EPISODE RELEASE: "This dysfunctional town square"
with TV producer Stephanie Jacobs
Stephanie Jacobs had a long career in media, starting in community radio, spending years as a producer at CBS, then moving West and joining a tech incubator. Along the way, she’s learned a few things about elections, American culture, and gender politics. This interview is not an “election postmortem” of the sort you’re probably sick of. It’s an exploration of the American political and cultural landscape as Steph saw it unfolding across her career.
We explore the media’s role in the lives of everyday Americans starting with the years when we all watched network TV on election night, moving through the introduction of the Internet and then social media, and finally where we are today. It’s quite a ride!
Finally, as we learn about Steph’s quest to become the California girl she always wanted to be, we address gender politics head-on. Get ready for a thoughtful, funny, insightful, and opinionated Translator on the Tower of Babble who clarifies 40+ years of American political culture.
"However severe the next four years may be, however vertiginous and rocky they may be, threatening to large segments of communities, there will be a time in which the pendulum of politics will swing back to the center, that the essential character of Americans will turn out to be not misogynistic, not racist, not anti-trans."
In case you missed it, last month’s episode:
Writer, researcher, designer and entrepreneur Brenda Laurel is known for her work in the world of video games, but starting with that fact doesn’t start you down the path of understanding her. When other people write manuals or textbooks, Laurel writes explorations of ideas. And when other people teach techniques, Laurel teaches her students how to think.
“It’s up to us as culture workers to create conditions in which we have alternatives that are compelling enough to draw people in. And that’s a tough call. It’s always harder to do the good thing. It’s always harder. And my advice to anybody who complains about it is, suck it up. It’s our job.“
There are a few options for listening to this episode:
The full episode: Play Like a Girl (or not) with Brenda Laurel
Shortened Minibabble episode: Brenda Laurel on Girls and Games
Suki’s reflections on the ethical obligations of content producers: On being a storyteller in an infinite village
Guest episode and syndication:
A fellow Squid Sister at KSQD, Debra Sloss, asked me to produce a short segment for her State of Mind episode on “Difficult Mothering.” I have a history with that, which you can find if you go look at my Avant Parenting Blog Archive. It was lovely to work with these women’s stories. Listen to the episode here: Minibabble: I can’t say I failed.
The Babblery was picked up by three other outlets last month, PRX Remix, WINGS (Women’s International News Gathering Service) and Pacifica Sprouts. It’s wonderful to know that others out there are listening!
Thank you! Please keep in touch
Continuing subscribers: It looks like our transition to Substack went smoothly. The wonderful thing about this is that we now have a way to have multidirectional conversations. Please respond to Babblery posts and notes. I look forward to your ideas, questions, and suggestions!