Afleveringen
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Today we take on A.I. art.
We discuss the following references:
Duesterberg, James. 2023. âNeither Governed Nor Free.â Boston Review. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/neither-governed-nor-free/
Crabapple, Molly. 2026. âIs AI The Greatest Art Heist in History?â The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/apr/12/is-ai-the-greatest-art-heist-in-history
Winegar, Jessica. 2008. âThe Humanity Game: Art, Islam, and the War on Terror.â Anthropological Quarterly. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/247134
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Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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Weâre joined by Akil Fletcher, an anthropologist who studies the intersection of video gaming and race. We discuss âRelooted,â an exciting new art heist video game, where players raid Western art collections in order to steal art and repatriate that art to Africa.
For more about Akil or to read his scholarship: https://www.akilfletcher.com/
Mariel reads from the book “Mumbo Jumbo” by Ishmael Reed
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Reflecting on current events, Mariel and Colin discuss the proliferation of atrocity images on social media. What is at stake when these images are treated as a tool of political mobilization?
References:
Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others.
Eubanks, W. Ralph. 2025. Emmett Till Then and Now. in Bulletin by Monument Lab.
Hernandez, Joe. 2021. “Read this powerful statement from Darnella Frazier, who filmed George Floyd’s murder.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000475344/read-this-powerful-statement-from-darnella-frazier-who-filmed-george-floyds-murd
Jackson, Jenn. 2022. “The Militancy of (Black) Memory ” SAQ. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933
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License code: B8YVHLPEYANQ7MQBHeader image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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This episode is a deep dive into the âcreative cityâ model of urban planning. We talk about the ways that influential urban planners like Richard Florida and Charles Landry have promoted investment in the arts as a way to solve urban problems. We will answer the question, can art solve poverty? (Answer: No).
Key Sources:
Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class.
Landry, Charles. The Creative City A Toolkit for Innovators.
Melamed, Samantha. âCan this tiny storefront save Phillyâs most drug-ravaged neighborhood?â Philadelphia Inquirer. March 30, 2017.
Denmead, Tyler. The Creative Underclass: Youth, Race, and the Gentrifying City.
Mould, Oli. Urban Subversion and the Creative City.
Montgomery, Alesia. âReappearance of the Public. Placemaking, Minoritization, and Resistance in Detroit.â International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 2016.
Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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In anticipation of the Super Bowl, and in response to conservative outrage over the selection of artist Bad Bunny as halftime performer, we present a deep dive into the history and politics of the NFLâs halftime show.
Major Sections Include:
Introducing the episode 00-1:30
Reflecting on current events 1:31-15:00
Recurring halftime themes and the identity of the NFL 15:00-24:52
The history of the halftime show 24:52-34:38
Nipplegate 38:48-49:16
Racial politics in the NFL 49:16-70:00
Michael Jacksonâs Unprecedented Super Bowl Spectacular 70:00-74:46
The 2020s 74:46-78:27
Bad Bunny 78:27-end
We used clips from:
Super Bowl XXVI âwinter magicâ: https://youtu.be/6wMXHxWO4ns?si=wtqMFHe45ts4SE37
Up With People at Super Bowl XIV https://youtu.be/2ruQ1tj4MDA?si=KfMAbNwTtfnBk_Ab
Michael Jackson – Super Bowl XXVII 1993 Halftime Show: https://youtu.be/EsopN7JKUVs?si=oVd7-bkO338aXluL
References:
As N.F.L. Fights Racism and Sexism, Team Owners Undercut the Message. New York Times. 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/sports/football/woody-johnson-trump-jets.html
Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Kiana Cox and Kiely Hurst. 2025. âViews of Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter in the 5 Years Since George Floydâs Killing.â Pew Research Center. May 7. https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/05/07/views-of-race-policing-and-black-lives-matter-in-the-5-years-since-george-floyds-killing/
Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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Honestly, we just wanted to do a normal episode that didnât react to current events. We thought that the War on Terror would be a somewhat stable historical artifact. â Then Trump invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its president, and stole its oil. So this episode is unexpectedly relevant. While we donât comment on Venezuela directly, there are some important themes in thinking about the aesthetics of war that are unfortunately topical.
References
Ronak Kapadia. âInsurgent Aesthetics: Security and the Queer Life of the Forever War.â https://www.dukeupress.edu/insurgent-aesthetics
Hirst Appologizes for Calling 9/11 âA Work of Art.ââ The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/19/september11.usa
Leerom Medovoi. âDogma Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.â https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/30/2%20(111)/43/33720/Dogma-Line-RacismIslamophobia-and-the-Second-Axis?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Jean Baudrillard. âThe Gulf War Did Not Take Place.â https://www.amazon.com/Gulf-War-Did-Take-Place/dp/090995223X
Rumsfeld clip from âControl Room.â 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgfMdvk2n8&t=1390s
Committee to Protect Journalists. Dataset of Journalists and Media Workers Killed. https://cpj.org/data/killed/country/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&start_year=1992&end_year=2026&group_by=year
Caecilia Pieri. âCan T-Wall Murals Really Beautify the Fragmented Baghdad? https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30661
âMichael Rackowitz Brings Destroyed Iraqi Art Back To Life.â Northwestern University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXG1cXxE1Y
Joshua Craze. âJunk Empire.â https://canopycanopycanopy.com/contents/junk-empire
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Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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Episode Artwork: Berghan Oil Fire. Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bergan_oil_field_fire.jpg
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âItâs Brutal!â Trump, Architecture, and American Authoritarianism. (Weird Little Architects Part II). E08.
In this follow up to our episode on Trumpâs âWeird Little Architectsâ (E06) we examine the ways that architecture has been instrumentalized by the Trump administration. Through a close look at the Executive Order âMaking Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,â and at administration comments around the renovation of the White House, we show how architecture is used by the administration to advance its authoritarian and white supremacist projects.
Major sections include:
Trumpâs Architecture Program. 00-37:00
Fascist Aesthetics and the Demolition of the White House. 37:00-56:00
Brutalism and Modernism as a Contrast to the Trump Agenda. 56:00-81:00
We used clips from:
âJustin Shubow Interviewed About Brutalism on Newsmax – Greg Kelly Reportsâ https://youtu.be/OFRpqpdCikw?si=clvtWq8TSQEO1viR
âStephen Miller: East Wing was Cheaply Built, Long Overdue for Renovation.â https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383815895112
Zoolander (2001)
References:
Krugman, Paul. 2025. âTrumpâs Gilded Ballroom and the Fall of the American Republic.â https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-gilded-ballroom-and-the-fall
Koldehoff, Stephen and Tobias Timm. 2025. Donald Trump Has a History of Pulverizing Historic Buildings. Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/donald-trump-bonwit-teller-friezes-met-2132673
Benjamin, Walter. 1935. âThe Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.â
Medovoi, Leerom. 2012.
âDogma-Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.â Social Text. 30 (2 (111)): 43â74. https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-1541754Compagnon, Madeline. 2020. âWhat Makes a âBeautifulâ Federal Building?â JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/what-makes-a-beautiful-federal-building/
Volner, Ian. 2020. âTrump Canât Make Architecture Great Again Without an Infrastructure Plan.â Artnews. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/columns/trump-make-architecture-great-again-maga-classicism-1202677813/
We used a quotation: âThe Democrat Partyâs main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,â which should be attributed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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We invited Nick Sturm to join us to tell us about his recent Defector article, âGood Riddance to The Best American Poetry.â Nick tells us about the reactionary ideals which shaped the poetry anthology series and how these reactionary ideals influence American politics and the wider world of poetry.
Nick Sturm teaches at Georgia State University in Atlanta. His book âPublishing the New York School: Small Press Communities and American Poetryâ will be published by Columbia University Press. Nick is also in the research stage on another book-length project, âThe Poetry Business,â that examines the role of the state, nonprofits, universities, and philanthropy in the professionalization of American poetry. A few other forthcoming projects include a chapter on poet Frank O’Hara’s publishing history in âFrank OâHara in Contextâ from Cambridge University Press; editing âThe Collected Poems of Jim Brodeyâ for Nightboat Books; and a chapter on the relationship between federal arts funding and small press editorial practices in âThe Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary Editing.â
You can find Nickâs article, âGood Riddance to The Best American Poetryâ here: https://defector.com/good-riddance-to-the-best-american-poetry
In our conversation, Nick mentions Jonathan Whiteâs article, âThinking Generations:â https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/49483/1/White_thinking_generations.pdf
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Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado:
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In this episode, we tell you about the weird little architects in Trumpâs orbit and their plans to remake DC.
References
The National Civic Art Society: www.civicart.org
Website for Michael Curtis, the artist member of the NCAS https://theclassicalartist.com/statues
Video: Washington the Classical City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LkKnhtOPnc
âHegelâs Aesthetics.â In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-aesthetics/
Cole, Bruce. Art From the Swamp: How Washington Bureaucrats Squander Millions on Awful Art. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Swamp-Washington-Bureaucrats-Squander/dp/1594039968
Video: Roger Scruton: Why Beauty Matters. https://vimeo.com/549715999
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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Colin and Mariel watch “Style Wars,” a classic documentary about New York City graffiti in 1982, and explore what this documentary can tell us about the politics of today.
References:
Style Wars (1982): https://youtu.be/CO9YgJXzRmk?si=Alsm22cBTOlZxOY1
Footage of the Burning of the Bronx from the 1977 World Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVH-BE9CUo
Interview with Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant. Hip Hop Slam: https://www.hiphopslam.com/articles/artic_StyleWarsDVD.html
Map: âHow the Burning of the Bronx led to the Birth of Hip Hop,â originally from âNonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlasâ Joshua Jelly-Shapiro and Rebecca Solnit eds. Featured on Independent Lens. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/how-the-burning-of-the-bronx-led-to-the-birth-of-hip-hop/
Rahn, Janice. âPainting Without Permissionâ https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/painting-without-permission-9780897898102/
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Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p
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Public Art On Trial:
In this episode, we examine the ways that major funders of public art in the US have often sought to use public art as a tool of social engineering. What did these funders hope that public art would achieve? And were they successful in their efforts to transform the social life of American cities? We will look at a number of high profile public art projects and controversies and attempt to evaluate the goals and impacts of public art in the US.
References:
Richard Serra Interview 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgtcyuXQ4T4
The Trial of Tilted Arc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxyhgUAYvB4
Kwon, Miwon. âOne Place After Another: Site Specific Art and Locational Identity.â https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262612029/one-place-after-another/
For info on urban renewal and Calder Plaza: Michigan Live: Awash in concrete: How Calder Plaza came to be: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2016/10/grand_rapids_urban_renewal_exp.html
Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k
Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p
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The internationally famous graffiti artist, Banksy, has made 3 trips to Palestine, where he has attempted to use graffiti art to build solidarity with the Palestinian cause. What are the possibilities and limits of this form of artistic solidarity?
References:
Dan Brooks âBanksy and the Problem with Sarcastic Art.â NYT. Sept 10 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/magazine/banksy-and-the-problem-with-sarcastic-art.html
Amahl Bishara. âBackstories: U.S. News Production and Palestinian Politics.â 2012. https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/back-stories
Shuruq Harb: âDonât Confuse Me With The Monkey: On Banksyâs Walled Off Hotel.â Ocula. July 21 2017. https://ocula.com/magazine/spotlights/dont-confuse-me-with-the-monkey-on-banksys-wa/
Jennifer Lynn Kelly. âInvited To Witness: Solidarity Tourism Across Occupied Palestine.â 2023. https://www.dukeupress.edu/invited-to-witness
Channel 4 News. âBanksy documentary: Welcome to the Banksy art hotel in Bethlehem.â 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMS6Ds3qryY&ab_channel=Channel4News
BanksyFilm. âMake this the year YOU discover a new destination.â 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e2dShY8jIo&ab_channel=banksyfilm
The Guardian. âAfter Banksy: The Parkour Guide to Gaza.â 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuHsRm5FBvA&ab_channel=TheGuardian
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Episode Photo By Maureen from Buffalo, USA – West Bank wall at Kalandia, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118005802
Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p
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Colin interviews Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendon of Memorialize the Movement about their experiences as Black activists working to preserve art from the 2020 uprising in Minneapolis. Kelly and McLendon offer insight into the racial politics of art preservation.
Links and References:
Memorialize the Movement: https://www.memorializethemovement.com/
Art and Artifact: Murals from the Minneapolis Uprising: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517918989/art-and-artifact/
Preservation for the People Podcast: https://blackartconservators.com/podcast/
Monument Labâs National Monument Audit: https://monumentlab.com/audit
Jenn M. Jackson: âThe Militancy of (Black) Memory: Theorizing Black-Led Movements as Disjunctures in the Normativity of White Ignorance.â https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933
Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p
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On Trump’s obsession with and confederate statues. Recorded before the announcement that Trump would restore the confederate monument at Arlington and other monuments taken down in 2020.
References:
Cox, Karen.2019. Dixies Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and The Preservation of Confederate Culture. UP Florida. https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813064130
Southern Poverty Law Center map of confederate symbols, âWhose Heritageâ: https://www.splcenter.org/whose-heritage-map/
A Pinterest of statue toppling images from 2020: https://pin.it/1vCPFbp6F
Clips:
CNN: Trump on Removal of Confederate General: Is George Washington Next? Aug 15 2017 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10157182610776509
CNBC: President Donald Trump on Charlottesville: You Had Very Fine People on Both Sides. Aug 15 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmaZR8E12bs
Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
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