Christian Nationalism is Reshaping Fertility Rights, and Books Dominate at the Oscars

On the Media

WNYC Studios

Magazine, Newspapers, Media, 1st, Advertising, Social Sciences, Studios, Radio, Transparency, Tv, History, Science, News Commentary, Npr, Technology, Amendment, Newspaper, Wnyc, News, Journalism

4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2024

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling on frozen embryos threatens fertility treatments across the state. On this week’s On the Media, hear how a particular branch of Christian nationalism influenced one justice’s decision. Plus, how film adaptations of books have come to dominate our screens.

1. Matthew D. Taylor [@TaylorMatthewD], senior scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, & Jewish Studies, on how a particular strain of Christian Nationalism, once on the fringe of America’s religious landscape, is slowly emerging as a political force. Listen.

2. Alexander Manshel [@XanderManshel], assistant professor of English at McGill University and author of Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon, on how literary prizes have changed over the last few decades, and how much they actually matter. Listen.

3. Cord Jefferson [@cordjefferson], writer and director of the new film American Fiction, on his movie's critique of Hollywood and the process of adapting a novel for the screen. Listen.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Bombs Bombshell ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos can be considered children.
0:06.5	This week we learned about a fringe Christian sect that greatly influenced that decision and others like it.
0:13.0	From WNYC in New York, this is on the media.
0:16.0	I'm Brooke Gladstone.
0:17.0	Also on this week's show, several of this year's Oscar nominations were for movies adapted from prize-winning books, but the power of literary
0:25.5	prizes doesn't stop there.
0:28.2	Even a high-profile book is taught zero times in a university classroom,
0:32.6	but it ends up on as many as 15 syllabi
0:36.0	when it wins.
0:37.0	Plus, Cord Jefferson, now up for an Oscar for American fiction,
0:41.4	left journalism for Hollywood because he was
0:43.7	sick of being pigeonholed as the black correspondent. But it wasn't long
0:48.7	before people were coming to me and saying do you want to write this movie
0:51.6	about a black person being killed by the police? Do you want to write this movie about a black person being killed by the police?
0:54.0	You want to write this movie about a slave?
0:56.0	It's all coming up after this.
1:01.0	From WNYC in New York, this is on the media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.
1:08.0	Last week, reproductive health care took another hit from a gavel.
1:13.0	Bombshell ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court
1:16.0	that frozen embryos can be considered children.
1:19.0	The state's largest hospital now says it will pause IVF treatments, leaving couples with fertility problems
1:24.8	with nowhere to go.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WNYC Studios, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WNYC Studios and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.