Monthly Archives: April 2019

Mike tells Sarah how a 5-year-old kid transformed a city, divided a political party and (maybe) determined a presidential election. Digressions include World War II, Clarence Darrow and something called “Like, News with Skeeter.” Both co-hosts conclude that this episode is somehow an equal-parts mixture of Satanic Panic and Terri Schiavo.

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Links!

• The court’s ruling rejecting Elián’s case
• “The Elian Gonzalez Case: The World’s Most Watched And Politically-Charged Custody Battle That Reached The U.S. Supreme Court And Determined A Presidential Election”
• Congressional hearing: “Cuba’s Oppressive Government And The Struggle For Justice”
• A compendium of “Like, News with Skeeter” segments

Sarah tells Mike how an aspiring rich kid became an emblem of a world he didn’t belong to. Digressions include drill teams, prep schools and eating disorders. The p-pops are worse than usual.

Plus, an announcement! You can now support us on Patreon!

Links!

•  “A Current Affair” clip from 1988
• “East Side Story,” New York Magazine
• “Preppy Killer’s Girlfriend Gets to Serve Probation, Still Loves Her Man”
• Lisa Birnbaum’s legendary and essential Preppy Handbook from 1980.

Mike tells Sarah how a simple idea in a single school district became a nationwide racial panic. Digressions include slasher movies, Space Invaders and homeschooling. The taglines are becoming more esoteric.

Thanks to our special guests Dionna Latimer-Hearn and Daniel Russell!

• Mike’s video!
• The abstract of Dionna’s Ph.D. dissertation, which won the the AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship Award!
• The full text of the “Ebonics” resolution
• Transcript of the Congressional hearing
• James Baldwin’s 1979 op-ed, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”
• William Labov’s 1972 Atlantic article, “Academic Ignorance and Black Intelligence”
• A history of “cultural deficit theory”