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On this week’s episode of the Waves, Christina, Rachelle, and Briahna talk Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, unpacking the film’s depiction of political demonstrations, the intersection of art and activism, and the arc of Tessa Thompson’s character, Detroit. Then they consider the criminalization of motherhood and the simultaneous rise of the “free-range kids” movement. How do race and class factor into the way parents are perceived and punished? Finally, the hosts discuss Nia Wilson, the recent uptick in violence against women and marginalized communities, and who’s allowed to be a victim. How likely is it that the man who killed her will be charged with a hate crime, and how much does it matter if he is?
Slate Plus: Is it sexist to make fun of the Courtney/Alex wedding debacle?
Other items discussed on the show:
- “You Say You Want a Revolution? The Anti-Capitalist Film Sorry to Bother You Shows the Way,” by Briahna Gray, in the Intercept
- “Tessa Thompson Says Sorry to Bother You Character Detroit ‘Really Did Scare Me a Little Bit,’ ” by Janice Williams, in Newsweek
- “10 Pieces of Modern Art That Shocked the World” in the Telegraph
- “How to Get Tessa Thompson’s Sorry to Bother You Beauty Looks in Real Life,” by Erica Smith, in the Cut
- “Spanish Taxis Block Roads in ‘Anti-Uber’ Protest,” from the BBC
- “Amazon Employees Are Using Prime Day to Push for Better Working Conditions,” by Chavie Lieber, in Vox
- “Motherhood in the Age of Fear,” by Kim Brooks, in the New York Times
- “The Day I Left My Son in the Car,” by Kim Brooks, in Salon
- “ ‘Free-Range’ Parenting’s Unfair Double Standard,” by Jessica McCrory Calarco, in the Atlantic
- “Foster Care as Punishment: The New Reality of ‘Jane Crow,’ ” by Stephanie Clifford and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, in the New York Times
- “Nia Wilson Had Big Plans. Then She Was Killed in a BART Station,” by Matthew Haag, in the New York Times
- “Anne Hathaway Attacks ‘White Privilege’ After Death of Black Teenager in California,” by Catherine Shoard, in the Guardian
- “ ‘It Could Have Been Any One of Us’: Muslim Community Mourns Murdered Teen Nabra Hassanen,” by Christina Cauterucci, in Slate
- “Bride Fires Bridesmaid in Painfully Awkward Email, and the Reactions Are Brutal,” by Kayleigh Roberts, in Elle
Recommendations:
- Rachelle: MTV’s Are You the One?
- Christina: OI Parker’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
- Briahna: Ongoing congressional and gubernatorial races, particularly Abdul El-Sayed’s, and the Netflix series GLOW
This podcast was produced by Danielle Hewitt. Our production assistant is Alex Barasch.
The Waves plugs: Please remember to like our Facebook page. Send your emails to thewaves@slate.com. Tell us what we should cover in the next episode.
