The homework for the episode:
Pete: The West Wing, episode 1.13: “Take Out the Trash Day”
Martha: Shattered Glass, 2003 film starring Hayden Christensen
Calee: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (book)
Martha uses the podcast as a thinly veiled excuse to watch Shattered Glass again, and to plumb the depths of Slate to read about the real world scandal. Pete is way more politically savvy than anyone else in the room (natch), and Calee keeps us all grounded by reminding us that teenagers really are the future of the resistance (a thematic callback to Episode 2, even if we all forgot to point that out!). Martha ALSO awkwardly shoehorns in a discussion about superheroes and news coverage of vigilantism, but maybe it comes out all right in the end?
Your podcasters’ credentials:
Pete: Cheated and has two, but we’ll forgive him since Knox Fortune, the talent behind the single “Help Myself” is his little brother. Also the Legion playlist on Spotify.
Martha: Brave Chef Brianna, issue no. 1, by Sam Sykes and Selina Espiritu
Calee: Tangled: the Series, episode 4
Alternative Facts – Additional Material
All the President’s Men (film)
Daredevil, 1.11 and 1.12 (Netflix tv show)
“Paparazzi” by Lady Gaga (song)
Spider-Man (specifically the 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire, by J. Jonah Jameson is a character that transcends media formats)
Spotlight (film)
The Wire, season 5 (tv show)
Pete also notes the life and real life escapades of Jayson Blair, a journalist for the New York Times who was fired in 2003 in the wake of a plagiarism scandal of his own. You can read about him, and some candid hot takes from a talk he gave at Duke recently, here.
We also refer to a couple of additional articles found on Slate, covering the Stephen Glass scandal (including Hannah Rosin’s, the inspiration for Chloe Sevigny’s character Caitlin, review of Glass’s fictionalized account of his story The Fabulist). You can find those here:
“Steve and Me: How accurate a portrayal of journalism is Shattered Glass?” by David Plotz
“Glass Houses: Why did I – vain skeptic – fall for the too-good-to-be-true journalism of Stephen Glass?” by Jack Shafer
“Glass Houses: Stephen Glass still doesn’t believe in the world around him” by Hannah Rosin
“Lies, Damn Lies, and Fiction” by Adam L. Penenberg (The Forbes article that outs Glass)
Also, Pete found an archived version of Glass’s “Hack Heaven” piece, find it here
Our theme for our next episode is going to be: Caring (or Not) for the Natural World. Enjoy doing your homework!
Your homework for April 26:
Pete: Avatar, 2009 film by James Cameron
Martha: Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, vol. 1 by Hayao Miyazaki
Calee: Idiocracy, 2006 film by Mike Judge
Did You Do Your Homework? 