15 chapters across the catalog
The shooting of Sonya Massey in Illinois is discussed as a potential flashpoint that political actors may "keep on ice" until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to maximize impact. Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter has criticized the "anointing" of Kamala Harris as undemocratic. Speculation arises regarding Maryland Governor Wes Moore as a potential vice-presidential pick to secure the black male vote.
Ed Buck, a prominent Democratic donor, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for federal charges including providing methamphetamine resulting in death. Two Black men, Jamel Moore and Timothy Dean, died in Buck's West Hollywood apartment. The segment criticizes the media and the Democratic Party for allegedly burying the story for years because of Buck's status as a "money man."
The hosts question why HIV preventative drugs like Truvada are not available for free or over-the-counter if the goal is to "flatten the curve" of new infections. They highlight the high cost of these medications—up to $2,000 a month without insurance—and suggest the marketing is aimed at maintaining fear rather than solving the epidemic.
Using clips from Michael Moore's documentary *Fahrenheit 11/9*, the hosts revisit Barack Obama's 2016 visit to Flint, Michigan. They criticize his "stunt" of sipping the water and failing to declare a disaster that would have provided FEMA aid and Medicare for residents, leading many in Flint to feel abandoned by his administration.
The DNC's Black Caucus featured prayers from Mark Moore Jr. and Dr. Frederick D. Haynes that heavily politicized religious rhetoric. Moore addressed the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Breonna Taylor," while Haynes "remixed" Jesus to criticize Republican policies on healthcare, wages, and immigration. The hosts critique these performances as disingenuous attempts to use the black church as a political tool for the Democratic Party.
The episode concludes with an exploration of Karl Marx’s nickname, "The Moor," and his "swarthy" complexion. The hosts look at the etymology of "swarthy" and "Schwartz," noting that Benjamin Franklin once described Germans as swarthy. They suggest that Marx’s own racial background is a hidden "rabbit hole" and reiterate that the modern black movement is being steered by the same Marxist scripts used for decades.
Dr. Jose Pimenta Paiminete Bay argues that identifying as "black" is a reactive stance against the definition of "white." The global adoption of the Black Lives Matter slogan is seen as an effort to create a broad international coalition. Various groups, including the Moors and Hebrew Israelites, seek to move beyond color-based labels to find specific ancestral lineages.
Dr. Jose Pimenta Bay discusses the negative linguistic baggage associated with the word "black" in the English language, such as "black magic" and "black market." He argues that adopting "black" as an identity is a reactive step against "white supremacy," where white is equated with purity. The hosts emphasize the need to investigate ancestral identity beyond these binary descriptors.
Antonio Moore discusses the political strategy of the ADOS movement, emphasizing the need to vote "down ballot Democrat" to avoid being labeled as a right-wing propaganda tool. The hosts strongly disagree with this approach, arguing that herding voters back into the Democratic Party "sucks the air out of the movement." They view the insistence on party loyalty as a failure of the "litmus test" for true independent political power.
A New York Times article by Farah Stockman titled "We're Self-Interested: The Growing Identity Debate in Black America" is introduced as a potential tool for dissension. The discussion suggests the article's framing of the American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) movement mirrors COINTELPRO tactics designed to cause internal group conflict.
The New York Times article is criticized for featuring Tariq Nasheed prominently while downplaying the actual founders of the ADOS movement, Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore. This is viewed as a strategic move to associate the movement with a more controversial figure rather than its intellectual architects.
Ed Buck was arrested after a third victim survived a methamphetamine overdose at his home on September 11. Prosecutors now label Buck a violent sexual predator who targeted vulnerable men struggling with homelessness and addiction. Evidence includes a diary left by Gemmel Moore, which explicitly detailed how Buck allegedly injected him with crystal meth and initiated his addiction.
The hosts compare the debate over student loan forgiveness to reparations, labeling debt as a form of modern slavery. They critique Marianne Williamson for couching her reparations proposal in "politically feasible" terms while other candidates promise massive debt cancellation. Williamson's connection to ADOS advocate Antonio Moore is noted as a sign of her being better coached than her peers.
Affirmative action programs, originally intended for descendants of American slavery, have expanded to include women and immigrants of various backgrounds. This expansion has led to the overrepresentation of African and Caribbean immigrants in universities and professional spaces at the expense of the ADOS population. Critics argue that these programs no longer function as the repayment for slavery they were initially designed to be.
DNC Chairman Tom Perez has labeled black women the "backbone" of the Democratic Party, a move seen by some as a strategy to divide black men and women. This focus on black women followed the special election of Doug Jones in Alabama and is viewed as a modern iteration of the "No Man in the House" rule. Critics argue the elite use these gender-based strategies to destabilize the community and maintain a permanent "bottom rung" in the social hierarchy.
