Quote:
"It's a heated field." —Otto Pippenger
About:
A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left.
Show Notes:
Quote:
"I'm a progressive, yeah." —U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
About:
A two-part story about a campaign trying to unseat Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her congressional seat leads to a much larger reckoning for the left.
Show Notes:
Quote:
“Where do you want to start?” —Farhad Azad
About:
Afghanistan has far too often been referred to as a place where countries go to die, it is a graveyard of empires.
This moniker has been cited so many times and for so long that it’s unclear who first said it. Even the Afghan community will recite this pride. But what a title like this fails to convey is that while this might be a country responsible for the many tombstones of others, it very well is also a moratorium of progress for itself, a state in perpetual arrested development.
This is also a cemetery for countless Afghans who, in more modern times, failed to see any empire rise.
Why do some countries get to debate their histories while others have their legacy determined by outsiders? And what gets lost along the way?
This is Part II of a multi-part story on how history, current events, and culture all complicate the Afghan identity.
Show Notes:
"You've got boys flying kites again..." —George W. Bush
About:
Oh, the privilege.
And what a privilege it is to publish a story about the broader theme of culture and identity, specifically for Afghanistan’s diaspora living in the States, like those on that third-culture-wave, when Afghans from the home country are left dealing with far harsher realities.
The diaspora’s dilemma pales in comparison (if you’re that foolish to try and compare the two) to their dilemma. No less, it is still a dilemma.
With that in mind, Part I of this multi-part story dives into that nebulous question...what does it really mean to be Afghan? Really, what does it mean to be from anywhere?
This is a tricky one.
Show Notes
This is a prologue to a multi-part series about the Afghan diaspora in America reclaiming their past and trying to grow from the present. It’s a story about culture, identity and authenticity.
Show Notes:
Quote: "We are all from Allah, and to Allah we return" —Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 156
About:
In mere weeks, this country has seen COVID-19-related deaths rise past casualty totals for past wars and surprise attacks, sometimes passing those records daily. It seems like every day is filled with death.
But this isn’t the first time humanity has faced a pandemic. And this isn’t the first time society has reckoned with death. Is this a punishment? Or is God to blame?
In this latest podcast episode, we turn to the past for guidance on how to deal with our present—and it too is a trip.
Show Notes:
Quote:
“Nobody wants to destroy the image of San Francisco.” —James Baldwin
About:
Whereas Part One looks into the origin of San Francisco’s F-word, and Part Two looks at the buildup and fallout of urban renewal in neighborhoods like Bayview-Hunters Point, Part Three looks at a far more sinister force and questions just how liberal and progressive this city really is.
Show Notes:
Quote:
“When I die, I’m dead.” —Eloise Westbrook
About:
Three horizontal stripes, red, black and green, add color to the streetlights and poles in and around the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood of San Francisco.
These Pan-African flags are a relatively new addition to the area. They were painted just about a year ago thanks to an initiative spearheaded by the neighborhood's local city supervisor, Malia Cohen.
“This is about branding the Bayview neighborhood to honor and pay respect to the decades of contributions that African-Americans have made to the southeast neighborhood and to the city,” she said in a statement.
But when compared to what’s going on in the neighborhood, these painted flags inadvertently serve as reminders of what this neighborhood once was and what it now isn’t. This used to be a place where you could be Black and thrive. You could find work and own a home. Now, not so much.
In Part II of this story about the term Frisco, we try and find out what happened.
Show Notes:
“The fans just want to know who the fuck the artist is.” —Andre "Herm" Lewis
About:
For a place that proudly heralds slogans like #BlackLivesMatter, the homes of San Francisco house very few Black people.
What’s happened to the African-American community in San Francisco is a much more complex tale than just being pushed out by young and transient up-and-comers. Instead, it involves a deeply-rooted history spread across generations with a comet-sized impact that is still being felt today.
And for the sake of this three-part story, it begins with the very polarizing San Francisco nickname: Frisco.
In Part I, we explore why some view this term to be as offensive as the F-word and spend some time with those who simply don’t give a fuck.
Show Notes:
[07:55] Light reading on past San Francisco Mayors like:
"They always leave when it gets hot in the cafe."
—Man counter-protesting protestors
About:
Since the turn of the millennium, the percentage of U.S.-based specialty coffee drinking folk, like those who have a cup everyday, has quadrupled. Travel to any major or minor city in the country, and you’ll see an offering of coffees that transcends the uniform Starbucks experience that’s on every block.
But the image that reflects after you place a mirror in front of any craft coffee company or cafe is a bit more clear, albeit unsettling. Stare at it long enough and you’ll come across matters like gentrification, the rise of the millennial-inspired yuppie wave and the old act of global economics, power dynamics and capitalism all at play.
This podcast episode explores the intricacies of coffee and attempts to answer two simple questions about one very complex drink. What makes specialty coffee special and who is it really for?
Show Notes:
79. More at thisissomenoise.com
Quote:
“The devil is always in the details, right?”
—Mark Baird
About:
If the State of Jefferson ever formed, it’s unlikely Anthony Bourdain would ever travel there for its pizza or burritos.
Mark Baird, the “unofficial” leader of the State of Jefferson movement, likes to think they’d be known for their buffalo burgers. Though, he’ll admit, he’s in the minority. Most people behind this movement, he says, would probably prefer beef.
Being in the minority is a feeling he’s had for quite some time. Living in Northern California with Baird’s heavy libertarian point-of-view would likely drive most people crazy, and out of the state.
But Baird wants to stay. He’d just prefer he was living in a new state, a State of Jefferson.
Feeling that he’s had no representation in how Sacramento operates, this semi-retired pilot and former buffalo rancher has spent the past several years convincing thousands of citizens along with cities, counties and mayors to join his grass-roots movement.
In Part II of II of this story, we ask how Baird plans to form this new state and look into the financials, legality and likelihood of whether the State of Jefferson can ever live up to being more than just a state of mind.
Show Notes:
“Mr. Statham, would you consider giving San Francisco to Hawaii?”
—Former Calif. Assemblyman Bill Morrow (Oceanside-R)
About:
If President Kennedy’s moon-shot set the tone that no challenge was too difficult, Donald Trump’s presidential victory reminds us that anything is possible, even creating a new U.S. state. In Northern California, like the proper north, there’s been a generation of folks who believe the time for 51 is now. And given the state of the current political landscape, now may be their best shot.
Far from the reach of Sacramento, they’re living off the dream of a failed 1941 movement to split from the Golden State and live out their ideals in the name of the late president Thomas Jefferson.
The first part of this two-part story welcomes you to the State of Jefferson. It’s an episode that dives into some of the history, the people, and most importantly, the reasons why thousands of ranchers, farmers and folks from Northern California passionately want nothing more than to leave.
Show Notes:
“Thank you Mr. Machine...or Ms. Machine?”
—John Zerzan
About:
What does one make of our future—like the one 50 years from now? The answer, or rather a possible answer, has a lot to do with choice and technology. Whether we survive or go extinct is, however, another question.
Show Notes:
"I am not the 'Boont' God."
—Rod DeWitt
About:
With wave after wave of socioeconomic changes crashing into the Anderson Valley, a quiet and historically agrarian area, the lifestyle that gave rise to Boontling is quickly fading away. The fate and the future of the kitschy tongue lies solely in how the community comes to terms with market forces, the environment and, most importantly, its values.
Show Notes:
“They’re living too fast.”
—Wes ‘Deacon’ Smoot
About:
It used to be that you could grow apples, herd sheep, or fell timber and make a decent living in the Anderson Valley. But not even the few stop signs in this remote valley could slow down the incoming cash crop of grapes. The area’s long legacy of logging now takes a backseat to its newer reputation of producing some of the world’s best pinot noir.
But how did a tucked-away valley 40 minutes from the Pacific Coast and the main highway all of a sudden become a major wine destination? And what toll did this have on a fractured community just reeling from the Redwood Summer days? And what does it mean for the future of the town's famous frontier language called Boontling?
Show Notes:
1. And about the time he went to jail. (The New York Times)
2. And about the time he repurchased the paper. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
3. And some more reading on Anderson's role in the valley. (SF Weekly)
“And I think it saved the day, because we didn't have any money.”
—Captain Rainbow
About:
No place has tested the currents of change more than the Anderson Valley, a Gaza Strip-sized setting hidden in the hills of Northern California. Home to the language of Boontling, a fast fading past prose of the old frontier, the fate of the area’s kitschy tongue relies not on whether the valley will change, but how.
And why.
Show Notes:
Quote:
“I think intelligence in the universe is very rare.”
—Dr. James Rice, NASA, Mars Exploration Rover Geology Team Leader
About:
2017, let’s start anew! Let’s just pack up, say our goodbyes and march (drive, fly or sail) to greener pastures.
But where to? Canada is cold around this time of year, Europe is in limbo, and everywhere else has spotty Wi-Fi (it doesn’t). The globalized world where opportunity was meant to be infinite is really just flawed and finite like everything else. And it’s somewhat daunting to think, this is it.
But for some folks, the answer to humanity’s woes is simply a matter of looking up and towards Mars.
For what it’s worth, there’s no Comcast on Mars, so the Wi-Fi can’t be too bad.
Show Notes:
“Any true Americans over here?”
-Michael, a man from Boston with a sign
Amidst all the chaos that has been the 2016 presidential election, there is a special group of Americans fighting against the mainstream current—the Trump minority, like actual minorities voting for Trump.
Show Notes:
"And then they came for me."
-Sabri Benkahla
When it comes to the conversation of Islam in America, it can sometimes feel like having a debate where both parties talk over one another, dive into the shallow end of the topic and leave thinking they’ve proved their points—trophies for all.
This self-perpetuating social filter bubble of sorts absolves accountability and fogs up facts—it clouds up the reality of what many Muslim communities in America have actually gone through and are going through.
No place has had it worse than Dar Al-Hijrah, a northern Virginia mosque that sits right outside the nation’s capital. First there was peace. Then there was 9/11. And then there was terror.
This is the story of how one mosque and its community has spent the past 15 years at the intersection of faith, terrorism and liberty.
Show Notes:
56. More at thisissomenoise.com
“Brother, you don’t eat pork do you?” -Man with wine
About:
New York. St. Cloud. Orlando. San Bernardino. Chattanooga. Garland. Boston. Fort Hood. Brussels. Paris. Nice. Kabul. Baghdad. Quetta. Lahore. Istanbul.
It’s difficult to remember what life was like before any of these recent attacks, when there was no YouTube or Twitter and when the Twin Towers were still part of New York City’s skyline.
There wasn’t too much cause for concern about being named Muhammad, wearing a hijab or simply practicing the faith. But times change. Now, two months away from Election Day, a presidential candidate who supports the racial profiling of Muslims and banning their entry into the country is in real contention to be the next Commander-In-Chief.
But before any of that, the vitriol and hate, the radicalization and endless news cycles, the color-coded threat levels and social media jihad, there was a simpler version of Islam in America. In this episode, we dive into what life was like for Muslims around a northern Virginia mosque just eight stoplights away from the Pentagon.
Show Notes:
"You just go again tomorrow."
-Stuart Vorpahl
Stuart Vorpahl is a lifelong commercial fisherman who took pride in providing the fresh produce of the sea. Stuart liked his job. He liked it so much that when regulation and politics threatened it, he ignored the old sayings and squared up against town hall.
On the surface, it might seem as if Stuart was just really passionate about fishing, and he was. But his fight was about something bigger.
We continue the second part of Stuart Vorpahl’s story—how a commercial fisherman in the Hamptons took on the New York State over his right to fish with a 17th century document from the King of England.
Show Notes:
[55:30] “Suzy Textile” by Blue Dot Sessions
"Timeout. If you see a hole, you mend it. You don’t go say I’ll go back and fix it. It don’t work." --Stuart Vorpahl
The story of Stuart Vorpahl involves fishing, the Hamptons and the King of England. Amidst a town where Hollywood's A-list comes to summer, how did a commercial fisherman earn the notoriety of first-name recognition amidst locals, town officials and the conservation police?
Show Notes:
More at thisissomenoise.com/ep-10
"It's just status."
-Buddy
About:
In pockets of America, like those in Oakland and throughout the East Bay of Northern California, the status quo of driving a vehicle is proudly rejected. Take a look at some of the rides out here and you’ll immediately get the sense that a car is more than just a car.
Who are these people and what caused them to decorate Detroit-produced relics with candy-like paint, oversized rims and a sound-system that can probably be heard from Space?
Show Notes:
“Thy will be done. Thy will be done. I don’t know. Please, I don’t know.” -Jessica Ripper
Jessica Ripper is a white American with blonde hair, blue eyes and a home in Northern California. Yet, to many in Pakistan, she’s an Islamic-gospel musician who plays the tabla.
In the 700-year-old sufi-singing tradition of Qawwali, she’s a female trailblazer shattering century-old glass ceilings from sufi shrine to sufi shrine. And everywhere else, she’s a statistical anomaly, a bizarre outlier.
Did fate direct Ripper to her path as one of the world’s only white female western qawwali players? Or was it chance and opportunity?
You be the judge.
Show Notes:
