What the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability

What the quarter-zip craze tells us about Blackness and respectability

What does the humble, boring quarter-zip sweater have to do with respectability politics and Blackness? Apparently, a lot! When two young Black men on TikTok brought the quarter-zip into vogue for young folks, they unknowingly waded into some very long-lived discourse on Black fashion and looking "respectable." Today on the pod, we chop it up with Jonathan Square, professor of Black visual culture at Parsons School of Design, about Black fashion, and what's happening more broadly to make this pretty plain sweater the "it" garment.

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How the Trump administration is reshaping immigration

How the Trump administration is reshaping immigration

The Trump administration has been firing immigration judges, despite the fact that there’s a massive backlog of immigration cases that need rulings. Ximena Bustillo, NPR’s immigration and DHS reporter...

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Fearing deportation, undocumented parents are preparing to leave their kids behind

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22 Nov 202511min

How undocumented families are navigating the looming threat of ICE

How undocumented families are navigating the looming threat of ICE

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19 Nov 202531min

How Trump's cuts to public media threaten the first Native American station

How Trump's cuts to public media threaten the first Native American station

On October 1, 2025, public radio stations lost all of their federal funding -- and for Black and Native American community stations, the cuts hit hard. Case in point, KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, which was...

15 Nov 202517min

Tribal colleges are a unique resource — and they're under threat

Tribal colleges are a unique resource — and they're under threat

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College has classes on everything from Native American studies to gardening to equine sciences to the Hidatsa language. Like other tribal colleges and universities (aka TCUs), it...

12 Nov 202531min

The hidden history of demonizing SNAP recipients

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8 Nov 202535min

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