#1710 The past is never dead. It’s not even past. Race, Religion, Culture and the Stories we Tell

Air Date 5/18/2025

The full quote from today's title is from one of the most celebrated writers of Southern American literature, William Faulkner, who said, "The past is never dead. It’s not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity.” The new film, Sinners, set in the Jim Crow South, attempts to take on some of the subjects that make up that web of history and consequence. The theme of today's episode is an attempt to dig into many of the subjects of the film.

Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [e-mail]

Full Show Notes

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)

Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience!

Join our Discord community!

---

KEY POINTS

KP 1: Sinners: Director Ryan Coogler on His Latest Hit, Delta Blues, His Mississippi Roots & Vampires Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-25-25

KP 2: Sinners and the General State of Things - The Morbid Zoo - Air Date 5-10-25

KP 3: Western Christianity and White Supremacy Part 1 - Meant For This - Air Date 3-23-22

KP 4: How Do You Put A Price On America's Original Sin? - Consider This - Air Date 3-27-23

KP 5: Storm and Stress: Jim Crow America Part 1 - History is US - Air Date 6-5-22

KP 6: Trump's first 100 days, but it's just the racism - Garrison Hayes - Air Date 5-2-25

---

(48:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

On how to talk about the interplay between economics and identity politics

---

DEEPER DIVES

(57:48) SECTION A: CHRISTIANITY

---

(1:33:29) SECTION B: RACE

---

(2:18:56) SECTION C: CULTURE

---

SHOW IMAGE CREDITS

Description: Portion of the 1830s painting “Slave Market” (Brazil) depicting two white men discussing the sale of enslaved, black Brazilian men with a church with steeple and cross in the background and the iconography of the Virgin Mary on the wall above.

Credit: “Slave Market” by Johann Moritz Rugendas, New York Public Library Digital Collections | Copyright status undetermined by NYPL | Changes: Cropped with increased contrast and brightness

 

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!