August 16 -- yesterday -- is kind of an oddly busy day in the history of popular culture. In 1954, the first issue of Sports Illustrated was published. In 1962, Pete Best was fired from The Beatles. In 1948, Babe Ruth died. In 1958, Madonna was born (and so she turned 60 yesterday). In 1977, Elvis Presley died. And yesterday, a new August 16th-shaped dot was added to the timeline of pop culture: the death of Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Soul was 76 years old.
And: The new Spike Lee joint, BlacKkKlansman, is set in 1970s Colorado Springs, Colo., and it tells a story that's about race relations in all of America right now, today. It's "a slapstick comedy, a blaxploitation throwback, and an incendiary Molotov cocktail thrown into the foray of the modern multiplex," and it's being called Lee's "hardest-hitting work in decades."
Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:
- Ruby Rose Quits Twitter Following 'Batwoman' Backlash
The Australian actress is set to be the first LGBTQ lead in a live-action superhero series. - In Conversation: Penn Jillette
Talking magic, truth, and Trump's alleged Apprentice tapes. - Nope, Those Aren't Mailboxes: Paris Rolls Out Sidewalk Urinals
- Doja Cat Just Started The Funniest New Meme With Her Song "Mooo!"
- 60 Times Madonna Changed Our Culture
- V.S. Naipaul, Who Explored Colonialism Through Unsparing Books, Dies at 85
GUESTS:
- Rand Richards Cooper - Contributing editor at Commonweal and writes the "In Our Midst" column for Hartford magazine
- Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks
- Rich Hollant - Principal and design director at CO:LAB; commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
