Maddie asks Essence to define “big banks,” how banks contributed to the 2008 Recession, and some of the long-term effects of the Recession. Essence asks Maddie to talk about her favorite movie– The Big Short, and how movies about historical events can be useful for understanding difficult topics like the Recession.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

Big Banks

• https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/black-recession-housing-race/396725/
• https://www.businessinsider.com/what-caused-the-great-recession
• https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IN10853.pdf
• https://irle.berkeley.edu/files/2018/09/IRLE-What-Really-Caused-the-Great-Recession.pdf
• https://ftp.iza.org/dp4934.pdf

The Big Short: 

• https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/27/the-big-short-financially-accurate-adam-mckay-subprime-money-bale-gosling-pitt
• https://www.thirdway.org/memo/your-cheat-sheet-for-the-big-short
• https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/movies/review-in-the-big-short-economic-collapse-for-fun-and-profit.html
• https://www.vox.com/culture/2015/12/12/9947796/the-big-short-review-movie-ryan-gosling
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932011_Icelandic_financial_crisis
• https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35485876
• ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/17/the-miraculous-story-of-iceland/

Essence asks Maddie all about her favorite dystopian novels and movies, the evolution of dystopia over time, and why there has been a revival of dystopian literature among teens. Maddie asks Essence about #DefundthePolice, the goals of criminal justice reform, and why privileging marginalized experiences is essential for social movements!

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

Dystopias:

• https://www.mindymcginnis.com/blog/why-do-people-find-dystopian-novels-so-appealing#:~:text=Dystopian%20novels%20are%20incredibly%20popular,people%20can't%20understand%20why 
• https://electricliterature.com/the-rise-of-dystopian-fiction-from-soviet-dissidents-to-70s-paranoia-to-murakami/
• https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-dystopia-books/
• https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dystopian-movies/best-dystopian-movies-of-all-time-1/
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/23/dystopian-fiction
• https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/a-golden-age-for-dystopian-fiction

Defund the Police:

• https://defundthepolice.org/
• https://civilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf
• https://m4bl.org/defund-the-police/
• https://www.mpd150.com/
• https://www.nonewjails.nyc/
• https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QlieFSgKl1zzdqrjNloUK
• https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rlXRvKMInY6siTVAKXmJ5?si=PM-aMcpwQzKS2i5NvrExEQ
• https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/14/democrats-suburbs-lets-fund-the-police-515966
• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/10/us/dallas-police-defund.html
• https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/
• 13th (Netflix Documentary)

Theory books to nerd out on abolition:

• Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punishment
• Angela Davis’s Are Prisons Obsolete?
• Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
• Alex Vitale’s The End of Policing As We Know It?

Maddie asks Essence to discuss the role of Vice President and Kamala Harris, our Vice President. Essence asks Maddie to explain why RomComs are so popular. This episode was recorded while VP Harris was still the president-elect.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

The VP:

• https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xii/interps/171
• https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/07/07/picking-the-vice-president/
• https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/11/kamala-harris-vp-background-bio-biden-running-mate-2020-393885
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/us/politics/kamala-harris.html
• https://www.npr.org/2020/10/13/923369723/lets-talk-about-kamala-harris
• https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/23/18184192/kamala-harris-president-campaign-criminal-justice-record
• https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a28571249/kamala-harris-attorney-general-controversy/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53770654 

Rom Coms:

• https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-romantic-comedies-of-all-time/
• https://www.glamour.com/story/why-is-it-so-wrong-to-love-romantic-comedies

Essence asks Maddie to analyze the privilege surrounding self-care and the importance of everyone needing to engage in self-care practices. Maddie asks Essence to describe and discuss the political and social impacts of the “Squad” or the new and progressive Congresswomen elected in 2018.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

#SelfCare:

• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201812/self-care-12-ways-take-better-care-yourself
• https://psychcentral.com/blog/what-self-care-is-and-what-it-isnt-2#1
• https://www.flare.com/beauty/luxury-of-self-care/

The Squad:

• https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/08/the-squad-donald-trump
• https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/8/18272072/ilhan-omar-rashida-tlaib-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-racism-sexism
• https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/politics/who-are-the-squad/index.html
• https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/aoc-squad-are-getting-some-company-here-s-who-joining-n1250958

Maddie asks Essence to discuss how the Black Lives Matter Movement has changed throughout the years and analyze its impact over the years. Essence asks Maddie to evaluate social media activism and discuss whether it helps bring about lasting social change.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

BLM:

• https://campaignzero.org/
• https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html
• https://undergroundrailroadhistory.org/the-black-lives-matter-movement-an-origin-story/
• https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/14/where-is-black-lives-matter-headed
• https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/09/30/kettling-protesters-bronx/systemic-police-brutality-and-its-costs-united-states
• https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/movement-slogan-rallying-cry-how-black-lives-matter-changed-america-n1252434

Social Media Activism:

• https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-second-act-of-social-media-activism
• https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/07/11/public-attitudes-toward-political-engagement-on-social-media/

Essence asks Maddie to discuss if TikTok is a great new social media or the bane of our existence. Maddie asks Essence to discuss the misnomers of sex trafficking and sex work more broadly.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

• TikTok
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomtaulli/2020/01/31/tiktok-why-the-enormous-success/?sh=4594b9b365d1
• https://brandastic.com/blog/what-is-tiktok-and-why-is-it-so-popular/
• Sex Trafficking
• https://www.theverge.com/21273768/section-230-explained-internet-speech-law-definition-guide-free-moderation
• https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/
• https://theconversation.com/sex-trafficking-isnt-what-you-think-4-myths-debunked-and-1-real-world-way-to-prevent-sexual-exploitation-158852\
• https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/13/17172762/fosta-sesta-backpage-230-internet-freedom
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/03/04/why-laws-fight-sex-trafficking-often-backfire/
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/07/why-sex-work-should-be-decriminalized
• https://www.aclu.org/news/topic/its-time-to-decriminalize-sex-work/
• https://www.vox.com/2019/8/2/20692327/sex-work-decriminalization-prostitution-new-york-dc
• https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1358&context=mjlr
• https://www.thenation.com/article/society/sex-workers-coronavirus/

Maddie asks Essence to describe the larger decriminalize drugs ballot measures and the larger policy proposals meant to rectify the War on Drugs. Essence asks Maddie why there is such a class distinction in leisure activities, especially ones like art. 

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

• Art Prices:
• HBO Documentary: The Price of Everything 
• https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/31/18048340/art-market-expensive-ai-painting
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings
• https://www.feelgoodnow247.com/7-reasons-why-some-art-is-so-expensive/
• Decriminalizing Drugs

Essence asks Maddie to discuss and analyze the cult of personality surrounding the Kardashian family. Maddie asks Essence to discuss the evolution and erosion of the Middle Class throughout the 20th century and the power having a Middle Class may bring.

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Episode’s resources and bonus material:

• The Kardashians 
• https://www.lifeandstylemag.com/posts/why-are-the-kardashians-famous-150416/
• https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2016/02/102194/how-the-kardashians-became-famous
• https://time.com/6072750/kardashians-blackfishing-appropriation/
• https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/top-10-biggest-kardashian-controversies-a4034501.html
• https://slate.com/culture/2020/09/watching-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-as-a-black-woman.html

• The Middle Class
• https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/49116/2000178-How-are-Income-and-Wealth-Linked-to-Health-and-Longevity.pdf
• https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/nearly-1-in-4-americans-are-skipping-medical-care-because-of-the-cost.html
• https://courses.lumenlearning.com/alamo-sociology/chapter/reading-class-structure-in-the-united-states/
• https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/23/are-you-in-the-american-middle-class/