In this episode, Dani and Jazzy interview their first guest on the pod—film maker, educator, and creator—Sarah Oberholtzer (or Sarah O.). Sarah shares about the abolitionist writer’s room in Chicago, IL and their film series, “We Call Each Other” which explores themes of public safety, crisis, community response, and abolition. In this conversation Sarah uncovers the motivations for creating this film series while detailing the significance of their faith and their commitment to caring for the whole person of all involved in the writing and filming process. We hope this episode inspires you, as we were certainly inspired, and we invite you to follow the journey of the first installation of the “We Call Each Other” film series as it is currently making its world debut in film festivals and limited digital release.

Trailer for the film:

https://vimeo.com/1055374177

Social Media for the film:

instagram.com/wecalleachother

Episode Music:

Track: I Am OK — Vishmak [Audio Library Release]

Music provided by Audio Library Plus

Watch: • I Am OK — Vishmak | Free Background Music ...

Free Download / Stream:https://alplus.io/i-am-ok

In today’s Blerd Werk episode, Dani shares her presentation “Hobbstown Oral History Project: Descendent’s as the Stewards of Cultural Memory” from this year’s New Jersey Historical Commission conference. In the presentation she talks about the history of the neighborhood her family founded in New Jersey and why it is important to preserve such histories.

Episode Music:

Track: I Am OK — Vishmak [Audio Library Release]

Music provided by Audio Library Plus

Watch: • I Am OK — Vishmak | Free Background Music ...

Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/i-am-ok

Exciting update: we’re no longer doctoral students, we’re doctoral candidates! In this episode we share what the journey has been like so far in our degree programs. We also talk about the ways that fascist governments often target academics, especially in the humanities.

Works Referenced

The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil by Emilie Townes

The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning and Black Study by Fred Moten and Stefano Harvey

Episode Music

Music: Freaky Halloween by Alex-Productions / alexproductionsmusic

License: Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/alex-prod...

Music promoted by Audio Library: • Cinematic, Spooky, Instrumental No Copyrig...

Welcome to spooky season! 👻 This episode is a follow up to our last episode as we continue our focus on evangelicalism. In part 2 we talk about the rapture, zombie nationalism, Christian haunted houses (hell houses), and finish with a history of the evangelical left.

You can check out a free copy of Jason Springs’ “Zombie Nationalism” chapter here: https://philarchive.org/archive/SPRZNT

Episode Music:

Music: Freaky Halloween by Alex-Productions / alexproductionsmusic

License: Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

Free Download / Stream: https://audiolibrary.com.co/alex-prod...

Music promoted by Audio Library: • Cinematic, Spooky, Instrumental No Copyrig...

Welcome back! We filmed this episode Sept. 8th when we had the chance to actually be together in person! This is the first part in what will be a two part series on evangelicalism (dun dun dunhhh). In this episode we dive into the theology that often organizes evangelicalism and the role of the capitalist marketplace in evangelical culture. We also both share our personal stories related to being part of evangelical spaces. Got questions you want us to answer in part two? Message us on our socials.

Reading Recommendations:

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Intro Music:

Track: I Am OK — Vishmak [Audio Library Release]

Music provided by Audio Library Plus

Watch: • I Am OK — Vishmak | Free Background Music ...

Free Download / Stream:https://alplus.io/i-am-ok

Welcome to a special episode of Real Hot Blerd Pod! We’ll be posting solo episodes occasionally called Blerd Werk where we share our papers and presentations from conferences and other spaces. In this episode, Jazzy shares her presentation from the American Academy of Religion 2024 Annual Conference titled "Cannibalism, Vampirism, and Womanist Transubstantiating Magic: Materializing Colonialcraft in Misha Green’s Lovecraft HBO."

Read Jazzy’s Paper Here: https://tinyurl.com/JJohnsonLovecraftCountryPaper

Audio Copyright:

Track: I Am OK — Vishmak [Audio Library Release]

Music provided by Audio Library Plus

Watch: • I Am OK — Vishmak | Free Background Music ...

Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/i-am-ok

Spoiler Alert! In this episode we dive into the Marvel miniseries, Ironheart. We talk about the ethically complicated characters on the show and how the series can help us consider the ramifications of AI. In this edition of “Why is this my timeline?!” we talk a bit about the federal takeover of D.C. Want to hear more about any of these topics? Let us know on our socials @realhotblerdshit.

In this episode we spend time discussing the genocide in Gaza. We explore the questions: Why do we personally talk about and take action for Gaza and a free Palestine? Why should Black Americans care about what is happening in Gaza? How do we get out of this timeline?

Book Recommendation:

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine edited by Sami Adwan, Dan Bar-On, and Eyal Naveh

Places to Donate:

World Central Kitchen: https://donate.wck.org/give/525879/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=reliefpage-header

World Food Programme: https://www.wfp.org/emergencies/palestine-emergency

WFP has a list of countries facing crisis where you can donate