Learnt Up

By Campfire MediaSociety & Culture Personal Journals

Learnt Up episodes

May 01, 2018 Sharing the Shame with Inside the Disney Vault
Lorraine and Sarah welcome Rachel Chapman and Oscar Montoya, of the Inside the Disney Vault podcast, to share some shame! The Disney kids got learnt up on all things anime, and they cover a wide swath -- talking everything from Dragon Ball Z to Miyazaki’s greatest hits to Sailor Moon to a scandal that will change the way you look at The Lion King.
1 hr 10 min
April 24, 2018 Cults!!!
Did you guys know cults are super trendy right now? For this culty ep, Sarah gets learnt up on the ultra-Orthodox sect Lev Tahor, aka the “Jewish Taliban” and its shady leader Shlomo Helbrans, who moved the group all around the world to evade various criminal charges like kidnapping and child abuse. Lorraine discusses the Black Hebrew Israelites, specifically the controversial “black supremacist” group Nation of Yahweh. The gals also chat about Wild Wild Country and their run-ins with modern day cu
55 min
April 17, 2018 Sharing the Shame with Katelyn Hempstead
Calling all nerds, dorks, and geeks! This is your episode, babies. Katelyn Hempstead -- writer / comedian / Trekkie -- swings by the pod to chat about Jews in science fiction! Katelyn got learnt up on sci-fi pioneer Isaac Asimov and “bad boy” nihilist Harlan Ellison. Fun fact: Asimov coined the word “robotics”! Another fun fact: there was an early plan in the ‘40s to make Alaska the Jewish state!
59 min
April 10, 2018 Zombies, Dybbuks, and the Occult
Gather round, children -- it’s time for a spooky episode of Learnt Up! Lorraine tells us all about zombies -- tracking their roots in Haiti and West Africa, connection to voodoo, and superstitions among slaves. Did you know that being a walking corpse is a fate worse than death? Btw, stay away from Devil’s Weed and toads, y’all. Sarah gets learnt on the Golem and dybbuks and tells the haunting story of the Dybbuk Box (a super real series of events that definitely happened because ghosts exist).
1 hr 11 min
April 03, 2018 Sharing the Shame with Zora Bikangaga
Lorraine and Sarah welcome writer/performer/tall person Zora Bikangaga on to share some shame! Zora got learnt up on Nollywood (Nigerian Hollywood) and comes bearing lots of movie recs, along with thoughts on colorism, Hollywood’s fetishizing of Africa, and Jennifer Lawrence’s career trajectory/emotional maturity. Trigger warning for diehard Lawrence-heads: this gets pretty cutting.
58 min
March 27, 2018 Blacks and Jews in LA!
In 1850, a census reported 8 Jews and 12 black people living in Los Angeles. The next year, thrown by the traffic and bad pizza, they all left. Just kidding, they stayed and built the city we know today! Join Lorraine and Sarah as they get learnt up on some of LA’s black and Jewish pioneers and their lasting contributions. Find out the origin story of Canter’s Deli, how Nat King Cole battled housing discrimination, and how a badass slave sued her master — and won.
59 min
March 20, 2018 Body Language
Have you ever seen two black people doing an elaborate yet effortless series of hand gestures/hugs and felt embarrassed that you don’t know how they know what to do? Have you ever seen a Jewish person swaying back and forth with a prayer book and been like *shruggy emoji*? And hey! What the hell are the Spice Girls singing about? Do not fear! Lorraine and Sarah were once wandering in the darkness too, but they’re here to fill you in. You’ll leave this ep with not only solid answers to some of life’s greatest mysteries, but with the confidence to start your own super-confusing hand gesture/hug that will impress and intimidate all who witness it! And you’ll finally know what to do in that Harriet Tubman audition. Go get ‘em!
47 min
March 13, 2018 Blackface & Jewface
Welcome to Blackface & Jewface: Minstrel Shows and Media Representations, a seminar at Vassar College taught by Professor DeGraffenreidt and Adjunct Professor Isaacson. Prepare to get your young little mind blown by seemingly benign bits of American culture (Mickey Mouse! That song “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”!) that actually have super racist origins. Marvel at cartoons from the 1800s that depict Jews as evil, large-nosed fiends who care more about money than human life.
1 hr 3 min
March 06, 2018 Judy Chicago & Rebecca Walker
Lorraine & Sarah are women (not girls!) who happen to run this shit. Happy Women’s History Month, by the way!!! On today’s ep everybody gets learnt up on black & Jewish feminists. Sarah honors the life and legacy of visual artist and community leader Judy Chicago while Lorraine learnts about the feminist work and messy private-life-turned-public-life of activist Rebecca Walker, aka Alice Walker’s daughter.
1 hr 2 min
February 27, 2018 Purim!
Get ready to party cuz it’s Purim, babies! Sarah tries to remember the story of Judaism’s littest holiday aka Jewish Halloween. The hosts phone a couple friends for help, and -- spoiler alert -- somebody was paying alllll the attention in Hebrew school. Lorraine gets inspired by a YouTube Rabbi and finds her drag queen alias, and Sarah explains why her purse was so heavy in college. Everyone eats cookies! This ep is sponsored by a Jewish bouncer service and dedicated to Wakanda!
33 min

About Learnt Up

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Lorraine DeGraffenreidt is a black person! Sarah Isaacson is a Jewish person! As it turns out, there's a lot of black and Jewish stuff that they don't know anything about -- and that makes them feel…