The Scoop on Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions with Author and Professor Francesca T. Royster
Pop Literacy
Francesca T. Royster’s Black Country Music: Listening for Revolutions is a vital read that helps us to understand how country music got whitewashed, stripping it of its distinctly African American origins in slavery and its aftermath, and shows us how embracing that history will only enrich the form. Royster weaves Black, queer, and feminist scholarship into her analysis, but even more compellingly, she brings her own experiences as a Black, queer country fan to bear on her exploration of Black artists in country’s past and present. Through engaging essays, she explores Tina...
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Michael Ausiello and the Making of Spoiler Alert
Pop Literacy
TV journalist Michael Ausiello wrote a 2017 memoir called that detailed his 13-year relationship with his husband Kit Cowan, who, in a devastating turn, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and, as the title tells us, died. Not to sound jaded, but there are a lot of memoirs about cancer and death. This book, however, is special because it’s so specific and true and willing to get into the gory details—the goriest being the details of their living, breathing, changing relationship. The heartbreaking ending aside, it’s one of the best memoirs you’ll read about real adults trying...
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Life’s Work: A Memoir, from One of TV’s All-Time Greatest Writers
Pop Literacy
Consider this a Pop Literacy year-end gift: the recommendation of a deeply engrossing read for the average book fan, an extra fantastic read for writers of all mediums and genres, and a round-up of some of the finest dramas to ever unfold on the small screen. All those things come courtesy of Life’s Work: A Memoir, the personal and professional autobiography – and unofficial writing how-to – from Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Deadwood creator and writer David Milch. Milch, also a former Yale professor and writer and producer of some of the most iconic episodes of seminal...
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And It All Started with The Big Bang (Theory)
Pop Literacy
The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons, 279 episodes, on CBS, and continues to be a pop culture presence with its frequent re-airings on cable, permanent home on HBO Max, and its spin-off life with the CBS hit Young Sheldon. With its spot in television history firmly secured, the series was due for a comprehensive chronicle of its success, and journalist and author Jessica Radloff’s New York Times bestseller is just what the Big Bang fan ordered. Radloff’s coverage of The Big Bang Theory as a Senior West Coast Editor at Glamour...
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Black Hollywood with Carell Augustus
Pop Literacy
Carell Augustus’s brilliant and beautiful photography book Black Hollywood reimagines, and restages, iconic Hollywood moments from the likes of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Singin’ in the Rain, and Mission Impossible with Black entertainers at their center. The work allows Black people to see themselves as part of the fabric of Hollywood history and also inherently questions American entertainment’s shameful history of erasing and sidelining people of color. The photos include Vanessa L. Williams, Dulé Hill, Karamo Brown, and many others. The work is probably best...
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The Tragedy and Triumph of George Michael, with James Gavin
Pop Literacy
James Gavin’s stunning biography of pop star George Michael—simply entitled George Michael: A Life—dives deep into an enigmatic, charismatic figure who dominated pop music in the 1980s and ‘90s, but never seemed to find peace and happiness. James’s thorough and riveting account of Michael’s life traces how his battles with his own sexuality, his larger-than-life image, tabloid taunting, and his massive insecurities kept him from fully embracing his extraordinary talent and accomplishments. We talk with James about Michael’s struggle to be taken seriously, his...
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Summer Rerun | The ‘Jenny from the Block’ Video: A Historical Analysis
Pop Literacy
The episode originally aired July 23, 2019. Jennifer Lopez turns 50 this month and is at the top of her game: dancing her way through an international tour, engaged to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, and managing to be one of the few massive pop stars with lots of loyal fans and relatively few haters. But it wasn’t always thus. Her career hit a precarious point in 2002—when, yes, she was churning out hits, but the tabloids were constantly on her tail and media coverage spewed vitriolic hatred at her very public relationship with actor Ben Affleck (and even blamed her for his...
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Summer Rerun | Will 1990s Nostalgia Always Be the Best Nostalgia?
Pop Literacy
This episode originally aired March 4, 2019. It was the decade of “The Macarena,” the O.J. Simpson trial, the teen pop boom, VHS tapes, and Nintendo. It was also before 9/11 and Columbine, a time when the nation hung on every lurid detail of the president’s sex life and the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan feud. Though 2000s nostalgia is on the way——it’s hard to let go of our nostalgia for what looks like our last relatively innocent decade from here. Is there something extra special about the ‘90s? We discuss with guest host Sam Slaughter, author of the forthcoming .
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Summer Rerun | The State of the Boy Band
Pop Literacy
This episode originally aired April 8, 2019 Boy bands as we know them have been around since New Edition got together in 1978—and now, they’re bigger than ever, thanks to online fandom. New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, O-Town, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men are among the groups who have recently been on tour or recorded new music. And the boy band legacy is evident in two recent developments: An excellent new YouTube Originals documentary, “,” tells the cautionary tale of the impresario behind Backstreet Boys and NSYNC; and, on the lighter side, a New Kids on the Block song,...
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Summer Rerun | 2000s Nostalgia: Yes, It’s Happening
Pop Literacy
This episode originally aired February 19, 2019. AOL Instant Messenger, the first iPods, Paris Hilton, emo, Mean Girls, The O.C., low-rise jeans… Now that it’s 2019, it’s time to prepare for a wave of 2000s nostalgia. Pop Literacy host Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is joined by guest co-host Andrea Bartz, author of the forthcoming 2009 nostalgia novel , to discuss what we miss most about the 2000s, from MySpace to the very first memes, The Osbournes to the rise of the Brooklyn hipster. We also discuss the innocence of a time before 24/7 social media saturation and...
info_outlineWhen Betty White died on New Year’s Eve, it was a shocker—even though she was 99 years, 11 months, and two weeks old. It seemed impossible to conceive of living in this world without White, who brought us so much joy via a television career that has spanned the entire length of the medium’s history.
We talk about the heartrending outpouring of celebrity grief that accompanied the news—including an amazing story involving Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt—and walk through the highlights of her career, from her pioneering days in early television, to her sitcom queen era on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, to her meme-friendly 2010s revival. Take a moment to stop and celebrate the extraordinary life of a true icon with us.
Read more:
- When Women Invented Television by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- How to Be Golden by Paula Bernstein
- Betty White: 100 Remarkable Moments in an Extraordinary Life by Ray Richmond
- My Little Golden Book About Betty White by Deborah Hopkinson
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