Historian's Take

Ms. Marvel, a Pakistani American teenager named Kamala Khan, is the latest superhero to join the Marvel Universe. Her superpower? Family bangles that carry the strength and power of intergenerational knowledge passed down by her grandmother from Pakistan. Based on real historical events, Kamala's family was forcibly displaced during the Partition of India in 1947.

Kate Bush’s 1985 song, “Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God),” has climbed to the top of music charts in 2022 and reached nearly 500 million streams. This song’s revival after 37 years is largely thanks to season 4 of Stranger Things. But what makes this song’s overnight success even wilder is the fact that Bush owns the copyrights to her own recordings, which means she keeps as much as 80%.

Our fascination with vampires has spanned centuries, but it didn’t all start with Dracula. In fact, the first vampires (dating back to the 1800s!) were actually women. This genre of literature gave writers an outlet to explore female sexuality and societal taboos, leading to a cult of lesbian vampire films in the 60s and 70s.

There’s a long history of blind Black musicians in the US dating back to the 19th century, from Blind Tom to Ray Charles. Join recording artist Lachi and Professor Danielle Bainbridge to discuss the history on why blindness seems like a common thread among Black musicians. And how modern musicians have changed the narrative on disability in performance.

Native American representation in film and TV used to be confined to Westerns and storylines of defeat. Today, a new wave of Native American comedies, written and created by Native peoples, are taking back their narratives. Shows like Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls challenge stereotypes and address big political movements like #LandBack.

Dirty Dancing is an iconic film from 1987, but do you remember what it’s really about? Dirty Dancing’s entire plot wouldn’t be possible without the abortion that’s at the heart of the movie. Join the writer of Dirty Dancing Eleanor Bergstein, special guest, and our resident professor, as they trace the history of abortion access through Dirty Dancing and what it means for our world today.

Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. All fabulous identities along with many more are housed under the LGBTQIA+ community. And yet, in recent film and TV, there’s one identity that has been particularly visible: pansexuality. Professor Bainbridge along with special guests Megan Townsend and Fran Tirado take a look at the history of queer representation to tell us why pansexuality has become so popular.

There’s a new type of character in Hollywood: The Asian Himbo. These hunky male characters who are sweet but not the brightest bulbs have come a long way from stereotypes that date all the way back to the 1800s. We break down how Hollywood’s least sexy character went from completely undesirable to leading love interest.

Black Kung Fu films were wildly popular in the 70s, a welcome response to the anger many people felt against societal injustice. What was happening in the 70s that led to the growth of Black films and the popularity of Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks? In this episode, we unpack the history of how Black Kung Fu films became a sensation and why their themes are making are making a return today.

There’s a pattern of white and non-Black performers using "Black English" or "Blaccent" to gain notoriety. These performers are being called out (and canceled) for cultural appropriation, yet Blaccent is becoming more popular, with some people proclaiming Blaccent to be the modern internet-speak. What is the problem with using a Blaccent? And what does history tell us about it's origins?