March 20, 2017
EP. 171 — The Shockingly Recent Race Riot You’ve Never Heard Of
A brief glance at the cartoon version of America makes you think the South is pretty racist. Look at them, with their Confederate flags and voter ID laws! But while you were sleeping, the blue states were up to some pretty racist shit too. It’s just that they’ve got better PR.
For example, one of the biggest and most violent anti-segregation fights in US history didn’t take place in 1950s Mississippi or Alabama, but 1970s Boston. The 70s! In Massachusetts! The land of Kennedys, Afflecks and liberal arts colleges was faced with the desegregation of schools and was like, “yo George Wallace, hold my beer!”
To discuss some of the secretly f#&*ed up modern history of the United States, Jack O’Brien and Michael Swaim are joined by the guys from ‘The Dollop’: Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds. They discuss the Boston busing riots of the 70s, the comically-liberal blue state with secret ties to the KKK and why we’re about to live through the Enron crisis all over again.
Footnotes:
The Dollop: https://goo.gl/8O7wNl
The Dollop’s List of Sources: https://goo.gl/gxXHza
Podcast: The Dollop: Boston Busing 1974: https://goo.gl/BUPukJ
Podcast: The Dollop: Oregon and the Ku Klux Klan: https://goo.gl/x4rrUf
Podcast: The Dollop: Enron: https://goo.gl/3bWy1J
Image: 11 Nations of America Map: https://goo.gl/vYXCPQ
Article: US News & World Report: A Flag, A Busing Fight and a Famous Photograph: https://goo.gl/bxvKSZ
Documentary: BBC: HyperNormalisation: https://goo.gl/77XQpb
Article: Buzzfeed News: How Teens in the Balkans Are Duping Trump Supporters With Fake News: https://goo.gl/kyOEKO
Video: Oregon Whale Explosion: https://goo.gl/gd5iPo
The Cracked Podcast: Why Class in America Isn’t Just About Income: https://goo.gl/2tliZx
Article: Siderea: Class (American): https://goo.gl/tlmX4S
This episode is brought to you by Squarespace (www.squarespace.com code: CRACKED), and Coca Cola & Powerade (www.coke.com/alwaysready.)
Recent Episodes
January 26, 2020
Freedom sucks…and that is why we have to defend it. Because our democracy involves doing a lot of stuff that takes energy, takes time, and lacks that Michael Bay Quality that only a surprise missile launch can provide. So on this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt and special guest Jason Pargin (who writes for Cracked as David Wong) are exploring the ways being afraid of everything (an easy action) can stop us from being free. Discover the decades-long tradition of some Americans wanting to give up everything in exchange for not needing to think, the centuries-long tradition of people inciting fake panics, and the reasonable ways you can help change things for the better.
Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/why-fear-based-democracies-arenE28099t-free-with-jason-pargin/
January 19, 2020
How’s your local shopping mall doing? Have you checked on it lately? Swing by sometime, because its department store might’ve turned into a call center or a hospital or a go-kart track. On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by the one and only Kai Ryssdal (Marketplace, Make Me Smart) for a look at surprising, strange, and shocking stories from all over the U.S. economy. Discover an international pig flu, a 26-word statement that built the modern Internet, and more amazing ways cash is ruling everything around you. By the way, if you’re an American listener, you spent the past few years funding an astonishingly huge bailout. Surprise! Listen for details!
Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/5-parts-u.s.-economy-that-are-stranger-than-you-think
January 12, 2020
Movies, TV, gaming: three things that are theoretically a waste of time. Oh sure, they deliver value in the art sense, and comfort in the goofing-off sense. But what if they’re more valuable than that? What if consuming shows and playing video games (accidentally) turns people into real-life heroes? On this episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians/writers Caitlin Gill and Alex Watt for a look at the surprising number of times that exact thing happened. They’ll explore stories of regular people who saved a life thanks to skills gained randomly from cartoons, sitcoms, ‘World Of Warcraft’, and more silly entertainment.
Footnotes: https://www.cracked.com/podcast/9-times-pop-culture-accidentally-taught-people-to-save-lives/