Who's Black and Why?: A Hidden Chapter from the Eighteenth-Century Invention of Race(Harvard University Press, 2022) is the first translation and publication of sixteen submissions to the notorious eighteenth-century Bordeaux essay contest on the cause of black skin. In 1739 Bordeaux's Royal Academy of Sciences announced a contest for the best essay on the sources of "blackness." The authors ranged from naturalists to physicians, theologians to amateur savants. Documented on each page are European ideas about who is Black and why.
Looming behind these essays is the fact that some four million Africans had been kidnapped and shipped across the Atlantic by the time the contest was announced. The essays themselves represent a broad range of opinions. Some affirm that Africans had fallen from God's grace; others that blackness had resulted from a brutal climate; still others emphasized the anatomical specificity of Africans. All the submissions nonetheless circulate around a common theme: the search for a scientific understanding of the new concept of race. More importantly, they provide an indispensable record of the Enlightenment-era thinking that normalized the sale and enslavement of Black human beings. Translated into English and accompanied by a detailed introduction and headnotes written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Andrew Curran, each essay included in this volume lays bare the origins of anti-Black racism and colorism in the West.
Andrew S. Curran is the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities at Wesleyan University.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University.
Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network
Following the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the federal government has taken drastic action to protect the financial system, and to make the bank's depositors whole. Business and tech journalist Jo Ling Kent joins us to discuss the backlash from both sides of the political aisle about the intervention — and whether or not it was technically a “bailout.”
And in headlines: Donald Trump’s one-time lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified before a New York grand jury investigating the former president, the Biden administration approved a controversial oil drilling project on Alaska's Northern Slope, and a 5,000 mile-wide blob of seaweed is slowly making its way toward Florida’s gulf coast.
Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffee
We'll tell you what the president is now saying about the bank collapse and what this could mean for interest rates moving forward.
Also, what to expect from a huge new drilling project in Alaska and why it's so controversial.
And we have an update about Sen. McConnell's health.
Plus, how your sleep could impact vaccine effectiveness, which team is the most popular pick so far to win March Madness, and what to know about Pi Day.
Those stories and more news to know in around 10 minutes!
In this episode, Rivers and Sam are joined at Disgraceland Studios by two FANTASTIC guests: comedians Joe Kaye and Josh Florhaug! We're starting this St. Patrick's Day week off right with the "Winter Edition" of Red Bull that tastes like figs and apples. We discuss the unfolding hilarious story of Randy McNally, the ultra-conservative Lt. Governor of Tennessee who fell into a gay thirst trap on Instagram. We also tell the story of notorious Irish con artist Kevin McGeever who stole millions of dollars and then 'Fargo'd himself when he ran out of options. We also run down our Top 3 lists of 2002 albums, Adam Sandler films, and people named "Doug". Flogging Molly's "Drunken Lullabies" is our JAM OF THE WEEK! Tune in now and may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead! Póg mo thóin, y'all. Follow Joe Kaye on all forms of social media @JoeCharlesKaye. Follow Josh Florhaug on all forms of social media @JoshFComedy. Follow the show on Twitter @TheGoodsPod. Rivers is @RiversLangley Sam is @SlamHarter Carter is @Carter_Glascock Subscribe on Patreon for HOURS of bonus content! http://patreon.com/TheGoodsPod Pick up a Goods from the Woods t-shirt at: http://prowrestlingtees.com/TheGoodsPod
The “rich people” with money in Silicon Valley Bank are the real winners in President Joe Biden's handling of the California-based bank’s collapse, economist Peter St Onge says.
After the fall of Silicon Valley Bank over the weekend, the Biden administration announced that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will cover all depositors' money there.
Normally, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is responsible for covering deposits up to $250,000, ensuring that most small businesses and individuals are financially protected from a collapse. But in this case, the FDIC is going far beyond that $250,000 cap to cover every deposit in Silicon Valley Bank, regardless of the amount.
“If the administration gets away with this, then we are going to start moving into a world where bankers, where Wall Street, feels like they can take any risk they like, because this is all going to get bailed out because you've got these human shields,” St Onge, a research fellow in economics at The Heritage Foundation, says. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.)
Ultimately, the federal government’s actions to protect Silicon Valley depositors probably will result in higher inflation, St Onge says. “I think we're very likely to see a lot more inflation,” he says.
St. Onge joins this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and what Biden’s actions mean for the nation's economy.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has made anti-trans legislation a trademark of her term, but singling out trans people—and those who provide them medical care—comes at a cost to the state and its residents. It left the tiny rural town of Webster with only one physician.
Guest: Mayson Bedient, a family medicine and gender-affirming care specialist in Fargo, North Dakota
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Amicus—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
In his new book, Shelter from the Storm, Cato's Mark Calabria details his time as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency during one of the most turbulent times for housing finance.
Biden steps in to prevent a bank run after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Republicans blame the failure on woke culture. Senator Cory Booker stops by to talk politics and LA’s best vegan fast food. Lovett talks to the transgender teenager who stumped Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin at last week’s CNN town hall. And later, Jon, Jon, and Tommy run through the week’s top stories in another round of One Line With Cocaine Bear.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.