2 chapters across the catalog
The discussion covers the ubiquity of racial slurs in early 20th-century American life, from song titles on the Billboard charts to household products. It then moves to the 1960s and 70s, highlighting Muhammad Ali's refusal to serve in Vietnam and Richard Pryor's use of the word to achieve crossover comedic success.
A film clip from the 1920s depicts a woman being told her family must be sterilized because they are "feeble-minded" and "congenital cripples." This illustrates how eugenics was once presented as a social good and a patriotic duty in mainstream media. The discussion links this to the "population bomb" era and the messaging that limited family sizes were necessary for the nation's health.
