Episode 3.01: The Longest Month

Back after a holiday hiatus, Don and Amy try to catch up on the events of the day: an attack on the U.S. Capitol building that delayed the certification of electoral votes for President and Vice-President. Discussion includes reactions by various groups, the comfort of being believed, and the differences in approach to mob actions by police.

Additional resources:

• "If you had the Indiana Football Coaches Association ..." (Twitter, by @AustinHoughTGN, January 6, 2021)
  https://twitter.com/AustinHoughTGN/status/1346963999800356865?s=20
• "147 Republican lawmakers still objected to the election results after the Capitol attack" (Vox, by Li Zhou, January 7, 2021)
  https://www.vox.com/2021/1/6/22218058/republicans-objections-election-results
• "Longtime Arizona QAonon supporter in horned helmet joins storming of U.S. Capitol" (Arizona Republic, by Richard Ruelas, January 6, 2021)
  https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/01/06/arizona-qanon-supporter-jake-angeli-joins-storming-u-s-capitol/6568513002/
• "Man In Capitol Mob Fired After Wearing His Company ID Badge To Riot" (Forbes, by Joe Walsh, January 7, 2021)
  https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/01/07/man-in-capitol-mob-fired-after-wearing-his-company-id-badge-to-riot/?sh=2d8632b3514a
• "Buffalo protester Martin Gugino has a fractured skull and cannot walk" (CNN, by Jacqueline Rose and Eric Levenson, June 16, 2020)
  https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/16/us/martin-gugino-protester-skull/index.html
• "Capitol Police Didn't Open Gates for Rioters, Says Man Behind Viral Video" (Newsweek, by Matt Cannon, January 7, 2021)
  https://www.newsweek.com/capitol-police-didnt-open-gates-rioters-viral-video-1559728
• "Anti-Racism and Dr. Susan Moore's Legacy" (University of Michigan Health Lab, by Matthew Wixson, January 7, 2021)
  https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/rounds/anti-racism-and-dr-susan-moores-legacy
• "Brad Stevens Speaks Out Against Capitol Riot, President Trump; Celtics Walk Off Floor In Miami" (CBS Boston, by CBSBoston.com Staff, January 6, 2021)
  https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/01/06/celtics-brad-stevens-speaks-out-against-capitol-riots-president-trump-nba/
• "The insurrection is happening at state capitols, too" (Vox, by Fabiola Cineas, January 6, 2021)
  https://www.vox.com/2021/1/6/22217736/state-capitol-stop-the-steal-protests-rallies
• "Olive Garden Yanked Into Trump Culture War With CNN Comment" (Bloomberg, by Anne Riley Moffat, January 8, 2021)
  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-08/olive-garden-yanked-into-trump-s-culture-war-with-cnn-comment
• "Thread ... I got arrested for sitting on the floor in a Senate office ..." (Twitter, by @jenniferflynn, January 6, 2021)
  https://twitter.com/jenniferflynn/status/1346987188408508416?s=21
• "Institutional racism contributes to Covid-19's 'double whammy' impact on the Black community, Fauci says" (CNN Health, by Jacqueline Howard, December 18, 2020)
  https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/23/health/coronavirus-pandemic-racism-fauci-bn/index.html
• "Demonstrations & Political Violence in America: New data for Summer 2020" (ACLED, by Roudabeh Kishi and Sam Jones, September 3, 2020)
  https://acleddata.com/2020/09/03/demonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/
• "An Incomplete History of White Election Violence" (The Root, by Michael Harriot, November 2, 2020)
  https://www.theroot.com/an-incomplete-history-of-white-election-violence-1845533143 

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Episode 2.29: Working As Designed

Don and Amy are joined by Dr. Maureen Walker in discussing disruptive empathy and the challenge of engaging across difference, especially when part of that difference rejects the humanity of the other. They also explore the persistence of white supremacy across our history and within groups that are not white.

This episode contains several mentions of the N-word.

Additional resources:

• "Exclusive: Lee Atwater's Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy" (The Nation, by Rick Perlstein, November 13, 2012)
  https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/ 
• "Notes on the State of Virginia" (by Thomas Jefferson, February 27, 1787)
  https://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/jefferson/jefferson.html 
• "The Wife of His Youth" (The Atlantic, by Charles W. Chesnutt, July 1898)
  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1898/07/the-wife-of-his-youth/306658/ 

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Episode 2.28: Yet Another Boss Level

Amy and Don share their "After-election Word Barf" to reflect on a projected victory for Joe Biden and end to the Donald Trump administration. While recognizing lots of work and difficult times remain, the friends discuss the challenges of talking to people mired in fear and end with a list of three good things that lift their spirits.

Additional resources:

• "U.S. Presidential Election Results 2020: Biden Wins" (NBC News)
  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/president-results 
• "Laugh? We nearly all died - Why my US failed state Twitter thread went viral" (The Guardian, by Patrick Gathara, November 15, 2020)
  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/15/patrick-gathara-donald-trump-us-election-joe-biden-twitter-thread 
• "Police groups break with Biden" (Politico, by Marc Caputo and Natasha Korecki, June 4, 2020)
  https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/04/police-groups-joe-biden-300222 
• "Transforming Community Through Disruptive Empathy" (Whole Person, by Maureen Walker, June 9, 2016)
  https://wholeperson.com/blog/transforming-community-through-disruptive-empathy  
• "Give Us Life" (Spotify playlist, compiled by Kevin Makice for pandemic 2020)
  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6oTK358qK5GPsWVpmRvXAW?si=KtFLxKuvRSmpLMjL3up1eQ 

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

Episode 2.27: Plug the Hole

As Election Day approaches, Amy and Don talk about efforts to put social workers in the local police department, and the problems inherent in that approach. Don shares the second half of a story he started in a previous episode about being harassed by local law enforcement. Plus, a little more Lovecraft Country and a plug to watch Schitt's Creek.

If you missed the first half of Don's story, listen to Episode 2.23 ("Love Louder").

By the time the next episode comes out, the country will have finished casting their votes to shape the course of the nation for the next four years. #Vote, if you haven't already. Be respectful, and be safe.

Additional resources:

• "How Zello Became A Recruitment & Organizing Tool For The Far Right" (WNYC Studios, On the Media, October 16, 2020)
  https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/how-zello-became-recruitment-organizing-app-far-right 
• "A friend in NE Iowa works as a child care provider ..." (Twitter, by Sarah Ziegenhorn, October 13, 2020)
  https://twitter.com/sarah_ziggy/status/1316045446553321472 
• "Activists want to defund police departments. What could that look like in Bloomington?" (Indiana Daily Student, by Vivek Rao and Kaitlyn Radde, October 8, 2020)
  https://www.idsnews.com/article/2020/10/activists-want-to-defund-police-departments-what-could-that-look-like-in-bloomington-black-lives-matter 
• "Letter to Council Members" (Defund12)
  https://defund12.org/bloomington 
• "Bloomington To Create Two New Racial Equality Task Forces" (Indiana Public Media, by Ethan Burks, October 21, 2020)
  https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/bloomington-creates-two-new-racial-equality-task-forces.php 
• "City Proposes A New Commission On Public Safety" (Indiana Public Media, by Ethan Burks, October 29, 2020)
  https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-proposes-a-new-commission-on-public-safety.php 
• "Episode 2.23: Love Louder" (My Racist Friend, September 13, 2020)
  https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-eg3hd-eb5edb 
• "Why the hope and optimism of Schitt's Creek matters" (Medium, aristhought, December 30, 2019)
  https://medium.com/@aristhought/why-the-hope-and-optimism-of-schitts-creek-matters-18fbbe3acae4 
• "5-hour Empathy" (SNL, October 17, 2020)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP0H0j4pCOg 

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

Episode 2.26: Sharing the Messy Parts of Relationships

Don and Amy participated in a virtual session at the Flyover Podcast Festival, hosted online by Dimension Mill on October 8-9, 2020. In their session—"Sharing the Messy Parts of Relationships"—they talked about how they started this podcast, the impact it has had, and what they hope to accomplish by continuing to share their conversations.

Thanks to Rachel Kucera, Gretchen Knapp, and everyone at Dimension Mill (including Sweetwater, for sponsoring the event).

Additional resources:

• "Letter alleges white supremacists sell at farmers' market" (Indiana Daily Student, by Ellen Hine, June 11, 2019)
  https://www.idsnews.com/article/2019/06/letter-alleges-white-supremacists-sell-at-farmers-market  
• "Bloomington Community Farmers' Market releases apology after controversial statement" (Indiana Daily Student, by Lauren McLaughlin, June 12, 2020)
  https://www.idsnews.com/article/2020/06/bloomington-community-farmers-market-releases-apology-after-controversial-statement 
• "Digging Into Solutions for Bloomington Farmers Market" (WBIW, August 13, 2019)
  http://www.wbiw.com/2019/08/13/digging-into-solutions-for-the-market/  
• Proud Boys (Southern Poverty Law Center)
  https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/proud-boys  
• Dimension Mill
  https://dimensionmill.org/ 

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Episode 2.25: See Change

Fresh news that Donald Trump was hospitalized after contracting coronavirus is fodder for a discussion about loving kindness toward harmful people and the generational traumas of both enabling and suffering oppression. Amy and Don talk about the importance of making the negative impact of power visible, because you can't change what you won't acknowledge.

In this episode Amy incorrectly attributes an article on power. The article, written by Jean Baker Miller in 2010, is included in the resource links below

Additional resources:

• "How Trump Could Have Exposed Biden and Others to COVID at the Debate" (Scientific American, by Tanya Lewis, October 5, 2020)
  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-trump-could-have-exposed-biden-and-others-to-covid-at-the-debate/ 

• "Here's a timeline of Trump's Covid-19 illness so far" (CNN, by , October 5, 2020)
  https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-covid-19-updates-monday/h_af259942e082eb5da10230e33f2da6fe

• Street Lovingkindness Video Series (Sharon Salzberg)
  https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/street-lovingkindness-video-series/ 

• "A 'Karen' by Any Other Name ..." (Maureen Walker, October 1, 2020)
  https://maureenwalker.com/a-karen-by-any-other-name/ 

• "Telling the Truth About Power" (Women & Therapy Journal, by Jean Baker Miller, November 29, 2010)
  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02703140802146282 

• "Bias in your body" (My Racist Friend podcast, May 13, 2020)
  https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-tdjw6-dc5097 

• "Clear Language on Slavery" (Twitter, @AbsurdistWords, June 24, 2020)
  https://twitter.com/absurdistwords/status/1275896853326897153 

On October 8, 2020, Don and Amy will participate in a virtual session at the Flyover Podcast Festival, hosted online by Dimension Mill. In their 2p session—"Sharing the Messy Parts of Relationships"—they will talk about how they started this podcast, the impact it has had, and what they hope to accomplish by continuing to share their conversations.

Get tickets to the October 8-9 festival at half price by using the discount code "FRIENDZ".

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

Episode 2.24: Standing at the Wall of the Middle School Dance

Our friends discuss threatening comments posted in response to Don sharing an article on Facebook about vehicles being used as weapons against protestors, and the limits of engaging violent speech. Amy and Don share their frustration and confusion about exchanges irreconcilable with their desire to connect across differences. Plus, more examples of things that give them strength.

Additional resources:

• "What Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Nomination Means For The 2020 Election" (NPR, by Deirdre Walsh, September 27, 2020)
  https://www.npr.org/2020/09/27/917303199/what-amy-coney-barretts-supreme-court-nomination-means-for-the-2020-election
• "Long-concealed Records Show Trump's Chronic Losses and Years of Tax Avoidance" (New York Times, by Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig and Mike McIntire, September 27, 2020)
  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/09/27/us/donald-trump-taxes.html 
• "Explained: How Trump's strategy to deter 3.5m Black Americans from voting worked in 2016" (YouTube, Channel 4 News, September 28, 2020)
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reae0qgZ8bM 
• Ween on Spotify
  https://open.spotify.com/artist/3u1ulLq00Y3bfmq9FfjsPu?autoplay=true 
• "Vehicles are being used as weapons against BLM protesters" (CNN Tonight, by Evan McMorris-Santoro, September 2020)
  https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/09/26/vehicles-weapons-against-protesters-mcmorris-santoro-dnt-ctn-vpx.cnn 
• Iamtabithabrown (TikTok)
  https://www.tiktok.com/@iamtabithabrown 
• "#166 Country of Liars" (ReplyAll, by PJ Vogt, September 18, 2020)
  https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/llhe5nm 
• "I Won't Let You Down" by OK Go (iTunes)
  https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-wont-let-you-down/1329026488?i=1329026709 

On October 8, 2020, Don and Amy will participate in a virtual session at the Flyover Podcast Festival, hosted online by Dimension Mill. In their 2p session—"Sharing the Messy Parts of Relationships"—they will talk about how they started this podcast, the impact it has had, and what they hope to accomplish by continuing to share their conversations.

Get tickets to the October 8-9 festival at half price by using the discount code "FRIENDZ".

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

Episode 2.23: Love Louder

Lovecraft Country again serves as a catalyst for conversation, with a recent episode of the TV series touching on the dangers to Black residents when integrating white neighborhoods. Don and Amy talk about school districting and home purchases, sparking an eclectic conversation that includes cultivating community and the recurring trauma Black people experience during this cultural awakening to white supremacy.

Additional resources:

• "Ossian Sweet (1895-1960)" (Black Past, by Susan Bragg, July 18, 2007)
  https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/sweet-ossian-1895-1960/ 
• "The 'Lovecraft Country' House Attack Sequence Evoked the 1951 Cicero Race Riots" (Men's Health, by Josh St. Clair, August 31, 2020)
  https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a33809239/lovecraft-country-cicero-housing-riots-true-story/ 
• "Bright Size Life" by Pat Metheny (Apple iTunes)
  https://music.apple.com/us/album/bright-size-life/1523943125?i=1523943437 

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes

Episode 2.22: Living in Lovecraft Country

Don and Amy discuss the impact of the new HBO series 'Lovecraft Country' (while trying to avoid any spoilers) and how it relates to the local and national stress surrounding race in America. Don shares an experience near his home confronting a group protesting the Bloomington mayor in support of law enforcement, and how his courage to challenge racist narratives online is impacting his business.

NOTE: This is the second episode of the pandemic where these two friends were in the same physical space, this time out amongst tree trimmers, construction, and the prelude to 2021's return of the cicadas. As a result, there is a lot of background noise throughout their discussions.

Additional resources:

• "RallyMayor2" (Facebook, by the Bloomingtonian, August 23, 2020)
  https://www.facebook.com/290914014937212/videos/306912050755160
• "Gallery: Red, White and BLUE rally at the Courthouse Square"
  (Bloomingtonian, by Jeremy Hogan, August 23, 2020)
  https://bloomingtonian.com/2020/08/23/gallery-defend-the-police-rally-at-the-courthouse-square/
• "Black Lives Matter demonstrators attack “elderly man wearing oxygen.”" (Politifact, by Tom Kertscher, June 29, 2020)
  https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/jul/07/facebook-posts/older-man-was-struck-demonstration-not-oxygen/
• "New Jersey BLM leader charged with shoving elderly man during rally" (New York Post, by Lee Brown, August 19, 2020)
  https://nypost.com/2020/08/19/blm-leader-charged-with-punching-elderly-man-during-rally/
• "Few African-American golfers on the PGA tour" (Richmond Free Press, by Fred Jeter, June 25, 2020)
  http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2020/jun/25/few-african-american-golfers-pga-tour/
• "American Tennis in Black and White" (New Yorker, by Gerald Marzorati, August 3, 2016)
  https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/american-tennis-in-black-and-white
• "Wisconsin police shoot a Black man as his children watch from a vehicle, attorney says" (CNN, by Eliott C. McLaughlin and Amir Vera, August 24, 2020)
  https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/us/kenosha-police-shooting-jacob-blake/index.html

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Episode 2.21: To Live and Die in Pixie

Amy and Don talk about a neighborhood petition to rename "Dixie Street" in Bloomington, reflecting on both small meaningful actions and empty gestures. Their conversation covers the presence and suggestion of racism in the songs we sing and the media we watch. 

NOTE: This is the first episode of the pandemic where these two friends were in the same physical space. As a result, there is a lot of background noise throughout their discussions.

Additional resources:

• "Bloomington, Indiana: Rename Dixie Street" (Change.org, by S. Sherry, August 14, 2020)
  https://www.change.org/p/city-of-bloomington-plan-commission-bloomington-indiana-rename-dixie-street
• "What 'Dixie' Really Means" (Atlantic, by Ben Zimmer, June 26, 2020)
  https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/06/what-dixie-really-means/613585/
• "12 Good Ol' Facts About the 'Dukes of Hazzard'" (Mental Floss, by Jake Rossen, January 26, 2019)
  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/65519/12-good-ol-facts-about-dukes-hazzard
• "What Did the 'Dukes of Hazzard' Really Say About the South" (Time, by James Poniewozik, July 2, 2015)
  https://time.com/3944668/dukes-of-hazzard-tv-land-confederate-flag/
• "The changing profile of the U.S. military: Smaller in size, more diverse, more women in leadership" (Pew Research Center, by Amanda Barroso, September 10, 2019)
  https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/10/the-changing-profile-of-the-u-s-military/
• "Even in her uniform, this happened ..." (Facebook post, by Ashley Bryant, August 1, 2020)
  https://www.facebook.com/immelaninaire/posts/3278691135547490
• Onion Laws
  https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/onions/onionlaws.html

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