Beth and Kelly are hoping the title alone will launch Strange Country into a culture war or at least get you to listen. In today's episode, Beth and Kelly are joined by in-house artist expert Terry to talk about an early culture war focused on government funding of the arts. In 1989, Andres Serrano's photograph of a crucifix immersed in a tank of his own urine ignited a culture war. And culture wars continue to rage to this day, leading some to ponder such enduring issues like whether woke made the girl M&M less sexy.

Theme music: Big White Lie by A Cast of Thousands.

Cite your sources:

Ansar, Hibah. "Revisiting the NEA Four: Free Speech Battles in the Arts." ACLU, 8 September 2025, https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/revisiting-the-nea-four-free-speech-battles-in-the-arts. Accessed 18 August 2026.
 
Butler, Isaac. The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. Bloomsbury USA, 2026.
 
Cantor, Matthew. "'A proxy for America's culture war': why Cracker Barrel's new logo sparked ire on the right." The Guardian, 28 August 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/28/cracker-barrel-logo-trump. Accessed 23 August 2026.
 
Hagan, Lisa, and Jeff Brady. "Gas stoves became part of the culture war in less than a week. Here's why." NPR, 21 January 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/01/21/1150397853/gas-stoves-became-part-of-the-culture-war-in-less-than-a-week-heres-why. Accessed 23 August 2026.
 
Hogan, Joseph, director. When Art Fuels Anger, Who Should Prevail? 2023. Retro Report, https://retroreport.org/video/when-art-fuels-anger-who-should-prevail/. Accessed 17 August 2026.

Serrano, Andres. "2022 GIA Conference: Andres Serrano" Grantmakers in the Arts, Keynote address, YouTube, uploaded by Grantmakers in the Arts, 10 October 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P9rGvqa03M&t=30s

Smith, David. "'People are picking the dumbest fights': the tortured history of America's culture wars." The Guardian, 15 July 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/15/culture-wars-isaac-butler-interview. Accessed 23 August 2026.
 
Walker, Michael Wingfield. "Artistic F tistic Freedom v eedom v. Censorship: The Aftermath of the NEA . Censorship: The Aftermath of the NEA's New Funding Restrictions." Washington University Law Review, vol. 71, no. 3, 1993, p. 21. Washington University Law Review, https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1800&context=law_lawreview. Accessed 18 August 2026.
 
 

Rss Apple Podcaster
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör Strange Country. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Strange Country och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.