The Sound and the Furious

The Sound and the Furious episodes:

• 05.18.2021

  3.2 Short Form & Humiliation

  In which one of confesses to not having read a common, well known work--and gets ridiculed. Plus, John drives Miss Daisy, and none of us praise famous men.

  
• 05.03.2021

  3.1 A New Hope

  We're BACK. Vaccinated, Biden-ed, and with a new co-host to inject more humanities antibodies. We discuss where the humanities fits into a post-Trump world, if there's any such thing.

  
• 03.25.2020

  Whatever Happened to the Wetlands?

  We're joined by Anthony Wilson, expert on all things swamp, to discuss the importance of swamps and wetlands. The Trump administration is rolling back protections of these important spaces, and we sink deep into why these landscapes are so captivating...

  
• 05.01.2019

  Episode 15, "Green Book and the Inter-Racial Buddy Film"

  We explain why you too should be mad that Green Book won Best Picture. The film carries on a long--and ugly--history of viewing racism through white eyes, asserting that all that's needed to end it is biracial friendship. Actually just...

  
• 01.25.2019

  Ep 13, "Environmental Racism"

  We talk to Terressa Benz and Cedric Taylor about the Flint water crisis. Professors Benz and Taylor both draw on their scholarship to inform their social justice work in different ways.  Then, Andy discusses recent hurricanes in the global South...

  
• 01.21.2019

  Update: Ding! Dong! Silent Sam is Dead!

  Andy and Elizabeth discuss the news surrounding the complete removal of Silent Sam. Why should anyone outside of UNC care? What does this tell us about monuments to the Confederacy? Who should we thank? Andy also interviews Hilary Green at...

  
• 01.02.2019

  Hot Takes #2: Best Albums of 2018

  While editing some heavier episodes, we recorded this "hot takes" of our favorite albums of 2018. We only talk in detail about records we haven't talked about on the podcast before. This includes bonding over Lucy Dacus, making up with...

  
• 09.11.2018

  Hot Takes #1

  A mini-ep series on small news stories we have to talk about. Andy compares the Trump Resistance Hero to our favorite creepy narrator. And Elizabeth breaks down a troubling Gettysburg Address reference.

  
• 07.23.2018

  Ep 12, "The Jeremiad Johnson"

  To celebrate the Fourth, we talk the Jeremiad. What is it? Why should you care? We promise it won't be boring. Elizabeth talks Puritans, sinfulness, self-hatred, and the problems with American exceptionalism. Andy talks nostalgia and author anxiety. Also appearing:...

  
• 07.09.2018

  Episode 11, "Juneteenth"

  We break down the history of Juneteenth--where it happened, what it meant, and who was there.  We explore how it's celebrated today and examine why it's so hard for white Americans not to co-opt stories of liberation. We also explore...

  
• 06.14.2018

  Ep 10, "ICE, ICE, Baby"

  We talk about the travesty of ICE detention centers. Elizabeth connects the sanctuary city issue with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, digging in deep on the Anthony Burns incident--a flashpoint in the abolitionist struggle. Andy talks immigrant narratives, Zeitoun,...

  
• 05.24.2018

  Ep 9, The Zombie White Working Class: Representations of Class and Labor

  A big episode in which we talk to Erik Loomis, labor historian and film buff, thinking about how photos and films affect our understanding of class, from early photography to Roseanne. We also dismantle capitalism!  Andy talks WPA photos, Let...

  
• 05.04.2018

  Episode 8, Kick 'Em in the Groin

  Jumping off from the news of Bill Cosby's conviction, Andy and Elizabeth talk about if we can still appreciate the art of scumbags, jerks, and criminals.  Elizabeth brings up Melville's wife beating, and Andy rails against the failure of the...

  
• 04.13.2018

  Ep 7, "Self-Righteous Indignation and Free Speech"

  John McGowan, Professor of English and Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina, joins Andy and Elizabeth to discuss the issue of free speech on campus. This ep was prompted by an upcoming visit on the University of Alabama's...

  
• 03.23.2018

  6: "The Disease of Honor"

  In this episode we focus on Confederate memorials. Elizabeth talks southern white women and the beginnings of the Lost Cause myth, and Andy tackles the exclusionary rhetoric of Confederate memorials. We end by discussing Silent Sam, the controversial Confederate memorial...

  
• 03.17.2018

  5: The "Super Duper Harmful" Culture of Guns

  In the wake of Parkland, we talk guns and the Constitution. Elizabeth talks Garrison burning the Constitution and Frederick Douglass changing his views. Andy delves into policing, Stand Your Ground, and racialized gun laws.  And we finally get to talk...

  
• 03.16.2018

  3: The *%+$Hole Countries

  Elizabeth discusses the complicated history of Haiti, and Andy insists that the "plantation imaginary" is still at work (hello, Django Unchained!).  We veer into the supernatural, Chesnutt's Conjure Tales, and the missionary impulse toward Haiti. 

  
• 03.16.2018

  2: A perverted, demonic Republican was rejected!!!!

  Unbelievably, Doug Jones won! But how did we get Roy Moore??? Elizabeth talks the history of sexual consent, bringing in Harriet Jacobs and how "consent" is racialized. Andy reminds us of marital rape in Gone with the Wind and "white...

  
• 03.16.2018

  1: Trump, the Dirty South, and the Humanities

  Two professors use humor, curse words, and hopefully some insight to connect current events with American literature and history. In this ep, we look back one year into Trump's presidency. Andy sees Agrarians Everywhere! Elizabeth admits that her antebellum knowledge...