The Takeaway

The Savannah Bananas are an unconventional baseball team that have amassed 3 million followers on TikTok – more than any *Major* League Baseball team. This wildly popular minor league baseball franchise has sold out every home game at their Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia since its founding in 2016. Fans come from miles away to watch the Bananas’ collegiate team in the summer, and the pro Bananas throughout the rest of the year. Those pros have become famous for their high energy, quick-paced, and quirky game of Banana Ball!

And this is not just a game, but a show, where fans, players and coaches alike dance, sing, and play. A number of sports reporters have compared the team’s fun-filled approach to the trailblazing style of the Harlem Globetrotters. Savannah Bananas games include choreographed dances during the game, iconic walk-ups, players in kilts, and sometimes even a pitcher on stilts. And of course, lot’s of banana costumes. And before the first pitch is thrown, there’s a Lion-King-themed tribute to a different "Banana Baby" each game.

We spoke with Jesse Cole, owner of the Savannah Bananas-fun fact, he owns seven yellow Tuxedos and wears one to every game- and Maceo Harrison, first base dance coach and choreographer for the Savannah Bananas.

Brandon Ethridge is a classically trained pianist, music director and composer who has worked on Broadway and touring with a Queen cover band.

During the pandemic, he took up a new hobby, writing what he calls “mini-musicals.” Listening carefully to people’s speech patterns, he sets viral videos, interviews and speeches to music, using rhythm and harmony in a way that makes it sound almost  as though his subjects are singing.

His mini-musicals run the gamut from the political to the profane, satirizing “Karens” and giving new life to old memes. We talk to the TikTok and YouTube creator about the genesis of his mini-musicals and the process he employs. 

In mid-July, the Southern Poverty Law Center and several immigrant advocacy groups released a letter detailing sexual assault allegations made by four migrant women formerly detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.

All four women accused the same nurse of assault, and since the release of that letter, The Intercept reported on a fifth woman who accused the nurse of assault. CoreCivic, the private prison company that runs Stewart, claims that they investigated three reports of sexual assault against the nurse and found two to be “unsubstantiated” and the other to be “unfounded.”

We speak with José Olivares, lead producer for The Intercept and John Washington, contributor to The Intercept and reporter for Arizona Luminaria, about their reporting on this story. Click here to read the full Intercept report on this story.

In a 2019 report for The Takeaway, José Olivares uncovered evidence that staff at Stewart “skirted rules when dealing with a migrant with mental illness” who died by suicide at the facility. Click here to listen to that reporting.

The Takeaway reached out to CoreCivic for this story and received a statement that reads in part:

"The safety, health, and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care is our top priority. In accordance with Department of Homeland Security and Prison Rape Elimination Act standards, CoreCivic maintains a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse. It is the policy of CoreCivic to provide a safe and secure environment for all detainees that is free from the threat of sexual abuse, assault, or harassment.

It is CoreCivic’s policy to aggressively investigate all sexual abuse allegations, regardless of the source, and support prosecution for those who are involved in incidents of sexual abuse. Any detainees making such allegations are offered appropriate medical and mental health services, emotional support services, and answers to any questions they have about the investigative process. We unequivocally deny any claims of threats or retaliation."

The Takeaway also reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and received this statement:

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of assault, including sexual abuse, and works to protect detainees from sexual abuse by staff as well as other detainees. Detention facilities are required to notify ICE of all sexual abuse or assault allegations, as well as notify local law enforcement of any allegations involving potentially criminal behavior. Every allegation is investigated and referred appropriately for adjudication as required. With respect to the recent allegations at the Stewart Detention Center, two allegations remain under investigation and ICE continues to follow all appropriate protocol to notify, report, and investigative requirements. Any individual – ICE employee or contractor – suspected of sexual abuse or assault is immediately removed from contact with detained individuals until the completion of the investigation."

In 2011, Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution sparked a wave of mass demonstrations throughout the region. Tunisia was the first democracy to emerge from what became known as the Arab Spring.

Just over a decade later, after the adoption of a new constitution headed by President Kais Saied, it is poised to be the last to fall. 

The new constitution effectively grants President Saied a monopoly on power and bolsters Islam as a priority of the state.   

The constitution was approved by referendum on July 25th, passing with 95% approval, by only 30.5 percent of Tunisia’s eligible voting population. 

Supporters of President Saied see a strong leader as their only hope of achieving political and economic stability; Opponents of the new constitution boycotted the referendum as they deem Saied’s constitution and seizing of power illegitimate.

The Takeaway was joined by Sharan Grewal, Assistant Professor of Government at the College of William and Mary and a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, to discuss Tunisia’s new constitution and what this means for the future of democracy in the North-African region.

Steven Thrasher’s research explores the ways in which our social structures underscore the inequities of viruses: how they are transmitted, who they kill, and the impacts they have on communities. He joins us to discuss his new book The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide.

School's out, camp is on, and the parks are packed — it's summer! But summertime joy isn't just for kids.

Adults can play too, so we're taking a week to highlight different ways to play. Dr. Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of the "The Happiness Lab" podcast, joins us to highlight the many benefits of play and the importance of play for play's sake.

The 40+ Double Dutch Club is getting women all over the country into their local parks and playgrounds for jumping, dancing and playing. 

It all started with one group in Chicago and has turned into a full-fledged movement with chapters in over 30 states and three countries. We speak with the founder, Pamela Robinson, about how the nostalgic game of her childhood became an exercise in community-building and, well — exercise! We're joined by her mother and club board member, Pamela Powell Pelt, who still finds time and energy to play at the age of 76.

Due to a chain of court decisions, roughly 56,000 formerly incarcerated people on probation or parole are now eligible to vote in North Carolina’s midterm elections. A 2019 lawsuit filed by several non-profits challenged a 1973 state law disenfranchising people still serving out felony sentences through probation or parole.

In the lawsuit, the non-profits point out that this 1973 law disproportionately targets Black people, particularly Black men, in North Carolina.

Although it is still possible that the North Carolina state Supreme Court could reverse the decision allowing people with felony convictions to vote, voting rights advocates are viewing the recent development as an important step in the fight for equity at the ballot box.

The Takeaway spoke with Rusty Jacobs, Politics Reporter for WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio.

According to the Republican National Committee, 160 Black candidates filed to run as Republicans in local, state and federal elections this year. But there are also 100 Republican candidates running for political office who have been labeled “far-right” by the Anti-Defamation League. Can the GOP be both the party of Lincoln and the party of Trump?

We speak with Dr. Leah Wright Rigueur, Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University and author of "The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power" about the GOP's recent investments in Black candidates.

We're joined also by Brendan Buck, partner at the political communications firm Seven Letter, and former press secretary for the Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign and former House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan, to hear more on how Republican midterm candidates are making their case to voters.

Nearly a month after releasing her summer single “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé is back with ACT I of her 7th studio album “Renaissance.” It was officially released this past Friday, July 29th and the Beyhive has been raving ever since the rollout began.  

In a recent Rolling Stone article about 70 of Beyoncé’s greatest hits, music journalist Mankaprr Conteh describes Beyoncé as the “world’s greatest living entertainer,” and in her unique album "RENAISSANCE", the innovative sound of Ms. Beyoncé's Giselle Knowles-Carter continues to show her capacity and range as a musical artist.

We speak with Rolling Stone staff writer Mankaprr Conteh, and sidenote: she and Melissa have been preaching the gospel of Beyoncé for quite some time now.