Episode 189: The Moon Landing's 50th Anniversary, "Go Back to Where You Came From," and Air Conditioning

In this episode, Neil, Niki, and Natalia discuss the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the history of telling immigrants and minorities to “go back” to where they came from, and whether or not air conditioning is sexist.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: 

• Fifty years ago, the world watched as Americans walked on the moon. Natalia recommended this New Yorker republication of the 1969 “Talk of the Town” covering how New Yorkers watched the moon landing. Niki referred to this Scientific American interview with Nikita Khrushchev’s son about how the event was covered in the Soviet Union.
• President Trump told four congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from. Natalia referenced historian Jill Lepore’s book, This America: The Case for the Nation. Niki referred to this essay by historian Nicholas Guyatt at the African American Intellectual History Society blog about the American Colonization Society.
• Accounts of the gendered experience of air conditioning have been gaining greater media attention this summer. Niki referred to this New Yorker article about the sexist assumptions that shape decisions about workplace climate control.

 In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia discussed the life and legacy of the late founder of YogaWorks, Maty Ezraty.
• Neil shared the New York Times article and video, “Where Are All the Bob Ross Paintings? We Found Them.”
• Niki talked about the new movie Midsommar and recommended Clark Collis’ Entertainment Weekly article, “Before Midsommar: New documentary to tell the history of folk horror genre.”