans but to also craft new ones that are more inclusive. For example, the narrative ocean surrounding Black women’s leadership, whether that’s at home or in politics, inspires more people to engage with the power they always had; by doing so, the U.S. is able to evolve into a stronger, more democratic nation. This is not accomplished by the work of just one Black woman character but a movement to better portray them across all media; thus, intentional storytelling is key to reforming our narrative oceans. Evans and Van Slyke also delve into the creation of the PCC as a space of deep learning and to build a field working at the intersection of pop culture and social justice. They touch on the American desire for belonging and how, structurally, there are factors that already determine who does or does not. While movements such as Black Lives Matter challenge conventional ideas of belonging, it is also important to engage with the idea of pluralism and cultural fluidity: a commitment to actively move out of the familiar to forge bonds with people different from us and to do so from a place of accountability. Ultimately, the questions they aim to answer involve both art and activism: How can artists immerse themselves in social justice analysis in relation to the stories they tell? How do you engage with social justice in an emotional way? Right now, Evans, Van Slyke, and the PCC advise that the answer lies in staying open-minded and inspired for the future!

A full transcript of this conversation will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Grants and spaces for artists in entertainment:
Harness
Storyline Partners
Yes, And Laughter Lab
Becoming America fund
Starfish Accelerator

Research
Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity

Mass audience activation and innovation
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Roma, which the NDWA was invested in promoting

White Paper on Fan Activism

24 and the Bush Administration
Homeland struggles with Muslim Representation
American Muslim Response to Ramy
Ms. Marvel as Muslim Superhero

Check out these previous episodes with guests who were funded by Pop Culture Collaborative:
Episode 73: Increasing Visibility is Existential for Native Communities, with Crystal Echo Hawk
Episode 69: The Power of Fan activism with Janae Phillips and Shawn Taylor
Episode 28: Taking risks: comedy as tool for social justice with Caty Borum Chattoo

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week's media recommendations are all about fantasy, a realm that our last guest Warren Hedges is very, very fond of: From the African fantasy of Marlon James' "Black Leopard, Red Wolf" to a Skyrim Mod called "3DNPC."

This week’s guest, Warren Hedges, teaches a course at the Southern Oregon University on how speculative genres such as science fiction and fantasy help us imagine more inclusive cultures, societies, and worlds. He shared some thoughts on Facebook about Jacob Chansley, the so-called “Q Shaman” who participated in the January 6 insurrection in the U.S. Capital and the ways his dress and tattoos reflected long-standing nationalist and racist themes in High Fantasy. Across this conversation, Hedges traces out some of the links, including the connection between fantasy and representations of national character, the ways these ideas about race shape modern gaming, what it means for white supremacists to “play Indian,” the Greek and Roman iconography of the U.S. Capital and how it means different things for the North and the South, the way Birth of a Nation and The Clansman built on Sir Walter Scott’s fantasies regarding Scottish history, and the ways contemporary fantasy writers of color are expanding the genre’s relationship to mythology and nostalgia, among other topics. This far-reaching discussion explores the relationship between genre fiction and far-right politics, helping to make sense of some of the images associated with the January 6 insurrection.

A full transcript of this conversation will be available soon!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Right Wing Politics and Iconography:
Q-Shaman Jacob Chansley
Right wing appropriates Viking culture
Charlottesville shield
Tea Party Movement
QAnon
A Second American Revolution
Right Wing cosplayers
Flags of the Insurrection

The High Fantasy Tradition
J.R.R. Tolkien -- translation of Beowulf
Worm Tongue in Lord of the Rings
ReDiscovery of Beowulf
Brothers Grimm
Johann Gottfried von Herder
High Fantasy
Game of Thrones
Orcs, Klingons as African-American

Further Reading on Fantasy
Brian Atteberry, Stories About Stories
Michael Saler, As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality
Henry on the need to rethink genre

Games and Gaming
Roots of Dungeons and Dragons
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
Skyrim – Warren’s Videos on Racial Coding and Gender Coding in Skyrim
Stranger Things

Rewriting the Fantasy Genre
Sylvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow
Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Grace L. Dillon, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction
Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha, Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from
Social Justice Movements
Grimdark
Wakanda

Scottish Nationalism and the Klu Klux Klan
D.W. Griffith, Birth of A Nation and crossburning
Thomas Dixon, The Clansman
Martin Luther King on white supremacy
Sir Walter Scott and nationalism
Mark Twain -- Sir Walter Scott caused Civil War

Native American Imagery
“Playing Indian”
Grace L. Dillon, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction
Lydia Maria Child
Boston Tea Party -- Indian imagery

The Iconography of the American Capital
Trump’s 1776 Commission and the New York Time’s 1619 series
Greek and Roman Imagery in Capital
George Washington as Roman Hero
Greek Revival
William Faulkner on the past
Lincoln and Pericles
City Beautiful movement
Thomas Jefferson’s changing views on slavery’
Benjamin Franklin discusses the “lovely white”
Hamilton and Diverse America
Oregon as haven for white people

Svetlana Boym on Nostalgia

Superhero Mythology
Donald Trump as Captain America
The Punisher and Blue Lives Matter

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Is it a bird? Is it a rhopalocera? Is it a flying bipedal anthropoid? It's all three! Naturally, today's media recommendations come from the delightful James Paul Gee, who gave us some insights about all three of those animals last week.

This week we host James Paul Gee, recently retired Arizona State University professor and researcher in a plethora of topics including psycholinguistics and discourse analysis. As we talk about his latest book, What Is a Human? Language, Mind, and Culture, Gee casually uplifts our fundamental understanding of what it means to be, well, human and how we’ve severely underestimated animal intelligence and overestimated our own. We discuss the significance of identity signals throughout anthropological history, how ideas of basing safety on certain identifiers has evolved into what we know today as cultures, religions, and nations and how they have been polarized to both unify and divide. Gee attributes the mass spread of misinformation in recent years to the human need for comfort in something regardless of veracity, though he posits an optimistic goal: to make the truth comforting and to speak the facts that engage with people’s hearts. Whether we use these methods to reform our systems or to redefine how we view our kind, they will no doubt be instrumental in getting us and our world to flourish.

Check back soon for a full transcript of this conversation.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Henry’s blog series with James Paul Gee, 2011

2011 Pullias Lecture: Games, Learning, and the Looming Crisis in Higher Education

James Paul Gee’s What Is a Human?

Julian Jaynes’ Bicameral Mind

About Hampshire College, where Gee first taught

James Paul Gee’s poetry

Amanda Gorman performing her poem “The Hill We Climb” at Biden’s inauguration

My Octopus Teacher

Alpha Go

For another take on Moby Dick, listen to our earlier episode The Great Eastern with Howard A. Rodman

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“Swinging on a Star” by Bing Crosby

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week, a pleasantly unexpected list of media recommendations comes from guests of our latest episode, Talia Stroud and Eli Pariser of Civic Signals, an organization dedicated to reimagine digital environments to be better public spaces, much like how humanity has strived to build healthy, flourishing civic spaces in the real world for millennia!

This week we’re joined by Talia Stroud, Director of the Center for Media Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, and Eli Pariser, formerly of Upworthy and MoveOn and author of The Filter Bubble, to talk about their latest project, Civic Signals/New Public. After several rounds of conversation on “what’s wrong with social media and how can we fix it?” Talia and Eli started Civic Signals to try to fill the gap between necessary critiques of our current online spaces and creating digital environments that we want to inhabit. By looking across disciplines and off-line equivalents to our online spaces, they are working to create a community to collectively build an evolving design framework for online public spaces. Eli and Talia take us through their approach, methods, and findings so far – and how they’ve doubled down on this work in the pandemic. Finally, we go on a deep dive of the first of the four essential “building blocks” they’ve found that make digital spaces work for people across multiple lived experiences: Welcome.

A full transcript of this episode will be available on the episode page soon.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Wile. E. Coyote (Looney Tunes)

Contrasting figures in Urban Planning:
Robert Moses
Jane Jacobs

Civic Signals’ evolving New Public Framework

Some examples of clearly-articulated online community norms/terms of service:
Wikipedia
Archive of Our Own

Early thinking on establishing norms in online spaces: Julian Dibbell - A Rape in Cyberspace

A Pattern Language (1977 - “the intimacy gradient”)

A hyper-local online community: Front Porch Forum (Vermont)

Habermas – The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere

More on Civic Signals:
New Public Festival, Jan 12-14, 2021
Learn more about the New Public community, subscribe to newsletter

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

The Social Dilemma (documentary)

Antitrust law and the “Ma Bell” breakup

Re-imagining Public Broadcasting - Newton Minow

Boy Scouts Radio community

Earlier online community - The Well

Check out these previous episodes we mentioned:
Episode 75: Play as a Precursor to Participation, with Reanne Estrada and Benjamin Stokes
Episode 45: “Radicalized” with Cory Doctorow
Episode 56: Exploring Virtual Communities with Howard Rheingold and Patricia G. Lange

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Did y'all enjoy our first episode of this season? Parmesh Shahani certainly inspired us about imagining more diverse and accepting societies by focusing on compelling narratives that shatter prejudices. And with that, this week's media recommendations are exactly those that make Parmesh hopeful about the future!

This week we welcome Parmesh Shahani, founder of the Godrej India Culture Lab and author of Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India and Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace. While Parmesh was eating his blueberry cake and drinking coffee to start his day, the sun was setting in Los Angeles. Across this conversation, we explore his journey to the United States and how his time at MIT changed his world view; the legal and political struggles over LGBTQ rights in India over the past decade or so; the work he has done with the India Culture Lab and through work within corporations; the tolerance of diverse gender and sexual identities in classical Indian mythology; the role of popular Indian media as a catalyst for change; his status as a fashion icon; and his excitement over the changes that are taking place across his country as small town India embraces queer sexuality. All of these and many other themes are addressed in his recent book as he seeks to “queer” what business books look like and the kinds of arguments they advance. His closing speech about the queer future of India is not to be missed!

A full transcript of this episode will be available SOON on the episode page.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Indian student protests early 2020

Coronavirus lockdown: The Indian migrants dying to get home

Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India
Queeristan: LGBTQ Inclusion in the Indian Workplace

Mentioned in Queeristan:
Pierre Bourdieu
Michel Foucault
Jacques Derrida
Shah Rukh Khan

Toblerone chocolate

MIT Comparative Media Studies Program (CMS)
Program Administrator Chris Pomiecko
Parmesh’s Between the Lines film series
MIT Rainbow Lounge
Convergence Culture Consortium

Swades (Shah Rukh Khan film that inspired Parmesh to return to India)

India’s LGBTQ+ Legal History
2009 Delhi High Court
2013 Supreme Court Verdict
2014 Verdict for transgender rights
2017 Right to Privacy
2018 Special Bench - LGBTQ decriminalization
2019 Transgender Act

Godrej India Culture Lab
Henry Jenkins Master Class at the Culture Lab

Parmesh’s Godrej recruitment – Godrej Live Out Ur Dream (LOUD)
Harvey Milk inspiration

History of sexuality in India
Devdutt Pattanaik – Shikhandi: And Other Tales They Don't Tell You.
Same Sex Love in India

Thomas Babington Macaulay
Narendra Modi – Hindu Nationalism

Popular media narratives of Indian parents accepting their queer children:
Gazal Dhaliwal; her story on Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate
More about the story of Kusuma that Parmesh spoke about can be found in his book, Queeristan, on pp 122-123.

Films:
Dostana
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdham
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (starring Sonam Kapoor and Anil Kapoor)

Lee Badget – World Bank Report – cost to business of homophobia

Michel Foucault – Panoptikon

GQ – Parmesh as Fashion Icon – Neon Green
2018
2019
It’s not the cover, but… story in Vogue India

Current Scholarship – Queer stories through the lens of joy:
Brian Horton (Brandeis, forthcoming book, Shimmers of the Fabulous)
Anjali Arondekar (UC Santa Cruz)

What’s exciting Parmesh in India right now…
Small town youth-run events:
Raipur Pride
Awadh Queer Literature Festival - Lucknow
XUKIA Collective - Assam
Ya_All - Manipur
Queer LitFest - Chennai

Projects:
Grace Banu - cooperative dairy for trans people
Dalit Queer Project
Queer Muslim Project

Books:
A Life in Trans Activism by A. Revathi
Mohanaswamy by Vasudhendra
Maya Sharma - Loving Women: Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India

Government:
Hiring trans people to run metro stations

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
"Love is Love" by Petter Wallenberg & Rainbow Riots, featuring Sushant Divgikar

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Queeristan: LGBT Inclusion at the Indian Workplace

Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India

News-flash! We'll be releasing our first regular episode for this season of How Do You Like It So Far this Thursday. But before you tune into Henry and Colin's riveting discussions, we have our weekly media recommendations! This week we have Dexter Thomas, a correspondent for Vice News and a scholar of Japanese Hip Hop.

This week's media recommendations are from two USC scholars who found out the impact of skateboarding culture on youth: Zoë Corwin, director of Digital Equity in Education project for the Pullias Center of Higher Education, and Neftalie Williams, whose research with the 2019-2020 USC x Tony Hawk Foundation project is the first national effort to study the impact skateboarding has on young people and their educational and career trajectories.

With a new Spring Semester starting for many of us, we should remind ourselves of the importance of "play" in both civic and academic endeavors! This week's media recommendations come from Reanne Estrada, Creative Director of Public Matters, a Los Angeles-based creative studio for civic engagement, and Benjamin Stokes, Assistant Professor at American University and Director of The Playful City Lab.

What do scary people watch when they need to escape from this scary world? This week's media recommendations come from the experts of horror: Video Palace co-creator Mike Monello (also a creator of the Blair Witch Project) and Qiana Whitted, author of EC Comics: Race, Shock and Social Protest, which won the 2020 Eisner Award for best academic/scholarly work.

This week's media recommendations come from Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and CEO of IllumiNative, a research-driven initiative created and led by Natives that is challenging negative narratives and supporting accurate and authentic portrayals of Native communities in pop culture.

The How Do You Like It So Far team wishes you a happy 2021! With last year being one of collective pain, sorrow and loss, we need a new anthem for a new day that can inspire and comfort us. Take some recs from Varun Soni, USC's Dean of Religious Life. He has certainly helped plenty of Trojans through spiritual hardships, and hopefully the words of the seminal Bob Dylan can do the same to you.

2020 is finally coming to a close, and with it, also comes the year's final media recommendations from the How Do You Like It So Far team! Today's recommendations come from Set Hernandez Rongkilyo, an undocumented immigrant filmmaker and community organizer.

Tis the season to be jolly (even if the world is burning), and with it, our weekly media recommendation is here! This week we have Sue Ding, who is a documentary filmmaker and new media creator based in Los Angeles. She directs and produces nonfiction media—for platforms including The New York Times, PBS, and Netflix (latter of which released her new film "The Claudia Kishi Club"!!)

This week's pop culture recommendations come from those who change the world with them -- Janae Phillips, Director of Leadership and Education for the Harry Potter Alliance, who oversees the Granger Leadership Academy and the Fandom Forward study guides project, among other things. Shawn Taylor is one of the founders of Nerds of Color and a founding organizer of the Black Comix Arts Festival, a festival that highlights and promotes artists on the margins of the mainstream comic book industry.

As winter approaches, we all need our list of media recs to keep us warm and safe during this season! This week's episode features Suzanne Scott, author of Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry. Also on the episode is Susan Kresnicka, a cultural and business anthropologist and president and founder of cultural research firm Kresnicka Research and Insights!

This week we welcome Japanese Hip Hop scholar and reporter for Vice News, Dexter Thomas, and we talk a little bit about Vice News but mostly about Dexter’s outsider approach to journalism and the freedom he feels as a Black reporter at Vice in not being obligated to maintain the myth of a neutral perspective. Dexter shares his path to Vice, from college DJ to PhD in Asian Studies at Columbia University, freelance writer to the LA Times. We dive into hip hop music and culture in Japan, from its right-wing nationalist strains to its complicated relationship to Blackness, American imperialism and Black politics. That brings us to the hypersegmented world of TikTok, how today’s internet can be seen as isolating and reducing common language but also allows for new community and voice...and as powerful a space for activism as the streets. Ultimately, we come to a place of hope in our current moment, seeing the opportunity to acknowledge things that have been broken in America for a long time, and making it clearer that nothing will move forward without work.

As a closing thought, we point you to the bonus minisodes we’ll be releasing while we’re on semester break – “What’s Making Us Sappy” – where we share recent guests’ media recommendations to broaden your winter watch/read/play/listen list.

Visit the episode page for the full transcript of this conversation!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Some Japanese cultural references mentioned in this episode:
Tokyo destinations: Takadanobaba, Akihabara, Yoyogi Park
Kogyaru fashion (including deep tanning)
Nanking Massacre

Books mentioned in this episode:
Hip-Hop Japan by Ian Condry
The Soul of Anime by Ian Condry
Blue Nippon by Taylor Atkins
Race for Citizenship by Helen Heran Jun

Music featured in this episode:
Gauze (Japanese Hard Punk)
Zeebra, Street Dreams (Japanese Hip Hop)
SUNDAY SCHOOL, Lucien Hughes (Vaporwave)
Last Summer Whisper, Anri (City Pop)

Activism on TikTok

Some background on 4Chan

2020 protests in Portland

Dexter’s Vice reporting

Listen to our “What’s Making Us Sappy” minisodes - make sure you subscribe to get the latest!

NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour

Henry’s recommendations:
Utopia (2020, Amazon, based on an earlier British show)
The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

None

This week's episode of "What's Making You Sappy" is all about the legacy of Octavia Butler, an exceptional science fiction writer who wrote about gender and sexuality in bold new ways. With that, we have graphic novel and sci-fi recommendations from Shelley Streeby, Professor of Literature and Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego, Director of Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop, John Jennings, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and a Collaborating Faculty Member in the Department of Creative Writing at UC Riverside, and Damian E. Duffy, a Cartoonist, Scholar, Lecturer, Writer, Curator, Teacher, #1 New York Times Bestseller Graphic Novelist. Jennings and Duffy are collaborating on a project to adapt Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower to graphic novels.

This week we’re joined by two USC colleagues, Zoë Corwin of the Pullias Center for Higher Education and Annenberg’s Neftalie Williams, who share some of what they’ve found studying skateboarding culture and its impact on youth. Spoiler alert: the impact is overwhelmingly positive! From literally creating safer spaces for Black youth to fostering wide-ranging skills like problem-solving, media creation and diplomacy, to the integral roles of skateshops and skateparks in their communities, Zoë and Neftalie talk us through their study, why it matters, and how it links to other theories and disciplines. Along the way, we learn a bit about skating culture in LA and abroad and how that’s been impacted by the COVID pandemic, and discuss the tension that exists between skating and university spaces (USC specifically), and how that could be viewed differently as a way to invite neighborhood youth into privileged academic communities.

Visit the episode page for the full transcript of this conversation!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Gibson Mariposa Skatepark in El Monte
Photo Tour
Video Skate-through

USC Pullias Center Skateboarding Study
Tony Hawk Foundation (now called The Skatepark Project)
What is a Critical Race Theory framework?
Diplomacy through Skateboarding

City of Skate – Minneapolis
Enchantment Skate Shop – Gallup, NM
The Garage Board Shop – East LA

Scholar Cathy J. Cohen

Sand in LA’s Venice Beach Skatepark
LA-area skateparks reopening
Skateboarding the USC Ledges (video)

AOC's Twitch stream

University of Colorado-Boulder Energy Skate Park simulation teaches Physics
Skateboarding high school in skate-friendly Malmö, Sweden
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if You’re a Girl) – Skateistan

Skateism magazine
Samarria Brevard
Skate to the Polls movement

Henry’s Comic Shops:
Million Year Picnic – Cambridge, MA
Comics Factory – Pasadena, CA

James Paul Gee – Affinity Spaces

Van Jones on the Politics of Joy

Forsyth County, GA:
Racial cleansing of 1912
Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America
March for Racial Tolerance 1987
Oprah Winfrey show in Forsyth County

Video

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Either to wind down from the crazy week we just had, or to take a well-deserved breather from the work that is ahead of us, "How Do You Like It So Far" team welcomes you to the second episode of our weekly media recommendations! This week, we have William O. Gardner, professor of Japanese language, literature and film at Swarthmore College. From animated features by the seminal Shinkai Makoto to a Russian novel set during the Black Death, Gardner introduces works of escapism and fantasy that seem eerily relevant today.

Welcome to the first episode of "What's Making You Sappy," Henry Jenkins and Colin Maclay's pop culture happy hour! For this week, we have recommendations from Clifford Johnson, a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at USC and author of The Dialogues. We also have Dan Goldman, a writer, an artist, producer and founder and narrative lead of Kinjin Story Lab, whose work spans from graphic novels, TV and video games.

Most of us probably aren’t making an effort to hang out in public spaces lately, much less seeing them as playful – quite the opposite! But with a hopeful eye to the future, this week we’re joined by artist Reanne Estrada, Creative Director of Public Matters, a Los Angeles-based creative studio for civic engagement, and Benjamin Stokes, Assistant Professor at American University and Director of The Playful City Lab, to discuss the potential for – and benefits of – play in our public spaces. Reanne and Benjamin share thoughts on how we can use what we’ve experienced during this pandemic to reclaim and define new priorities for our shared public spaces. They consider ways we can expand equity in terms of access to public space and to opportunities for play in everyday life. They each identify ways communities can build the collective sense of power needed to make changes. We think about the affordances of play as a tactic for driving civic engagement, and acknowledge the ways play is already baked into our communities and the ways it has the potential to drive equity, even as it is not always available equitably.

Visit the episode page for the full transcript of this conversation!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Writer, Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal winner Isabel Wilkerson

Washington, DC:
Push for statehood

Black Lives Matter Plaza (and tensions between DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and President Trump)
Push to Diversify Public Monuments
A Right to the City DC exhibition highlighting the successes of civic activism
Some of the history of DC’s segregated baseball leagues

Some of Benjamin’s earlier research on online volunteering

Public Matters projects in LA:
University Park Slow Jams - traffic safety & mobility justice
Market Makeovers - fruits & veggies parade costumes, east LA veggie zombies
The Chicharrón Chronicles - Historic Filipinotown walking tours focusing on food, language and labor, with Gustavo Arellano

Community-based games for civic engagement:
Commons - NYC - winner, Real-World Game for Change Challenge 2011
Macon Money - Macon, GA
The Participation Game - Helsinki, Finland

Photo: V-J Day in Times Square

Model Cities program in the US - role play for city officials - builds empathy for cause and effect systems

Eric Gordon - Meaningful Inefficiencies

Henry was referring to the tiles featuring kids’ artwork at Davis Square MBTA station

Reading up on historical town pageants

AOC's GOTV Twitch stream

For more thoughts on rituals, check out our episode with USC Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Settle in for an extra-spooky Halloween episode! We’re joined by Michael Monello, one of the creators of The Blair Witch Project, Co-founder and Creative Director of Campfire Media and co-producer of the Video Palace podcast for Shudder, and Qiana Whitted, a professor English and African American Studies at the University of South Carolina and author of EC Comics: Race, Shock and Social Protest, which won the 2020 Eisner Award for best academic/scholarly work. Together, they discuss horror in film, radio/podcast, comics, novels, television, and every-day life, helping to map the genre for our listeners. They start with reflections on their own early exposure to the genre. Whitted discusses the way EC comics introduced racism as a form of horror across their suspense and shock oriented titles and she situates these stories within the political debates that followed from Frederic Wertham’s attacks on horror and crime comics and the ways these paved the way for the comics code. Monello traces the ways Video Palace took inspiration from radio horror series in the ways it uses sound to draw the listener in with a mixture of fascination and dread. Along the way, they reflect on how horror has been a site for social transgression and artistic experimentation, and consider the ways international horror films can break the formulas and take us out of a familiar space. And they end with speculations about what forms of horror will allow us to rethink our society in the wake of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.

Full Transcript will be available soon on our website at https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/episode-74-horror-social-change-and-experimentation-with-michael-monello-and-qiana-whitted/

Here’s your horror watch/read/listen list from this episode (you may want to leave the lights on!):

Horror in Cinema
Gremlins
Ghoulies
Nightmare on Elm Street
Universal Monsters
Midsommar
The Blair Witch Project
Media Horror
George Romero
Creepshow
UPA – “The Tell Tale Heart" (animated)
German Expressionism – from Germany to American horror film
Cabinet of Doctor Caligari
David Lynch – Blue Velvet
Dawn of the Dead (extended Mall Hours version)
Tod Browning – Freaks
Robin Woods
Audition (Japan)
Terrified (Argentina)
Carrie (multiple snap endings)
John Waters (outsider culture)
Jordan Peele – Get Out (alternate ending) ; Us
Host
Producer Val Lewton
A Quiet Place
Documentary: Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror

Horror in Comics
EC Comics: Race, Shock and Social Protest
Swamp Thing
Tales from the Crypt
EC comics – William Gaines, Al Feldstein
Vault of Terror
Haunt of Fear
Frederic Wertham and Moral Panic around Horror and Crime Comics
Comics Code
“The Whipping”
EC Comics illustrator Wally Wood
Bernie Krigstein – “Master Race” ; Impact
EC Shock Suspense Stories – “The Patriot” ; “You, Murderer” (adaptation of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)

Horror Fandom
60s Monster Culture
Famous Monsters of Filmland – Forest J. Ackerman
Horror fanzines
Urban legends

Horror in Literature
Stephen King –IT ; Pet Semetery
Anne Rice
O. Henry
Video Palace: In Search of the Eyeless Man
H.P. Lovecraft – Weird Tales
Edgar Allen Poe – “The Masque of the Red Death”

Horror in Sound Media
Video Palace
Walt Disney’s Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House
Lights Out
Inner Sanctum
Arch Oboler
Quiet Please – “The Thing on the Fourble Board”
The Cramps – Bad Music for Bad People
CBGB punk culture
Passenger List podcast

Horror in Television
Sid and Marty Krofft – Land of the Lost
Tales from the Crypt
Twilight Zone
Lovecraft Country

Interested in the parallels to comedy and improv Colin mentioned? Check out our earlier episode with Caty Borum Chatoo from American University and the Yes, And...Laughter Lab

Featuring Walt Disney’s Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House https://youtu.be/H6rQyRxLBrY

And Bridge Of Death (From “Chernobyl” TV Series Soundtrack) · Hildur Guðnadóttir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM_HhU_CV44

None

We’re joined by Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and CEO of IllumiNative, a research-driven initiative created and led by Natives that is challenging negative narratives and supporting accurate and authentic portrayals of Native communities in pop culture. IllumiNative builds on Echo Hawk’s massive research project, Reclaiming Native Truth, which laid bare the shocking reality that nearly 80% of Americans (broadly defined) know little to nothing about Native peoples or aren’t even sure they even still exist, and the real-life consequences this “vanishing” narrative continues to have on Native populations. Fortunately, amid the trial and tragedy of 2020 (including the disproportionate impact of COVID on the Navajo Nation), there have been remarkable gains for Native peoples, from the ongoing power rooted in the protests at Standing Rock to the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Washington Football Team name change. We see media promise in the first Indigenous Filmmakers Lounge at Sundance in January to Peabody Award-winning Molly of Denali and a host of upcoming shows on various networks, Crystal is cautiously optimistic about the increasing visibility of Native Americans.

Visit the episode page for the full transcript of this conversation!

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

See full panel from the January 2020 Indigenous filmmakers lounge at Sundance
More about the Sundance Indigenous Program (deadline for upcoming Merata Mita Fellowship program is 10/26/20)
June 2020 update from the Sundance Indigenous Program
More about Bird Runningwater, Director of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program

Delay of CARES Act funds to Native American tribes
Further delays to Alaska natives
Report on federal COVID-19 response in Indian Country
History of Native American vulnerability to pandemics

A Brief History of the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis
Local response of AIM in the wake of George Floyd protests
History of AIM's American Indian Patrol responding to police brutality
Long history of native organizing against police misconduct in Minneapolis
2011 killing of a Native American man by Derek Chauvin

NDN Collective Calls for Closure of Mount Rushmore and for the Black Hills to be Returned to the Lakota
Why McGirt v. Oklahoma was a landmark decision for Native-treaty-rights

National Congress of American Indians’ Long Standing Opposition to Harmful "Indian" Sports Mascots
Key activists: Suzan Shown Harjo, Amanda Blackhorse

Effectiveness of the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock in North Dakota
These Are the Defiant "Water Protectors" of Standing Rock

“Invisibility is the modern form of racism against Native Americans”
Reclaiming Native Truth project
Stephanie Fryberg’s research on The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots
Sarah Shear, Re/presentations of Indigenous Peoples in K–12 U.S. History Standards
List of Federally-Recognized Native Tribes in CA

IllumiNative website
Indigenous Futures Project
Change the Name campaign
Indigenous Peoples' Day 2020 Toolkit & Home-Educational Resources
IllumiNative’s On-Air podcast

Native Americans currently serving in US Congress:
Tom Cole (OK-04)
Markwayne Mullin (OK-02)
Deb Haaland (NM-01)
Sharice Davids (KS-03)

Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo

Molly of Denali (PBS Kids)
Creative Producer Princess Johnson on the development of the story
Actress Sovereign Bill
Grandpa’s Drum episode
Peabody Award; 2019 Peabody Awards also included winner The Refuge and nominee Warrior Women

Marvel Comics:
Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas collaboration on new Werewolf By Night
Native American Heritage Month (with images!)
Marvel’s Voices initiative
Other graphic novels and comics featuring Native American heritage

Television:
Rutherford Falls – Sierra Teller Ornelas (Peacock)
Reservation Dogs Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi (FX)

Endeavor Content development deal with producer Heather Rae

Visit us at howdoyoulikeitsofar.org or share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com.

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

If you like religion, sports or popular culture, this episode is for you, dear listener… and if you think you’re not interested in them, it is even more definitely for you! We are joined by Varun Soni, USC’s Dean of Religious Life and the first Hindu to serve as the chief spiritual officer of an American university. We traverse pandemic-driven transitions in higher education, acknowledging potentially lasting harms to students and others. We back out to the way the pandemic challenges our human need to look ahead, noting that we have not yet dealt with the present and wondering what our new stories of the future will be. That takes us to popular culture, which confronts polarization and isolation, giving us unique frameworks to talk in a way we can’t elsewhere. The conversation launches into an exploration of sports as religion and the activist role of sports – especially the WNBA and NBA – in this period of change. From the connection between fandom and religion, we end with powerful insights on Bob Marley as musician… and prophet.

Varun's Essay: How Universities Can Think About Community-Building Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Loneliness Report and related resources
USC Mindfulness classes

COVID as an event is responsible for the 4th largest number of casualties in American history

Varun hosts the Religion of Sports Podcast
Catherine Albanese offers a definition of religion in America, Religions, and Religion

Derrick Bell: Interest-Convergence is a principle of critical race theory

Recent social activism in the NBA:
How the NBA Is Quietly Becoming the Most Progressive Pro-Sports League in America
NBA "Players' Strike" as a new form of athlete activism
NBA players "sit out" the playoffs

Longer history of activism in the WNBA:
WNBA players urge 'Vote Warnock' against Senator Kelly Loeffler
How The WNBA Paved The Way For The NBA Strike : Code Switch
The WNBA made the NBA strike possible.
Perspective | Taking a stand isn’t new for the WNBA. It’s a way of life.
The One Name the W.N.B.A. Won’t Say

Selected activists in Sports:
Bill Russell
Muhammad Ali
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
LeBron James
Megan Rapinoe
Colin Kaepernick

Religious services rescheduling around AYSO soccer

Famous image of MLK kneeling in prayer
Tomahawk chop

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”

Ep 18: Diane Winston on religion and the entertainment media
Origin of the word “fandom”
Varun's Essay: How the LA Clippers Made Me a Better Hindu

Human stories about sports:
ESPN: 30 for 30
HBO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Varun’s Essay: What We Can Learn From Bob Marley's Spiritual Legacy
Varun's book: Natural Mystics
Bob Marley: How He Changed the World
Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan
Basics of Rastafari

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Is This Love?” by Bob Marley and the Wailers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHekNnySAfM

This week, from deep in the San Fernando Valley, we’re joined by filmmaker Set Hernandez Rongkilyo. A passionate storyteller from a young age, Set’s early love of Anime and desire to be an animator transitioned into becoming a passionate storyteller, through documentary film and now other forms as well. Set discusses their resistance to approaching documentary subjects from a supposedly neutral perspective, as well as the tropes of tragedy porn and binary narratives of the undocumented immigrant experience, and highlights some key influences and inspirations for the way they’ve worked differently in their film COVER/AGE and continue to do so with work-in-progress Unseen. They also detail their work with the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective, striving to increase representation behind as well as in front of the camera, and in the audience, leaving us with the beautiful thought that storytelling is not just an act of imagination, but also an act of remembering.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” ― Assata Shakur, from Assata: An Autobiography

The move to decolonize documentary
The complicated story of Nanook of the North
Episode 70: with Sue Ding
Film: Jaddoland

Disclosure – documentary by Sam Feder

The North Star– Frederick Douglas newspaper
Black Panther Newspaper

COVER/AGE film

Favianna Rodriquez - Center for Cultural Power
Sasha Costanza-Chock: Out of the Shadows, Into the Streets
By Any Media Necessary - DREAMing Citizenship
Julio Selgado and Jesús Iñiguez: Dreamers Adrift - Undocumented and Awkward
Tam Tran films: Lost and Found; Seattle Underground Railroad
Undocumedia Nancy Meza
The Undeportables sketch comedy
Miko Revereza experimental documentary
Alan Pelaez Lopez spoken word/visual artist

Undocumented Filmmakers Collective
Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s film 12 years in the making
Getting Real – Int'l Doc Assn conference
Firelight Media
Netflix series: Living Undocumented
Rahi Hasan, UFC co-founder
UFC Panel at Black Star Film Festival

Decolonizing Methodologies by Linda Tuhiwai Smith

India’s Grassroots Comics
Stacy Smith’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research
Episode 25: Why do we need more critics of color? (with Jeff Yang & Mauricio Mota)
Episode 26: Reimagining the ecology of cultural criticism (with Elizabeth Mendez Berry & Carolina A. Miranda)
Episode 27: Critics of color: The added value of subtleties (with Eric Deggans)

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

Music:
“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet
https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet
Spaceship by Lesion X
https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental
Free Download / Stream:
https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship
Music promoted by Audio Library
https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Assata An Autobiography

the Furious, and in between, explores issues of documentary filmmaking, emerging media, and Asian-American identity. The episode features Sue Ding...

We begin our discussion of Ding’s recent film, The Claudia Kishi Club, by exploring how and why the character of Claudia from The Babysitters Club franchise spoke to a generation of Asian-American youth and inspired many to enter the arts, helping to pave the way for more recent representations of Asian-American characters in YA media and beyond. We consider what it means that a new generation of youth are coming of age in a world of more diverse and inclusive representations. Ding tells us about efforts by BIPOC documentary artists to form networks for mutual support and collaboration that are responding to their historic exclusion. Discussing her role programming emerging media for the Los Angeles Asian-Pacific Film Festival, Ding describes how Covid-19 and Zoom are changing what we mean by emerging media as well as why augmented reality, mixed reality, and other emerging forms offer potential to tell new kinds of stories. We close with some of her reflections on the importance of The Fast and the Furious franchise and its evolving representations of race and gender.

Baby Sitter’s Club phenomenon

Claudia Kishi

Claudia and Asian American women

Which Baby-Sitters Club character are you?

Velvet Underground

The Claudia Kishi Club includes interviews with:

Naia Cucukov
Gale Galligan
Sarah Kuhn
CB Lee
Yumi Sakugawa
Phil Yu
They Call Us Bruce episode on Claudia Kishi

Baby-Sitters Club author Ann Martin

The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix

Some other current YA TV we mentioned:
Pen15
Sex Education
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Never Have I Ever

Asian characters in YA fiction
Bechdel Test
Manzanar National Historic Site
Sue’s sound installation for Manzanar
Grandmother Mimi

Mulan controversy
IndieWire – Documentary films have a race problem
Brown Girls Doc Mafia
Asian American Documentary Network

Emerging Media Program – Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Film festivals go virtual

VR for a mass audience:
The Void
Star Wars VR
VR porn
For more discussion on VR, check out Episode 10: Nonny De La Peña on Ready Player One and the ethics and aesthetics of virtual reality

The Fast and the Furious:
Box office success
Global fan base
Wesley Morris on Race in The Fast and the Furious franchise
The Rock – Samoan background in Hobbes and Shaw
Vin Diesel as racially ambiguous

Sue’s episode of KCET’s Artbound: Light & Space

George Takei:
The Terror
They Called Us Enemy

Stacy Smith Annenberg Inclusion Initiative research

Lovecraft Country

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

Music:

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.

This week, we offer the second of an ongoing series of episodes focused on fandom and fandom studies. Last week, we explored fandom’s relationship with the creative industries. This week, we are looking at fan-based activism.

The episode features Janae Phillips, Director of Leadership and Education for the Harry Potter Alliance, who oversees the Granger Leadership Academy and the Fandom Forward study guides project, among other things. Shawn Taylor is one of the founders of Nerds of Color and a founding organizer of the Black Comix Arts Festival, a festival that highlights and promotes artists on the margins of the mainstream comic book industry. Shawn recently published a white paper, We The Fans: How Our Powers Can Change the World, as a Senior Fellow for the Pop Culture Collaborative.

We begin our discussion by trying to understand what we mean by fan activism and why fandom has emerged as an important driver of movements for social change. We consider why fandom might not only enable young people to enter the political process but also how fan activism becomes more sustainable because of the elements of joy, empathy, and passion it brings with it. We consider the darker sides of fan activism, including links between “toxic fandom” and the alt-right, but we also consider how fandom has become a site for anti-racism work. We share our experiences at the Granger Leadership Program this summer as an example of how the Harry Potter Alliance is helping to train young activists and the Granger/Lovegood campaign as a specific effort with the goal of registering and informing potential young voters. Finally, Shawn closes us out with some reflections on Afro-futurism as a philosophy and model for social action and the risks that it has become too cool, too fast.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Karan Nevatia – a remarkable young producer, fan, activist, and professional.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Here are some articles Henry has written about the Harry Potter Alliance’s model for social change and its Not in Harry’s Name Campaign. Henry’s research group had more to say about the Harry Potter Alliance in their book, By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism.

This video about the Not in Harry’s Name campaign illustrates how the HPA builds on the infrastructure fandom provides.

HPA’s Hunger Games Campaign

More of HPA’s Fandom Forward Resources:

Star Wars

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Black Panther

Welcome to Night Vale

Pokemon

Doctor Who

Fandom Jargon

What is a Blerd?

Asian-American fans

Nerds of Color: Ghost in the Shell controversy

Racebending

Star Trek

E.E. “Doc” Smith – Lensmen Novels

The Book of Three, Prydain, The Horned King

Raiders of the Lost Ark – mythology

Save Our Show campaigns

What Steven Universe did for queer kids

Worldbuilding in Role-Playing Games

Translating fandom skills to digital organizing; fandom as a way to make activism sustainable:

Activist joy

The Handmaid’s Tale

Princess Leia at Women’s March

Hong Kong students and Les Miserables

Three finger salute in Thailand

Trump and Popular Culture

TiKTok Protest

What’s different about youth activism

Exclusive vs. Inclusive Fandoms:

Comicsgate

Gamergate

Spider-Man

Star Wars - Kelly Marie Tran

Transformative fandom/affirmational fandom

Yes And

Fandom Hierarchies and Ownership

Cross the Streams – Ghostbusters

Hermoine Granger - SPEW

Granger Leadership Academy

“the TERF who shall not be named”

Steven Universe and HPA

Granger/Lovegood 2020 "campaign"

Luna Lovegood

Afrofuturism

Alondra Nelson on Afrofuturism

Mark Dery on Afrofuturism

Shawn Taylor on Our Opinions are Correct - the history of Afrofuturism

Chadwick Boseman

Mutabaruka

Shawn Taylor's Essay on Black Panther

Steven Barnes on Black Panther

Afro-speculative

Buckminster Fuller

Astroblackness

Afrifutrism

More thoughts on "the White CIA guy" in Black Panther - Eve Ewing on Intercepted

Shawn’s film Afrofuturist recommendation: Destination Planet Negro

History of Fictional characters running for president:

Pogo, “I Go Pogo”

Pat Paulson

Archie Bunker

Bart Simpson

Some basics on K-pop fan activism

John Lewis “good trouble”

K-pop fans’ sabotage of Tulsa Trump rally

Check out these related past episodes:

Episode 14: Hye Jin Lee and Cristina Visperas on the Global Fandom for K-pop

Episode 22: On Conspiracy Theories, with Benjamen Walker and Wu Ming

Episode 66: The Legacy of Octavia E. Butler with Damian E. Duffy, John Jennings, and Shelley Streeby

Episode 40: Exploring the Dark Fantastic with Ebony Thomas

Episode 25: Why Do We Need More Critics of Color? with Jeff Yang & Mauricio Mota

Episode 26: Reimagining the ecology of cultural criticism: Elizabeth Mendez Berry and Carolina A. Miranda

Episode 27: Critics of color: The added value of subtleties, with Eric Deggans

Episode 5: Black Panther, comics and the history of Marvel

Episode 6: Define American’s Julian Gomez on Black Panther and empowering fan activism

Episode 8: Manouchka Labouba on Black Panther and African cinema today

Episode 9: Nicholas J. Cull on Black Panther and the politics of popular culture

Hear Karan Nevatia talking on NPR about his signature song, “No Scrubs” by TLC

Donate to the Harry Potter Alliance in memory of Karan Nevatia.

If you or someone you know needs someone to lean on for emotional support, call the Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also chat them online.

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

Music:

“In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet

Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“No Scrubs” by TLC

Welcome back to How Do You Like It So Far?, listeners! Today, we’re bringing you a time capsule of an episode: We recorded today’s conversation back in April, but it’s still as relevant as ever. Just don’t mind us thinking the coronavirus pandemic will be over in a couple of weeks.

The episode features Suzanne Scott, an assistant professor at the University of Texas Austin and author of Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry. She is also the co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom, an anthology that brings together an international and interdisciplinary collection of nearly 60 established scholars to reflect on the state of the field and to point to new directions in fan studies research. Also on the episode is Susan Kresnicka, a cultural and business anthropologist and president and founder of cultural research firm Kresnicka Research and Insights (see their Human Needs Model whitepaper). Susan holds an M.A. in social anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin, sits on the professional advisory board for UCLA’s Master of Social Science program, and regularly speaks publicly on fandom, gender, morality, identity, and the value of anthropology in business. In the episode, Susan and Suzanne lead us through a discussion of how we define the word “fan” and who it applies to. Then, we discuss the relationship between fandom and industry: How do industry choices shape whose voices matter in fandom? How do companies strike the balance between capitalism and fan culture? Should fans be entitled to have a voice in new iterations of their favorite texts? Other topics Susan and Suzanne cover are the differences and similarities between sports fandom and entertainment fandom, how toxic fans and trolls affect fandom, and how fandom’s relationship to the industry is shifting as a result of COVID-19.

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Susan’s yearlong study on fandom: The Power of Fandom

Degrees of Fandom: Authenticity and Hierarchy

Suzanne’s study on repackaging fan culture and commercialization

Covid-19 and Fandom

Fandoms and virtual engagement in a time of social distancing

Exploring Fan Communities in Online Spaces

Instagram #PassTheBrush challenge

Disney+ “May the 4th” Tweets

Disney Terms of Use

“Fanocracy” and fandom of brands like Trader Joe’s, Southwest Airlines, etc.

“Joker” Fan Art contest

“A Portrait of the Auteur as Fanboy”

Chapter 5 of Suzanne’s book (on Fan Auteurs)

The Psychology of Sports Fandom

The beginning of the fan movement: brief history of the first fandoms

Matinee girls as the first fans

The Disjuncture between Sport Studies' and Pop Culture Studies' Perspectives on Fandom

African American acafandom and other strangers: New genealogies of fan studies

Esports and the future of fandom

“Creators of popular media are becoming increasingly wary of their fans. That’s a problem for everyone.”

Balance of Power Between Media and the Audience

From Sonic the Hedgehog to Star Wars, are fans too entitled?

Sonic and the costs of fan anger

What is Fan Service?

Sonic Movie Redesign VFX Studio Shuts Down After ‘Extreme Hours’ to Wrap it Up

Toxic fandom: “When Fandom is the Problem”

On toxic fan practices: A round-table

Rian Johnson’s death threats after “The Last Jedi”

Archive of Our Own (fanfiction platform)

“How Do You Like It So Far?” Episode 16: Emily Andras, Maureen Ryan, and Louisa Stein Discuss Fans, Producers, and Queer Baiting

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

Music: “In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet

Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:

Scholarship on Online Learning:

PACE: What California’s Leaders Must Do Next to Advance Student Learning During COVID-19

Ed Week: The Disparities in Remote Learning Under Coronavirus (early in the pandemic, but similar trends)

McKinsey: COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime

Common Sense Media: Closing the K–12 Digital Divide in the Age of Distance Learning

Ed Trust: From Crisis to Opportunity: Recovering California’s Commitment to Equity

"On The Media" podcast episode about higher education, remote learning and political conventions

Henry’s MIT Conference: We Wired the Classroom, Now What?

MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Initiative

Henry’s blog conversation on screen time:

Sangita Shresthova and Susan Kresnicka

Civic Imagination Toolkit

Civic Media Fellowship Program

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 59: On Communities with Colin and Henry

2020 Movies Available Online:

Palm Springs

Da 5 Bloods

The Old Guard

First Cow

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 58: Open TV with A.J. Christian

ASMR on Twitch

Sequester (game)

Henry’s article on Dziga Vertov

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 1: Star Wars Cluster — Ahmed Best

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 34: Power and Pleasure of Podcasting (part three): Amber J. Phillips & Chenjerai Kumanyika on podcasting as a vehicle for counterhistory

Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fiery Republican National Convention speech

Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Full Speech At The 2020 DNC

Barack Obama’s Full Speech At The 2020 DNC

Michelle Obama Complete Remarks at 2020 Democratic National Convention

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at 2020 DNC

Joe Biden Acceptance Speech at 2020 Democratic National Convention

President Donald Trump Full Acceptance Speech at 2020 Republican National Convention

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Full Speech At The 2020 DNC

Sen. Bernie Sanders' Full Speech At The 2020 DNC

Gavin Newsom’s full speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s full speech at the 2020 DNC (“kitchens like this across America”)

Full Democratic roll call from Delegates across America

RNC delegates conduct roll call vote in person

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 7: March for Our Lives and the Census

2020 Census Adjustments due to COVID-19

Hansi Lo Wang’s Twitter feed (leading source of Census news)

LA Times Editorial on Decennial Census

How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 45: “Radicalized” with Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow’s “Radicalized”

Cory Doctorow’s “Masque of Red Death”

The Ezra Klein Show: An inspiring conversation about democracy with Danielle Allen

Henry’s recommendations:

HBO's Perry Mason

Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

HBO’s Watchmen

Chadwick Boseman films:

Black Panther

42

Marshall

Get on Up

HDYLISF? Episodes on Black Panther:

Episode 5: Black Panther, comics and the history of Marvel

Episode 6: Define American’s Julian Gomez on Black Panther and empowering fan activism

Episode 8: Manouchka Labouba on Black Panther and African cinema today

Episode 9: Nicholas J. Cull on Black Panther and the politics of popular culture

Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!

See full show notes on our website: https://www.howdoyoulikeitsofar.org/episode-66-the-legacy-of-octavia-e-butler/

This week (tears our FINAL week), we continue our series on how science fiction thinks about disaster, especially in our new normal surrounding COVID-19 and the global pandemic. We examine the work and legacy of Octavia E. Butler, an exceptional science fiction writer who wrote about gender and sexuality in bold new ways. Henry and Colin welcome Shelley Streeby, Professor of Literature and Ethnic Studies at UC - San Diego, Director of Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop, and author of The Future of Climate Change: World Making Through Science Fiction and Activism, John Jennings, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies and a Collaborating Faculty Member in the Department of Creative Writing at UC - Riverside, and Damian Duffy, a Cartoonist, Scholar, Lecturer, Writer, Curator, Teacher, #1 New York Times Bestseller Graphic Novelist. Jennings and Duffy are collaborating on a project to adapt Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower to graphic novels. Listen in as Streeby, Duffy, Jennings, Henry and Colin discuss the ways Parable of the Sower can make us think of our current moment involving the coronavirus. They also discuss in great detail Butler’s legacy and the influence she has had on the next crop of African-American science fiction writers. Also, looking for something to read while stuck inside? Check out the notes section for a list of Octavia E. Butler’s work, along with other great African-American writers!

Welcome to another quarant-week How Do You Like it So Far? team! We are still super lucky to be able to stay safe with our friends and loved ones right now and hope you are all hanging in there. We know it is a tough time and we appreciate you making this podcast a part of your quarantin-ing. Basically, thank you for not socially-distancing yourselves from this podcast. We are continuing our sequence on science fiction during the COVID-19 crisis. This week, Colin and Henry welcome Bruce Sterling, author, futurist, and one of the founders of Cyberpunk movement along with his partner Jasmina Tešanović, Serbian activist, author, feminist, and filmmaker. Sterling and Tešanović offer their perspective on what is going on in Belgrade, Serbia (where they are currently under a rigid lockdown) that perhaps can shed light on the pandemic. Sterling brings (slightly terrifying) insight on speculative world-building in response to our current reality. Sterling, well known for developing the concept of “design fiction,” discusses how companies and political organizations engage with world-building to anticipate problems and social change. Sterling dives deep into the potential policy changes that may happen, such as the rise of surveillance and technology companies becoming the new power brokers. He describes how the current world order emerged post-9/11 as policy decisions reacted to perceived and anticipated threats and suggests that the pandemic is apt to bring new shifts in power. Sterling provocatively suggests that when the pandemic ends, we may be living with its consequences but we will forget, as other generations have, the health threat itself. Sterling discusses the role of Chinese soft power, specifically in the Balkan region, and suggests that China is gaining global influence even as the American Belle Epoque is ending. Most surprisingly, Sterling dismantles the Cyberpunk ethos he helped create (mind blown right?) as science fiction writers are playing a different role in response to the changed environment in which they are working. A silver lining Sterling does provide is an enthusiasm over Twitter (who would have thought?)! Listen in as Sterling discusses a progression of pulp writers to contemporary ones like Cory Doctorow! The list of those writers will be in the notes section, if you’re looking to expand your pandemic reading list.

Thanks for joining us this week, How Do You Like it So Far? Crew! This week, Colin and Henry welcome William O. Gardner, a Professor of Japanese at Swarthmore College whose work has looked at the response of Japanese popular culture to real world disasters such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Garder, who is releasing a new book called The Metabolist Imagination: Visions of the City in Postwar Japanese Architecture and Science Fiction, puts together architecture and science fiction. He dives deep into the origins of architects in post-WWII Japan called The Metabolists. Many of the environments they made are somewhat relatable to how we are living right now. He also discusses how the visions of our “new normal” of deserted streets and people wearing masks is the embodiment of the tropes of apocalyptic speculative fiction. Listen in as Gardner dives deep into how some Japanese Anime, Manga and book authors created scarily prescient visions of the future. He also gives us some recommendations on what he’s reading right now! Check out the notes section for those.

Welcome to our third virtual episode How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We are shocked we even remembered that since who even knows what day it is. Satur-Thurs-Wednesday? That sounds about right. Firstly, we hope you are all staying inside and safe during such uncertain times. Secondly, we’ve got a new episode for you all! This week, Henry and Colin welcome Alex Rivera, Director of Sleep Dealer and The Infiltrators, a hybrid-documentary that blends together traditional documentary elements with scripted reenactments. Through The Infiltrators, he explores what happens when people put political pressure from the bottom up and as these individuals choose to disrupt history rather than line up with it. Listen in as Rivera discusses his own origin story and how his work in border and immigration issues ranged from experimental and traditional documentaries, to traditional shorts and features to music videos and mockumentaries. He also discusses his other works, specifically Sleep Dealer, and some thoughtful insights and suggestions for future filmmakers.

This week we celebrate the launch of Henry’s new book, Comics and Stuff, with another installment of our series on comics. We have Mimi Pond, author and artist of 2014 New York Times bestseller Over Easy and The Customer is Always Wrong and Carol Tyler, author and artist of You’ll Never Know (which was compiled into Soldier's Heart) and Fab Four Mania. Both of these authors are discussed in Comics and Stuff. And the heart of the interview comes as they discuss here their relationship with the stuff they render in rich detail across their books. These two inspirational artists discuss their origin stories as comics creators and their involvement with some of the men who created the underground comics movement in the 1960s. They discuss what it meant to them to tell women’s stories of work and family life through their comics and how they took inspiration from the scrapbooking tradition. They open up about contemporary comics artists they think we should be reading, offering lots of great recs for comics readers. Make sure to stay tuned in for the wrap-up since Henry gives readers a preview of Comics and Stuff and what he says there about today’s guests. Looking for comic recommendations? Check out our notes section!

We hope you are hanging in there, How Do You Like it So Far? crew. We want to thank you for turning to our podcast during such a difficult time in our lives. This period of self-isolation and social distancing is unprecedented and we know how tough this is for a lot of people. We appreciate your listenership and hope we are able to bring you a little something-something during this unique period. With that being said, this is our first episode which was recorded completely remotely. Our team is currently spread between LA and NYC (don’t worry we are all safe), so please bear with us as we figure out the kinks of recording a podcast across 2000 miles.

This week, Colin and Henry speak to LA-based, legendary Korean food truck chef Roy Choi of Kogi and KCET’s Chief Content Officer Juan Devis about their one-of-a-kind food show Broken Bread, co-produced by Tastemade. They discuss creating a food show that went beyond delivering recipes to people, but thought to introduce them to innovative, city-wide efforts in LA on food access, food deserts and more. They talk about how the title Broken Bread is a play on the idiom to “break bread” to share a meal and solve problems. Through Broken Bread, they are trying to tell stories that go behind popular attention-grabbing headlines and ones that resonate with them. Listen in as Choi and Devis talk about their show’s evolution and give Colin and Henry a sneak peek at Season 2!

First off, we hope each and every one of you are staying safe, washing your hands, and keeping somewhat sane during the Coronavirus outbreak of 2020. We are holding steady and continuing to record the podcast (remotely … so basically we don’t see each other except on computer screens, but thankfully technology has come in handy). We recorded this one on March 10th before things really went down and USC became a remote campus (we miss the Media Center, but it is necessary for our team to stay away). This week we bring you a special episode about The Peabody Awards! Henry has been a juror since 2013 and invited several of his fellow “Peabuddies” to USC for a discussion about the importance of the awards and how they are different from the Emmy, Grammy or Academy Awards. Henry’s “Peabuddies” are Jeffrey P. Jones, the Director of the Peabody Awards, Marcy Carsey, longtime television producer of shows like Roseanne and That 70’s Show, and Lorraine Ali, TV, Culture, and Media Critic at the LA Times. Henry and Colin dive deep into the gravitas of the awards which recognize “stories that matter” through a mix of artistic achievement and social impact. Listen in as Henry, Colin and the rest of the “Peabuddies” consider how race, industry backgrounds, and diversity of the judges can have an impact on The Peabody Awards. They talk about how TV can pivot faster towards cultural movements which has created an exciting “firehose” of content. Looking for podcasts, TV shows, and other things to binge during your period of self-isolation? Check out the episode notes below for some suggestions!

Oh, do we have a special episode for you How Do You Like it So Far? fans! This week, Colin and Henry discuss communities and their presence in digital and physical spaces and use old How Do You Like it So Far? episodes as talking points! We’ve made our very own podcast clip show! Henry and Colin were intrigued about the conversation opened up by Howard Rheingold an Patricia G. Lange on virtual communities. Through this springboard, they relate their own personal accounts of fandom and digital spaces that translate to physical spaces. Listen in as Colin and Henry discuss online and offline communities through the vast collection of How Do You Like it So Far? episodes and the need to keep exploring these areas of gathering in the future. Check out our notes section for links to the episodes mentioned in this podcast!

It’s time for another new one How Do You Like it So Far? folks! Henry and Colin are joined this week by A.J. Christian, an Associate Professor of Communication at Northwestern University and Founder of OTV in Chicago. He discusses the concept of Open TV and the origin story of the group. He opens up about the ecosystem of TV and web production in Chicago and how that inspired him to start Open TV back in 2014. He dives deep into the problematic structure of “pilot season” and how its archaic system used to be impossible to penetrate without being based in LA and represented by a manager or an agent. Listen in as Christian breaks down the studio systems and how OTV is a revolutionary model for developing diverse and complex TV shows for a future we all want to live in.

We’ve got another one in store for you How Do You Like it So Far? team! This week we have another episode in our series about comics with Henry at the helm (Colin is unfortunately away in Spain this week). We have Clifford Johnson, a Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at USC and author of The Dialogues, a non-fiction science book for non-experts with a twist -- it’s written like a graphic novel! We also have Dan Goldman, a writer, an artist, producer and founder and narrative lead of Kinjin Story Lab, whose work spans from graphic novels, TV and videogames. Johnson and Goldman discuss this “origin” stories of how they became comic book fans and how it influenced their current work. Both Johnson and Goldman have visions of the use of comics for social change. Johnson created his work in order to model conversations that were happening around him about the scientific method to normalize science in the general culture. Goldman, on the other hand, created works of political fiction or transmedia storytelling while using digital platforms to promote messaging. Johnson and Goldman discuss how storytelling is fundamentally at the heart of comics and engages people. They posit that comics provides an alternate medium for people to disseminate information and take them to new levels with various ideas. Listen in as Johnson and Goldman discuss their work and the differences between digital and traditional publishing.

And we have a new one for you How Do You Like it So Far? crew! This week Henry and Colin are joined by Howard Rheingold, author of Tools for Thought, Smart Mobs, Net Smart: How to Thrive Online, and who is credited with creating the term the “virtual community” in his 1993 book, and Patricia Lange, an author of Thanks for Watching: An Anthropological Study of Video Sharing on YouTube and Kids on YouTube: Technical Identities and Digital Literacies and an anthropologist and associate professor of critical studies and visual and critical studies at California College of the Arts. They discuss their experiences in the online world from the 1980s to today. Through their research, they dive deep into the early world of the Internet and how the idea of community was forged through bulletin board systems from the dial-up era. They also discuss how early YouTubers were marginalized for their work which spurred their involvement in community-creation on the Web. Listen in as Rheingold and Lange discuss their hopes for the future of Internet public spaces.

Welcome to another week, How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We have a very special episode in store for you all. This week, Henry is on the other side of the … well it’s not the microphone hm, the … recording booth, table … well you get the point. This week, Colin interviews Henry about his work surrounding civic imagination! They are joined by their esteemed colleague Dr. Sangita Shresthova, the Director of Research of the Civic Paths Group at USC and an integral part of the Annenberg Innovation Lab’s Civic Media Fellowship. They discuss their upcoming book Popular Culture in the Civic Imagination: Case Studies of Creative Social Change. They dissect the components of civic imagination and how it can help us as people imagine a better world and a process of change. Their work surrounding civic imagination has led them to ask questions such as, “How do we change our civic spaces with the possibility of a future?” Listen in as Henry and Sangita discuss their work in starting with the visions of the future, could see possibilities between us and help solve problems. They even discuss what people envisioned in 2016 and how identifying those paradoxes and tensions in the field might be usable for activists and storytellers to incite change.

Erica Rand, professor of Art and Visual Culture and of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Bates College. She is author of: Barbie’s Queer Accessories, a study of the doll’s history and manufacture in relation to corporate and consumer meaning-making, The Ellis Island Snow Globe, a queer, anti-racist alternative tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, and Red Nails Black Skates, a collection of short essays grounded in participant-observation research in adult figure skating. Rand’s work spans the breadth of sexuality and material culture in today’s world. Rand has taken her work in many directions, including into the world of figure skating! Listen in as Rand reveals her decision to start figure skating in her 40’s and discusses the gender of skates and skating tights.

Here’s to another week and another episode How Do You Like it So Far? Fans! We have got a very special guest for you this week - Scott McCloud, the author of Understanding Comics, Making Comics, and Reinventing Comics. He met Henry at MIT ages ago and they have been friends ever since! Join Colin and Henry as they discuss comic book fundamentals with McCloud such as “what are comics?” and the difference between graphic novels and comic books. They also dive deep into the history of comics with McCloud (did you know that comics are hundreds of years old?!), the difference and confluence of American, Japanese and European comic styles, how the digital revolution is changing the comic book landscape. McCloud reveals how the American comic scene had roots in vaudeville. Artists such as Winsor McCay would incorporate a theatrical element and draw comic panels on stage where each panel was like a “theater box.” Listen in as McCloud explains how comics take advantage of the composition of memory and how contemporary comics are experimenting with diverse styles and increasingly welcome to women and artists of color. McCloud also predicts that soon female readership will reach critical point! Also, looking for comic book recommendations? Take a look in our show notes for some of the comics and cartoonists mentioned in this episode!

Welcome to a new decade (we’re in the 20’s folks!) and another episode of How Do You Like it So Far?! This week we have Akilah Hughes, a founding Civic Media Fellow at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab, author of Obviously: Stories from My Timeline, and co-host of What a Day, Crooked Media’s first-ever daily news podcast that contextualizes the day’s news in a mere 15 to 20 minutes. Debuting in October, 2019, What a Day keeps in line with Crooked Media’s ethos and give listeners actionable insights about what can be done such as online resources, petitions, and fundraising opportunities. What a Day distills the distressing parts of the world through different comedic tactics. Listen in as Hughes talks about the influence other female comedians like Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling have had on her work and how she started with making YouTube video after YouTube video after YouTube video (after YouTube video) before going viral.

With more than 50 episodes behind us, How Do You Like it So Far is ready for a new season of the new decade – Stay tuned for our weekly releases starting from next week!

Happy 51st episode, How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We’ve got a great one in store for you for our last podcast of the season! (We know, but we’ll be back before you know it). This week we welcome Howard A. Rodman, Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, screenwriter, novelist, labor organizer and author of The Great Eastern. In his new book, Rodman pits two of the greatest anti-heroes of 19th century literature, Captain Nemo and Captain Ahab, against each other in a thrilling and inventive story. Through his astounding novel, Rodman draws inspiration from classic literature of the 19th century from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to create a work of fiction that speaks to today’s culture. Looking for some good book recommendations for this holiday season? Take a look at our episode notes for books Rodman and Henry discuss.

Welcome to December How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We can’t believe it ourselves, but we only have two more episodes left for the season! This week Colin and Henry are joined by An Xiao Mina, a scholar, activist and author of the book Memes to Movements: How the World’s Most Viral Media is Changing Social Protest and Power. In her new book, Mina discusses how memes can be considered a form of “street art” of the web where they are a prominent part of the discourse in today’s society. Her book unveils the transformative power of memes and wonders where the memetic culture will take us next. Any cat fans out there? Mina goes into depth about how the Internet is made up of cat memes! What about goats? She argues that these animals are gaining visibility as new regions gain greater access and voice online. Listen in as Mina talks about how memes were not created from marketing meetings, but emerged from playfulness and experimentation.

Here we are again How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We continue with our two-part series from the 2019 Connected Learning Summit which took place at the University of California, Irvine from October 3-5. The second installment is a panel with Henry and two youth activists Justin Scott, a student and artist who has worked alongside grass roots organizations such as Students Deserve, United Black Student Unions of California, and Black Lives Matters, and Jessica Riestra, a Senior from Sacramento State and Co-Director of March for Our Lives California. Tune in as Scott and Riestra dissect the role of youth activists in today’s digital culture and call for the recognition of educators as the creators of spaces that explore the identities of young people and how their identities will interact with the world.

We’ve got a treat in store for you this week, How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We begin a two-part series from the 2019 Connected Learning Summit which took place at the University of California, Irvine from October 3-5. This first installment is a panel with Henry, S.Craig Watkins, a Professor at the University of Texas, Austin, Mizuko Ito, the Director of the Connected Learning Lab, and Katie Salen, a Professor at the University of California, Irvine, for a discussion about digital youth in the talk, “Digital Diversity: How Social, Cultural and Real Life Circumstances Shape Youth Digital Media Practices.” Listen in as Watkins, Ito and Salen discuss topics concerning digital youth and how the digital learning space has evolved for the new generation.

Here’s to another week How Do You Like it So Far? crew! Henry and Colin welcome Evelyn McDonnell, an Associate Professor of Journalism at Loyola Marymount University and former music editor at The Village Voice, Shana L. Redmond, a Professor of Global Jazz Studies Musicology at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and Alice Bag, an author, feminist and lead singer/co-founder of The Bags, a punk rock band that dates back to the initial wave of punk in Los Angeles. Their lively panel discusses “Women Who Rock: Bessie to Beyonce. Girl Groups to Riot Grrl,” edited by McDonnell with Redmond and Bag serving as contributing essayists. McDonnell, Redmond and Bag highlight the importance of this book with an examination of the gender disparities in the music industry and the legacy system that keeps those inequalities in place. Listen in as McDonell, Redmond and Bag dissect music as a strategy to incite action for change and call for more women in the music landscape. An added bonus: McDonnell is also a former student of Henry’s!

View the episode notes on our website for additional links and resources!

View the episode notes on our website for additional links and resources!

View the episode notes on our website for additional links and resources!

Here’s to another week and another episode How Do You Like it So Far? fans! We have a two-part series for you where Colin and Henry welcome Lauren Levitt, a Ph.D. Candidate in Communications at USC Annenberg and a former student of Henry’s as a guest interviewer for a special sex workers and podcasting episode. In Part One, Lauren interviews Siouxsie Q, a sex worker, a policy advocate and organizer for the ACLU Southern California, and co-host of the podcast Ill-Repute, along with Vanessa Carlisle, a Professor of Queer Studies at California State University, Northridge and creator of the On the Dresser podcast. They unravel common misconceptions about sex work and the complicated relationship between feminism and the sex workers rights movement. They weigh in on the current policies, such as SESTA/FOSTA, and their attempt to dismantle the industry and endanger the safety of sex workers. In Part Two, Lauren speaks to Kaytlin Bailey, the creator of The Oldest Profession Podcast, a stand up comic and the Director of Communications for Decriminalize Sex Work. They discuss the difference between sex work and human trafficking and the law enforcement mindset of rescuing sex workers from their professions. They also examine the role of sex work in popular culture from HBO’s The Deuce TV show to the recent release of megahit Hustlers. Listen in as Lauren, Colin and Henry speak to these extraordinary women about their work and the importance of sex workers claiming their own narratives in popular culture.

This week, we have a special treat for you from Colin and Henry’s first ever recording from September 25, 2017! In this “throwback” episode, we are joined by Peabody-Award-Winning storytellers and radio veterans-turned-podcasting heavyweights, Tina Antolini (Host and Producer of Gravy), Scott Carrier, (Writer and Producer of Home of the Brave) and Trey Kay (Curator and Producer of Us & Them). Listen in as Antolini, Carrier and Kay explore the freedom that has fueled the explosion of niche subject matter podcasts that are currently available.

View the episode notes on our website for additional links and resources! Feel free to contact us at annlab@usc.edu.

This week we welcome Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, author of the new book The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games. She counters the deficit-framed language describing an achievement gap among youth of color by asserting that there is a corresponding, long-standing imagination gap – that lack of representation in children’s literature and media has left them unable to imagine themselves as the center of the story, in fantasy or in life. Progress is being made in media diversity and inclusion, yet Thomas argues, we’re not keeping pace in terms of priming the audience to accept these shifts. The internet is allowing children to connect with like-minded readers outside of their immediate community “bubbles,” participate in fan fiction and expand their interpretation of what they read. But do they have the resources they need to be able to read the world differently? What are the negative effects of such limited representations? Where will alternative fantasies come from? Thomas discussed here the debates that have sprung up around Black Panther and recent projects to bring alternative perspectives to historical narratives, concluding that it’s still imperative to create a dream space with and for minority youth. View the episode notes on our website for additional links and resources!

Our guest this week is Jaroslav Švelch, author of Gaming the Iron Curtain: How Teenagers and Amateurs in Communist Czechoslovakia Claimed the Medium of Computer Games, which recounts the early history (and his own experience) of gaming and home computer use in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s. In discussing this creator/maker culture, we note how both local materials and state-sponsored infrastructure were repurposed by these ingenious participatory communities, where playing computer games and programming them were completely intertwined. As we have seen with many other fan communities, what started as a hobby and shared interest gave rise to personal expression and then social change, as people used games to negotiate the state politics that they were not allowed to participate in. We also talk about the importance of documenting what seems like very recent history, when it is still possible to gather first-person accounts and community artifacts and present an alternative to a top-down or corporate record.

In this episode we talk to David Craig, Clinical Associate Professor at USC Annenberg’s School for Communication and Journalism and a Fellow at the Peabody Media Center, and Stuart Cunningham, Distinguished Professor of Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology. They are the authors of Social Media Entertainment: The New Intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, in which they interviewed more than 200 online content creators. Social media entertainment has expanded rapidly and the traditional entertainment industry has been forced to cede significant power and influence to content creators, their fans, and subscribers. In this episode we discuss the rise of social media entertainment and its impact on media consumption and production, as well as the "convergence" of these industries, with the example of Indian-Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh getting her own late night show on traditional television. Yet, who is Lilly Singh's community? How do fandom and audience move across the internet and back to cable? Can online content creators bring their type of unique talent to traditional, legacy media?

In this episode we discuss lucha libre, the popular Mexican form of professional wrestling. We are joined by Peatonito, an activist for pedestrians in Mexico City, who uses the persona of a wrestler to create spectacle as activism on the streets, such as jumping in front of cars. We also speak with Heather Levi, an assistant professor of Anthropology at Temple university, who researches professional wrestlers and professional wrestling in Mexico City. We ask: how is lucha a practice of staging contradictions? How does it comment on the political life of the audience, to bring them along to support a "super-hero" type persona? How have politics, performativity, lucha, etc. merged into each other? And also, how can the luchadores personas help to bring attention to, and increase affect and participation around, social issues outside of the arena?

This week we talk about Korean science fiction, with Sang-Joon Park, publisher; Soyeon Jeong, a Science Fiction writer; Gord Sellar, also a writer, and Sunyoung Park, Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Gender Studies at USC. Each are contributors to a new book, Readymade Bodhisattva: The Kaya anthology of South Korean Science Fiction, and this interview offers potential readers some perspectives on Korean science fiction: how it emerged, what its core themes are, how it relates to western science fiction, and how it is linked to technological and political change in their country. In a rapidly changing society like Korea in the late 20th century, reading science fiction connected them with a wider world, offered them a means of working through trauma and of imagining alternative worlds. Initially encountered through translations of western writers curated for the Korean market, later transformed into a genre where local writers could make their own contributions, science fiction has emerged as a vital tradition in both literature and film (for example, Snowpiercer or The Host). What kinds of futures are imagined in this popular culture tradition? How has it allowed Koreans to think about the changes brought by ICTs?

In this episode we are joined by Kerri Hoffman, CEO of PRX (PRX, a distributor of public media content) and John Barth, Chief Content Editor of PRX. This is our fourth and last episode on the Power and Pleasure of Podcasting (with episodes 32, 33 and 34). We begin by discussing the history of podcasting and public radio, and how it has always been a venture of affecting lives and not money-making. Yet, what makes podcasting special? Listeners often speak about authenticity of the maker, speaker or host as the main distinctive factor, but we are far from knowing more specifics. There is also the ability to connect with a few, yet more interested and dedicated, niche listeners. Even what is considered “good” content differs from more raw, authentic productions, to professionally put-together shows. Its main allure, however, continues to be its ability to be open and participatory. Nonetheless, we wonder, will it join the internet and other original participatory mediums in in spite of being open, still dominated by a few, big, key players? How do we continue encouraging people to create and share podcasts when they are not so easily distributed? Will search engines such as Google, who are not in the game yet, play a significant role on who can find and access podcasts?

Amber J. Phillips (aka the High Priestess of Black Joy), podcaster and Participatory Civic Media Fellow at USC, takes the reins to interview Chenjerai Kumanyika, Assistant Professor ofJournalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University, and host of Uncivil Podcast. Following our podcasting event at USC (see episodes 32 and 33), they speak about some differences of black voices, performativity, and expectations of "authenticity" in podcasting. We also discuss what is considered professionalism in radio, and where the definition of what radio should be emerged. How was the standard set, and who was excluded from public radio? How do black podcasters negotiate code-switching, in order to be "inclusive" of the wider public, while also being able to speak to their own communities? We delve into trying to bring marginalized stories to mainstream listeners. We get into how and why Chenjerai chose the stories he did for the Uncivil podcast: what are the questions that will help us understand history with the most clarity? Civil war stories for example, are focused on the larger narratives of battles and policies, but the marginalized stories do not get told because of a lack of imagination. We also talk about the word "innovation" and criteria for it, but how the word is being used by opposite communities.

This is part 2 of our Power and Pleasure of Podcasting event at USC (episode 33), which included performances from our guests. In this episode, we have the Q&A session that followed, where we were able to delve into the process of making and starting to podcast. To reiterate, we had Chenjerai Kumanyika (Uncivil), Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva (The Kitchen Sisters), Melinna Bobadilla and Brenda Gonzalez (Tamarindo), and Taz Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh (#GoodMuslimBadMuslim). Our guests discuss the craft of podcasting and share the stories of this bottom-up way of discussing the issues they tackle for their respective community. They share the difficulties of podcasting, such as its status as "side project" or unpaid labor, as well as the emotional labor of podcasting. We also discussed choosing names and talking to the public, the "fear of Twitter" and more. Also, we see the variability of contexts from our guests: the decision of writing for themselves, owning their own content, as well being part of collectives or working for larger radio companies.

We recently hosted an event on Power and Pleasure of Podcasting at USC, and we have the live recording to share with you . The lineup included performances by Chenjerai Kumanyika (Uncivil), Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva (The Kitchen Sisters), Melinna Bobadilla and Brenda Gonzalez (Tamarindo), and Taz Ahmed and Zahra Noorbakhsh (#GoodMuslimBadMuslim). We had the privilege of having each of these podcasters share snippets of their episodes, to show us how the alternative storytelling of podcasting can add to larger narratives. We cover the present repercussions of the Civil War; and look at Keepers of cultures, putting the spotlight on librarians and archivists as the heroes of holding down the fort on facts. The hosts of Tamarindo, a podcast that focuses on the Latinx community in LA, do a Minicast from our event; and the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim hosts also do a live episode, where they issue a fatwa to the Muslim ban.

This week we experiment with format, but also with how we think about media, with our guest Shrikanth S. Narayanan, Engineering professor at a University of Southern California. Shri works in an interdisciplinary lab that looks at "data science before it was cool," showing the benefits of interdisciplinarity when studying media and storytelling. He thinks about "signals" from media as data points to see how we react to different stimuli from film and media, which includes physical reactions emerging from particular emotional stimuli. These data points include sweating, and increased heart rate. How can we think, or study, our reactions to storytelling? How do the music, the dialogue, the visual and other stimuli shape our responses to media?

This week we touch on gender in film history with Professor of Film at Columbia University School of the Arts, Jane Gaines. During the current #timesup moment, there is an implicit suggestion that women have been waiting a long time for a higher status in the entertainment industry but also often a suggestion that progress has been made but not fast enough. But a different picture emerges when we look at these shifts in a larger historical context. More women were working above and below the line in American cinema during the silent era than are working today. And this active role in filmmaking includes women of color and women in countries around the world. We have thought of early film-making as male dominated, but how do we account for the collective forgetting of the vital roles women played during this transitional moment? How did they acquire this power? What lasting impact did they have on how Hollywood told stories?Where were they? But also, where did they go? And how can their stories help us to understand the power struggles impacting Hollywood today?

In this episode we discuss the Academy Awards with Raffi Sarkissian, Lecturer at Christopher Newport University, Virginia. Raffi has written about the long narrative created during the “award season” by creators, promotion strategists, the mainstream media etc. We discuss the emergence of the #oscarssowhite protest as a reflection of the industry's structural problems. However, since then, we have witnessed the industry attempting to course correct. Although this year has an unprecedented diversity of nominees, Raffi says, the #oscarssowhite problematic will continue to bubble under the surface. We also discuss the politics in and around Hollywood award ceremonies. Any award show is inherently political: whenever any institution decides what is considered “best," they are making a statement about their values and priorities. While Oscar once found explicit politics distasteful, more recent award shows have included multiple protests against the Trump Administration -- with Meryl Streep’s 2016 Golden Globes speech perhaps the most memorable. Other speeches, such as Viola Davis’. address struggles for inclusion and representation within the industry, not simply celebrating what has been accomplished but pushing for more progress. Even if many people do not recall who won last year's Oscars, the awards have a direct effect on who gets to create more films in upcoming years. Lastly, there are the politics of the broadcast itself: as they try to appeal to a bigger audience, who is in charge of the awards, and who are the Oscars for?

In this episode we talked to Caty Borum Chatoo, Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) and Executive in Residence at the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. Before academia, she ranged from working with Norman Lear to producing documentaries. She collaborated with comedian Hasan Minhaj on the documentary, Standup Planet, identifying comedians in the Global South who tackled serious social justice issues, including global poverty. Comedians and activists share the common goal of identifying problems with the status quo. Caty takes us through why comedy is a viable way of talking through, and getting actual engagement, with difficult issues; the new generation of YouTubers and activists who are bringing it to legislators through, for example, comedy videos about the treatment of sexual assault survivors, and the “comedian in residence” they have at her research center. Also, we consider why it is important that people with different lived experiences and backgrounds can speak directly to their publics without first trying to appeal to majority gatekeepers and how the digital has helped re-shape how we think of audiences. Comedy can help with “activist fatigue”: we need hope, Caty says, not just anger, to deal with such depressing issues. If the question is, how do we get people to engage in serious issue? Caty argues that comedy, as solution, needs to be taken seriously.

In our third and final installment of the need for critics of color, Eric Deggans, NPR's first full-time TV critic and author of Race Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation, talks to Henry and Colin about his longtime trajectory in radio and print media. Our guest speaks about how his first encounter with white culture was through radio, and asserts that "podcasting is radio for young people" now. When starting he thought, how can we talk about culture in a unique way, of things that other people cannot see? In his case he thought not only about race, but also about other dimensions, such as being a musician. In terms of television, we talk about how critics of color are needed not only to understand the new shows that better represent minority culture, but also to make visible the prevalence of and default to white culture in general. He says that Luke Cage, for example, hit a few touchstones of growing up black in that time, creating a powerful feeling of nostalgia and understanding that he could not get, for example, with The Sopranos, which he enjoyed as an outsider.

This week we continue with the second installment of our conversation about critics of color. Colin and Henry talk to Carolina Miranda, a writer and art critic at the LA Times, and Elizabeth Mendez Berry, Director of Voice, Creativity and Culture at the Nathan Cummings Foundation. Both critics came from a background of studying social movements and politics, but realized they could make a living as critics of art and music. We discuss that as a critic of color, you understand not to pigeonhole an artist, an ethnicity or race can influence a piece of art, yet so can a film watched in childhood. Yet in a moment where artists have direct access to their audience online, does everyone want criticism, and if so, how do we create a more inclusive infrastructure and economy to incentivize a diversity of voices?

Today is our first of three episodes [exploring why we all need] critics of color. Colin talks to Jeff Yang, an American writer, journalist, and business/media consultant who has written for The Wall Street Journal and CNN, and, Mauricio Mota, a producer of East Los High, an award-winning [Hulu] drama series that has earned five Emmy nominations for its realistic portrayal of Latinx high school students. We talk about the gatekeeping responsibility and power of the few critics of color when they are critiquing media coming from their own communities: They can break or make a show or movie. We [also] discuss their importance for unpacking the cultural context and nuance of movies such as Crazy Rich Asians and Coco [within their fan community and for those encountering these more inclusive representations for the first time]. We also discuss how globalization should, and can, [work in unexpected ways]: Coco did very well in China, for example. But, how do we move forward? “Everyone can be a critic” says Mota, but for a long time “we were not allowed to have taste in this town”.

To continue our thread on rumours and conspiracy theories, this week Colin discussed the 80th anniversary of the The War of the Worlds broadcast on CBS radio with media historian Nick Cull. Orson Welles' infamous radio drama showed the power of news media to convince populations about a fake event, but it also highlighted the rumours surrounding the broadcast: not everyone thought it was aliens invading, but Nazis, the Japanese etc. Cull explains how rumours reflect the underliying social and political tensions of the moment, and tying to the current moment, describes how rumours have always worked the same way: to explain, engage, undermine and entertain.

Why are younger people more likely to protest, and less likely to vote? This week, Henry talks with Naja Nielsen from Orb Media. They discuss how youth feels about their relationship with traditional politics, their tendency to focus on issues and not parties, and how they can often feel unwanted in current political systems. Nielsen also walks us through the shift - or need - to look at issues in a global perspective, and how news media can and should reflect it.

This week we talked about conspiracy theories with Wu Ming, the collective, whose books inspired one the main conspiracy theorists on the internet, and Benjamen Walker, whose podcast often focuses on conspiracy theories. We cover: The art of blurring fact and fiction, and non-fiction, discrediting gatekeepers, can we ever really debunk, the role of satire, the hunger for complexity, pizzagate, the “deep state,” QAnon, and of course, president Trump.

This week we explore the role of comedy in civic participation within the Indian context. Rohan Joshi is part of the sketch comedy group All India Backhod, which tackles political and social issues on their YouTube channel. A notable example was their viral video “It’s your fault” that dealt with the issue of rape, focusing on the irony of victim-blaming. Joshi recently spoke at the "The Past, Present and Future of Civic Entertainment in India" a day-long event in Mumbai. We bring you some of his insights (courtesy of Godrej India Culture Lab) that day, on what Indian audiences could learn from Captain America on “when to stop being a good citizen, and become a good person.”

In this episode, we get the chance to talk to Anushka Shah, who works as a researcher at the Center for Civic Media, MIT Media Lab. More recently, she has started a project called Civic Entertainment that explores the intersection of civic engagement with television, radio, and digital entertainment and film. This project researches the media effects of fiction on thought and behavior change, and explores how methods of social change available to citizens can be best represented in entertainment media. It also investigates the representation of protest and activism in current popular culture. She also runs a production studio in Mumbai called Civic Studios that creates civic entertainment content for Indian audiences. Shah tells us about the inspiration she, and other Indians, have gotten from popular media, and how she brought civic participation with entertainment together.

Henry is currently a visiting scholar at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, where he had the chance to speak about space with Margaret Weitekamp, curator of Space History department or the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. She curates the museum's social and cultural dimensions of spaceflight collection, which has more than 4,000 artifacts that include space memorabilia and space science fiction objects. We talked about the relationship of imaginaries of science fiction with those of space planning, and the benefits of displaying them side by side in the museum. We also discuss the link between the fandom of Star Trek and the dreams of space travel, we contextualize it within larger socio-cultural contexts, and also discuss the history of women in the space program.

This week Henry Jenkins talks to Diane Winston, professor of Communication and Journalism at USC, about religion and reality television. Are young people getting how to live their lives from reality TV? Contrary of reality TV as being a guilty pleasure, Winston's latest book talks about reality TV as the "the lived religion of late capitalism". Reality television tells stories that people feel identified with, or see as cautionary tales. We talk about Survivor's latest season, (survival of the fittest, and its very "hyper individualism that is so embedded in capitalism").

Our podcast returns after its summer hiatus with an episode focused on science fiction as a way of understanding and re-imagining the world. We reassembled a panel of science fiction scholars fresh from the World Science Fiction Convention (in San Jose) and eager to dig deeper into the history of the genre, its social and political impact, and in particular, the forms of thought which were enabled and sustained by the emergence of speculative fiction. Our guests are: Michael Saler, author of As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality; Sherryl Vint, author of Science Fiction: A Guide for the Perplexed; and Minsoo Kang, author of Sublime Dreams of Living Machines: The Automaton in the European Imagination.

Critic Maureen Ryan, showrunner Emily Andras and professor Louisa Stein discuss GLBT representation on TV and the tricky relationship between fans and showrunners.

'How do you like it so far?' producer Andrea Alarcon and Annenberg Doctoral Candidate Rogelio Alejandro Lopez take over this week's episode for a trip to the Define American Film Festival in Chicago to host Defining the American of 2060. The pair talk to poet Yosimar Reyes and organizer Erika Andiola about identity, representation and political obstacles in the undocumented community.

USC professors Hye Jin Lee and Cristina Visperas join Colin and Henry to deliver a crash course on global K-pop fandoms.

University of California, Irvine professors Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Kurt Squire discuss Ready Player One and Game Based Learning.

Bios:

Professor Katie Salen Tekinbaş works at the intersection of games,

design and learning, bridging the gap between academia and industry to

create practical, real-world platforms that better educate and empower

the next generation.

Professor Kurt Squire is fascinated by the potential computer games

have for enriching young minds. Squire is determined to remove

barriers that prevent young people from acquiring knowledge,

connecting with each other and co-creating new vehicles for learning.

Ann Pendleton-Jullian joins Henry and Colin for a wide-ranging discussion about worldbuilding, followed by a reflection from Henry and Colin.

Bio:

Ann Pendleton-Jullian is an architect, writer, and educator whose work explores the interchange between culture, environment, and technology.

Alex McDowell joins Henry to discuss "Ready Player One," production design for Steven Spielberg films, and world building.

Bio:

Alex McDowell RDI is an award-winning designer and storyteller working

at the intersection of emergent technologies and experiential media.

McDowell was a production designer with 30 years experience in feature

films, working with directors David Fincher, Steven Spielberg, Terry

Gilliam and Anthony Minghelia amongst others. He was the production

designer for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Man of Steel, The

Watchmen, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fight Club and Minority

Report. His production design work on Minority Report is considered

seminal both for its vision of near future technology and its

integration with people’s behavior, and is believed to have resulted

in nearly 100 patents for new technologies.

He is now a Professor of Practice in Media Arts + Practice at USC

School of Cinematic Arts, where he teaches world building.

Fresh off an afternoon viewing of “Ready Player One,” Colin and Nonny De La Peña discuss virtual reality and the implications of emerging technology on the future of storytelling. Note: This episode takes our usual "informal conversation" a step further with an out-of-studio recording setup.

Nick Cull, professor of Public Diplomacy and founding director of the Master of Public Diplomacy program at USC, joins Colin to discuss what mainstream media properties like Black Panther or Titanic say about society.

Manouchka Labouba, a Gabonese filmmaker and USC doctoral fellow in Cinema and Media Studies, discusses the Black Panther and how technology has changed cinematic culture in African nations.

This week, Colin and Henry discuss current events on each of their minds, including the March For Our Lives and the U.S. Census.

Define American's Julian Gomez joins Henry and Colin to discuss how Black Panther and other popular stories can be used to empower fan activism. Afterward, Henry and Colin have an in-depth discussion about participatory culture and civic engagement.

Guests Ramzi Fawaz, assistant professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Rebecca Wanzo, associate professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, discuss Black Panther, representation and Marvel's history.

This week, Colin and I sat down to talk together about why we were making this podcast, what we hope to accomplish, how we understand the current media environment, and yes, how we like it so far. Check it out. Next week, we begin a series of interviews around Black Panther.

The news media has had much to say in the past few months about the ways Star Wars fans have responded to this The Last Jedi. Much of this reporting has depicted Star Wars fans in a monolithic terms -- mostly focusing on the response of white male fans, who, as many have noted, dominate media coverage in an age where geek culture has been mainstreamed. Our two guests this week challenge that construction: William Proctor from the World Star Wars Project because he feels that journalists have misrepresented fan objections of the film (often through amplifying the voices of alt.right fans and even white supremacists) and fan-journalist Lisa Granshaw(Syfy Wire, the Daily Dot, Boing Boing, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Salon.com, Star Trek magazine and Star Wars Insider) because the diverse and highly creative work of female Star Wars fans has commanded little media attention. Keep in mind that there are many more kinds of Star Wars fans than we can discuss here -- that's part of the point -- and that the focus on gender in defining fandom can be as misleading as it is sometimes illuminating

More responses to The Last Jedi. This time, we check in with Jeff Gomez from Starlight Runner, a leading figure in the world of transmedia storytelling. Gomez has been running a series of blog posts which explore the emergence of what he calls "The Collective Journey" as a new storytelling structure at work in contemporary popular media, a story structure which he sees exemplified by, for example, Game of Thrones.

So, in the first cluster of episodes, we are turning out attention onto The Last Jedi, which we are coming at from multiple angles. The first episode, which you can access here, is an interview with Ahmed Best, the actor who played the part of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, perhaps one of the most hated characters in the franchise. But Best could not be a nicer or more thoughtful guy, and he’s spent much of the past decade plus digging deeper into issues of inclusion and representation, so we focused our interview mostly around the racial politics of Star Wars, and in the process, learned more about representational politics in contemporary Hollywood.