From Roe to Buffalo and Beyond
From Roe to Buffalo and Beyond
Also, my PBS show, dumb ESG wars, and a happy video to make you smile.
Me with longtime family friend James West on a recent visit to Washington DC.
Well, hello.
It’s been a minute. Here’s some of what I’ve been up to followed by some links I’ve clicked for you that I guarantee aren’t malware.
In exciting and happy news, my PBS series, America Outdoors, has a premiere date of July 5, 2022, 9pm ET / 8pm CT. Here’s a little promo video PBS and I put together including some things you should know about me:
In fired up news, I’ve been writing a few things over at Puck you should try to check out including:
My take on the leaked Alito opinion overturning Roe and accelerating our path toward forcing women to give birth.
My thoughts on what the heck happened to Twitter to put it in a position to be trolled by a billionaire with overly-simplistic ideas about free speech. And if you can’t afford the Puck subscription, here’s me reading it aloud with extra commentary on IG live recently.
Finally in the me department, I’ve been angry and sad about the Buffalo massacre. Last week I cried a good deal. I channeled my thoughts into an impromptu 7-minute video last week that still says the best version of what I’ve been feeling. It’s on YouTube (and Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Instagram). I also found some healing at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC where I was reminded of our long road to freedom and bolstered by what our ancestors showed us is possible.
Now for those links!
I truly think each of these links is a must-consume so bookmark these, or print them out, or check these out while pretending to do your job or raise your kids!
Punch-Up: a place for white guys to help each other out of white supremacy.
Someone Tweeted this too me in response to my call to action around the narrative of fear and loss dominating the minds of so many white men. From the language I assume this can lead to good places, but I don’t actually know the people involved.
This Is Who We Are. It Isn’t Who We Have To Be by Anand Giridharadas in The.Ink
My homey Anand shared some thoughtful words and brought back a refreshingly honest conversation with Senator Chris Murphy about the role of violence in U.S. history.
The Root of Haiti’s Misery: Reparations to Enslavers (New York Times)
Oooooh! Only one year ago (as I was filming America Outdoors and visiting former maroon settlements) I ready a history of the Haitian Revolution (Avengers of the New World). Now the NYT has proven what many historians have known to be true: the French were monstrous colonizers, and even after Haiti won its independence in battle, the new nation was forced to pay reparations to French slaveowners, diverting hard-earned resources away from the people, affecting Haiti to this day.
GOP directs culture war fury toward green investing trend (AP)
Scared conservatives are attacking an honest teaching of US history, the use of social and emotional learning, and now efforts to fully account for the cost of business activity on society. I’m sure there are problems with the scoring that goes into ESG assessments, but this is just dumb. Our divisions are getting worse, and we’ve now politicized the act of putting the fire out in our house.
‘As a species, we’re on autopilot, not making the right decisions’ (The Guardian)
I remember speaking at the March for Science in SF during the Trump years and thinking, “It’s pretty bad when scientists in lab coats start marching.” Now they are doing more than marching. They are getting arrested and engaging in escalating acts of civil disobedience of the kind that has led to real changes in our world.
And now for a bit of joy because we have all earned it.
That’s it! My plane is taking off. Cya in the ether.
I just watched your 1st show on PBS on exploring the outdoors in Death Valley. I was greatly impressed with what you shared with us. What you chose. I am a native Californian and a big fan of the desert. I am excited to have new places to go this coming Spring. The outdoors is my temple. The Cities my school. All to satisfy my deep curiosity. Thank you for being you!
Dear B - 1. On compost - do you know about this man, the Gangsta Gardener of LA? https://ronfinley.com/ Hook up! 2. You got me on nature and wildlife. You know that, though. 3. You got it on citizening and we are all in this together, but you also knew that. Aren't you reminded of Beckett these days? It's a medieval turn we're taking. 4. Let's talk about restoring the earth - your megaphone + these kinds of efforts: https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/05/renewable-energy-lessons-from-european-communities/ and THIS GUY: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/us/seaweed-carbon-capture-xprize-finalist-climate/index.html 5. Roe v. Wade + Buffalo + GOP + Fox = medieval Stalinism. 6. You come to our place, you get dinner and flowers from the gardens and you make the cocktails. Conversation included.