Clipping Right Along

Map showing prevalence of male circumcision at birth in the USA

Our most recent episode, “Pre-Deliverance, Part 3” was the first time we saw over 1000 downloads within a couple of days of being released.

This growth gives the lie to a widespread belief in some quarters that there is no audience for long-format history programmes.

As the writer/producer of “Before We Were White”, I decided early on to assume that anyone interested in real history would accept that a story takes as long as it takes.

I also made a decision that even where a subject or idea required some paring-down, that this would never mean “dumbing-down”.

The biggest challenge when writing and producing a blog and podcast which tries to act as a counterweight to “fluff history”, is the fact that real history can be dark and shot-through with greed, hypocrisy, self-serving delusions, and no small measure of violence.

The challenge then becomes how to make a subject surprising, interesting, educational, and informative, without making it seem as if humanity is largely beyond redemption.

In other words, the last thing I want is for people to see one of my posts, or a new podcast episode, and think “Oh god this is gonna be depressing”.

On the other hand, if the tone taken is too light-hearted, it wouldn’t be doing justice to the often terrible things in America’s past which still have a profound impact on American society today.

Truth is like a baptism of fire – only when we’ve passed through the pain of looking ourselves squarely in the mirror can we begin to function as humbler, wiser, and perhaps happier human beings.

And with that out of the way, let me say that after food, shelter, and love – music, laughter and play are probably the most important things in life.

As I officially enter my seventh decade this week, I will be making an extra effort to remember to laugh in between fits of rage at our political leaders.

Thank you again for supporting this work.

And yes, the map above is meant to raise a smile, in between some serious head-scratching.  I thought it might be an amusing addendum to our recent podcast episode, which explored the forgotten Jewish influence on Southern Appalachian history and culture.

Make of it what you will…

#beforewewerewhite #hillbillyjews