Episode description

Julio and guest co-host Fernanda Santos discuss the reelection of Tennessee state Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones and the move by New York City Mayor Eric Adams to relocate migrants seeking shelter. In our roundtable, Dr. Aria S. Halliday, associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky, joins them in Barbieland to break down the legacy of Black Barbie.

ITT Staff Picks:

• Michelle Boorstein discusses the changing role of the Black church in liberation politics through the new sensation known as ‘The Justins,’ in this article for The Washington Post.

• Daniel Parra exposes the labor scam practiced by many New York City employment agencies, which often illegally charge immigrants upfront fees for their services, in this article for City Limits.

• “Whether you’re skipping Barbie in protest of its mega-corporation backer or standing in line for the film as we speak, it’s worth remembering the ways in which the 64-year-old doll has cemented unattainable societal expectations into our general consciousness, and how artists have used Barbie to dismantle the very ideas she represents,” writes Elaine Velie, in this article for Hyperallergic.

Photo credit: Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Mattel