Oh This World

On today's episode, Antoinette explores ideas that museum curators, journalists and historians have proposed for what to do with Confederate monuments after they've been taken down . After a brief follow-up on disinformation and social media nonsense , Antoinette leads us into our main topic, starting with examples of controversies over monuments and street names (and more street names )...

We start our grab bag episode , as we do each Friday, with a look at the week in numbers , and the numbers aren't good, especially here in Texas . After reopening too quickly and without adequate testing , Gov. Greg Abbott is now backtracking: closing bars he once allowed open , but still refusing to make masks mandatory. Over at Living Blue in Texas is a useful timeline of the governor'...

Today we look at consumer activism : what is it, does it work, and what actions can we all take to hold businesses accountable for their policies? Before we dive into our main topic, Antoinette educates us on the origins of the term " cancel culture ," we briefly dive into the recent Shack Shake conspiracy theory , and we look at an important new resource for Austinites: free COVID-19 te...

Today Antoinette leads a wide-ranging discussion on political accountability and the conservative obsession with "cancel culture." First, an announcement: our first season of OH THIS WORLD wraps in less than two weeks, on Friday, July 3rd ! We'll be off for the rest of July and back in August with S2. A few quick follow-ups from previous episodes: Antoinette recommends a recent Roxa...

Every Friday, we take a look at the week in numbers and offer our recs for what to read, listen to and watch to stay grounded during this unsettling time. To help us understand the numbers for the week we turn to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center , as well as this Texas Tribune piece on record hospitalizations in Texas . ( One correction : when discussing Hays County numbers of late, L...

Today we look at the importance of some of the elected offices that get less attention during election season, talk about why they're important in 2020 , and what you can do to get involved. To start, we review the importance of the Texas House and State Board of Education races in November, then turn our attention to the justice system . For more on the importance of electing progressive DAs...

On this episode, Antoinette takes us through her own evolution in thinking about social media activism , explores the pitfalls of the online life, and unveils her strategy for using social media effectively. Before we jump into our main topic for the day, a few brief follow-ups from last week: we look at the latest on attempts to hold the Austin Police Department accountable , and offer final thou...

This week, we have a bevy of follow-ups , as well as our weekly recs for what to watch, listen to, and read this weekend to stay grounded in this unsettling time. We start with a look at the Coronavirus numbers . They're not great, particularly in Texas , where the governor's premature reopening and GOP aversion to basic public health measures is leading to an uptick in cases. Here in Au...

Today Lucas leads a wide-ranging discussion about how the Texas State Board of Education wields significant influence over how history is taught both in Texas and across the country, why it matters, and what we can do about it. First, Antoinette has a follow-up to recent conversations about defunding the police , and Lucas explains why he'll no longer be eating at Kerbey Lane (and encourages...

On today's episode, Antoinette leads us through the steps we can all take as consumers, employees and business owners to make sure businesses are keeping anti-racism at the forefront of their agendas. First, we get a quick correction on the (less-wonderful-than-they-first-appeared) unemployment numbers from last week , and Lucas suggests Austin listeners head over to Grits for Breakfast for a...

In this mini-episode, Lucas addresses white people who are supportive of the Black Lives Matter protests but still get skittish when they hear "defund the police." You can read a copy of the 1928 Koch and Fowler "Master Plan" for Austin here (the part Lucas references is on p. 57, or view a screenshot here ). For more on Austin's freedmen communities, check out the Austin...

Activist and musician Matt Oliver is our special guest today to talk about relational organizing. Before Matt joins us, we give an update on the coronavirus numbers for the week . Cases continue to rise faster than ever globally , while the unemployment rate has dropped . Another number to report: five. That's how many Texas GOP county leaders have shared racist Facebook posts and/or racist c...

After a week of especially horrible police brutality against black Americans, many white allies are showing up for the first time on the shores of Activist Island. Help them dry off, warm up, and find ways to be productive citizens in this new place. Before we dive into the heart of the episode, we explore whether or not our Congressman here in TX21 is a fascist (hint: he wants American soldiers t...

In this time of pandemic and upheaval, what are the dangers of living in an echo chamber ? Are there benefits? How do we break out of them ? On today's show we look at all kinds of echo chambers--from ideological to racial (specifically white people only hearing other white voices )--and their many perils. Among the resources we chat about that are worth checking out: are this Forbes piece on...

Welcome to our weekend grab bag , where we follow up on stories from throughout the week and talk about what we're listening to, reading and watching to stay grounded in this unsettling time. As always on Fridays, we start with a look at the numbers from both a public health perspective and an economic one. Here in Texas, Thursday saw the "largest single-day number of new coronavirus cas...

In our second episode on combatting disinformation , Antoinette helps us understand the extremely pervasive use of gaslighting from the Trump administration and their allies. We start by explaining what gaslighting is , and Antoinette and Lucas talk about if they've experienced gaslighting on a personal level, in their own lives. Then we expand the conversation to cover the country: what happ...

Today we look at why we aren't mourning COVID-19 deaths collectively , as a nation, why collective mourning is important ,  and what we can do about it . First, we look at a couple of articles that may be of interest to OTW listeners: an NPR story evaluating the risks of various summer activities , and a piece from the NYT on erosion of trust in the government (wonder why!) For our main topic...

Welcome to our weekend grab bag , where we follow up on stories from throughout the week and talk about what we're listening to, reading and watching to stay grounded in this unsettling time. We start with a look at the numbers: from both a public health perspective and an economic one. The news here in Texas is especially grim, as the state has played fast and loose with the numbers on testi...

It's never been American business custom to speak openly about politics. But when business leaders who are progressively minded do speak up, I want truth! I want resonance! I want to feel what they're saying in my bones! That's not what we usually get, though. And today I'm calling in my business leader people. Stop imploring us to all just find a way to get along politically....

The COVID-19 catastrophe has highlighted major problems in America that existed well before the pandemic did, from a broken health care system to vast (and rising) inequality . But what if out of this crisis came the chance to create big change ? Today our focus is on expanding our political imaginations and beginning to think about what a post-pandemic America should look like. First, a quick fol...

Today, Antoinette does a deep-dive into how we can hold corporations accountable for their actions in the COVID-19 era. Before we leap into the corporate world, Lucas looks at the latest ways Republicans are distorting information to distract from their own incredible unpreparedness on Coronavirus. He points to recent Republican insistence that red states shouldn't be "responsible"...

GOP voter suppression efforts in Texas continue their slog. It would be nice to not think about this for a day, but since we can't do that, let's turn our frustration into action and step up for every Texan. Texans, please make two calls on Monday to fight for our voting rights: Gov. Greg Abbott -- 800-843-5789 Secretary of State Ruth Hughs -- 512-463-5555 After you get to the person who...

We start our Weekend Grab Bag with some follow-ups on stories throughout the week, including an update to our disinformation episode . Lucas points to two stories related to his Oh This Small World mini-episode addressed to his fellow white people : a disturbing piece from the New York Times about armed "protesters" in Texas , and an article on the cancellation of the legislative session...

On this episode, Antoinette and Lucas explore the disinformation that bad actors are spreading about coronavirus, and what all of us can do to combat it. We start by looking at the differences between misinformation and disinformation , and recount our own experiences falling for, or dealing with people who have fallen for, false material. We also recommend this must-read Twitter thread from Andy...

In today's episode we look at what types of work are considered essential , how we treat our essential workers (spoiler: poorly), and what all of us can do to support America's essential workforce. Before diving in, Antoinette calls attention to an A+ video about vote-by-mail from TX-10 Democratic candidate Mike Siegel, and Lucas gives an update on the never-ending Dallas hairdresser sag...