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The film explores the "intersection of race, justice, and mass incarceration in the United States;"[3] it is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1865, which abolished slavery throughout the United States and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for conviction of a crime. -wikipedia

For nearly as long as there has been a United States there has been a census, it is in some ways how we know ourselves. And in every single census there has been at least one question about race. The evolution of these questions and the fight over asking them is at the heart of the American story. This week, how race has played a central role in who is counted-in America. (NPR)

Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. A truth many Americans are acknowledging since the murder of George Floyd, as protests have occurred in all fifty states calling for justice on his behalf. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of American policing and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system. (NPR)

Black folks have officially been categorized by the government as a bunch of different things, depending on the political moment. During the very first U.S. census back in 1790, it was simply "slaves." In 1840, it was "free colored males and females" and, of course, slaves. What was "black," "mulatto," "quadroon" and "octoroon" in 1890 eventually gave way to "Negro" in 1950.

And now, in 2020, it's "Black or African American," with the option to write in a country of origin. Just like the nomenclature on the census, who counts as black in the United States has always been evolving — and being on one side of that line or the other has always been enormously consequential.

This week on the podcast, we talked to a lot of people about the ever-shifting boundaries of blackness, including Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University. She's the author of the book Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, And The Pursuit Of The American Dream.

The story of broken windows is a story of our fascination with easy fixes and seductive theories. Once an idea like that takes hold, it's nearly impossible to get the genie back in the bottle.

In the first of two parts, the New York Times reporter Jonah Bromwich explains the origins of cancel culture and why it’s a 2020 election story worth paying attention to.

Author: Morgan Marietta Ph.D.

Many scholars have argued that conservatives are more rigid, intolerant, and certain. But in regard to factual perceptions, the evidence does not bear this out. Both liberals and conservatives can fall prey to the psychological forces that make perceptions subservient to values.

Why do we step around the homeless person without giving him a second thought? Or ignore appeals to assist refugees, or victims of natural disasters?

New research offers a surprising answer: Empathizing with others takes effort, and, generally speaking, we'd rather not expend the energy.