Fragile

This week's episode explores the fragility of several areas including "safe" homogenous spaces, changes in racist behaviors over multiple generations, and what to do with social media given that much of our virtual and in-person lives gingerly rest upon it.

Word of the Week [1:35]: Brandmauer. Although this is the German word for "firewall", we're certainly not using the word in a technological sense (for now.)

Phase 1 [7:35]: Faces in Spaces: Have you ever walked into a setting where you felt as if you didn't belong? It could be a house of worship, a barbershop, or another intentionally homogenous setting. Dr. Shaunna questions whether people's awareness of safe spaces is high enough.

Phase 2 [23:29]: Race Declining By Age?: It's been argued that racism should "die out" through the generations. With formal education about race being removed from classrooms and book banning galore, Dr. Lisa questions whether racial prejudice is declining or transferring across generations.

Phase 3 [38:32]: Social Media Fast: Inspired by a CNN article, Dr. Shaunna queries if and how to best "fast" from social media. It's not as simple as banishing social media due to its well-documented negative effects; but what about the positive aspects of social media that may be neglected? 

Mentioned in the show

 Look Inside White Kids Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America - NYU Press

Trump fires chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and two other military officers – AP News

What I found when I tried to unplug from social media - CNN

Oxford’s word of the year is a modern condition familiar to most of us - CNN