Rebel Spirit

Thoughtful, entertaining, relevant, informative, and giving me all sorts of ideas about how to have conversations around whitewashing and history. In Minnesota a law was recently passed that will make the final holdouts (there was a big shift in the 1990s to get rid of mascots using Indigenous People and culture) of schools who are using racist mascots to make the change or face state funding deficits due to insubordination. Episode two gives a great response to when folx say, "you are erasing history!" You will have to listen to the podcast and find out.

I am SO happy to have Akilah back in my ears after all this time!! So happy that I am reviewing this podcast which I never remember to do!! Akilah is the same wonderful host fans of What A Day adored. Her sense of humor is silly, yet biting, and her reporting style is both no-holds-barred and deeply empathetic. She is a fantastic writer, researcher, and storyteller who takes her very important work seriously, yet isn’t afraid to commit to a bit and laugh when something’s funny (or when the alternative is to cry or scream in frustration). This story is one anyone from the southern United States and probably a fair few other places will find familiar, told in a way that is impossible to stop listening to. I can’t wait to hear the rest! Go, Akilah!

As someone who went to high school in the south, I’m really enjoying this podcast and the deep dive into history. My school didn’t have a Confederate mascot, but the “lost cause” mythology is rampant in the south. An interesting, engaging podcast dealing with the history of Confederate mascots in schools.

This is such an incredibly clever idea executed as near-perfectly as possible. A great balance of humor, history and unexpectedly uplifting moments. This podcast makes me (a perpetual cynic) believe that perhaps there IS hope for this country after all.