Shows
Name It!Genocide: What’s in a Name?Hi friends! In this episode, we are talking about genocide. What is genocide? How did the word come about? Why are some genocides recognized and remembered, while others are not? The truth is, we don’t have all the answers—but we can start by turning to the life of Raphael Lemkin. In our case study, we think alongside Lemkin’s global vision, who first defined “genocide” in print in his 1944 book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Influenced by the Armenian Genocide and his own family’s mass murder during the Holocaust, Lemkin derived the word genocide from the Gre...2024-12-3158 min
Name It!Cults: You Are, But What Am I?Hey friends! In this episode, we’re talking all about cults. What makes something a cult and something else, well, not a cult? Does the word "cult" even mean anything, or is it just a label to signify, “I don’t agree with these people”?Before diving into the TL;DR of Making the American Religious Fringe: Exotics, Subversives, and Journalists, 1955–1993 by Sean McCloud, we rewind to 1959, when Malcolm X was introduced to mainstream (White) American audiences for the first time. This happened through the airing of a docu-series called The Hate That Hate Produced. And oh my, did pe...2024-12-161h 02
Name It!Black Nationalism: A Whole New WorldHey, friends! In this episode, our big idea is Black nationalism! What would life in the U.S. look like today if Black folks, post-emancipation (1865), had received forty acres and a mule—or any form of reparations for that matter? What if they had been granted the opportunity to build a sovereign nation within the territorial United States? What if their efforts to systematically and structurally reimagine the parameters of citizenship as a dispossessed people on native land had not been violently suppressed?In a time when the nation is asking, "Why do it gotta be like thi...2024-12-0258 min
Name It!Elastic Kinship: We Are FamilyParev fam! Sister Sledge said it best: we are fam-ily! Today, we are meditating on the term “elastic kinship”—literally! Episode 6 offers a guided meditation, a potential outlet for listeners to connect with us, chosen kin, and ancestors during a tear-filled vulnerable hour. How do we choose our family? And what does the history of photography have to do with this complex question? The answer lies within YOU…and this episode! In the words of Saidiya Hartman, “Flexible and elastic kinship were not a ‘plantation holdover,’ but a resource of black survival, a practice that documented the generosity and...2024-11-181h 10
Name It!Psychic Knowledge: We’ve All Got It!Hey, friends! In this episode, we’re diving into the world of psychic knowledge. What exactly does “psychic” mean? What makes some knowledge psychic and other knowledge… well, not so psychic? And was anyone else forced to experience Spotify’s “song psychic” feature, in the same way that Apple forced us to download that random U2 album? Before we give you the tl;dr of Yvonne Chireau’s Black Magic: Religion in the African American Conjuring Tradition and LaShawn Harris’ Sex Workers, Psychics, and Numbers Runners: Black Women in New York City's Underground Economy, Iman has Kohar ask a question to S...2024-11-041h 17
Name It!Preservation: Kohar's Unofficial Seven Wonders of the WorldAh, preservation…what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear this word? Perhaps you thought of paintings like the eminent Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, pristinely preserved since 1503. Perhaps you thought of the ever-growing collection of ancient Indigenous artifacts neatly stored behind glass at your local museum. Or maybe you even remembered the family stories told and the canned peaches preserved in your grandmother’s kitchen. In episode 4, we build a bridge between two sacred sites: the persisting presence of a 17th-century Nipmuc dugout canoe (carbon dated to 1640-1680 AD), sitting at the...2024-10-2056 min
Name It!Intimacy: Do You Even Know Her?Hey friends! In this episode, we're diving into intimacy. Is knowing the “type” of person someone is really the same as knowing them? And does adding your Myers-Briggs letters to your dating app profile actually lead to better matches? 🤔This week, we're on a mission to find a definition of intimacy that's deeper than the usual, and we found one in Jennifer Nash’s Black Feminism Reimagined (2018). But before we give you the TL;DR of Nash’s work, we take a fun detour into the history of the Myers-Briggs test. Did you know the test was originally...2024-10-0750 min
Name It!Expertise: Trust Me, I'm a ProfessionalIn episode 2, we deconstruct the notion of expertise once and for all. We know what you’re thinking…since when did you two become experts on expertise?! After all, who gets to be called an expert anyway? The truth is, we all make history, every single day. We learn this lesson by going back in time, thanks to two Indigenous scholars and experts in their field: the 17th-century Nipmuc scholar Wawaus (also known as James Printer) of Harvard Indian College and the 21st-century Ojibwe historian Jean O’Brien. Before we give you the tl;dr of O’Br...2024-09-2358 min
Name It!Spirituality: Big Zodiac EnergyWelcome back for Season 2, friends! In this episode, we’re diving into spirituality. Does the word spirituality refer to just one thing, or does it mean anything at all? And are you among the growing number of people identifying as “spiritual, but not religious”?Before we give you the tl;dr of Jeremy Carrette and Richard King’s Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion, we discuss Big Zodiac and the increasing profitability of astrology apps and products. Who knew venture capitalists were investing in apps like Co-star?!Iman shares why she finds the phrase “spiritual...2024-09-0952 min
Name It!Name It! Season 2Hey y’all! Name It! your encyclopodia of big ideas is back for season 2 on September 9. We can’t wait to bring you more big ideas and be sure to follow us @nameitpod and check out nameitpod.com for all updates! 2024-08-1800 min
Name It!Complaint: Don't Be A Karen, Be A KoharHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Sara Ahmed's term: complaint! An idea that names how we learn about power from those who dare to complain about it.Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Ahmed's Complaint, Iman shares her own experience of becoming the problem when she complained about a problem. We discuss the inevitably of encountering weirdos when you're a part of capitalist institutions, the vulnerability it takes to speak up, the importance of whisper networks, and our love for the people who create safe harbors for us in stormy...2023-04-0542 min
Name It!Hair: Comin' for My Middle School BulliesHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about hair. We draw on Ayana Byrd and Lori Tharp's Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America and an interview with Dr. Tanya Mears.Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read), we phone -a-friend as our case study! We invited our friend Asha to discuss her "hair release ceremony," and Kohar and Iman reflect on being a part of such a special moment. We discuss how much we love Byrd and Tharp's description of black hair as a subculture, complete with its ow...2023-03-2953 min
Name It!Black Feminist Thought: They Weren't Talking About RepresentationHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Patricia Hill Collin's definition of Black Feminist Thought.Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Collin's Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment, we discuss the Combahee River Collective's landmark statement published in 1977. The statement coined the terms interlocking oppression, identity politics, the notion that when black women get free, we all get free.We discuss the statement's radicalism, the misconception that black feminism is about representation, Collins and the CRC's distinction between separatism and autonomy, and the evolving n...2023-03-221h 03
Name It!The Wake: The Ship is Still Here, and So Are WeHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Christina Sharpe's term: the wake. A multi-meaning metaphor that names how the slave ship structures contemporary society, despite the formal "end" of slavery.Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Sharpe's The Wake: On Blackness and Being, we discuss the "discovery" of the Clotilda in 2019 as our case study. The Clotilda was the last known slave ship to bring enslaved peoples from West Africa to Mobile, Alabama in 1869, despite the passing of the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves in1807. Slavers sunk the ship in the...2023-03-0832 min
Name It!Safe Harbors: I'm a Good Friend Because I'm a Good SisterHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Toni Morrison's term, safe harbors. An idea that names the sense of safety fostered through intimate relationships. Who feels like a safe harbor for you?Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Morrison's Sula, we invited our million siblings to share what sisterhood means to them. Just kidding, we don't have a million siblings... just a thousand. Iman and Kohar talk about how being a sister has taught them to lead with love in all their relationships. And we're joined in the studio by Ama...2023-03-0154 min
Name It!Dark Matters: Imma Stare Right BackHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Simone Browne's term: Dark Matters. An idea that names blackness as a "key site through which surveillance is practiced, narrated, and enacted," (9).Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, we discuss the FBI's Counter Intelligence Program, known as COINTELPRO. A program designed to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of the Black nationalists" and other organizations they deemed a threat to U.S. interests, including the Social Workers Party and the American Indian Movement. ...2023-02-2259 min
Name It!The Erotic: Lorde Have MercyHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Audre Lorde's term: the erotic. An idea that names the knowledge, power, and sense of satisfaction encapsulated by the phrase, "this feels right to me." Lorde coins the term to speak back to the European-American male tradition that teaches one to “separate the erotic demand from the most vital areas of our lives other than sex.” What is a life lived erotically?Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Lorde's "The Erotic as Power," we discuss how hard it is to actually hear and listen to...2023-02-1550 min
Name It!Audiotopia: Groovin' Through This HellscapeHey, friends! In this episode we're talking about Josh Kun's term: audiotopia. An idea that names popular music's ability to create utopias for listeners, speak back to American racial hierarchies, and challenge nationalist narratives.Before we give you the tl;dr (too long; didn't read) of Kun's Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America, we explore the boundary-pushing ability of music in our case study: the public censoring of the Shirelles' 1960 classic, “Will You Still Love me Tomorrow.” How dare a group of black women speak aloud their anxieties about sex and intimacy- blasphemy!We talk about the audio...2023-02-0841 minName It!Say My Name, Say My Name... or At Least Try, Damn.Hey, friends! In our first episode we're talking about Name It! That's right, this is our self-titled episode *insert Bey meme.*As our case study we reflect on how Name It! came to be and the political function of naming. We're breaking the fourth-wall and talking about the process of bringing the show into reality (and let us just say it was a process), naming as a survival tool, and all the spaces, places, and people who've passed their survival tools onto us. As our case study, we answer the question: where do you know from? I...2023-02-0143 minName It!Name It!Iman and Kohar, friends-turned-PhD-students, break down a big idea, changing how they think about the world and talk to each other! We're two best friends who met at Dartmouth College and have been bonding over our nerdom since. We started Name It! to share the ideas we've picked up from books, classrooms, sister-friends, and ancestors. Ideas that have helped us name what it means to live at the intersections. Each episode we do the reading and research on one of those ideas so you don't have to. Whether it's Audre Lorde's notion of "the erotic" or Toni Mor...2023-01-2101 min