Episode 123: Rex Tillerson, Women's Obituaries, and National Geographic

Past Present

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil debate Donald Trump’s firing of Rex Tillerson, the New York Times publishing obituaries for women it overlooked historically, and National Geographic’s self-study of its past racist coverage.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the latest White House official President Trump has fired by tweet. Natalia referenced this New Yorker article highlighting the origins of Tillerson’s leadership style.
• “Overlooked” is the name of a New York Times initiative to acknowledge the fact that since 1851, the paper’s obituaries have been dominated by white men. Natalia referred to Amanda Hess’s coverage of this issue at Slate. We all referred to this NPR interview with former Times obituary writers featured in the documentary
• National Geographic’s latest issue reckons with the magazine’s treatment of race throughout the publication’s history. Niki referred to historian George Fredrickson’s notion of “scientistic racism.” Natalia shared Rebecca Onion’s interview for Slate of the historian John Edwin Mason who conducted the study for ­National Geographic.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Neil shared Olivia B. Waxman’s TIME article, “The Surprisingly Poetic Origins of the Phrase ‘March Madness’.”
• Natalia commented on Jason LeMiere’s Newsweek article, “Barron Trump’s School Signs Open Letter Asking His Dad to Act on Gun Violence, Oppose Arming Teachers.”
• Niki discussed Rebecca Onion’s Slate article, “The Teacher Would Suddenly Yell ‘Drop!’.”