UnTextbooked | A history podcast for the future

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are sharing a special bonus episode featuring Chicana activist and artist Irma Lerma Barbosa. Her legacy will be preserved for years to come in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Collections.

Irma attended college at a time when the Chicano movement was just gaining momentum – and she jumped right into fighting for her community. Picture this – a legacy that includes being welcomed into Cesar Chavez's family home through her time in the United Farm Workers Movement, leadership with the Brown Berets, spearheading a free breakfast program to help her community, and eventually founding her own woman-led arts collective.

Listen to our first episode with Irma Lerma Barbosa and Smithsonian Curator Veronica Mendez here. 

Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes:

(00:00) - Introduction to Irma Lerma Barbosa, Chicano Movement, and Royal Chicano Air Force

(3:42) - Being a Woman in Male-dominated Spaces

(5:45) - Irma’s Place in History

(7:04) - RCAF Women’s Mural named “Women Hold Up Half the Sky”

(9:18) - Art as a Tool for Activism

(10:47) - Co-Madres Artistas

(13:30) - Standing Up Against Sexual Harassment

(15:13) - Feeling Freedom with Art

(15:58) - Closing Thoughts

In honor of Black History Month, Untextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive.

Women of color have been at the forefront of many movements, yet are often neglected, demonized, or ignored. Your history class probably didn’t teach you about Josephine Baker, who was not only a famous Black dancer and entertainer, but also a spy aiding in the French Resistance. You likely didn’t learn about Claudette Colvin either. She was the Black, pregnant fifteen year old whose civil disobedience kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We live in a world of whitewashed feminism, so there’s a lot to unlearn before our social movements are truly inclusive. 

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by Mikki Kendall shares the stories of notable women of color whose stories have been left behind.

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

In honor of Black History Month, UnTextbooked is sharing a favorite episode from our archive. 

UnTextbooked producer Sydne Clarke thinks that African American history is often oversimplified or overlooked. Often that history is taught as things that happened to African Americans. We don’t often hear about the ways in which African Americans fought for and took care of themselves. 

Dr. Leslie Alexander studies Black resistance movements, particularly in America. In her research Dr. Alexander has discovered communities and people who were vital to Black activism, but are often forgotten in re-telling African American history.

On this episode of UnTextbooked, Sydne interviews Dr. Alexander about her book African or American? Black Identity and Political Activism in New York City, 1784-1861. They talk about the creation of Black-led organizations for mutual aid, and about how African heritage influenced Black activism then and now.

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

In 2008, Anonymous posted a video declaring war against Scientology. Some people flocked to join the hacker collective while corporations started re-evaluating their security protocols. This week on Untextbooked, producer Caroline Somers dives into the history of the hacker collective and asks what can we learn about internet activism. 

Gabriella Coleman is the author of “Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous”. She is a full professor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. She is the founder and editor of Hack_Curio, a video portal into the cultures of hacking. In 2022, she hosted the BBC4 radio and podcast series, The Hackers. 

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes:

(00:00) - Anonymous’s First Video 

(1:42) - Introduction to Anthropologist Gabriella Coleman

(3:18) - The Origins of Anonymous

(4:25) - How did Anonymous Organize Hacks?

(7:39) - Why did People Get Involved with Anonymous?

(9:11) - Pseudonymous Names & Illegal Activity

(12:02) - Trolling Culture & Chat Logs

(14:56) - Anonymous Hacks & Leaks

(19:35) - Phineas Fisher and Guayacama

(21:59) - Reflections & Takeaways

In 1963, Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique was a galvanizing force for the Feminist movement. Now, nearly six decades later, feminist discourse has gone through several evolutions, Betty Friedan is no longer a household name, and her radical ideas don’t sound so radical anymore. This week, Producer Gavin Scott sits down with Rachel Shteir, author of “Betty Friedan: Magnificent Disrupter”, to talk about the legacy and controversy around Betty Friedan, including how she coined the term ‘Lavender Menace.’

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes:

(00:00) - Who is Betty Friedan?

(1:35) - Why did the Feminine Mystique resonate?

(4:51) - Critiques of the Feminine Mystique

(6:25) - Creating the National Organization of Women (NOW)

(7:26) - Betty Friedan’s Early Life

(9:12) - Betty Friedan’s Perspective on Women’s Rights

(10:45) - The “Lavender Menace”

(12:18) - Marriage and Domestic Abuse

(15:25) - Legacy & Impact

(16:45) - Gavin’s closing thoughts 

What does it mean to belong in the American imagination? That’s one question we explore on this week’s episode of UnTextbooked. In another installment of “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections”, we dive into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History exhibit named “Mirror Mirror: Disney theme parks and American stories”. Producer Victor Ye speaks with original Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr about working with Walt Disney, designing original Disney rides, and queer identity. Smithsonian Curator Bethanee Bemis shares how Walt Disneyland is a microcosm of the American dream.  

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes:

(00:00) - Mirror, Mirror: Disney Theme Parks and American Stories

(4:29) - Bob Gurr, Original Disney Imagineer

(9:29) - Bob Gurr on Designing the Monorail

(14:44) - Bethanee Bemis on Disneyland and American Values

(18:25) - Splash Mountain & Song of the South

(21:07) - “Gay Days” at Disney Parks

(25:33) - Being Gay as an Early Disney Employee

(27:00) - Bob Gurr on the Disney Omnibus for Pride

(31:17) - Iconic Disney Ears

(34:34) - Reflections & Legacy

UnTextbooked is back with a new episode in our series, “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections.” We're sharing the untold story of Irma Lerma Barbosa, a Chicana activist and artist whose work will be preserved for years to come in the National Museum of American History's Collections. Curator Veronica Mendez tells us how this acquisition came to be and why it’s historically significant in telling the long history of the Latina/o Civil Rights Movement

Irma attended college at a time when the Chicano movement was just gaining momentum – and she jumped right into fighting for her community. Picture this – a legacy that includes being welcomed into Cesar Chavez's family home through her time in the United Farm Workers Movement, leadership with the Brown Berets, spearheading a free breakfast program to help her community, and eventually founding her own woman-led arts collective.

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes:

(00:00) - Introduction to Irma Lerma Barbosa

(3:06) - Veronica Mendez, Smithsonian Curator

(4:25) - Irma’s early life & joining Brown Berets

(8:14) - What is the Chicano Movement?

(10:41) - Connection to the Black Panthers

(13:04) - Smithsonian Acquisition

(15:01) - Brown Berets Flag

(20:15) - Royal Chicano Air Force

(24:38) - Irma’s Place in History & Gender

(30:49) - What Sustains Political Movements?

(34:13) - What’s Special About Youth Activism?

(38:53) - Outro

In this new miniseries we’re calling “UnTextbooking the Museum Collections,” we dive into the vast collections of the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum complex, made up of  21 museums and the National Zoological Park, as well as research facilities. This week, producer Jenny Fan talks with curator Katherine Ott, PhD, about curating medical history at the National Museum of American History. They talk about skin – the cultural lens we view medical diagnoses, the evolution of studying skin, and why early dermatologists were obsessed with syphilis. Plus, why does the Smithsonian have 150-year-old feces in its collection? 

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms. 

Show Notes: 

00:00 - Introducing the “Untextbooking the Museum Collections”

2:18 - What does Dr. Katherine Ott research?

5:47 - History of skin and field of dermatology

9:57 - Early skin treatments & Syphilis

11:11 -  Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert

16:36 - Dr. Albert Kligman & Prison Experiments

20:51 - How does a Smithsonian curator select what’s in an exhibit?

27:05 - Takeaways & Reflections

This week, we are revisiting an important question: Is our democracy in danger? In the years after Trump’s presidency, it’s tempting to say “not anymore,” but nowadays threats to democracy are no longer as obvious as a military coup or revolution. Instead, a democracy in danger manifests in much more subtle ways including: the steady decline of longstanding political norms and weakening of essential institutions such as the United States press and its courts system, both of which are already in jeopardy.

On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Jessica Chiriboga interviews New York Times best-selling author, Professor Daniel Ziblatt to discuss how to spot the signs of a dying democracy and how American democracy might be salvaged.

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, police killed unarmed 17-year-old Bobby Hutton, and Aaron Dixon decided it was time to join the Black Panther Party.

Aaron Dixon was co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. As a college student at the University of Washington, Dixon played a key role in the formation of the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Seattle Chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the spring of 1968, at the funeral of Bobby Hutton in Oakland, California, Dixon met Bobby Seale and later was appointed Captain of Seattle’s Black Panther Party, the first chapter outside of Oakland. He was 19 years old. Dixon led the chapter through its first four years, then moved to Party national headquarters in Oakland in 1972. There he worked with Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and served for a time as bodyguard to Elaine Brown. 

Aaron Dixon’s  autobiography is titled “My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain” (2012).

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode. 

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word. 

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

Show Notes: 

00:00 - Who Were the Black Panthers?

1:39 - Why did Aaron Dixon Join the Black Panthers? 

4:27 - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

6:06 - Little Bobby Hutton’s Death and Funeral 

8:21 - Starting the Seattle Chapter 

12:12 - Black Liberation & Rainbow Coalition 

14:45 - COINTELPRO & “Enemy Number One”

16:32 - Assassination Attempts on Aaron Dixon’s Life 

20:38 - Chicago Leader Fred Hampton’s Assassination

24:46 - Aaron Dixon’s Revolutionary Legacy 

28:00 - Reflections