There is no doubt that right now we are living through the most consequential time of our generation to-date. Today’s social and political climate begs the big question, ‘Who are we, really?’

As BLM, societal tensions and the added pressure of a pandemic force us to take a candid look at ourselves, the clues to answering that question lie in our online and offline spaces.

In this week's episode of Unseen Unknown, author and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom joins us for an intimate discussion on how the mechanics of the internet, social media, digital marketing and real-life institutions amass power along racial and gender lines, and what they tell us about the American identity. 

You likely know Tressie from her podcast, Hear To Slay which she co-hosts with Roxanne Gay, or how I came to know her, through her highly acclaimed books Thick and Lower Ed.

Tressie’s work has had significant impact on our current discourse around race and gender identity, and in our conversation today we talk about the hidden forces that dictate both of those concepts. 

It's a wide-reaching and deeply insightful discussion that also explores how certain cultural narratives create our understanding of ourselves and others, how consumption is becoming increasingly political, how inequality manifests in our digital realms, and the role that brands play in the larger discussion.

We dive into the currencies of our world - Instagram filters, memes, the technology disruption cycle and platform economics - to learn how they accelerate our notions of race, gender and class even more efficiently than their irl counterparts. 

For CEOs, brands and builders alike, this discussion is invaluable in helping understand the changing landscape.

But even more importantly, I invite you to listen closely to this conversation because no matter who you are, it will reveal something to you about yourself and your world that you didn’t see before. 

Enjoy.

You can also listen and subscribe on Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and Simplecast.

Links to interesting things mentioned in this episode and further reading:

• Upending Stereotypes of Black Womanhood with “Thick” (The Daily Show)
   

• Hear To Slay: The Black Feminist Podcast Of Your Dreams (Luminary)
   

• Feminist and Sociology Professor Tressie McMillan Cottom (PBS/ Amanpour & Co.)
   

• The Coded Language of For-Profit Colleges (The Atlantic)
   

• What does it mean to be a ‘Karen’? Karens explain (The Guardian)
   

• When Luxury Stores Decorate Their Riot Barricades With Protest Art (New York Times)
   

• Does the U.S. Still Have a ‘Middle Class’? (The Atlantic)

Get Thick.

A book worth sharing.

We're giving away 10 copies of Tressie's book Thick: And Other Essays. 

Just share your favorite quote or insight from the interview on Twitter or Instagram and tag me @triplejas for a chance to get your copy. If you're outside of the US, we'll get you the audiobook. Happy listening (and reading). 

Problematic heroes.

Here's what we've been consuming.

The New Pop Culture Optimism (New York Times): "More movies and shows are imagining worlds where prejudice is seemingly nonexistent and everyone is accepted [...] In any given political moment, viewers will turn to Hollywood for an escape, and right now, it seems, is when many of us want that diversion to err on the side of hopefulness. For the most part, this is a good thing."

How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing (ProPublica): "The stores undercut traditional grocery stores by having few employees, often only three per store, and paying them little. “While dollar stores sometimes fill a need in cash-strapped communities, growing evidence suggests these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress,” the brief reported. “They’re a cause of it.”"

The Self-Help Movement That Is Upending American Christianity (Forge): "It’s not a coincidence that the rise of the Enneagram has come at a time when pockets of Christianity are making room for the LGBTQ community and other maginalized groups. Many people, like Case, have seen the human cost of drawing such hard moral lines based on literal interpretations of scripture. A system that replaces shame and judgment with acceptance and self-love is an appealing remedy."

Our Ghost Kitchen Future (The New Yorker): "The logic of food-delivery platforms is the logic of the digital marketplace. Just as there might be four different Amazon listings, under four different brand names, for the same USB cable, a sandwich produced in a ghost kitchen might appear on multiple menus with different names... There is also the opportunity for informal A/B testing: restaurant operators can change and update restaurant names, logos, menu items, and menu photography at their own discretion."

What Would Happen If Everyone Truly Believed Everything Is One? (Scientific American): "People who believe that everything is fundamentally one differ in crucial ways from those who do not. In general, those who hold a belief in oneness have a more inclusive identity that reflects their sense of connection with other people, nonhuman animals, and aspects of nature that are all thought to be part of the same "one thing." This has some rather broad implications."

(No one is coming to save you.)

‘I’ll have what she’s having’ – how and why we copy the choices of others: The Conversation

'Ethnicity is authenticity': how America got addicted to racist branding: The Guardian

Our Infrastructure Is Being Built for a Climate That’s Already Gone: Vice

‘This You?’ (It Definitely Is): New York Times

How Southern socialites rewrote Civil War history: Vox

Six Verbs That Make You Sound Weak (No Matter Your Job Title): Fast Company

Strategy Thought Of The Day

Jasmine Bina
Founder & CEO
Concept Bureau, Inc.