Bennett Parten discusses his book, Somewhere Toward Freedom Sherman’s March and the Story of America’s Largest Emancipation. The book tells the story of Sherman’s March through the south as a social history of the refugee crisis brought on by the war and the Emancipation Proclamation. As freed slaves rushed toward the Union forces, they brought […]

Annie Menzel discusses her book, Fatal Denial Racism and the Political Life of Black Infant Mortality. Drawing on her own experience as a midwife as inspiration, Prof. Menzel lays out the history of white innocence, flawed racial science, and the cult of true babyhood all contribute to real violence to black maternal outcomes. As overt […]

Robert Craig discusses his article, “Fundamental Rights and Private Prisons after Dobbs: Shifting Sands and Opportunities.” He details the history of private prisons next to the history of state-run prisons. Additionally, the competing interest of for-profit prison incentivizes extended incarceration and cost cutting practices that set the stage for a legal argument based on Plyler […]

Katharina Motyl discusses her chapter, “From “Feminist Lies” to “White Replacement”: Digital Anti-Feminist Forums as Spaces of Collective Radicalization.”Which explores how the “manosphere” draws men and boys into a world of increasingly radical far-right ideologies, through grievance and misogyny . Prof. Motyl explores how digital platforms enable the spread of extremist ideologies, transforming individual grievances […]

Alexia Rauen discusses the article she co-authored, “Experiences of immigrant survivors of violence with law enforcement.” She explains how immigrant victims of domestic violence viewed their interactions with responding police officers. Based on interviews with survivors, she found that experiences with police varied widely based on factors such as immigration status, English proficiency, and gender. […]

Julie Farnam discusses her book, “Domestic Darkness: An Insider’s Account of the January 6th Insurrection, and the Future of Right-Wing Extremism” After being named Assistant Director of Intelligence for the Capitol Police just days before the 2020 election. She warned Capitol Police leadership of planning and coordination online which led to the insurrection. Her report […]

Andra Watkins discusses her substack, “For Such a Time as This: A Guide to Decode the Country America Has Chosen To Be.” Ms. Watkins’ life growing up in a Christian Nationalist Southern church indoctrinated her into a worldview and understanding of a coded language based on Christian Biblical Literalism. Since leaving the church, she has […]

This episode deals with sexual topics and abuse, all trigger warnings apply. Aidan Beatty discusses his article, “The Pornography of Fools: Tracing the History of Sexual Antisemitism.” Professor Beatty looks into historical sexual depictions, emotions and desires developed in the middle ages that continue to work in contemporary far-right antisemitic rhetoric. Aidan Beatty is a […]

Spencer Sunshine, PhD discuss his book, Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason’s Siege. Sunshine describes how Ohio native and lifelong Neo-Nazi James Mason’s newsletter Siege, which praises terrorism, serial killers, and Charles Manson, influenced today’s generation of hate groups and alt-right influencers. Spencer Sunshine, PhD, has written extensively about […]

César García Hernández talks about his book, Migrating to Prison America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants. Professor Hernandez lays out the history of immigration imprisonment and detention through the lens of politics and law. Additionally, noting the way in which the way immigration changed during the 1970 and 80s during the Cuban and Haitian influx. […]

Emily Widra discusses her article, “Despite fewer people experiencing police contact, racial disparities in arrests, police misconduct, and police use of force continue.” By looking at the newly released Bureau of Justice Statistics report that collects data of police contact in 2022, she finds that even while fewer people interacted with police than in prior […]

Khiara M. Bridges has written many articles concerning race, class, reproductive rights, and the intersection of the three. Today’s episode focus on her 2022 Harvard Law Review article, “Race in the Roberts Court”. Professor Bridges talks about Dobbs, Bruen, and the fate of Affirmative Action in relation to how each uses arguments about black history […]

Lasana Kazembe, discusses his article, “The Steep Edge of a Dark Abyss: Mohonk, White Social Engineers, and Black Education.” Professor Kazembe discusses the key objectives of the First Mohonk Conference on “the Negro Question” and how this built the education standards for Black Americans. Emerging from the Conference sessions and speakers were themes of racial […]

Kate Weisburd discusses her article, The Carceral Home. As prison walls are replaced with parole and probation rules that govern every aspect of private life, invasive surveillance technologies are used to monitor intimate information. Where does that leave the private home’s primacy as first among equals? Data collection, audio recording, and GPS technologies are expanded […]

Kali Gross discusses her book, Vengeance Feminism: The Power of Black Women’s Fury in Lawless Times. Prof. Gross looks at the stories of Black women who hit back—not always figuratively, and not always legally either. Reckoning with women who lied, robbed, and cheated a racist, misogynistic world, these women’s stories illustrate how they grappled with […]

Anne Quaranto discusses her article, “Dog Whistles, Covertly Coded Speech, and the Practices that Enable Them.” Dog whistles are words or phrases that seem ordinary but send hidden, often derogatory messages. These forms of coded speech are often used by pundits, politicians, and public figures. Why do they use them and what do they mean? […]

David S. Brown discusses his new book, “Hell of a Storm: The Battle for Kansas, the End of Compromise, and the Coming of the Civil War.” With chapters on Emerson, Stowe, Thoreau, and Fitzhugh, alongside with a cast of presidents, abolitionists, and black emigrationists, Professor Brown shows how political, cultural, and literary history foreshadow the […]

Leslie Schwalm discusses her book, “Medicine, Science, and Making Race in Civil War America.” Drawing on archives of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, recollections of Civil War doctors and medical, and testimonies from Black Americans, Professor Schwalm exposes the racist ideas the lent authority and prestige to Northern doctor’s and other elites. Leslie Schwalm is a […]

Jessica Pishko is a journalist and lawyer who graduated from Harvard Law School and Columbia University’s MFA program. Jessica Pishko, journalist and lawyer, discusses her book, “The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy,” in which she walks through the long history of the American Sheriff. Since the 1960s, […]

Marcy Dinius discusses her book, The Textual Effects of David Walker’s “Appeal”: Print-Based Activism Against Slavery, Racism, and Discrimination, 1829-1851. David Walker’s “Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World (1829-1830)” was one of the first antislavery texts published that openly called for slave self-defense and resistance. Professor Dinius explores how Walker used research and […]