Send us a text Grab a notebook, everyone—you're gonna want to write some stuff down! Mandy took three pages of notes while talking to David Stovall about Critical Race Theory. We talk about what it is, what it isn't and why everyone if freaking the fuck out. If you've heard some of the arguments but don't know exactly how to educate people or respond to detractors, this is the podcast for you. Definitely master class material! Listen to hear how we get from CRT to George Washington's dentures to...
Jun 25, 2021•55 min
Send us a text You've probably never heard of the Veiled Prophet Ball. Ellie Kemper definitely wishes she hadn't at this point. The gist - it's a twisted southern debutante/racist rich white person party that started in the late 1800s. Kemper was crowned the ball's Veiled Prophet Queen of Love and Beauty in 1999. After photos surfaced recently, Kemper apologized for her involvement. We're not really throwing shade on Kemper so much as we are the ball itself and the white lady involvement from th...
Jun 22, 2021•31 min
Send us a text We had the honor of talking to Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers , historian and author of They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South . Listeners of the podcast already know how much we revere her work and have learned from reading her research. It is even more enlightening to talk with Stephanie and learn about her background and approach to this topic and get her thoughts and advice for what it means for white women today. Petty detectives unite! For links...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Send us a text Ahhh, Joe Manchin. Not a white woman, obviously, but we will get back to Krysten Sinema another episode. Just a quick mini-update on Joe, still being Mitch McConnell's best friend and doing Mitch's job of obstructing any progress we had hoped of attaining with the senate elections in Georgia. And while trying to appear principled about it, it's all just a scam, because it turns out Joe is also a hypocrite. Because, of course he is....
Jun 15, 2021•18 min
Send us a text TW/CW: Today we are discussing sexual violence, assault and rape during slavery. Any discussion of slavery would be incomplete without acknowledging the sexual violence that was perpetrated against enslaved people by their owners - men and women alike. As with other aspects of slavery, white women were far from innocent or ignorant regarding sexual intimidation, assault and rape....
Jun 11, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Send us a text Today's episode delves into the details of white women's involvement in the markets where enslaved humans were bought and sold, and how very, very much these women knew and participated in this commerce. We also get into the details you never learned about in the Dred Scott Supreme Court case. You might remember that this case determined the Constitution never meant for Black people to be citizens, regardless of their status as enslaved or free (in which case you remember more tha...
Jun 04, 2021•53 min
Send us a text The history of wet-nursing predates US slavery, but investigating the forced labor of enslaved women as wet nurses brings in many different layers of trauma between Black and white women. Many of us have encountered the concept of a wet nurse before, but everything that went into this practice, from the timing of pregnancies, to the loaning or selling of black women as wet nurses, to the disregard for the biological children of Black women and their needs...it's a whole dark, deva...
May 28, 2021•54 min
Send us a text Today we're discussing how Nikole Hannah-Jones got done dirty by UNC-Chapel Hill. In a definitely political move, UNC announced the Knight Chair recipient would not get automatic tenure, as was previously routine, but would have a five-year contract that would consider tenure after that point. Given the controversy around Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project and what we learn about the conservative agenda of North Carolina's board of governors (heyyyy, Art Pope ) and broader movements to in...
May 26, 2021•37 min
Send us a text In this episode we're looking at the three commonly discussed historical myths regarding the white women involved in the enslavement of African people in the United States. 1. White women weren't legally able to participate in the slave trade 2. White women weren't physically strong enough to be slave masters 3. White women had "uniquely feminine" ways of managing enslaved people We talk about where these myths came from and the evidence that exists to prove that they are bogus tr...
May 22, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Send us a text This minisode visits a very white lady topic: the Jane Austen House Museum. Mandy announces her disdain for romantic classic literature, and Katy outs herself as a gas station smut-lit aficionado. But we're both here for the Austen museum's decision to include more context to Austen's writing by addressing the roles of colonialism and slavery in her history. Yet, not everyone is on board....ahem, white ladies. Shout out to Vanessa Riley 's insightful op-ed in the Washington Post :...
May 18, 2021•18 min
Send us a text It's Season 2! This one's going to be hard and dark, and while it's a history we abhor, it is also one that is important to know. We're calling this season "The Haters" and focusing on the women involved in the dirtiest institutions of white supremacy. Starting right off the line with the kidnapping and enslavement of African people, we're learning that white women were deliberately and intricately involved in upholding slavery. It's going to take some time to sort through, so pre...
May 14, 2021•1 hr 8 min
Send us a text It's the first minisode of Season 2! And, in true ODL minisode fashion, it's not that mini. But when you're talking about white lady fuckery, there's just a lot to cover. This minisode is a Local Laundry and Katy takes us to Cleveland in the early 60's to talk about school segregation. While we have plans to get deep into the soiled undergarments of public schooling and white-ladyness later this season, help yourself to this little pre-wash cycle!...
May 11, 2021•40 min
Send us a text We're gearing up for Season 2, but had a quick minisode (that obviously turned not-so-mini) to discuss some legislative issues and just general ranting! We're taking the rest of the week off to keep prepping for the next history lessons, so enjoy a longer mini today!
May 04, 2021•48 min
Send us a text Wow! January 6, 2021 will be a day in US history books, but it was also the day we put out our first episode! Nearly four months later, we wrap up the voting rights season of Our Dirty Laundry. It was more than we ever could have imagined. We were challenged, we were horrified, we were inspired, and you came along with us. Join us to debrief and hear some listener take-aways. (And TW: there's a couple gross stories about mice in the beginning. Apologies.)...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Send us a text We've spent this series airing the dirty laundry of white women in the history of voting rights in this country. Along the way, we have mentioned the names of several women of color, also fighting for those rights, who were often harmed by the women we associate with the suffrage fight. Today we learn about six women who don't commonly make it into the histories we are taught regarding suffrage. These women fought from the margins, frequently at the risk of their own lives, but th...
Apr 24, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Send us a text TW/CW: This episode contains explicit content regarding allegations of rape and racial violence. In this minisode, we learn about the 1919 murder of Will Brown after he is accused of rape by a white woman, Agnes Loeback Hoffman. What follows is known as the Omaha Race Riot of 1919—one of the most grotesque incidents of white supremacist violence in U.S. history (and that's saying a lot because that history runs DEEP). The background of this story includes political power struggles...
Apr 20, 2021•34 min
Send us a text We could all use a little inspiration and hope, and Bree Carlson brings them both. Bree has been a racial justice educator and organizer for years and currently works with People's Action—a multi-racial, multigenerational coalition engaged in "joyful rebellion." She talks with us about multi-issue, multi-identity organizing, how Joe Biden's presidency could be the most progressive presidency in our history, and how to win where we can—but always keep insisting on more. Our convers...
Apr 16, 2021•46 min
Send us a text Yvette Rodriguez is Assistant Director of Programming for Multicultural Student Programs and Services at a predominantly white institution in the Midwest. A former graduate student of Katy's, she started listening to Our Dirty Laundry, and then started a podcast club with interested coworkers to discuss episodes of the show. We are so honored to talk to Yvette about that experience and the work she is doing as a woman of color leading justice work with white folks....
Apr 13, 2021•30 min
Send us a text We cannot adequately explain how excited we are to put out this episode with guest host, Kate Schatz. Best selling author, educator and co-conspirator, Kate has graciously offered her time and knowledge to inspire us with stories of lesser-known white women from whom we can actually learn some positive lessons. In our inaugural laundry session with Kate, we are learning about Lillian Smith. Coined “Jane the Baptist”, a woman who came “too soon” for her Southern contemporaries, and...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Send us a text If you haven't heard of Rachel Hollis - good for you, wear that badge with pride. However...she's definitely piling up the dirty laundry and making a damn mess, in spite of the fact that she has a housekeeper (it's related, just listen). If you're still confused after this episode, and even if you aren't, please also listen to some of the black and brown women that have broken this issue down very succinctly for us. Follow them, support them monetarily, spread their work. And Rach...
Apr 06, 2021•21 min
Send us a text The Voting Rights Act of 1965 put America (and specifically the deep South) on a voting restriction time out. Unfortunately, white supremacy is a petulant toddler and didn't learn a damn thing. We talk about exactly what the Voting Rights Act did, how Shelby County v. Holder gutted it and how we ran right back to our present day fuckery.
Apr 02, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Send us a text We've already warned you: beware of white ladies and anniversaries; now we're here to tell you, this applies to marble statues, too. Learn all about the Portrait Monument in this minisode - a piece commissioned by Alice Paul to commemorate Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony...and some nebulous pile of unfinished rock looming behind them, whose meaning is up for debate (according to us). What do you think we should do with these statues? How do they influenc...
Mar 30, 2021•18 min
Send us a text With the poll tax repealed, what would white women turn their attention to next in the fight for voting rights? Good question. Without a good answer. In this episode we discuss disenfranchisement of Asian populations and then get into the Civil Rights movement as it related to voting rights up to the 1960s. Whether it be the hand of history leaving out the details, or the general absence of white women in the fight for rights that weren’t directly related to them, there’s not a lo...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Send us a text This is our first Local Laundry minisode and we're starting in Atlanta. With heavy and very angry hearts, we discuss the latest act of white-male-supremacist-terrorism and murder in Atlanta last week and why we need to educate ourselves and watch our reactions to the news coming out of this latest incident of AAPI hate crimes. Then Katy teaches us about the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906. We've mentioned it before, and we will keep getting deeper into this framing of "protecting white ...
Mar 24, 2021•27 min
Send us a text The 19th Amendment passed in 1920, but, as one of the few things we probably do remember from history class, that definitely wasn’t the end of the fight for voting rights. And although we learned the names of the prominent women of the suffrage movement (leaving out their racism and classism, of course), we didn’t hear much about the actions of white women in the years after suffrage “won.” In this episode, we discuss where white women got involved in the movement against voter su...
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Send us a text The whole world is talking about it, so you better bet we have something to say! We break down the royal racism Dirty Britches style. We discuss how you can't win in a system built on your oppression no matter how well you seem to do, why Kate can and should speak up (even though we know she won't), and how Sharon Osbourne pulled out all of the white lady tropes for her cringe-fest breakdown on The Talk. Plus, is it a brooch or a broach, and why the hell does anyone wear them anyw...
Mar 17, 2021•22 min
Send us a text In our last episode, we discussed Carrie Chapman Catt and her (blatantly racist) leadership in finally passing the 19th amendment. Today, we interview a current and former student at Iowa State University, involved in activism to rename a building on ISU campus named after Catt. The conversation, however, reaches far beyond Iowa and Catt herself. Wesley Harris and Allan Nosworthy gift us their experience and knowledge in community building, collective leadership and lifelong activ...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min
Send us a text It's Women's History month and in this minisode we are honoring and learning about the first female Chief of the Cherokee nation, Wilma Mankiller. Shout out to Myisha T. Hill and her awesome group, Check Your Privilege, for putting her on our radar. We highly encourage you to follow @ckyourprivilege on Instagram and sign up for Myisha's amazing courses to advance your anti-racism journey. We get awe-inspired by the incredible journey of Mankiller and her community strengthening an...
Mar 09, 2021•23 min
Send us a text We cross the virtual finish line to the 19th Amendment...but, in an ending that will surprise no one by this point, the women we all learned about in history class got to the end of this race by tripping their fellow runners and erasing the contributions of those who paved the way for this eventual, partial victory. We learn you can't trust anniversaries penned by white women, and that it's about damn time to rewrite history....
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 26 min
Send us a text Taking a deeper dive into the dirty laundry basket of Jane Swisshelm. Often venerated in history as a feminist and abolitionist, Jane was also a down and dirty racist. Her anti-Native American writings and beliefs are frankly nauseating. Katy teaches us about the US-Dakota war in 1862 and Swisshelm's response and her continued demonization of Native people even as she worked for women's rights and the abolition of slavery. Jane deserves her spot in history, but not as a hero, rath...
Mar 02, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 4
