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The Weekly Artifact
By The Weekly ArtifactSociety & Culture
The Weekly Artifact episodes
- I Didn't Even Think About This (S2E8)
In this episode, we discuss raising children, manufacturing consent, throwing eggs at cars, and not taking yourself too seriously.
Endnotes:
15:24 Trash Future (Amazon Episode)
24:36 Bill O’Reilly on Black People
32:18 BLM-Palestinian Solidarity
32:35 Since recording, Netanyahu is no longer Prime Minister, having been democratically replaced by Naftali Bennett.
36:11 Media Theorised Al Jazeera Playlist
52:33 Lindsay Cancelled Video
Content Warnings: State violence
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Al Jazeera English. "Noam Chomsky - The 5 Filters of the Mass Media Machine," YouTube, 2 Mar. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34LGPIXvU5M
Erickson, Megan. "The Privatization of Childhood," Jacobin, 3 Sept. 2015, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/09/children-testing-schools-education-reform-inequality
1 hr - You're About to be Canceled (S2E7)
In this episode, we discuss identity politics, identity language, leaving your hometown, and Bush Jr. vs. Trump.
Endnotes:
2:28 – Here I start using the pronoun “they” because I wasn’t sure what Baker’s pronouns are, but after researching, I confirmed that she uses “she/her.” Apologies for not researching that before recording.
13:06 – I have decided not to link to the Jimmy Dore videos I referenced, because I think their politics are vile, but the Carlos Maza video is over 18 minutes and was published June 8, 2019 and the Harvard rejection video was over 23 minutes and was published June 19, 2019. Glancing at the comment section of both videos, you see many people self-identifying as conservatives and agreeing with Dore’s defense of these two homophobic and a racist individuals.
13:16 – Carlos Maza is a journalist
14:23 – I did a decent job explaining the Kashuv incident, but more details if you want them https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/17/18682101/kyle-kashuv-harvard-parkland
26:06 – For instance, Bomani Jones does an interview with Isiah Thomas on his show The Right Time with Bomani Jones, where Thomas talks about how when he was growing up he considered it derogatory to be called Black. https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/30988878
26:53 – If you want a great book on the legal history of whiteness, read White By Law: The Legal Construction of Race, by Ian F. Haney López (1996)
29:43 - Lexicon Valley https://slate.com/podcasts/lexicon-valley
34:50 – For an extended discussion of this see, the debates over the ethics of whaling within the Makah tribe in Schweninger, Lee. “‘Back When I Used to be Indian’: Native American Authenticity and Postcolonial Discourse,” Native Authenticity: Transnational Perspectives on Native American Literary Studies, ed. Deborah L Madsen, SUNY Press, 2010, pp. 69-86.
42:47 – For more on the Brooks Brothers Riot and its echo in the Trump 2020 coup attempt, see https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/11/2008016/-Storming-the-Capitol-was-unprecedented-Guess-again-remember-the-Brooks-Brothers-Riot
44:59 – As it turns out, Hurricane Maria had a significantly higher death toll than Katrina, although both hurricanes were of course devastating in their own rights. For more, see, https://newrepublic.com/article/148576/hurricane-katrina-killed-1833-people-hurricane-maria-killed-least-4645
47:44 – Here is the podcast where I heard that argument: https://currentaffairs.simplecast.com/episodes/bidendebate-B5fDyxx4 The debate is rather lackluster (not only is a somewhat uninteresting just listening to two white men with unclear qualifications discuss this issue, but Studebaker does not do a good job framing the terms of his argument and as a result fails to make a compelling case). However, some of the individual points are interesting nonetheless.
Content Warnings: Mental health issues, references to racism, sexism, and homophobia, discussions of abusive relationships, references to the atrocities of the George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump presidencies, references to sexual violence
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Baker, Zoe. "'Identity Politics Divides The Left' - A Response," YouTube, 7 Apr. 2017, https://youtu.be/j4pZLH9Ro54
Demby, Gene. "Why We Have So Many Terms For 'People Of Color'," NPR, 7 Nov. 2014, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/07/362273449/why-we-have-so-many-terms-for-people-of-color
56 min - Du Bois Don't Miss (S2E6)
In this episode, we discuss voting, more voting, the overvaluation of "friendly" co-workers, and radical honesty.
Endnotes:
- 6:36 – We recorded after media outlets had officially called the election in favor of Biden but prior to the failed coup on January 6th
- 20:35 – This was recorded prior to Biden being sworn in. He is now President Biden.
- 35:36 – This was, again, recorded prior to January 6th, although the exact causes and details of the failed coup remain unclear.
Content Warnings: References to sexual assault to minors, terrorist attacks, dating violence
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Dao, James. "THE 2000 ELECTIONS: THE GREEN PARTY; Angry Democrats, Fearing Nader Cost Them Presidential Race, Threaten to Retaliate," The New York Times, 9 Nov. 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/09/us/2000-elections-green-party-angry-democrats-fearing-nader-cost-them-presidential.html
Du Bois, W.E.B. "I Won't Vote," Rpt. The Nation, 7 Feb 2002, https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/i-wont-vote/
57 min - 6:36 – We recorded after media outlets had officially called the election in favor of Biden but prior to the failed coup on January 6th
- Syke! (S2E5)
In this episode we discuss the difference between "history" and "the past," the Kony 2012 Movement, ad hominem attacks, and the terms "under-" and "overrated."
Endnotes:
- 29:28 - http://www.hewillnotdivide.us/
Content Warnings: Racism, Transphobia, Police brutality, Mental Health Issues.
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Rugnetta, Mike. "What's The Difference Between History and The Past?" PBS Idea Channel, 4 May 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N5zfBzzTvs
The Internet Historian. "The Story of Kony2012," YouTube, 11 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nymZEXjf8
51 min - Butt Gusting (Lost Episode) (S2E4)
In this "hot off the presses" episode, we discuss umbrellas, police procedural television, going to public places alone, and the limits of political discourse.
Endnotes:
- 7:47 – The line was, “the way to face the reality is to ignore it” (Feifer, 18:37)
- 8:02 – There is a Pessimists Archive episode about cars available here
- 10:38 – Filmsuck
- 13:51 – There is a Pessimists Arch episode about Kids These Days available here
- 15:48 – Took me over a year, folks
- 22:25 - Cops Around The Country Are Posting Racist And Violent Comments On Facebook
- 26:15 - We Could Get Rid of Police – Lee Camp Standup Comedy
- 28:04 - "Encoding, Decoding"
- 42:07 - Marianne Williamson: I Will ‘Harness Love’ To Defeat President Donald Trump | NBC News
- 42:49 – Current Affairs episode on the then field of 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates is available here. The Segment on Williamson begins at 16:48.
- 42:54 - Marianne Williamson on Chapo Trap House
- 43:45 – The original tweet seems to have been deleted
- 43:57 – something we discussed in a prior episode of the podcast.
Content Warnings: Gender stereotypes, Police Brutality, Racism, Ableism.
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Feifer, Jason. "Umbrella," Pessimists Archive, 11 Apr. 2017, https://pessimists.co/umbrella/
Johnson, Adam H. "Media Frame: Time to Ban Ride-Along Police TV," The Appeal, 24 June 2019, https://theappeal.org/media-frame-time-to-ban-ride-along-police-tv/
51 min - The Beastly Artifact: Halloween Special 2020
In this episode, we discuss mysterious voicemails, the short film "Dedalo," how UFOs are ACTUALLY [redacted], and doppelgängers.
Endnotes:
- 1:54 – They’re actually called “super tech support”
- 18:43 – The FCC warned of this scam back in 2017. The premise was that if the scammers could record you saying “yes,” then they could use your voice signature to fraudulent authorize various over-the-phone purchases. While people claim to have been there targets of this “Can You Hear Me?” scam, there appears to be no evidence that anyone has ever actually been defrauded. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/can-you-hear-me-scam/
- 25:13 – Multiple commenters claimed they were BNC Connectors
- 26:41 – We still don’t know much about Dust, but some light searching landed us on their about page, which you can see here https://watchdust.com/about/
Content Warnings: Violence, sexual references
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Reply All. "#104 The Case of the Phantom Caller," Gimlet Media, 7 Sept. 2017, https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/n8ho3a
Rocha, Jerónimo. "Dedalo," Dust, 18 May 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV2p67elajs
42 min - Punch-Up a Little Bit for Once (S2E2)
In this episode, we discuss identity politics, profane language, awkward and unfunny small talk, and having your own opinion...or not.
Endnotes:
- 1:38 – That would be Bernie Sanders
- 12:59 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDLANlZEicg
- 14:30 – There were at least six Republican speakers on the two nights of the Democratic National Convention, including John Kaisich, Christine Todd Whitman, Meg Whitman, Susan Molinari, Colin Powell, and Cindy McCain https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2020-democratic-national-convention-speakers-republicans-kasich-whitman-molinari/; https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/18/dnc-day-2-highlights.html
- 17:00 – Pinker and Epstein share some sort of connection, although there is some uncertainty about the exact details of their relationship https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5pn87/free-speech-crusader-steven-pinker-blocking-anyone-mentioning-his-epstein-ties
- 22:35 – Lexicon Valley is a podcast about linguistics that John McWhorter hosts
- 24:34 – By “those words” we are specifically referring to the ableist mental health slurs that Michael Stevens discusses and that Alex references in his summary of the video. In our unedited discussion we repeated the words but decided after the fact that the repeated use of them, even to condemn them, felt potentially offensive. As a result, this section of the audio may sound a bit choppy and disjointed but we feel that this was the best way to still retain as much of the conversation as possible without ourselves repeating ableist slurs.
- 39:42 - https://soundcloud.com/sumntosay/wet-ass-popeyes
Content Warnings: Kamala Harris’s record as a prosecutor and District Attorney, ableist language.
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Artwork by jasartstudios
Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Gray, Briahna Joy. "How Identity Became A Weapon Against The Left," Current Affairs, 3 Sept. 2017, https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/09/how-identity-became-a-weapon-against-the-left
Stevens, Michael. "Why Are Bad Words Bad," VSauce, 28 Nov. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7dQh8u4Hc&list=PL8B1DDE384770FD97&index=5&t=0s&app=desktop
47 min - Fireworks Go Brrrrr (S2E1)
In this episode, we discuss monstrous men, Aaron Swartz, fireworks, and the fake depth of centrism.
Endnotes:
- 7:15 – R*wling has threatened multiple lawsuits against people for calling out her transphobia https://www.tricitynews.com/news/j-k-rowling-threatens-legal-action-against-coquitlam-transgender-activist-over-tweets-1.24143892; https://www.thedailybeast.com/jk-rowling-threatens-to-sue-kids-news-site-the-day-forcing-it-to-apologize-for-transphobic-article
- 9:59 - Allen has put out 48 films since 1966, or about a film every 13.5 months.
- 10:02 – Scarlett Johansson received criticism for playing an Asian character in 2017’s Ghost in the Shell. She also claimed she, “should be allowed to play any person, or any tree, or any animal.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/07/14/scarlett-johannson-who-has-history-casting-controversies-says-i-should-be-allowed-play-any-person/
- 10:08 – Scarlett Johansson has appeared in three Woody Allen films, the latest of which is 2008’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. In 2019 she received criticism for stating that she would be willing to continue working with Allen in the future. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/04/scarlett-johansson-defends-woody-allen
- 17:52 – Wagner has been dead for 137 years
- 19:15 – Pound was a Mussolini supporter
- 23:04 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/10/goya-boycott-trump/
- 36:45 – JSTOR typically houses relatively contemporary articles, although it also has many that are decades (though generally not centuries) old
- 41:59 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndVhgq1yHdA
Content Warnings: Self-harm, Suicide, Roman Polanski, Billy Cosby, Woody Allen, Transphobia, Rape, Anti-Semitism, Mental Health Issues, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Pedophilia, Stalking, Homophobia, Drunk Driving.
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Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
Links to the Artifacts:
Amsden, David. "The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Aaron Swartz," Rolling Stone, 15 Feb. 2013, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-brilliant-life-and-tragic-death-of-aaron-swartz-177191/
Dederer, Claire. "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?," The Paris Review, 20 Nov. 2017, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/11/20/art-monstrous-men/
58 min - Season One Finale (Movie Special)
In this season finale, we discuss Joker, Sorry to Bother You, The Purge, The Lego Movie, Hereditary, The Witch (or the VVitch), Cabin in the Woods, Deadpool 2, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, Booksmart, Spiderman: Homecoming, and Avengers: Infinity War. Spoilers.
Stay tuned for Season Two!
Endnotes:
4:06 – Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8th, 2020, after the recording of this episode
12:11 – At time of recording, many stores were sold out of certain items such as canned food and toilet paper. As of August, however, the world is very much less “purge-like” although the pandemic continues.
12:51 – The First Purge came out in 2018 and is the fourth movie in The Purge franchise following The Purge (2013), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), and The Purge: Election Year (2016). A fifth film, The Forever Purge, is set to come out at some point in 2021, according to Entertainment Weekly https://ew.com/movies/2019/05/13/purge-5-release-date/
18:17 – Sony owns the rights to Spiderman in movies and agreed to a partnership with Marvel to allow them to use Spiderman for their movies. However, in August 2019 Sony temporarily ended that partnership before the two studios subsequently agreed to a new deal.
23:17 – It is
24:49 – They are
26:16 – It is worth pointing out that at least some of the “creepiness” of seeing the witch is tied to the way patriarchy renders the bodies of older women monstrous.
27:31 – Suffice it to say Annie is not “looking for her mom.”
56:37 – It is
Content Warnings: Us talking
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Music by Nicholas Pozzuto
58 min - The Weekly Artifact: Behind the Scenes (Season One)
*Note: This was intended to be uploaded following the season one finale, but the order had to be reversed due to audio issues*
In this episode, we go behind the scenes of our own show. We talk about why we came together to make the show in the first place, what we want the show to do, the process of making the show from planning to editing, why the second segment is called "The Safe Room," and more. Thank you for joining us in Season One. We will see you next episode for our season one finale before moving on to season two.
39 min
About The Weekly Artifact
From the publisher's feed
Hello, and welcome to The Weekly Artifact. I’m Justin and I make this podcast with my co-host, Alex. We’re two former creative writing majors searching for meaning in a sea of content. Every other…
week we select one piece of content—an article, a video, another podcast—that we found particularly interesting and discuss it. Our comments are our own and are not associated with any institution. The show may contain explicit language or themes. See the show notes for specific content warnings.