Bedrosian Bookclub Podcast

This is the last episode of the Bedrosian Bookclub in this incarnation, it's been a blast. We discuss the importance of The 1619 Project, the book, the project, and it's impact on our political discourse. Why should we pay attention to history, how does the historical narrative of a country affect the way we face the future? Aubrey Hicks is joined by Yesenia Hunter, LaVonna Lewis, Jen Bravo, and David Sloane in a conversation on the meaning and joy in the The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. Follow Aubrey on Twitter @AubreyHi for a new book club announcement soon! Catch up on past episodes in the meantime! Thanks to all the listeners, to all our guests (past and present), and to all the authors who help us think about the world we find ourselves awed by every day.

Three votes for Carribean Fragoza’s Eat the Mouth that Feeds You to be something every high school senior is exposed to. This debut collection of short stories is genius, this is late 20th early 21st century Southern California. This is Chicanx, this is Latinx, this is SoCal, this is women, this is body horror, magic realism all in 120 pages. Ten stories about place and placemaking, about community and how we lift each other up, or tear each other apart. A must read! “This collection of visceral, often bone-chilling stories centers the liminal world of Latinos in Southern California while fraying reality at its edges. Full of horror and wonder.”—Kirkus Reviews

Now, in the tail end of 2021, discourse about restorative justice and public safety lack imagination. We tend to “do what we’ve always done.” NYU Historian Nicole Eustace brings us the story of the search for justice following the 1722 murder of a Native American man at the hands of two White men. Covered With Night is a detailed history of how the Pennyslvania colony leaders had to learn to restore the peace – or face war – with the Five Nations. in particular, we bear witness to how the colonists never truly understood the peoples of the Haudenosaunee Confederation. In this month’s book club, we read a deep history of the fallout of a murder in the Penn colony. In this history, we learn that our laws have been around shorter than we care to remember and see alternative ways of coming to justice that have existed and thrived. A powerful tail of how we, as peoples, can live together with more equity and justice – how restorative justice has worked in the world, how it could again. If only we can listen and learn.

Ostensibly, House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, is about a young man who finds a manuscript in a dead man’s apartment. This experimental novel, released in 2000, takes a cinematic approach to the novel – creating a novel experience in time and space. The dead man, Zampano, was an elderly blind man writing an academic critique of The Navidson Record; a documentary about a family moving into a home in Virginia, which happens to be bigger on the inside. At the center of Danielewski’s work is the question, “What is real?” How do humans interact with the space they inhabit? How do they interact with the stories around them? Featuring: Zenya Prowell, Stacy Patterson, Lisa Schweitzer, and Jen Bravo

In Not a Nation of Immigrants, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz strives to look at the ever morphing population of the United States, to uncover the why and how of the mythology that pervades political discourse on American history. In part, Dunbar-Ortiz recognizes that the looming problems of climate change, polarization, and authoritarianism cannot be fought while sweeping the parts of our history we don't like under the rug. What does our history mean about who we are? Some of us are immigrants, some of us are descendants of colonizers, some of us are descendants of indigenous peoples, some of us are arrivants brought here through violence - either refugees or descendants of enslaved peoples. Compound these complex ancestries with the fact that many immigrants conform to the values of White Supremacy (become settlers) in order to assimilate. What can we learn from facing our complex history as told through the vast perspectives that make up our people?

An interview with author of Unconventional Combat, Michael A. Messner. Messner's latest book is an intimate look at 6 historically excluded veterans and their post military careers as activists in intersectional peace movements. Explore the ways these veterans are taking their situated knowledge to create a better future.  

A "canceled" influencer. A lonely man looking for attention. White men adrift in hoards, no memory of the violence or good they've done. Enter The Atmosphere, a new retreat where men can detox from social media and learn to become human again. A cult. This first novel from Alex McElroy is a doozy; capturing the manic craziness of the last decade, the sprint for the next cool thing, the quick turn from darling to pariah, the frenetic way we flit from one catastrophe to another.   Join us as host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Caroline Bhalla, Lisa Schweitzer, and Donnajean Ward to argue over McElroy’s The Atmospherians.

The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks is a necrography wherein each stolen item from Benin City is an ongoing event: each event a story of colonial violence told and retold through daily viewings by tourists and school children. It is also a "calling in" for museum curators to work toward a future of restitution; a future of museums free of stolen objects, cultures, and histories. Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Jen Bravo, David Sloane, and Donnajean Ward. For links and more visit our site.

This month we're thinking about history, collections, and stories. How do stories evolve over time, how do stories shape history, how do they make their way through time and space? Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novel The Shadow of the Wind is one of the best-sellingist books of all time. A story within a story, young Daniel finds a novel, The Shadow of the Wind, in the mysterious Cemetery of Forgotten Books. This simple event begins a lifetime of searching for the book's author, Julián Carax. Can stories pass the boundaries of time and space? How does a story move through history? How can a story temper or inflame  memory? Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Caroline Bhalla and Carla Della Gatta to discuss the novel on its 20th anniversary. For links and more, check out the showpage.

The Fact of a Body by *Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich is a true crime memoir. After encountering the child murderer Ricky Langley, Alexandria's desire to work as a lawyer to fight against the death penalty is up-ended. They spend several years investigating Ricky's story as a way to confront the story of their own child abuse. This is a deeply moving book, and a relatively easy read given the morose topic - a testament to the author's skill. Our conversation ranges from the effects of trauma on individuals and communities to the genre itself. If you haven't read it yet, beware that we assume you've read it, spoiler alert! Featuring Jeffery A. Jenkins (@jaj7d ‏), Lisa Schweitzer (@drschweitzer), Brettany K. Shannon (@brettanyshannon), and Deborah Winters *Please note that since recording in 2017, the author has designated a preferred pronoun of they/them/theirs; they are misgendered in the recording. Follow us on Twitter! @BedrosianCenter Special thanks to Flatiron Books for sending us review copies! To listen to the Bedrosian Book Club discussion of The Fact of a Body click the arrow in the player on this post. Or you can download it and subscribe through ApplePodcasts, Soundcloud, or Google Play https://bedrosian.usc.edu/bookclub/the-fact-of-a-body

Polarization is at a high point, political violence surrounds us, joblessness, homelessness, the country's need to face the great wrongs of the past, and the specter of climate change hanging over all of this. What if ...? What if we imagined a different future? How can we rethink leadership for a new age? How can we relate to one another amidst constant uncertainty? Can we rethink what a good life is and how we can go about it? How do we heal ourselves, our communities, and our planet? Listen as we discuss Emergent Strategy, by Adrienne Maree Brown for insights. Our guests include Jennifer Bravo, Megan Goulding, Jessica Payne, Founder, and Brettany Shannon. Thank you to Mockingbird Analytics for this partnership! For more about our guests, links to things we discuss, and more check out the showpage.

Activists, scientists, most of us ... we know that the truth of the climate crisis is monumental. It's overwhelming the size, scope, interconnectedness of the problem. All We Can Save asks us to rethink, reimagine, and co-create a possible future. It's easy to imagine the worst ... in this collection of essays and poems, the authors bring a unique clarity along with hope and optimism for solutions. We might not save everything ... let's work together to save all we can. Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Anna Cummins (The 5 Gyres Inst), Jen Bravo (Price Alum & Consultant), and Lauren Turk (Fera Zero). For links and more, check out the showpage.

Ostensibly, editor Gary Paul Nabhan's collection of friends' essays, The Nature of Desert Nature is about the desert. Rather ... it's human nature that we encounter delving into this collection of essays. The writers reminisce on their own beingness as they encountering one specific desert: the Sonoran. The Sonoron is the desert covers vast area in the Southwest United States and Northwest Mexico. Most of the essays focus on Tucson and its environs. For our guests, living on the edge of the desert also has meaning ...  what is the nature of desert nature? Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Caroline Bhalla and Stacy Patterson. For June, we're reading Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown! Join us for the LIVE Recording on Tue, June 22nd at 5pm pacific

Twilight of Democracy is a memoir. It is also a condemnation of the many intellectuals and opportunists who have not only given up on democracy, but given up on truth. Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning author, recalls the last 20 years in Poland, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and briefly, the United States. What drew many of people she thought of as friends, staunch anti-Communist conservatives, toward authoritarianism? This is the story of elites who think they're entitled, who crave power enough to wield conspiracism like a cudgel against the very institutions they once protected. Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Jen Bravo, Richard Green, Olivia Olson, and Lisa Schweitzer on this episode of the Bookclub.    

In direct contrast to the myth of the "American Dream," we live in a society in which factors outside of our control determine our fates. From skin color to zip code, only the lucky or exceptionally determined are able to break free of the invisible chains binding them to their caste. In Isabel Wilkerson's latest book, Caste, the Hindu caste system in India is a mirror to reflect how this invisible stratification continues to lock in inequity in the U.S.. This richly historic book uncovers how the Third Reich used the American caste system as a model for their dynasty in Germany. Then she uses personal stories, her own among them, to outline the harm and costs our caste system has reeked since 1619. Read the book, then listen to host Aubrey Hicks discuss the book with LaVonna Lewis, Christine Beckman, and Olivia Olson.  

What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be an individual, to have an identity? How does one become normal? Who gets to decide what is normal? In One of Us, Alice Domurat Dreger uses stories of conjoined twins to help readers through questions of identity, othering, and belonging. Aubrey Hicks is joined by Christine Beckman, Liz Falletta, and Lisa Schweitzer. We're reading Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum for March. Check out the whole list, click here.

"The first time I can remember feeling truly powerless, I was three, and I was trapped sideways in a bucket in the garage." The first line of Allie Brosh's latest illustrated memoir, Solutions and Other Problems, lets the audience know that we still can know what to expect her to say. Using short illustrated essays, stories of her life, Brosh walks us through a few important experiences. The absurdity, the childlike wonder, the laugh-out-loud humor contained in the stories all the while she shares her grief, depression, and anxiety is utterly relatable. In this, the first book we read this month, we discuss mental health and our various reactions to this treasure of a book. Aubrey Hicks is joined by Caroline Bhalla, Liz Falletta, and Stacy Patterson.

Reading A Promised Land by Barack Obama in January 2021 is a bit of a trip. In some places, the reader feels the swell of nostalgia, the remembrance of governance and a time free of COVID-19. Other times, the juxtaposition Obama's words, with a deep reverence for democracy, and the insurrection of January 6th feels painful.   A Promise Land is part one of what will be a two part Presidential memoir. Much of the book is process and policy heavy, giving the reader a close glimpse of the daily life of the leader of the free world. Even when the topic is heavy, Obama's writing lifts that heaviness and delivers a long fireside chat filled with the intelligence and humor we've come to associate with him.   Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by LaVonna Lewis, Olivia Olson, David Sloane, and Ehsan Zaffar. We discuss the things we missed, the things we loved, and the book that also needs be written - and whose responsibility that might be.   For links to some of the things we talked about, visit our showpage.

In our new series on Community Impact we speak with Victoria Ciudad-Real, John Roberson III, Gary Painter, and Jeffery Wallace about findings from their collaborative project Accelerating Fair Chance Hiring among Los Angeles employers. The project, in which the Price Center partnered with LeadersUp and the State of California Workforce Accelerator Fund, used an employer survey and co-design sessions with Angeleno employers to determine the best way forward with Fair Chance hiring processes. What can employers take away from this project? Find more about the findings: https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/fairchance/

Octavia Butler's 1993 novel, Parable of the Sower, was listed as a New York Times bestseller for the first time in September 2020. Parable is the story of a 15-year-old Black girl with plans to save civilization. Lauren was brought up in a small walled community in Southern California. America is in the middle of a heated election and facing deep ecological crisis, spreading disease, drug epidemics, sky-rocketing homelessness, and rampant poverty. She sees in these crises possibility for something more dire in her near future. When it happens, she's prepared with a way forward for herself and anyone willing to join her. Host Aubrey Hicks is joined by Jeffery A. Jenkins, Donnajean Ward, and Olivia Olson on this discussion of the prescient novel.