How Do You Like It So Far? is back! We’re excited to bring you a whole new slate of stimulating conversations with authors, activists, and scholars as we consider the role of pop culture during the pandemic this season. This week, Henry and Colin kick off the season with a look back at a wildly eventful summer away from the podcast, which featured not only the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also renewed movements against systemic racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, natural disasters wreaking havoc across the country, and a divisive political climate in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. We examine the accessibility disparities that come with online learning and how pedagogy will function in the new environment, both for younger students and for higher education. We also discuss how online communities are beginning to emerge as primary gathering spaces, following the models of online gaming and fandom communities. Then, Colin and Henry discuss how the pandemic has affected the type of media being produced in 2020 — while cinema and television are less prevalent, lower-tech media have the potential to become more meaningful. We also consider the state of politics today as both parties have wrapped up their national conventions, and conflict continues to harm the U.S. Postal Service and Census Bureau counts. Finally, we explore what reconciliation might look like for a divided America, and what we need to do differently to ensure America doesn’t fail as an experiment of democracy. Check out the notes for more information on everything we talked about and Henry’s recommendations from the show! Music: “In Time” by Dylan Emmett and “Spaceship” by Lesion X. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– In Time (Instrumental) by Dylan Emmet https://soundcloud.com/dylanemmet Spaceship by Lesion X https://soundcloud.com/lesionxbeats Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/in-time-instrumental Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lesion-x-spaceship Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/AzYoVrMLa1Q ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Here are some of the references from this episode, for those who want to dig a little deeper:
Scholarship on Online Learning:
PACE: What California’s Leaders Must Do Next to Advance Student Learning During COVID-19
Ed Week: The Disparities in Remote Learning Under Coronavirus (early in the pandemic, but similar trends)
McKinsey: COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime
Common Sense Media: Closing the K–12 Digital Divide in the Age of Distance Learning
Ed Trust: From Crisis to Opportunity: Recovering California’s Commitment to Equity
"On The Media" podcast episode about higher education, remote learning and political conventions
Henry’s MIT Conference: We Wired the Classroom, Now What?
MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Initiative
Henry’s blog conversation on screen time:
Sangita Shresthova and Susan Kresnicka
Civic Media Fellowship Program
How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 59: On Communities with Colin and Henry
2020 Movies Available Online:
How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 58: Open TV with A.J. Christian
Henry’s article on Dziga Vertov
How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 1: Star Wars Cluster — Ahmed Best
Kimberly Guilfoyle’s fiery Republican National Convention speech
Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Full Speech At The 2020 DNC
Barack Obama’s Full Speech At The 2020 DNC
Michelle Obama Complete Remarks at 2020 Democratic National Convention
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at 2020 DNC
Joe Biden Acceptance Speech at 2020 Democratic National Convention
President Donald Trump Full Acceptance Speech at 2020 Republican National Convention
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Full Speech At The 2020 DNC
Sen. Bernie Sanders' Full Speech At The 2020 DNC
Gavin Newsom’s full speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s full speech at the 2020 DNC (“kitchens like this across America”)
Full Democratic roll call from Delegates across America
RNC delegates conduct roll call vote in person
How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 7: March for Our Lives and the Census
2020 Census Adjustments due to COVID-19
Hansi Lo Wang’s Twitter feed (leading source of Census news)
LA Times Editorial on Decennial Census
How Do You Like It So Far? Episode 45: “Radicalized” with Cory Doctorow
Cory Doctorow’s “Masque of Red Death”
The Ezra Klein Show: An inspiring conversation about democracy with Danielle Allen
Henry’s recommendations:
Showtime’s Penny Dreadful: City of Angels
Chadwick Boseman films:
HDYLISF? Episodes on Black Panther:
Episode 5: Black Panther, comics and the history of Marvel
Episode 6: Define American’s Julian Gomez on Black Panther and empowering fan activism
Episode 8: Manouchka Labouba on Black Panther and African cinema today
Episode 9: Nicholas J. Cull on Black Panther and the politics of popular culture
Share your thoughts via Twitter with Henry, Colin and the How Do You Like It So Far? account! You can also email us at howdoyoulikeitsofarpodcast@gmail.com!