At The Intersection
By At The Intersection
At The IntersectionMay 06, 2019
The Queen is dead. Long live post-monarchy.
Where The Teachers At?
Brian & Marion get into the current state of public education and why teachers are leaving in droves. They also spend not nearly enough time singing Abbott Elementary's praises, and Brian manages to sneak in a history lesson because of course he does.
The Charming Faces of American Exceptionalism
Brian & Marion are back, baybee! And to kick off season 5, Brian is finally letting Marion run loose with her obsession over the relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon, and her long-standing grudge against Jim Halpert. They also discuss Top Gun: Maverick's stunning (but not shocking) cultural dominance this summer, Chris Pratt's post-2017 transformation, and what they're reading/watching.
Redefining Health as a Public Good (live)
Brian & Marion speak at UNC’s 42nd Minority Health Conference Body & Soul: The Past, Present, and Future of Health Activism, hosted by the Gillings School of Public Health’s Minority Health Caucus. They get into it with public health students about what the last year of COVID-19 and quarantine has revealed to us about our sense of collective responsibility, and how we can redefine public health as an essential public good and health access as a right. (This episode was recorded on February 26, 2021).
Don't forget to nominate At The Intersection for Best Local Podcast here: https://vote.indyweek.com/out-and-about/best-local-podcast
2021: Our Eyes on the Future, History's Eyes on Us
Brian & Marion kick off season 4 with some visioning: what do we want to see in 2021? Put another way, what do we need to leave in 2020? Brian instantaneously breaks his off-mic promise to not talk about history, while Marion manages to keep herself from going on a thirst rant about the men of One Night in Miami.
What we're reading: www.at-the-intersection.com/further-reading/2021/2/7/what-were-reading-our-eyes-on-the-future
Tall Grass Food Box and a More Just Food System
Gene Demby and the Anti-Blackness of Black Exceptionalism
Brian & Marion chop it up with Code Switch co-host and Philly boy Gene Demby about how Black people in predominantly white institutions metabolize white supremacy and anti-Blackness, and why so many "exceptional" Black people hold on to the idea that other Black people don't like them. They also get into how Kamala Harris's career won't save us, how LLC Twitter and Passport Twitter can't even save themselves, and - of course - how Gene wants his reparations.
What we're reading: https://www.at-the-intersection.com/further-reading/2020/8/23/what-were-reading-exceptional-negroes
Food Politics: You Are How You Eat
Brian & Marion bring you a king-sized episode to talk all things food -- what cooking means to them, how access to food gets determined, policed, and stigmatized, and how Americans bring other cultures' food into their comfort zone. They also share their own cooking hashtags - #teniadetreats and #eatpangea - and favorite cooking tv shows.
What we're reading: https://www.at-the-intersection.com/further-reading/2020/8/9/what-were-reading-food-politics
The Normalization of America's Police State
Brian & Marion get into the history of American's violent policing of Black people, and how Hollywood has happily served as law enforcement's PR firm for 70 years. They also talk through why defunding, not reform, is the only real solution.
What we're reading: https://www.at-the-intersection.com/further-reading/what-were-reading-militarized-police
Quarantine Check-in: How We're Livin
Brian & Marion get back in the (Zoom) studio to catch up on life since they began quarantining. They talk murder hornets, The Last Dance, and the new Instagram club scene. There's also new merch - reparations hoodies!
Jessamyn Stanley and Black Body Positivity
Burnout Hits Different When You're Black
To ring in the new year, Brian & Marion get personal about their own experiences with that most millennial of conditions -- burnout. But oddly enough, most conversations about millennials and burnout have a very narrow, very white perspective on it...They also talk about how mental health can literally be life or death, and how policy can actually help our society take mental health as seriously as it needs to. CONTENT WARNING: suicide, self-harm.
Primaries, Electability, and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Brian & Marion are BACK in the studio to talk about the already interminable 2020 election season and how primaries work. They also dive into the concept of "electability," which has come to mean "appealing to imaginary but somehow very important white folks."
Also, the merch has dropped! Head to www.attheintersection.bigcartel.com to get a "how do you want your reparations?" t-shirt or mug! Wear responsibly.
The Evolution of Voter Suppression
Brian & Marion are back from their unscheduled hiatus with something light and frothy for the summer: voter suppression! They delve into the history of gerrymandering, current disenfranchisement, and the swindling of a Supreme Court seat. They also go on a hella tangent about hanging chads, so enjoy that angry jaunt down memory lane.
Dr. Ciara Zachary and Black Maternal Health
Brian & Marion talk to public health expert Dr. Ciara Zachary about how systemic racism is killing Black mothers at an alarming rate. (They also go on a semi-relevant tangent about facial recognition software, so look forward to that coming up again in a future episode.) Brian also talks to his wife Brianna about her own experience being a Black mother in America.
Gentrification, or Revitalization?
Brian & Marion discuss the hottest trend that's showing up in cities from D.C. to Brooklyn to Durham, NC -- gentrification! They get into the difference between gentrification and revitalization, what your responsibility is as an individual to fight gentrification, and whether there are any communities out there who are actually getting it right. Marion also gets profane talking about The Sims, which is shockingly relevant; and Brian takes us on a history detour to 9th-century Ethiopia.
From Punchline to Protagonists: Blackness in Horror
Brian & Marion dive into the surprisingly rich and complicated history of Black representation in horror movies, starting with The Birth of a Nation and ending (for now) with Us. Marion has a LOT to say about Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman's new Shudder documentary Horror Noire, and Brian surprises everyone by giving a world-class history lesson. They also answer that eternal question - what's your favorite scary movie?
Listener Questions
Brian and Marion answer your questions! Well, technically *answered* - this episode was recorded in December, so the takes aren't as piping hot as they could be; but they're still pretty hot so what is your damage? Be sure to vote us in as Best Local Podcast at www.indyweek.com!
The Reparations Episode
Brian & Marion finally dedicate a whole episode to reparations. They talk historical context, cultural opposition, and how reparations has gone from a throwaway to a presidential litmus test in ten years. They also discuss how each presidential candidate so far has answered the reparations question; and discover that right now, Marion doesn’t particularly care for any presidential candidates or perennial almost-candidate Joe Biden.
Talila Lewis and Disability Justice
Marion talks to disability justice activist Talila A. Lewis about the often erased or ignored intersections of disability and other marginalized identities. They also talk about the myth of productivity as a value, and a deeper form of reparations. Transcript available here, and find more about Talila's work here.
Legacy, Opportunity, and the Green New Deal
Brian & Marion dive into the historical and cultural context of the Green New Deal, America's latest stimulus proposal triggered by a specific crisis - in this case, climate change. They also refuse to check any acronyms before or during the episode, so fact check them at your leisure. Also also, this is their one-year anniversary episode!
Edgar Villanueva and Decolonizing Wealth
Brian & Marion talk to philanthropist and author Edgar Villanueva about his book Decolonizing Wealth. They get into the role philanthropy can play in solving wealth inequality, how to protect your own energy as a Black or brown person in a white space, and why all of us are responsible for each other's healing. Obviously they talk about reparations too - what you think this is?
You can find Decolonizing Wealth and the "decolonizer" t-shirt at decolonizingwealth.com!
Fyre Fest: White Privilege and Modern Colonialism
Brian & Marion are back with an emergency episode about Fyre Festival and what we’ve all learned from the Hulu and Netflix documentaries. Of course that means getting into the history of the Bahamas and breaking down how Billy McFarland ain’t nothin new. Marion also coins a new phrase despite Brian’s insistence that another version of it already exists, and Brian pronounces the word “Bahamian” correctly exactly once. #Millennials, amirite?