How hip-hop marginalizes women and LGBTQ+ people

Plus, Scott Simon talks 'Ted Lasso.' [View this email online]( [NPR Up First Newsletter]( by Suzanne Nuyen June 4, 2023 Good morning. This week, a tourist pleaded guilty to [handling a baby bison]( that was eventually euthanized, three teens were charged for [killing and eating a swan]( and an alleged [Russian spy whale]( showed up in Sweden. Plus, why Scott Simon loves Ted Lasso. Best of NPR [Louder Than A Riot]( premiered the [last episode]( of its second season this week. In the first season, hosts Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden traced the interconnected rise of hip-hop and mass incarceration. This year, they examined how misogynoir — the specific racist misogyny against Black women — is embedded into the fabric of hip-hop culture. [An illustration of a crown on a mound. ]( Amanda Howell Whitehurst for NPR The show won't return for a third season. It was one of four podcasts [canceled]( amid layoffs at NPR. Catch up on a few of this season's episodes: 🎙️ Explore misogynoir's effect on rap through [Megan Thee Stallion's]( testimony in the Tory Lanez case. 🎙️ Hear how three artists are pushing back on the [male gaze]( in the industry as well as their personal relationships. 🎙️ Delve into how hip-hop has affected perceptions of Black masculinity with [iLoveMakonnen]( a rapper whose been navigating masculinity his whole life and faced backlash for being unapologetically himself. 🎙️ Host Rodney Carmichael confronts hard questions as a man and a father as he thinks about [raising the next generation]( without replicating his mistakes. Listen to all nine episodes of this season of Louder than a Riot [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- The Week That Was [A stock photo of a man performing CPR on a dummy.]( Science Photo Library/Getty Images CPR can save lives. But its true survival rate is lower than many people think, and for the elderly or medically frail, it can [do more harm than good](. It's why many doctors choose not to receive it themselves. Florida's new immigration law goes into effect in July. It includes measures that [penalize businesses]( that hire undocumented workers. Supporters of the law say it will provide more job opportunities for people who live in the country lawfully, but business advocates across the state are concerned. Most first- and second-year medical students don't go to lectures. Instead, they watch recordings of them in their own time. Alexander P. Philips, a third-year medical student at Brown University, writes that watching recorded lectures has a lot of downsides. Philips and Dr. Philip Grusspuso, a professor at Brown, give their take on how to [flip the classroom]( and better prepare America's future doctors. Jaylene is one of tens of thousands of incarcerated teens across the U.S. She says [music gives her hope]( for a better life. At the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, she's part of a program that lets teens in jail collaborate with musicians to compose songs, write poetry and find their voices. 🎧 Listen to [how art helped them find light]( during a dark time. --------------------------------------------------------------- Podcast Picks [ A statue of George Washington in the rotunda of the US Capitol on April 16, 2009 in Washington, DC.]( Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images The NPR Politics Podcast: NPR's best political reporters don't just tell you what happened in Washington every day. They'll tell you [why it matters](. 🎧 This audio tour of the [U.S. Capitol complex]( Senate office buildings, press work stations, the Capitol subway and the House floor was originally released just for NPR Politics Podcast+ subscribers. Adult ISH, from YR Media: Get [advice and culture news]( from people who are almost adults. 🎧 In this special Pride episode, hosts Dom, Nyge, & Georgia sit down with Bay Area drag queens Panda Dulce and Poison Oakland to explore their [unique journeys into the world of drag]( the joy the art form sparks and how performers are fighting back against those trying to silence them. A People's History of Kansas City, from KCUR: Host Suzanne Hogan brings you [tales of the everyday heroes, renegades and visionaries]( who shaped Kansas City. 🎧 The latest episode explores the history of the Neck neighborhood, which was the [center of the Black community]( in Independence, Mo. By 1969, the neighborhood had been demolished — thanks to urban renewal policies put into place by President Harry S. Truman. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott's Thoughts [ Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, and Brett Goldstein as Richmond coaches Beard, Ted and Roy.]( Colin Hutton/Apple We are a Ted Lasso household, not a Succession household. I realize you don’t have to choose between watching Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ and Succession on HBO. But our family makes only so much time for watching television. No doubt the pandemic helped steer us. We chose to be uplifted by the wry wit and celebration of kindness in the story of a Kansas football coach hired — at first as a prank — to helm a British Premier League soccer club rather than make time for Succession’s story of siblings within a family media conglomerate plotting against each other. The pandemic reminded us that sometimes, you just want to laugh and feel good. The season finale — and what is almost certainly the series finale — of Ted Lasso streamed this past Wednesday. It scored in all ways. It was interesting this week to watch the [original NBC Sports promo]( created by Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, that launched the Ted character. In an especially hilarious moment, Ted spends a day not using his hands to increase his “feel” for soccer. What delighted us to the very end of the show was how each character (so beautifully played by a cast too large to name here) had one or more moments where we glimpse some of the hurts and anxieties that drove them. They rose above the pain with forgiveness and growth. We have a lot of time for entertainment that helps us see that in each other. This week’s essay celebrates [two brave, good souls]( on a crowded Everest. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. 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