Use Your Words

Molly and Shepard discuss how when friends are so close they become like family, prejudice can be overcome. Referencing  the New York Times article "My friend 'Virginia from Virginia"' The movie the Book Thief, events in WW2, the Virginia Holocaust Museum, The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, and Anna Frank, these girls take a touching perspective on how love can triumph hate.

As Nathan and Caden connect Night by Ellie Wiesel with their historical analysis of the Holocaust and its impact on the world, they become fascinated by Holocaust victim's choices during their saga in the concentration camps. Helping others- it's a choice. Prayer-- it's a choice. Eating-- it's a choice. Walking-- it's a choice. Surviving-- it's a choice.

Jackson and Ruby discuss how ignorance can play a critical role in your fate. They look back in history, their lives, and fiction to examine how confrontations with reality shape the lives of people throughout the world. Knowledge is power, but sometimes we don't want to acknowledge the truth because it tells us things about ourselves and our world that are difficult to accept.

In this episode, Rebekah and I interview the brilliant Holocaust education experts Megan Ferenczy and Matt Simpson! Their work at the Virginia Holocaust Museum as Director of Education and Director of Guest Services affords them equal, yet unique opportunities to educate the public on the Holocaust. They share the strategies for how to create safe spaces for students when discussing difficult topics in class, and provide resources for other educators who want to expand their students' study of the Holocaust beyond Anne Frank and Night.

In this episode, Mary-Katherine and Annabelle work to expose the relationship between power vacuums and CIA interference in post-colonial Africa. Black Sabbath and The Police make an appearance.

In this episode, Ben, Henry, Tyler, and Sam consider the Rwandan Genocide's relationship to European colonialism.

In this episode, several students study Apartheid's lingering effects on South Africa, and make a strong connection between American folk music and black South African's search for equality.

In this episode, Kendall, Emily, and Melanie examine the Algerian War for Independence and its connections to decolonization.

In this episode, Peyton and Virginia analyze the CIA's involvement in Nelson Mandela's arrest during Apartheid in South Africa alongside Simon and Garfunkle's "The Sound of Silence".