Episode 281: Critical Race Theory

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the current controversy over critical race theory.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: 

• A series of legislative bills seek to ban the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 public institutions. At CNN, Niki looked at how the controversy over journalist Nikole Hannah-Smith’s appointment at the University of North Carolina is part of this larger battle. Natalia referred to historian Jonathan Zimmerman’s book Whose America?

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed the new “Little Island” development in New York City, described in this Wall Street Journal interview with developers Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.
• Neil recommended historian Julie Golia’s book, Newspaper Confessions: A History of Advice Columns in a Pre-Internet Age.
• Niki reflected on Bob Dole and Michael Huffington blaming their election losses on immigrants in the 1990s.