history

Hidden Figures

by Aubrey Hicks, Jonathan Schwartz

This episode of the Price Projection Room features a conversation on the popular film, Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi and starring the dream team of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, among many others.

Hidden Figures is a crowd pleasing film which centers on the overlooked stories of women of color whose mathematical work contributed the first successful launch of a human being into orbit. We discuss how the film both illustrated the racial divide in America while showcasing the work & struggle of African American women. Though we all have some criticism of the work, in the end it may be the representation of strong, smart black women that matters the most.

To listen to the Price Projection Room discussion of Hidden Figures click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player on this post. Or download and subscribe through iTunes, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

The Underground Railroad

by Bedrosian Center

*Warning: Spoilers!*

In Colson Whitehead’s award winning novel The Underground Railroad, Cora, daughter and granddaughter of slaves, flees her plantation after a horrific punishment. She heads out with a fellow slave Caesar, who takes her to the underground railroad – in this novel, a real RR. She is passionately pursued by Ridgeway, a slave catcher while she experiences the horrors of American racism and the courage of the RR personnel. The book compares a mythological Southern narrative of slavery with Cora’s truths and Ridgeway’s version of the “American imperative.” Beautifully written, full of horrific incidents, the book reminds us of the power of racism, the government’s complicity in its implementation and persistence, and reminds us freed African Americans carried with them the legacy of violence, oppression, suppression, and more violence whether from the police, physicians, or any other institution.

To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of The Underground Railroad click the orange arrow in the Soundcloud player here – or you can download it and subscribe through iTunes, Soundcloud, or Google Play

White Trash

by Bedrosian Center

In White Trash: The 400-year Untold History of Class in America, historian Nancy Isenberg traces white poverty and class from the earliest British settlements through to the 21st century. What she finds is that the mythology of social mobility and classlessness of American Exceptionalism is just that, a myth. By taking a deep dive into a sub-class of Americans, Isenberg hopes that Americans can face a truth about the enduring poverty on inequality that has shaped the American consciousness. That not only do we have classes, but these classes have been built by policies going back to the very reason British citizens came to the colonies. Our discussion of the book looks at where this history contributes to our current political conversation and where it could have been more focused to tell the story in a more cohesive way.

Featuring Aubrey Hicks, Anthony Orlando, Lisa Schweitzer, and John Sonego

A Conversation with Journalist Pilar Marrero: Toxic Immigration Rhetoric and America’s Future

by Patricia Quintero Estades

Last Wednesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming journalist Pilar Marrero for a conversation with our own Sherry Bebitch Jeffe about toxic immigration rhetoric and the 2016 Presidential Election. Pilar Marrero is an immigration expert; she’s been covering social and political issues pertaining to the Latinx community in the U.S. for over 20 years. She…

Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas That Shape the World

by Bedrosian Center

Wade Graham’s latest book Dream Cities: Seven Urban Ideas That Shape the World is ostensibly about the architects the seven big ideas that have shaped contemporary cities across the world. Our discussion centers on whether Graham has fulfilled that mission or whether he’s trapped in the confines of an under 350 page book for this massive introduction to urban planning and city history. The answer may lie in the reader rather than the book, listen to the conversation for a lively jaunt through recent architectural history.