Alek and Doug return from yet another involuntary hiatus to chat with Rock Island, Illinois native and Creative Aubrey “Aubs.” Barnes. The trio talks about Aubrey’s latest published work “it is Written. it is Good.”, their hip-hop and rap influences, mental health, education, open mics, rap battles, and antiracism.
Culture
Topics for this week’s episode of NerdPop Radio include:
Mandalorian season 4
Kenobi
New Pokémon trailer
What Pokémon games are you familiar with?
Drew’s board games
Were you disappointed when Grogu chose Mando over Luke?
Post Malone album
What would be your Vecna song?
Does Facebook have an end date?
Fast food or junk food?
Pride
Umbrella academy season 3
The Boys season 3
Morbius returns to theaters
Listen to the debut episode of NerdPop Radio, a pop-culture talk show with a heavy dose of nerdom, featuring Michael “Hogey” Hogoboom, Levi Nerad, and Madalyn Williams.
WSV’s Nancy Boyd writes, “I find that life surely does not give us any promises that all will be easy, good or fair. Often these days we are so inundated with negativity, hatred and discord, that we may easily find ourselves buried underneath it all. I only know that for me, my faith is the only thing that is predictable, even though it does not come with a guarantee that life will go according to plan.”
In this week’s #MomLife, Steph Hightree laments over the burdens of motherhood in sickness and in health.
The Riviera Theatre is a staple of downtown Three Rivers, and so too is its longstanding tradition of screening live action, animated, and documentary Oscar Shorts. After a short hiatus due to the pandemic, the series will return tonight beginning at 6 p.m.
WSV’s Aundrea Sayrie writes, “Worthy causes have always required allies. Thankfully the work of past generations has not been in vain because inhumane and cruel social constructs have been eradicated but the fact remains there is still need for progress on many fronts. There is still a need for advocacy and activism. This is because although the month of February is coming to a close, Black history, Black joy, Black exploitation, Black pain, and racism isn’t over.”
Content Warning: The following contains unsettling and graphic details concerning the life of Sarah Baartman. Baartman was sold into slavery, and put on exhibit as a “freakshow attraction” due to her naturally curvaceous body. She endured unimaginable cruelty as she was sexually exploited for others’ profit. This piece is intended to educate and bring a broader awareness of racist colonial exploitation, and the dehumanization of Black people. Reader discretion is advised.
Zora Neale Hurston is most famous as a fiction writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Her most famous book became the 2005 movie of the same name: Their Eyes Were Watching God. Yet this remarkable, and controversial woman was also a notable cultural anthropologist — and a student of the “father of American anthropology” Franz Boas — whose contributions have only recently begun to be appreciated.
Charlotta Bass is believed to be the first African-American woman to own and operate a newspaper in the United States, and was the first African-American woman nominated for vice president.
Sow Good Seeds columnist Deborah Haak-Frost writes, “This isn’t a call to abandon grocery stores and restaurants, and start threshing wheat in our backyards to make bread in wood-fired ovens, but it is an invitation to reconsider how we see our time, skills, and the story of our food in today’s world.”
Gloria Richardson Dandridge was the first woman in the United States to lead a civil rights movement outside of the Deep South as co-founder of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC).
Author Matthew Roberson stops by Keep Your Voice Down to discuss his forthcoming novel “Interim,” set to be released in March, and all things writing. Doug, Alek, and Matt talk process, influence, young writers’ dependence on film, television, and video games in lieu of reading literature, and Central Michigan University where Matt teaches creative writing.
WSV’s Charles Thomas writes, “The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu was one of the great spiritual giants of our time, so when I learned that he had once visited our fair city of Three Rivers, I was shocked.”
WSV reader Jonathan Rice writes, “The old Blackberrys stopped working a little while ago. I remember the first time I saw someone use a Blackberry, I was with a coworker. She pulled out a calculator, did some math, and then she put the calculator up to her ear and started talking to herself. ‘Oh s**t,’ I thought. She’s lost it.”
Ana Luis and Malachi A+scribe look back at this season’s episodes (1-13ish) of The Unconditional Series for final reflections and A+scribe’s personal unconditioning journey in Part I of this episode. In Part II, the dynamic duo recap the final installments of The Unconditional Series (12-17), and reflect on the season as a whole, while looking forward to Season 3.
WSV’s Steph Hightree writes, “You know the old saying ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees?’ Well, I have a secret to tell you: They were right, it doesn’t. Let’s talk money in this week’s #MomLife.”
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