But Have You Heard About?

What did you think of todays' episode?

If you could pick one athlete, from any sport, of any caliber, who is the greatest? Can someone from the 20th century thrive in a 21st century? These are just a smidge of the questions that Adam and I discuss on this week's episode. This is obviously not all we talk about; if you know me, you know sports is my passion and if I could be a talking head about football I would be. Adam and I talk over not just details about our #1 picks, but what makes someone an amazing athlete, why are people able to break records now, and how technology plays a role in not just sports but overall fitness. Does being a single sport athlete make you the best, or do you need to be the most diverse person ever? 
Not to ruin it, but we definitely did not have the same #1s, but I did agree with the majority if not all of his picks as being amazing athletes. Also, those in the WWE are amazing athletes, not just entertainers. Catch me outside to fight this opinion and many others after listening in.

Do you agree with our picks? Were we off the mark? Are you the greatest athlete of all time? 

What did you think of todays' episode?

On this new conspiracy theory episode, I am joined by my friend Jess because I needed someone that's actually been to the statue of liberty 🗽

Where is Lady Liberty located? Is it... Ellis island? You'd be wrong. It's not on the same island where immigrants came during the 1800s. Islands are small, it wouldn't be able to be there. Liberty Island is where it is actually located, a name fitting for the statue to be there. But, there are so many paintings and pictures that point to it at one point being on the same island. 

Have you been to the statue and taken a tour? What was the highest point you've gone to? The crown? The torch? A podium? For those that remember going to the torch, you must be 100+, because no one has been allowed into the torch since the Black Tom explosion in 1916. Have you heard about that? The only attack on US ground between the War of 1812 and Pearl Harbor. I hadn't heard about it, which is more surprising than I want to admit. But, because of this attack at the Statue of Liberty, no one but maintenance has been in the torch. What do we make of the photos of those that have "visited" and taken photos from the torch? Was that a mirage? A dream?  Collective memories as well as false memories can create an impact on how we perceive experiences we've had. It's just a strange, strange world out there.

For some of the photos Jessica and I checked out:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1rwEL_LqJOea4ElCwBu90FsHId8W67anh

To watch some compiled pictures in a compiled video:
https://youtu.be/cvI_qrquSFw

What did you think of todays' episode?

Sorry, I didn't have a great title to come up with for this episode, but I wanted to get right to the point.

I wanted to use my platform to talk about how Asian hate and discrimination isn't new in this country. It literally started with the first Asian immigrants coming to America to escape harsh economic conditions landing in present day California during the height of the California Gold Rush. Within 30 years, US Congress passed the Page Act of 1875 which indiscriminately targeted the immigration of Asian women, creating an imbalance of Asian men to women. Many of these men that came over to work, predominately on the transcontinental railroad, weren't able to bring their partner with them and wound up leaving to go back to China. If an Asian woman wanted to go through the immigration process post Page Act, they were usually humiliated and harassed. You can even view poems written by mostly Chinese immigrants in San Francisco here:
https://www.aiisf.org/poems-and-inscriptions 

The discrimination and stereotypes of Asian immigrants continued past the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 as well. Just because we do not hear as much about it in American history does not mean it didn't happen. It did, and we are for the better to recognize it, teach it, and learn from it to be better now. 

Afong Moy, the first female Chinese immigrant was considered an oddity and even though she helped to educate those that wanted to be, was used by white men for profit. She sadly had stereotypes made of her, and had stereotypes projected at her when she toured with PT Barnum. If you would like more on her:
https://lithub.com/the-life-of-afong-moy-the-first-chinese-woman-in-america/ 

If you would like more on how polygamy, prostitution impacted federal immigration laws, here's the other article I mentioned:
https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6520&context=faculty_scholarship 

What did you think of todays' episode?

There are definitely people that have heard about Mary Phelps Jacob--she patented the modern bra, and I personally thank her for that.

 But...have you heard about Caresse Crosby--the woman she transformed into once she married Harry Crosby, embraced this new lifestyle in Paris, started a publishing company, became a ghost writer of erotica, founded Women Against War and Citizens of the World, and had an artist haven at a literal CASTLE in Rome? No? Well, let Jordan and I tell you that inventing the bra was honestly the tip of her iceberg sized life. From 1891-1970, Caresse Crosby not only became the literary godmother to the Lost Generation of expatriate writers in Paris, but she was an activist when most women weren't even ready to have their own opinions. She even started the Black Sun Press with Harry to publish the first works of many famous authors, including Hemingway. In this episode, my college and super fashionable friend Jordan and I talk about not only her life, her impact, but why she probably isn't discussed as much. SPOILER: It's not just the open affair with Harry during her first marriage.

If you want to read the book by her great-granddaughter, Tamara Colchester, it is called The Heart is a Burial Ground.

What did you think of todays' episode?

Out of all the conspiracy theories we've done, this is by far the best one. Consider that the world as we knew it ended in 2012; it's plausible. We're 8+ years from the end times the Mayans predicted of December 21, 2012, and if you told 2012 you some of things that have happened since then...would you believe yourself? Like, really? I don't think I could.
In this episode we discuss five great theories:
Astrophysical phenomena caused the end times.
The discovery of the Higgs Boson, or God Particle, by CERN led to the end of our universe as we know it.
There was a reality changing event.
2012 was the end of history as we know it
And the god damn Mayans were right all along.

Matt and I go in-depth on all of these, which definitely left me with the Larry David face of, well....eh...it could happen.

What did you think of todays' episode?

Is it so far fetched to believe that the tactics used by slave patrollers were also used by police officers of the 19th and 20th century? I hope not, because they were. In this second solo episode, I talk about the establishment of slave patrols, some of their methods, the "perks" they received, how they were recruited and from where, as well as how the same formation of slave patrols carried over into state militias, the first armed police departments, and eventually the ku klux klan. 

Do you disagree with this assessment? Don't care; it's well documented by many historians with better sources that yes, slave patrols were the first form if policing in the US, and they had the best perks for a job based on fear, intimidation, and violence. I even bring up the first unarmed shooting by a police officer in 1858. I bet you don't know the outcome of that officer....you probably do. The accountability, or lack thereof, started real early in our country. It's hard to break a habit that's been ingrained and protected by centuries of tradition. 

For further reading on this subject, might I suggest:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/85472/1/usappblog-2017-10-05-from-the-slave-codes-to-mike-brown-the-brutal.pdf
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/slave-patrols-and-chokeholds-a-historic-look-at-police-brutality-and-racism-in-the-us

What did you think of todays' episode?

River Country; the first water theme park in Florida, US, and probably the world! What ever happened to it? Where is it now? Why do I feel like this is going to sound like a celebrity "where are they now?" E! episode? Well, I did mention it on the last episode, but didn't know I would be so lucky to have a guest talk about it with me! Welcome my CrossFit friend and Disney enthusiast, Mackenzie! 

River Country opened its wet doors in 1975, and literally hit capacity every day until it didn't reopen in 2002. What made this park so great? The Imagineers that crafted the rocks by hand to give it an authentic feel? Or was it that Gerald Ford's daughter was the first to ride down a slide? Or that some think there are conspiracy theories why it closed since Disney never gave an actual answer? It's all of them, honestly. Mackenzie and I go over all of these factors, how others tried to replicate the park (think Action Park in Jersey), what some of the reasons for the downfall were, and what we hope is the future legacy of River Country. 

What did you think of todays' episode?

Who acted on your favorite childhood show or movie? Where are they now? Are they currently living their dream life acting, or are they perfect angels, or did they succumb to the possible Disney curse? On this conspiracy theory episode, Matt and I discuss the dark tales of childhood actors, specifically those that stared in Disney movies and series. With so many actors and actresses to choose from that were not only in the Mickey Mouse Club, but in movies, and shows from Disney, you're bound to come across more than a few that had issues that moat likely has been attributed to them being a child actor with Disney.
Some that are living their best lives like Ryan Gosling or Zendaya, or constantly making the news like Shia LaBeouf and Britney Spears. Is there a curse, or is this really the response of their "stage mom?" 
Do you think this curse is real? Was it mind control? Or is it that we're products of our environment?

What did you think of todays' episode?

But have you heard about the Gordon Riots and the Newgate Prison liberation? Me either until recently! Britain's history with religion and persecution of "the other" has been long documented, but it was news to me that a riot was triggered by the House of Commons trying to lessen restrictions on the Catholics. While you would assume most people involved in the riots would be staunch Protestants that were anti-catholic, there were mostly working class members in the actual 40,000-60,000 group of rioters. In this episode, I talk about 3 individuals that you wouldn't think about being major actors in the riot, specifically because two of them were former slaves from the American colonies-- John Glover and Benjamin Bousey. The third individual, Charlotte Gardiner, was the only one of the three hanged for her crimes, which was the fate many fell to before the expansion of prisons and sentencing, and she seemed like a force to reckon with. 

What did you think of todays' episode?

Spoiler alert: social media, or having a platform on a social media site, is not one of the amendments. Sorry to burst your bubble so soon before you listened into this week's episode.

On this week's episode, join me and my fabulous reoccurring guest, Erika, to talk about social media. While that's incredibly vague, and also vast, here are some highlights:

• How did we get to spreading false news so easily?
• The Fairness Doctrine and how I WISH we could have it again.
• What is expected from social media apps, and which apps set the gold standards?
• How has social media evolved over time--talking about before and after Al Gore invented the internet.
• Some of the Q-Anon theories. Trust me, I hate 'em all.

Listen into all of that more as we talk about our thoughts about social media and the impact it has played in the spreading of misinformation, and how if we even should help those that have bought into Q-Anon conspiracy theories.