Description

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki discuss the recent escalation of tensions with Iran, new allegations of rape against President Trump, and controversy on the knitting social media network Ravelry.

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

• Tensions between Iran and the United States are escalating. Niki recommended Robert D. Kaplan’s article at the New York Times on the connection between U.S. concerns in Asia and the Middle East.
• Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll is the latest woman to accuse Donald Trump of sexual assault. Natalia referred to Megan Garber’s Atlantic article about attention fatigue and sexual violence in the Trump era and to historian Estelle B. Freedman’s book Redefining Rape.
• Knitting social media network Ravelry has revised its policy to prohibit any pro-Trump projects on its site. Natalia referred to writer Emily Matchar’s book Homeward Bound: Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity.

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

• Natalia recommended the online documentary project 1938 Projekt.
• Neil discussed a new Harris Poll that showed decreased support among young people for LGBTQ rights.
• Niki reflected on the exchange between Kamala Harris and Joe Biden about busing at the Democratic debate, sharing historian Matt Delmont’s Twitter thread and Brett Gadsden’s Politico article, “Here’s How Deep Biden’s Busing Problem Runs.”