Politini - BLIS.FM

From rape culture to transgender equality and racial justice, we thought Hollywood was winning lately--that is until the Oscar nominations came out. We've said it before and we'll say it again, our country is rapidly changing and becoming browner by the year; yet none of our current institutions including the Academy reflect this fact. So, tonight we ask when can technicolor in casting and awardees become our new normal? With guests: Lena Waithe (producer of Dear White People, Bros and creator of Twenties), Helena Andrews (author Bitch is the New Black and Washington Post columnist) and Zeke Stokes (VP of Programs at GLAAD and founder of ZekeStokes.com a small batch goods company).

Can a hashtag start a revolution? That's one of the questions that have been swirling around as thousands of protests took hold of the country in 2014. What's most interesting though is that unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960s this new wave of collective black activism is being helmed by women--queer black women to be exact. So, in this episode we ask have we seen the last of "colorlessness" and has #BlackLivesMatter become our new normal? Guest: Alicia Garza and Nakisha Lewis.

Sleep deprivation, water boarding and forced feedings. These are just a few of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" aka torture methods that were highlighted in the CIA's report released this week. What's most troublesome about this report, is how eerily similar it is to some of Hollywood's biggest hits like Homeland, The Bourne trilogy and Scandal's B316. In this episode we ask if the quest to secure democracy by any means necessary has become our new normal? With guest Igor Volsky, Managing Editor of ThinkProgress.org

How do fairytales shape how we view our own personal power as women? In every tale a woman is in dire need of being rescued--she is rarely the one doing the rescuing. While there is nothing wrong with attending fabulous ball, wearing gorgeous ensembles and they like we wonder if there is a place for feminism and fairytale in the 21st century and if re-writing the fairytale and scripting our own stories will become our new normal. With guests, Founder of LiL SoSo Productions & Cultural Architect, Risikat Okedeyi and Artist, Writer and Creator of the project Feminine Folklore, Goldie Dean.

Hyper-sexuality, nudity, inflated egos and the like have all become par for the course on the path to celebrity. However, with the myriad of "look at me, look at me" celeb PR stunts from exhibitionism to more troublesome behavior we wonder how celeb behavior has permeated our sub consciousness and if the glorification of narcissitc tendacies have become our new normal? With guests, Dr. Rachel Kiston (Ph.d) and Chrissy Coleman News and Political Editor for Global Grind

What would happen if instead of running from our identities, our race and ethnicity we embraced it and created a space where we were not only seen but could forge constructive conversations about our differences? Thankfully there is another movement underway to combat the "new black"--one we're calling black renaissance 2.0. Will the resurgence of self-identified black artists will become our new normal? Guests director/creator of Dear White People, Justin Simien and designer of Nubian Skin, Ade Hassan

In a world where we shame women for gaining weight during pregnancy and teens head to YouTube to vaildate their beauty by posting videos, is it possible for us to ever believe we are actually enough--just the way we are? Or has beauty shaming become our new normal? With author of the memoir, You're Not Pretty Enough, Jennifer Tress.

While media outlets have the power to assuage or fan the flames of fear, in the case of Ebola, they have decided to do the latter. In this episode we wonder if Ebola hysteria has become our new normal or is there a way to put this genie back in the bottle? With Guest Tara Culp-Ressler, Health Editor at Thinkprogress.

Mutha-F'in cranberries, what about a little broccoli for that ass? These are just a few of the gems that the blog turned cookbook Thug Kitchen drops in their foray into a culinary "gangsta vernacular"--and people everywhere have been eating up every word, until it was discovered that the initially anonymous bloggers were white. Is this just a good lesson in strategic marketing or has culinary blackface become our new normal? Guest, writer and communications strategist, Maya K. Francis .

From Black-ish to How to Get Away with Murder to Gotham and more, our television shows are finally starting to mirror the shifting demographics of our society. In this episode we wonder if the revelation, that people of color can actually exist in a multi-dimensional way on the small screen will become our new normal? With guest Emil Wilbekin, Creative and Strategic Marketing Professional and Chief Creative Officer of World of Wilbekin.

When TMZ released the second video of NFL Player Ray Rice knocking out the mother of his child the incident went viral on social media spawning the hashtags 'Why I Stayed' and 'Why I Left' making the public's outrage go viral. In this episode we ask has violence against women become our new normal? And if so does social media have the power to stop it? With guests Dr. Kaila Story, assistant professor of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Louisville and Chantal Barlow, founder of the Unconventional Apology Project.

Style and smarts are not mutually exclusive entities. Remember the movie Legally Blonde when Elle Woods ditched her hot pink ensembles for black frocks and glasses to fit in at Harvard? What about Olivia Pope? Would she wield as much power and presence on Scandal if her style game wasn't equally as fierce as her political fixing? Politini went to the center of fashion power, VOGUE magazine, to get the scoop on how a younger generation of women are redefining what it means to be stylish and powerful.

Many may still balk at twitter-activism and it's ability to produce real-life solutions, but solutions can't be hatched without an initial spark and realization that there IS a problem. In this episode we ask has #hashtag activism become our new normal? With guests Nina Smith, Director with Impact and Risikat Okedeyi, Founder of LSP, a cultural architecture firm and English Professor at Prince George's Community College.

27 - The Power of Style