Bad Art

“Relooted,” The Art Heist and Repatriation Video Game. With guest Akil Fletcher. E13

We’re joined by Akil Fletcher, an anthropologist who studies the intersection of video gaming and race. We discuss “Relooted,” an exciting new art heist video game, where players raid Western art collections in order to steal art and repatriate that art to Africa. For more about Akil or to read his scholarship: https://www.akilfletcher.com/ Mariel reads from the book “Mumbo Jumbo” by Ishmael Reed   Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k [https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k] Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p [https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p]   Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: VT7FDOTUQHGIAEMJ

Social Death: on the social mediatization of atrocity E12

Reflecting on current events, Mariel and Colin discuss the proliferation of atrocity images on social media. What is at stake when these images are treated as a tool of political mobilization? References: Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others. Eubanks, W. Ralph. 2025. Emmett Till Then and Now. in Bulletin by Monument Lab. Hernandez, Joe. 2021. “Read this powerful statement from Darnella Frazier, who filmed George Floyd’s murder.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000475344/read-this-powerful-statement-from-darnella-frazier-who-filmed-george-floyds-murd Jackson, Jenn. 2022. “The Militancy of (Black) Memory ” SAQ. https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933 Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: B8YVHLPEYANQ7MQB Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k [https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k] Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p [https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p]

Can Art Solve Poverty? – (The Creative City Episode) E11

This episode is a deep dive into the “creative city” model of urban planning. We talk about the ways that influential urban planners like Richard Florida and Charles Landry have promoted investment in the arts as a way to solve urban problems. We will answer the question, can art solve poverty? (Answer: No).   Key Sources: Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class. Landry, Charles. The Creative City A Toolkit for Innovators. Melamed, Samantha. “Can this tiny storefront save Philly’s most drug-ravaged neighborhood?” Philadelphia Inquirer. March 30, 2017. Denmead, Tyler. The Creative Underclass: Youth, Race, and the Gentrifying City. Mould, Oli. Urban Subversion and the Creative City. Montgomery, Alesia. “Reappearance of the Public. Placemaking, Minoritization, and Resistance in Detroit.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 2016.   Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k [https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k] Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p [https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p] Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: YAP7TI2AQAAXNTJR

Bad Art’s Halftime Spectacular E10

In anticipation of the Super Bowl, and in response to conservative outrage over the selection of artist Bad Bunny as halftime performer, we present a deep dive into the history and politics of the NFL’s halftime show.   Major Sections Include: Introducing the episode 00-1:30 Reflecting on current events 1:31-15:00 Recurring halftime themes and the identity of the NFL 15:00-24:52 The history of the halftime show 24:52-34:38 Nipplegate 38:48-49:16 Racial politics in the NFL 49:16-70:00 Michael Jackson’s Unprecedented Super Bowl Spectacular 70:00-74:46 The 2020s 74:46-78:27 Bad Bunny 78:27-end   We used clips from: Super Bowl XXVI “winter magic”: https://youtu.be/6wMXHxWO4ns?si=wtqMFHe45ts4SE37 [https://youtu.be/6wMXHxWO4ns?si=wtqMFHe45ts4SE37] Up With People at Super Bowl XIV https://youtu.be/2ruQ1tj4MDA?si=KfMAbNwTtfnBk_Ab [https://youtu.be/2ruQ1tj4MDA?si=KfMAbNwTtfnBk_Ab] Michael Jackson – Super Bowl XXVII 1993 Halftime Show: https://youtu.be/EsopN7JKUVs?si=oVd7-bkO338aXluL [https://youtu.be/EsopN7JKUVs?si=oVd7-bkO338aXluL]   References: As N.F.L. Fights Racism and Sexism, Team Owners Undercut the Message. New York Times. 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/sports/football/woody-johnson-trump-jets.html Horowitz, Juliana Menasce, Kiana Cox and Kiely Hurst. 2025. “Views of Race, Policing and Black Lives Matter in the 5 Years Since George Floyd’s Killing.” Pew Research Center. May 7. https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/05/07/views-of-race-policing-and-black-lives-matter-in-the-5-years-since-george-floyds-killing/     Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k [https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k] Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p [https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p]   Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: U1D0INK9CQ8QRL8S

Aesthetic Violence: Art in the War on Terror. E09.

Honestly, we just wanted to do a normal episode that didn’t react to current events. We thought that the War on Terror would be a somewhat stable historical artifact. – Then Trump invaded Venezuela, kidnapped its president, and stole its oil. So this episode is unexpectedly relevant. While we don’t comment on Venezuela directly, there are some important themes in thinking about the aesthetics of war that are unfortunately topical.   References Ronak Kapadia. “Insurgent Aesthetics: Security and the Queer Life of the Forever War.”  https://www.dukeupress.edu/insurgent-aesthetics [https://www.dukeupress.edu/insurgent-aesthetics] Hirst Appologizes for Calling 9/11 ‘A Work of Art.’” The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/19/september11.usa [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/19/september11.usa] Leerom Medovoi. “Dogma Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.” https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/30/2%20(111)/43/33720/Dogma-Line-RacismIslamophobia-and-the-Second-Axis?redirectedFrom=fulltext [https://read.dukeupress.edu/social-text/article-abstract/30/2%20(111)/43/33720/Dogma-Line-RacismIslamophobia-and-the-Second-Axis?redirectedFrom=fulltext] Jean Baudrillard. “The Gulf War Did Not Take Place.” https://www.amazon.com/Gulf-War-Did-Take-Place/dp/090995223X [https://www.amazon.com/Gulf-War-Did-Take-Place/dp/090995223X] Rumsfeld clip from “Control Room.” 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgfMdvk2n8&t=1390s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCgfMdvk2n8&t=1390s] Committee to Protect Journalists. Dataset of Journalists and Media Workers Killed. https://cpj.org/data/killed/country/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&start_year=1992&end_year=2026&group_by=year [https://cpj.org/data/killed/country/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&start_year=1992&end_year=2026&group_by=year] Caecilia Pieri. “Can T-Wall Murals Really Beautify the Fragmented Baghdad? https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30661 [https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/30661] “Michael Rackowitz Brings Destroyed Iraqi Art Back To Life.” Northwestern University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXG1cXxE1Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jXG1cXxE1Y] Joshua Craze. “Junk Empire.” https://canopycanopycanopy.com/contents/junk-empire [https://canopycanopycanopy.com/contents/junk-empire]     Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel License code: DNUZSKHSHWIM3J1Q Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k [https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k] Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p [https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p] Episode Artwork: Berghan Oil Fire. Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bergan_oil_field_fire.jpg