Brandon, Katie, and Sam discuss Amazon Prime's recently released series, "Them," and how it highlights the horrors of being Black in America - both today and in the 1950s. But is the series truly art imitating life or degradation porn?

Join the conversation: [email protected]

Good Reads (Books)

https://amzn.to/3bistg3 (Scripting the Black Masculine Body: Identity, Discourse, and Racial Politics in Popular Media) | Ronald Jackson

https://amzn.to/3bistg3 (Reel to Real: Race, Class, and Sex at the Movies) | bell hooks

https://amzn.to/3uIXAc5 (Scenes of Subjugation: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth-Century America) | Saidiya Hartman

https://amzn.to/3wfDLKb (Red, White, and Black: Cinema and the Structure of US Antagonisms) | Frank Wilderson

Shorter Reads and Other Opinions (Articles)

https://tv.avclub.com/the-black-trauma-at-the-heart-of-little-marvin-s-them-i-1846621341 (The Black Trauma at the Heart of Little Marvin's Them is Relentless, but Not Gratuitous) | AV Club | M Shelly Conner

'https://www.npr.org/2021/04/08/984614649/them-the-trauma-the-trauma (Them': the Trauma, the Trauma) | NPR | Aisha Harris

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/04/10405476/amazon-prime-them-black-trauma-exploitation (Who Is Them For? Because It's Not Us) | Refinery29 | Ineye Komonibo

https://www.vulture.com/article/review-them-amazon-series.html ('Them' is Pure Degradation Porn) | Vulture | Angelica Jade Bastién

On purity culture and its impact on millennials, Christians, and the world.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the THSP cast is kicking the month off with an honest conversation about spirituality and mental health. Listen in as Brandon, Katie, and Sam share their mental health autobiographies and discuss how one's spiritual and mental health are intricately interwined.

Last week, a jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. The response around the country was mixed; some offered celebrations believing that justice had been served, while others decried the notion that justice was a possibility. In today's episode, Brandon, Sam, and Katie discuss the trial's outcome, Black people purchasing guns, and whether or not America is on its way to a race ware.

https://amzn.to/3ezyVQs (Barbara Holmes, "Joy Unspeakable")

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/21/politics/george-floyd-nancy-pelosi-derek-chauvin/index.html (CNN | Nancy Pelosi's Stunningly Tone-Deaf Quote on George Floyd)

https://www.npr.org/sections/trial-over-killing-of-george-floyd/2021/04/20/987777911/court-says-jury-has-reached-verdict-in-derek-chauvins-murder-trial (NPR | Derek Chauvin Found Guilty of George Floyd's Murder)

In the fall of 2020, then-Senator Kamala Harris remarked, "There is no vaccine against racism." The trial of George Floyd alongside the murders of Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Felycya Harris, six Asian women in Georgia, and many more have highlighted the truth of Vice President Harris's statement. In today's episode, Brandon, Sam, and Katie discuss the murder of Daunte Wright, the origins of the police force/state, and defunding the police.

Time Magazine | How the US Got Its Police Force: https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/

Medium | The Connection Between Police, the KKK, and Oppression: https://medium.com/@BernetteSherman/the-connection-between-police-the-kkk-and-oppression-2ab5af032586

USA Today | Police Forces Have a 400-Year History of Racism: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/07/black-lives-matters-police-departments-have-long-history-racism/3128167001/

NY Times | What to Know About the Death of Daunte Wright: https://www.nytimes.com/article/daunte-wright-death-minnesota.html

CNN | THere's A Growing Call to Defund the Police. Here's What It Means: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/06/us/what-is-defund-police-trnd/index.html

Black Enterprise | Harvard Has Figured Out Why So Many Black People Are In Prison: https://www.blackenterprise.com/a-judge-asked-harvard-to-find-out-why-so-many-black-residents-are-in-prison-guess-what-they-found/

Vox | What "Defund the Police" Really Means: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/26/21303849/what-defund-the-police-really-means

Vox | What to Do Instead of Calling the Police: https://www.vox.com/2021/4/14/22374196/calling-the-police-violence-alternatives

Vox | Obama Criticizes 'Defund the Police' As A "Snappy Slogan": https://www.vox.com/2020/12/3/22150452/obama-defund-the-police-snappy-slogan

Book | Facing the Abusing God | Lee Blumenthal: https://amzn.to/3ebGVai

Brandon and Katie explore domestic violence, the HBO Max Tina Turner documentary (Tina), National Geographic's Aretha Franklin documentary (Genius: Aretha), and Joe Biden's long-term commitment to ending violence against women. Lisa Weaver joins the conversation to share about TheoLab Media's new podcast, Healing Jephthah's Daughters.

ARTICLES and OTHER RESOURCES

https://hjd.captivate.fm/listen (Subscribe to Healing Jephthah's Daughters) | TheoLab Media

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/politics/biden-domestic-violence-policies.html?partner=slackandsmid=sl-share (Biden’s Policies on Domestic Violence) | NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/us/politics/biden-domestic-violence-policies.html?partner=slackandsmid=sl-share (Tina Turner’s Life Explored in New Documentary) | NPR

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/what-to-watch/ct-ent-tina-turner-documentary-review-20210328-cyxthjtsxrautfcqtthyawph5a-story.html (‘Tina’ Review) | Chicago Tribune

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/arts/television/genius-aretha-review.html (‘Genius: Aretha’ Review )| NY Times

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES

https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/get-help/state-resources (Domestic Violence Resources by State)

https://www.thehotline.org/ (National Domestic Violence Hotline)

https://ncadv.org/get-help (Get Help | National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

https://www.domesticshelters.org/ (Find a Domestic Violence Shelter Near You | Domestic Shelters Website)

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf (Fact Sheet | The Violence Against Women Act)

https://compass.freefrom.org/ (FreeFrom | Compensation Compass for Cash Assistance Program) (Understand Your Options and How to Pursue Them)

In late March, Lil Nas X released a new single entitled "Montero (Call My By Your Name." The music video that accompanied the song received strong criticism from conservatives and evangelicals alike. In today's episode, the THSP cast discusses the Montero music video and how LNX stole Easter's thunder. The episode also includes brief reflections on the Derek Chauvin trial and rest as resistance. Read more below:

ARTICLES and OTHER RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swmTBVI83k (Montero (Call Me By Your Name)) | Lil Nas X

https://nypost.com/2021/03/26/lil-nas-x-drops-new-video-fans-say-it-looks-familiar/ (Lil Nas X Gives Satan a Lapdance… )| New York Post

https://www.buzzfeed.com/andriamoore/lil-nas-x-just-dropped-his-new-music-video-montero (In Montero, Lil Nas X Is Fully Embracing His Sexuality… ) | Buzzfeed

https://ew.com/music/lil-nas-x-new-montero-call-me-by-your-name/ (Lil Nas X Takes a Stripper Pole To Hell… ) | Entertainment Weekly

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM3i2RelCkK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (Lil Nas X Instagram Post )| Instagram

CONNECT WITH THE HOLY SHIT POD

This week, the THSP crew discusses the ways that anti-intellectualism is harming Christian religious communities. Listen in as Katie, Sam, and Brandon discuss the relationship between critical thinking and deep feeling - and how a life of the mind can enrich one's emotional life and faith.

What is the relationship between white supremacy, imperialism, and Christian understandings of salvation? Can one embrace whiteness and Christanity? Spoiler: Hell No!

Brandon, Katie, and Sam welcome Yolanda Norton for a conversation about womanist theology and what it means to place Black women at the center of what we call sacred.