I don't hate my co-star and daughter in this podcast game, Ms. Patti Patti LaDanielle, aka Danielle Young, The Root's social-content producer, but because of Donald Trump's Russian-tainted presidential-election win, our relationship is strained. It's fitting that this episode starts with us arguing, but that isn't important. What is important is that I won. Because I always win. I'm winning out here. (Danielle says, “He's a loser.”)
You know who else is winning? Black women. But of course, history tries to deny this, which is why we are just learning of the three brave African-American women—a physicist, a space scientist and a mathematician—who calculated flight trajectories that helped land Apollo 11 on the moon. Their story is now told in the movie Hidden Figures, but why is this just coming out now, history?
Why, history? Why are you trying to hide the history of black women? Are you afraid, history? You better be.
You know who else is out here winning? Blond racists. That's right; Tomi Lahren is out here spewing hatred and getting cupcakes and endorsements from Charlamagne Tha God. Ms. Patti Patti and I try to figure out why and how the Goldilocks of racism became a thing and why Trevor Noah sent her cupcakes. And why Charlamagne now thinks Lahren's the second coming of Christ and women of color need to be "woke" like her. It's all too weird, but it's a Trump world out there, kids.
And because we hate racism on the show, we end with an interview with the lovely and talented Kim Burrell. She talks about working with Pharrell Williams on the Hidden Figures soundtrack and being vocally awesome, and I had Danielle challenge her to a run-off, in which she tries to out-sing Ms. Burrell. It ended better than you would think—assuming, of course, that you believed it would end horribly. It didn't. It was tragic, but so tragic that it was awesome. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it was so amazingly bad.
Enjoy.
And, we are on iTunes!!!! Click here and subscribe, and follow us on the Twitters here.