The Stonewall Uprising

“Humans aren’t good at remembering what got us where we are.” Mike tells Sarah how a turning point in the gay rights movement became an immediate controversy, a lasting inspiration and a never-ending debate. Digressions include “Newsies” (of course), “True Romance” and “Norma Rae.” Mike’s creaking chair and Sarah’s rustling blanket-fort are heard throughout.

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Links!

• Historian Eric Gonzaba’s wonderful LGBTQ T-Shirt Archive
• Historian Hugh Ryan’s delightful book and fascinating article on the misconceptions surrounding Stonewall
• Mark Segal’s dayjob and important book
• The Making of the Stonewall Myth
• Funny NYT video about the ongoing disagreement about who threw the first brick
• “The Night They Raided Stonewall,” a terrific 1993 article about the raids by Martin Duberman
• “Pay It No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson”

Kitty Genovese and “Bystander Apathy”

“Once you tell a story incorrectly once, you can’t control where it goes.” Sarah tells Mike how The New York Times turned a suburban murder into an urban legend. Digressions include Billy Joel, the World’s Fair and “Ferngully.” This episode marks a triumphant return to Long Island and an unexpected celebration of Pride Month.

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Links!

• The original New York Times article, “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police; Apathy at Stabbing of Queens Woman Shocks Inspector”
• “4 Kew Gardens Residents Testify To Seeing Woman Slain on Street”
• “A Call for Help,” Nicholas Lehman, The New Yorker
• “Don’t Look Now,” Angus Johnston, The New Inquiry
• Anna Lvovsky’s “Queer Expertise: Urban Policing and the Construction of Public Knowledge about Homosexuality, 1920–1970”

 

Sexting

“We’re uncomfortable with the evidence that teen girls have sexual agency.” Special guest Amy Hasinoff tells Mike and Sarah how a moral panic became a legal nightmare. Digressions include Cosmo advice columns, Grindr etiquette and the revolutionary hugging of the “Avengers” movies. Due to the ongoing hex placed on this podcast, the sound quality is worse than usual.

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Links!

• Amy’s website and book and Twitter
• 2015 article on Amy’s book and the “well intentioned mess” of sexting laws
• PC Mag: It’s Time We All Grew Up About Sexting
• The Atlantic: Why Kids Sext

 

The American Taliban

“He’s been punished even more than the American prison system can aspire to punish anyone”: Mike tells Sarah how John Walker Lindh became a terrorist in the media, a freedom fighter in his own mind and something between the two in reality. Digressions include “Newsies,” Bruce Willis and “Candide.” Sarah sneakily reveals her lifelong affection for Howard Stern.

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Links! 

• Moving Guardian article by Lindh’s father
• New Yorker article describing how the evidence against Lindh fell apart
• Lindh’s TV interview from the hospital
• Lindh’s indictment
• Time’s 2003 article “The Making Of John Walker Lindh”
• 2006 profile of Lindh in prison