Is everything really political these days? Or has it always been that way?

To answer that, let’s look at the story of knitting. Can anything get simpler than knitting? Balls of yarn! Comfy socks! So when the knitting community began reckoning with racism recently, many people complained that it ruined their simple pleasure. 

But the history of knitting is long and controversial — and includes many of today’s most hotly debated topics. (Sexism! Conspiracy theories! Fears of automation!) On this episode: Knitting’s surprising past, and what happens when one knitter tries to make change today.

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