The Achilles Heel of Democracy
In The Thick
Futuro Media
4.9 • 1.9K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2022
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Maria and Julio are joined by Jelani Cobb, staff writer at the New Yorker and co-editor of the new book “The Matter of Black Lives: Writing from the New Yorker.” They reflect on the history and legacy of the Black Lives Matter movement. They also unpack the latest in attacks on voting rights in the lead up to the midterm elections, and the state of U.S. democracy as we approach the one year anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection. ITT Staff Picks: - As we approach the 10-year mark since the murder of Trayvon Martin, we’re sharing Jelani Cobb’s first piece in The New Yorker about his death and its aftermath. - In his 1962 essay printed in The New Yorker, James Baldwin writes about growing up in Harlem, his experiences with racism, Black people’s struggles in the United States and the myths that white Americans cling to. - “America’s political system is broken, seemingly beyond its normal capacity to repair,” writes senior correspondent Zack Beauchamp in this piece for Vox. Photo credit: AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Futuro. |
| 0:02.0 | Wow. |
| 0:13.0 | Okay, so Jelani, hold on, before we do anything, can you just set the scene? |
| 0:17.4 | Because what's happening right now? |
| 0:19.3 | So I'm at my office at Columbia and there is a graduate |
| 0:23.9 | student worker strike that's going on. There are people out picketing and trying to get the |
| 0:29.6 | administration to concede to, you know, their demands. And so that's what the audio back here is. |
| 0:36.2 | All right. Well, that's the start of our show. One, go, three. Welcome to In The Think. This is a podcast about politics, race, and culture. I'm Maria Ino Rosa. And I'm Julio Ricaylor-Lau-Warela. And today we have a very special guest joining us from Columbia University on the campus and Morningside Heights in New York City is Jolani Cobb. Yes, the Jolani Cobb, staff writer for the New Yorker and co-editor of the new book, The Matter of Black Lives, writing from the New Yorker. Jalani, it's such an honor to have you back on the show. Thank you. I mean, it's been a minute. I know, I've met you guys. And I'm |
| 1:11.4 | old enough to remember when we used to do this in a studio in the same room. That's right. I remember, yes. The immigrant studio that, you know, you're like, oh, this is where the magic happens. I'm like, yeah. Yeah, how reckless and courageous we were back in those days. That is just so cute that you're like, I'm old enough to remember. |
| 1:09.4 | It was like, that was 2016. |
| 1:11.2 | I know. like, yeah. Yeah, how reckless and courageous we were back in those days. That is just so cute that you're |
| 1:27.8 | like, I'm old enough to remember. It was like, that was 2016. But it's true. And I'm happy that |
| 1:34.8 | we're speaking with you. You know, this is actually going to be the show for the new year. So we're |
| 1:41.2 | pre-recording and we're just transparent with our audience, you know, because obviously you're hearing the chanting in the background. |
| 1:47.6 | Actually, I want to just start with that, Jelani. |
| 1:49.4 | You know, you're a professor at Columbia Journalism School. |
| 1:51.9 | I'm a visiting scholar at Barnard College where I'm a graduate part of Columbia. |
| 1:57.2 | Before we kind of start doing our look forward for 2022, can you just kind of situate yourself |
| 2:03.3 | what it's like to end the year being part of a major strike in the United States of America? |
| 2:10.1 | In this case, it is the student workers striking at Columbia, which is massive employer in New York |
| 2:15.3 | City. |
| 2:15.6 | But just kind of like take us to like what's going on in your |
... |
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