Illiterate

Why did a man build a war machine and wreak havoc on a small town in Colorado? What films and movies might have inspired this? And is this the first time this has happened? Tread is a documentary, based on the book Killdozer by Patrick Brower.

Extras:

trailer for Tread documentary // video

interview with author Patrick Brower // article

the Killdozer route and locations on Google Maps // video

San Diego tank rampage of 1995 // video

Marvin Heemeyer’s manifesto tapes // audio

bulldozer attack of 1998 // article

full film of cult sci-fi Killdozer(1974) // video

Boogaloo attack in June 2020 // article

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Shakespeare wrote fan-fiction? There’s sexy Gulliver’s Travels fanart? This is our most salacious episode yet, as we dive into the world of self-publishing on Wattpad, fan lit, and the most watched film on Netflix. The Kissing Booth is based on the book by Beth Reekles.

Extras:

the trailer for The Kissing Booth 2 // video

how The Kissing Booth film became popular // article

the self-publishing website Wattpad // website

Jacob Elordi (Noah) on the show // article

the story behind “After” // article

Gulliver’s travels fanfiction art // article

Henry Fielding’s 1740’s fanfiction // article

a history of fanfiction // article

trailer for The Edge of Seventeen // video

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Join us as we learn Harriet Tubman’s incredible life, as an abolitionist, spy, and Civil War hero. And why are the only things about her life from children’s books? Harriet is a film by Kasi Lemmons, and Bound for the Promised Land is a book by Kate Clifford Larson.

Extras:

the new photo of Harriet Tubman found in 2017 // article

trailer for Harriet // video

on Harriet Tubman’s visions // article

on Harriet Tubman’s Civil War raid // article

Harriet film vs real life facts // article

interview with author Kate Clifford Larson // video

Bound for the Promised Land biography // book

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Learn about the work that brought gay teen love stories to the mainstream. Love, Victor is on Hulu and based on the film Love, Simon, adapted from the book Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda written by Becky Albertalli.

Extras:

trailer for Love, Victor on Hulu // video

interview with writer Becky Albertalli on start // article

interview with writer Becky Albertalli on process // video

Becky recommends Jaclyn Moriarty // article

database for LGBTQ books

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The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father, and how his story came to be. Hamilton is a musical on Disney Plus, based on the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Extras:

trailer for Hamilton on Disney+ // 2m

Hamilton’s America PBS documentary // 1hr 30m

interview with Ron Chernow // 1hr

interview with Chernow, Kail, and Miranda // 42m

Hamilton History channel documentary // 1hr 30m

Hamilton word count // article

Lin Manuel Miranda at the White House (2009) // 5m

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A civilian investigator becomes the foremost authority on a decades long manhunt. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is a miniseries on HBO, and a book, written by Michelle McNamara.

Extras:

trailer, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO) // trailer

the book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” // book

Billy Jensen’s book “Chase Darkness with Me” // book

Michelle’s blog, “True Crime Diary” // site

about Michelle’s childhood // article

the SXSW panel, “Solving Murders w/ Social Media // article

Michelle’s solving of the missing children case // article

Michelle’s original 2013 article in La Mag // article

the Golden State Killer pleads guilty // article

Patton Oswalt interview about Michelle’s book // video

interview with Michelle on The Dork Forest podcast // podcast

My Favorite Murder podcast episode on GSK // podcast

The Murder Squad, with Jensen and Holes // podcast

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We tackle the race massacre of 1921, the lead-up of the Red Summer of 1919, and the hidden history uncovered in modern times. Watchmen is created by Damon Lindelof, based on the book by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The Burning is written by Tim Madigan.

Extras:

Watchmen (HBO) trailer // 2 min

interview with Damon Lindelof on writing // 10 min

Tim Madigan’s book, The Burning // book

WEB DuBois essay, “Returning Soldiers” // essay

the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre // article

the history of the Rosewood Massacre // article

press during 1919 massacres // article

1921 Tulsa article after the massacre // article

Donald Byrd’s dance “Greenwood” // 38 min

Teaching for Black Lives materials // resource

Rosewood (1997) trailer // 3 min

interview with Olivia Hooker, a survivor // article

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Let’s talk about our history. We learn about the black veterans of the Vietnam War, and hear the stories of military service of African Americans in the United States. Da 5 Bloods is co-written and directed by Spike Lee (now on Netflix), based on the book Bloods by Wallace Terry.

Extras:

Da 5 Bloods trailer // 3 min

Bloods In ‘Nam PBS Frontline doc // 45 min

audio from the front lines recording // 45 min

Bloods: Black Veterans of the Vietnam War: An Oral History // book

Missing Pages: Black Journalists of Modern America: An Oral History // book

on the ending of Do The Right Thing // 15 min

Wallace Terry greeting the segregationist governor // photo

on racism during the Vietnam War // article

military history of African Americans // article

statistics on Black Americans in Vietnam // book

every movie reference in Da 5 Bloods // article

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How so many parts of our world have been touched by the magic.

Extras:

how Harry Potter changed books // article

the problem with translating HP // video

Harry Potter Voldemort name translations // article

a Harry and the Potters song // video

My Immortal, the worst fanfiction // article

the Quidditch World Cup // video

book lengths over time // article

the misquoted Onion Satanism piece // article

Hogwarts beats a real school in rankings // article

the demand for pet owls // article

JK Rowling’s essay on gender issues // article

the infamous Harry Potter Puppet Pals // video

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Eight minutes, forty-six seconds.

That is how long a police officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. A murder committed on an unarmed black man, in broad daylight, by law enforcement.

Today, we are silent for 8 minutes, 46 seconds - to honor and remember George Floyd, and the many others who have died, as the United States confronts the injustices of police brutality, systematic racism, and white supremacy.

The United States wrote in its founding document that “all men are created equal”, and it has not lived up to that promise. America can no longer hide from its past. But the promise is not in vain, because the promise does not come from the past.

The promise of America comes from the striving of its people. It has always been the people. Our history is the history of people who wouldn’t accept things as they were. We are a nation unwilling to let things be. We are a nation of protesters. We are a nation who does not give up on our people.

There is a saying on the Great Seal, a saying even older than the Declaration.

E pluribus unum. “Out of many, one.”

The forgotten promise of so many, for so long, must become the promise of one.

Let us all do the work.

Links:

Sign this petition calling for the end of police violence against Black people.

Help support bail for protestors in your community.

A look at data and research-informed policy solutions communities can put in place to end police violence.

Media Resources:

13th (NETFLIX)

American Son (NETFLIX)

Dear White People (NETFLIX)

If Beale Street Could Talk (HULU)

King in the Wilderness (HBO)

See You Yesterday (NETFLIX)

The Hate U Give (CINEMAX)

When They See Us (NETFLIX)

1619 (NEW YORK TIMES)

About Race

Code Switch (NPR)

Intersectionality Matters!

Pod Save The People

Pod for the Cause

Seeing White

So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Stamped From The Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Nobody by Marc Lamont Hill

Blackballed by Darryl Pinckney

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein