Decoder Ring: The Forgotten Video Game About Slavery

Decoder Ring: The Forgotten Video Game About Slavery

While the What Next team celebrates the holiday, enjoy this episode from our colleagues at Decoder Ring.


In 1992, a Minnesota-based software company known for its educational hit The Oregon Trail released another simulation-style game to school districts across the country. Freedom! took kids on a journey along the Underground Railroad, becoming the first American software program to use slavery as its subject matter.


Less than four months later, it was pulled from the market. In this episode, we revisit this well-intentioned, but flawed foray into historical trauma that serves as a reminder that teaching Black history in America has always been fraught.


This episode was written by Willa Paskin. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. This episode was also produced by Benjamin Frisch, and edited by Erica Morrison. Derek John is executive producer. Joel Meyer is senior editor-producer and Merritt Jacob is senior technical director.


We’re grateful to Julian Lucas for his expertise, reporting, and generosity, without which this episode would not have been possible. His New Yorker article, “Can Slavery Reenactments Set Us Free?,” revisits the Freedom! story as part of an exploration of the live Underground Railroad re-enactments that Kamau Kambui pioneered.


Thank you to Jesse Fuchs for suggesting this topic. Thanks also to Coventry Cowens, Brigitte Fielder, Bob Whitaker, Alan Whisman, Wayne Studer, Alicia Montgomery, Rebecca Onion, Luke Winkie, and Kamau Kambui’s children: Yamro Kambui Fields, Halim Fields, Mawusi Kambui Pierre, Nanyamka Salley, and Kamau Sababu Kambui Jr.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(2371)

How to Rein in ICE and A.I.

How to Rein in ICE and A.I.

Artificial intelligence is working its way into every aspect of our lives, including law and immigration enforcement, and the industry is spending millions of dollars to ensure it can continue to do s...

29 Maalis 30min

Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment

Social Media’s Big Tobacco Moment

What YouTube and Meta’s loss in the “social media addiction trial” could mean for your feed.Guest: Ryan Mac, business and technology reporter for the New York Times.Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe ...

27 Maalis 23min

The Iran War Hits Your Pocket

The Iran War Hits Your Pocket

Trump’s unpredictability injects uncertainty into the economy, foreign policy, and everything else he touches. Even as his war messaging varies wildly moment to moment, the world economy is certain of...

26 Maalis 24min

Meanwhile in Cuba with Hasan Piker

Meanwhile in Cuba with Hasan Piker

Leftist political commentator Hasan Piker feels the Democrats have missed an opportunity to articulate their opposition to Trump’s foreign policy—in Venezuela, Iran, and, from the sound of it, soon en...

25 Maalis 21min

How ICE Landed At Your Airport

How ICE Landed At Your Airport

Kristi Noem is out, and Senator Markwayne Mullin is in (in theory) as the new DHS secretary. Mullin tried to strike a softer tone during his confirmation hearing, nodding towards rolling back controve...

24 Maalis 28min

You Mailed in Your Ballot. Will It Count?

You Mailed in Your Ballot. Will It Count?

The argument against counting mail-in ballots that arrive after election day is going to involve Supreme Court-pleasing “originalist” language, but is the case really just another way to say that Trum...

23 Maalis 25min

War Dot Com

War Dot Com

Why Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp views working with Western militaries not just as a business opportunity, but as a higher calling.Guest: Jacob Silverman, journalist and author of “Gilded Rage...

22 Maalis 27min

Hank Green Still Believes

Hank Green Still Believes

Hank Green recently pulled a “reverse OpenAI” - he took his education platform Complexly and made it a nonprofit. In a world where outrage, A.I. slop and “brain rot” are all heavily incentivized by pl...

20 Maalis 31min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

uutiscast
aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
politiikan-puskaradio
tervo-halme
rss-podme-livebox
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
the-ulkopolitist
otetaan-yhdet
rss-asiastudio
aihe
rikosmyytit
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-aijat-hopottaa-podcast
rss-raha-talous-ja-politiikka
viisupodi