Unpacking 1619 features interviews with scholars from around the country in which we unpack topics relating to the 1619 Project and race in America. Hosted by Adult Services Librarian John Piche.
John Piché
John Piché is an Adult Services Librarian at Heights Libraries. He has over 30 years of experience working in libraries, and an academic background in American History. In 2019, John launched a monthly 1619 Project discussion group at the Library. As the program grew in popularity, he began interviewing scholars on topics relating to the 1619 Project in 2020. He is excited to expand access to those interviews in the Unpacking 1619 podcast.
All Episodes
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Episode 73 - Genetics and Alzheimer's Disease with Jonathan Haines
Jan 7, 2025 •
Jonathan Haines is a researcher and educator with experience in all aspects of genetic epidemiology, with a particular focus on illuminating the genetic architecture of complex diseases. We discussed his research into the genetic origins of Alzheimer’s and dementia. His work seeks to include diverse and minority populations to expand…
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Episode 72 - Teaching Black Internationalism with Jonneke Koomen
Dec 24, 2024 •
Jonneke Koomen discusses her two articles, “International Relations/Black Internationalism” and “Madness in the Classroom: Thomas Sankara’s Disobedient International Relations.” Professor Koomen shows how introducing W.E.B. du Bois’ essays and speeches by Thomas Sankara places teaching about international relations into conversation with its critics. Colonialism, white supremacy, and race based economic…
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Episode 71 - Deputization and White Violence with Ekow Yankah
Dec 10, 2024 •
Ekow Yankah discusses his forthcoming Stanford Law Review article, “Deputization and Privileged White Violence.” Prof. Yankah unpacks how the development of social and physical control of slaves necessitated laws and norms that allowed any white person the ability to police a person of color. This white privilege continues today in…
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Episode 70 - Proving Pregnancy with Felicity Turner
Nov 26, 2024 •
Felicity Turner, Associate Professor in the Department of History at Georgia Southern University, discusses her book Proving Pregnancy: Gender, Law, and Medical Knowledge in Nineteenth-Century America. Professor Turner explores the intersection of law and the emerging medical professionalization in cases of infanticide in the United States. By examining the legal…
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Episode 69 - History of Controlling Pregnancy with Kathleen Crowther
Nov 12, 2024 •
Kathleen M. Crowther discusses her book, Policing Pregnant Bodies: From Ancient Greece to Post-Roe America. She explores the deeply rooted medical and philosophical ideas that continue to reverberate in the politics of women’s health and reproductive autonomy. From the idea that a detectable heartbeat is the voice of the unborn…
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Episode 68 - Teaching White Supremacy with Donald Yacovone
Oct 29, 2024 •
Donald Yacovone, lifetime associate at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, discusses his book, “Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity.” He talks about the evidence of white supremacy’s deep-seeded roots in our nation’s educational system by looking at nearly…
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Episode 67 - Book Learning and Slave Education with Christopher Span
Oct 15, 2024 •
Christopher Span, Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discusses his work, “Sam’s Cottonfield Blues” and “Quest for Book Learning: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom.” He discusses why literacy was so feared by white enslavers and crucial to slaves. Detailing how slaves subverted…
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Episode 66 - Texas: Race, War, Colonialism with Gerald Horne
Oct 1, 2024 •
Professor Gerald Horne discusses his book, The Counter-revolution of 1836: Texas Slavery & Jim Crow and the Roots of American Fascism. Prof. Horne explains his thesis that Texas was a goldmine for Euro-Americans since it provided the dual economics of land speculation and the expansion of slavery, praxis for settler…
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Episode 65 - Black Homicide Victims with Gian Maria Campedelli
Sep 17, 2024 •
Gian Maria Campedelli, research scientist at Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy, discusses his research article, “Homicides Involving Black Victims are less likely to be Cleared in the United States.” Drawing upon three databases the FBI’s national incident-based reporting system (NIBRS) and the Murder Accountability Project (MAP), which combines data from…
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Episode 64 - White Christian Nationalism and the Church with Jim Wallis
Sep 3, 2024 •
Jim Wallis, the founding Director of the Georgetown University Center on Faith and Justice, discusses his book, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy. He argues that the civic promotion of fear, hate, and violence as the trajectory of our politics under a banner…