Race Trader Podcast

After a long break, we're back! This time we don't discuss a movie, we just sit down and talk. We felt the need to hash out a few conversations we've been having behind the scenes for some time now. This episode was recorded on May 31st, 2022. Enjoy!

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Discussed: the context of this discussion; defining racism; racism v prejudice; institutional racism; white supremacy; the Daughters of the Confederacy; on racist intent; a fixed game; Lauren Boebert; white despondency; white supremacy; Thomas Sowell; Things Fall Apart; changing minds; camping; friendship; ripe for a con; scarcity mindsets; white privilege.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on January 25th, 2022. Enjoy!

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Discussed: how we got into the show; comedy first, drama second; inside black jokes; Insecure’s relatability; the soundtrack of Insecure; opportunities; Love Life; Boston’s take; Curb Your Enthusiasm; aspirational black shows; swag as an engine; Sex & The City for black women; Nathan; black masculinity; Nathan & Issa; Insecure and class; fatherhood; Lawrence & Condola; and fucking Derek.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on December 19th, 2021. Enjoy!

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Discussed: Why this movie?; our relationship with the Coen Bros; the Coen Bros. focus on characters; the Marge character appearing in other Coen Bros. movies; characters v. caricatures; the proto-Breaking Bad; Marge’s visit with Mike; Marge & Norm’s relationship; cultural contrast; “Minnesota nice”; good and evil; ordinary people; The Office; careerism; Se7en; relationships with violence.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on November 17th & 21st, 2021. Enjoy!

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Discussed: Why this movie?; Cari Fukunaga’s attention to detail; war movies; child soldiers; brown-brown; no clear enemy; the movies political context; the book by Uzodinma Iweala; Boston’s trip to Ghana; Agu’s family dynamic; “Good morning”; Fukunaga’s research; Liberia; Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow; Charles Taylor; the humanity in the film; trauma bonds; “It can always get worse.”; Idris’s performance as the Commandant; the Commandant v. Heath Ledger’s Joker; Abraham Attah’s performance as Agu; the parallel’s between child soldiers and American gangs; Non-white gangs v. the KKK & Neo-Nazis; Menace II Society v. Beasts of No Nation; J brings up The Wire again.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on October 15th, 2021. We are once again joined by Ralph. Enjoy!

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Discussed: the history informing both Candyman films; the Candyman film franchise; how each Candyman movie depicts violence; Philip Glass and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe’s scores; the realism behind the original Candyman; Candyman compared to other slasher movie boogie men; the development of the Candyman lore; urban legends; you reap what you sow; Billy Burke as John the Baptist; the history of Black America; Helen Lyle is subjected to the black experience; white savior trope subverted; Vampires; old criticisms; score placement; the Chicago Police; overstuffed with ideas; Easter eggs; Tony Todd; why horror movies; the complex black villain; and Leprechaun vs. Candyman.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on October 1st, 2021. Enjoy!

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Discussed: A little bit about Ron Chernow; the production value of Hamilton; the music of Hamilton; hip hop for white people; our relationship with musicals; other black musicals; a lack of originality with musicals; Jamaican Reggae covers; the time given to Hamilton’s upbringing; Sufjan Stevens’ proximity to musicals; the Animaniacs; duels; Hamilton’s insecurities; Hamilton’s false portrayal as an abolitionist; how they address slavery; Lin-Manuel Miranda’s possible intent; The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda by Ishmael Reed; the Obamas; J’s relationship with history; IKEA furnished slave quarters; Lin-Manuel Miranda and colorism; the trope of the proud black woman; taking the good with the bad; proximity; Christopher Columbus; The Underground Railroad by Barry Jenkins; and closing thoughts.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on August 31st, 2021. We are joined by Ralph and Taco. Enjoy!

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Discussed: initial takes; the title of the movie; metal/punk band names; missed opportunities; failure and shame; just go to New York; why the hell did they go to Vermont?; destiny stories; they were different; Lamb’s Blood; J’s ignorance with Rastafarianism; Boston’s ignorance with Reggae’s relationship to Punk; Lee Scratch Perry; Ska; Bad Brains; punk and the black community; inclusive show spaces; two sides of the same coin; Three 6 Mafia; connecting with anger; bravado v. catharsis; a rediscovery; neo-Nazis and black metal; persistence; risk; familial support; the Butthole Surfers; Ralph pens a white savior movie; contrarianism; Run the Jewels and music as identity.

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Shameless plugs:

Check out Ralph and Taco’s jazz/punk adjacent band Rube on Instagram here: @rubeband

Check out Taco’s stoner black metal band Keef Chamber on Instagram here: @keefchamber

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on July 30th, 2021. Enjoy!

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Discussed: [“Roaches Don’t Fly”] — the expansion of our podcast; how we approach music — [“Black Sunlight”] — why this album; conscious rap; Ice Cube’s Lethal Injection; OutKast; what Armand Hammer bring to the table; a darker Run the Jewels; white audience majority — [“Indian Summer”] — Boston hates it; NPR in thirty years; the rise and decline of rock and hip hop; underground rap in the 90s was like the minor leagues; catharsis — [“Wishing Bad”] — fuck a hook — [“Falling Out the Sky”] — a lyrics guy; concern for the audience; Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; John Cage; cultural touch points — [“Chicharonnes”] — Quelle Chris’s verse; black on black criticism; impossible goals; Bamboozled; Boondocks; corporate involvement in radical movements; grad school rap — [“Robert Moses”] — 90’s R&B; harmony; Boyz II Men; idiosyncratic vocal performances; and more!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on June 29th, 2021. We are joined again by Drea. Enjoy!

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Discussed: why this movie?; initial takes; a slightly more sophisticated Tyler Perry; the music in the movie; a discussion on the history of R&B and Soul music; sexism in the movie; Whitney Houston & Denzel Washington; the passing on of music; J sings poorly; R&B and contemporary technology; ancillary benefits; youth culture; Lil Nas X; white people on an album cover; and then we entirely abandon ship on discussing the movie and enter into a discussion on cultural appropriation and us sounding old.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on July 1st, 2021. We are joined again by Gary & Ralph. Enjoy!

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Discussed: the controversy surrounding Django Unchained; The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist; slave revenge stories; Thomas Jefferson; The Whitney Plantation museum; psychopathic histories; Indiana Jones; favorite lines from Django; Tarantino’s depiction of violence; fugitive slave laws; a sweet ending; Bass Reeves; Dead or Alive; an inverse of “The Magical Negro” trope; Django’s transformation; Schultz’s decision to shoot Candy; Stephen Warren; plot holes; Schultz’s character; southern hospitality; the original Django; suicide by cop; Star Wars: A New Hope; tenacity and privilege; the value of an outsider’s perspective; Twelve Years a Slave; intended audiences; confronting darkness in film; southern myth making; performative courtesy and violence; and Auschwitz weddings.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on May 19th and 23rd, 2021.

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Discussed (part 1): Our initial positions and experiences with the show; whether or not Will Smith is participating in minstrelsy; Cosby’s “Poundcake” diatribe; the Cosby Show, but with hip hop; black shows at the time; hood representation; Living Single; charisma; early 90s sitcoms v. late 90s sitcoms; Family Matters; who’s laughing at who?; final thesis.

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Episodes watched: Pilot (S1.E1); Mistaken Identity (S1.E6); The Ethnic Tip (S1.E17); 72 Hours (S1.E23); Winner Takes Off (S3.E15); Six Degrees of Graduation (S3.E24); Blood is Thicker Than Mud (S4.E8); Poppa’s Gotta Brand New Excuse (S4.E24); The Philadelphia Story (S4.E26); Viva Lost Wages (S6.E8)

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Discussed (part 2): A full 160; 72 Hours; Mistaken Identity; the story of a misfit; Blood is Thicker Than Mud; the importance of Carlton’s character; what does it mean to be a black man?; Poppa’s Gotta Brand New Excuse; Will Smith’s background; The Philadelphia Story; intended age demographics for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; high school level racial dialogue; black people and the entertainment industry; Paul Mooney (R.I.P.); art’s subjectivity vs. sports’ objectivity; “Doing something great is overrated.”; typecasting; and more!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on May 8th, 2021. We are joined again by Gary. Enjoy!

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Discussed: Why this movie?; initial takes of the movie; a star-studded cast; Is the movie still relevant?; America’s first terrorist group; cartoonish caricatures; jury nullification; procedural plot holes; My Cousin Vinny; The Wire; the expediency of the Derek Chauvin trial; Carl’s decision; the role of the defense attorney; the death penalty; prisons; the punishment lottery; percentage of solved Chicago murders in 2018–19; Gary, Indiana; the Charles Stuart case; compounded issues; Derek Chauvin’s legal defense; Derek Chauvin’s prison sentence; Walter Scott; jury selection; useless narrative tangents; Joel Schumacher; Is this a white savior movie?; and Jake’s closing argument.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on March 12th, 2021.

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Discussed: stale chips, colorism, did they know they were making a comedy?, Disneyfication, too many cameos, Soul Plane-esque, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, comedy droughts, white comedies and black comedies, awkward and slapstick humor, Eddie Murphy’s comeback, and our disappointment. We hope you enjoy!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on February 25th, 2021. We are joined again by Ralph.

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Discussed: the physicality of Daniel Kaluuya’s performance, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, the legend of the Black Panther Party, PBS’s Eyes on the Prize, biblical proportions, self defense, historical hindsight, the Rainbow Coalition, the sadness in Lakeith Stanfield’s performance, William O’Neal’s character, yellow envelopes; resultant consequences; Ronald Reagan; gun legislation; crossing racial lines; Redneck Revolt; white supremacy; Greek tragedies; Marvel movies; and more. We hope you enjoy!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on November 8th, 2020. 

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Discussed: Our initial thoughts; we veer off onto a long tangent by way of asking if Moonlight is poverty porn and then wander into Academy Award representation; eventually we get back to discussing the hopeful character of Moonlight; how Moonlight sits within the legacy of queer cinema; intimacy and touch; Chiron and Kevin’s expression of their sexuality; masculinity in black and white communities; the strong and subtle performances in the movie; bullying; tragedy; Juan as a father figure; black male vulnerability; religion in the black and white communities; metal music and white people; tragedy; faith; white privilege; Christianity and black people; and the use of water throughout the movie. We hope you enjoy!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on September 24th, 2020. 

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Discussed: How our perspectives changed upon rewatch; the rise of the anti-hero; the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis; Breonna Taylor; karma; the role of police; our experience with police; street justice; poor performances; plot holes; has Denzel transcended race as an actor?; and Training Day’s contributions to the racial dialogue; Lean on Me; Predator 2; the Politics of Respectability; macro/micro perspectives; To Pimp a Butterfly; and more!

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on July 25th, 2020. 

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Discussed: We discuss black genocide; a lack of hope; the Hughes Brothers relationship with 2Pac; misogyny in rap music; censorship; dystopian settings; the ending; white perspective/black perspective; sociopathy; the prison industrial complex; Donald Trump; relating with black people; the weight of being black; religious dogma; Charles Dutton; fronting thug life; no more anxiety; and showing up at a white college.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on September 8th, 2020. Happy Halloween!

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Discussed: horror, surrealism, David Lynch, white face, great art coming from great pain, fatherhood, dedication, unpacking the past, loneliness, Darius’ role in Atlanta, picking up items purchased on Craigslist, black people and horror movie shenanigans, gallows humor, black tenacity, the Weathering Effect, and black representation in horror movies.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on August 7th, 2020. 

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Discussed: Tyler Perry’s plays, why Perry is not for white people, how Perry handles trauma, Spike Lee vs Tyler Perry, Perry’s abusive childhood history, did the movie take on too much?, Tyler Perry as Booker T Washington, the Politics of Respectability and Christianity, The Boondocks, money vs quality film, colorism, Tyler Perry’s lack of complexity and tone, and Perry’s business acumen.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on July 14th, 2020. 

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Discussed: the movie's relevance; interracial relationships; why this is a lessor known Spike Lee movie; the perceived danger of white women to black men; Flipper’s dilemma; racial stereotypes; Italians vs Black people; black love vulnerability; the birth of cool; colorism; unanswered questions and why does this movie still matter?

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on July 10th, 2020. 

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Discussed: Oakland; art communities; being black in corporate America; code switching; protests; Black Lives Matter; moral relativism; white privilege; sports; the American Dream; the role of fathers.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode was recorded on June 30th, 2020. 

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Discussed: initial takes; the film’s context; Eddie Murphy as a celebrity; the variety of performances; misogyny; colorism: and the upcoming sequel.

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Email us your thoughts, questions, and suggestions at bostonnj@racetraderpodcast.com. Discuss the show with the #racetraderpodcast hashtag on Twitter and everywhere else. Please don’t forget to rate, review and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.