Is He a Genius? Deconstructing the Politics and Aesthetics of Childish Gambino's "This is America"

Stephen Casmier is the guest on this week's Childish Gambino "This is America" themed episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a professor of English at Saint Louis University and the author of the great essay Donald Glover and Richard Pryor, or the Chokehold of the Minstrel Show which can be read at Medium.

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Stephen and Chauncey have a wide ranging conversation about black art and black genius, the problems with how concepts such as "intersectionality", "representation" and "identity politics" have been overused and misunderstood, the uprising in Ferguson, and America's almost pornographic relationship to black suffering. Dr. Casmier and Chauncey also deconstruct the politics and aesthetics of Childish Gambino's amazingly popular new song and video "This is America".

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega intervenes against the horrible cruelty and evil that is the Trump administration's war on the children and families of undocumented residents, immigrants, and refugees. Chauncey also reflects on the right-wing "patriotic" anthem "I'm Proud to be an American" and how it tells some unintentional truths about the culture of cruelty and the horrible wrongs in the country. At the end of this week's podcast, Chauncey has a good laugh about the lawsuit by the people behind the iconic children's TV series "Sesame Street" against the new adult comedy "The Happytime Murders".

This episode with Stephen Casmier can be downloaded from Libsyn and also listened to here.

The Chauncey DeVega Show is available on Itunes, Spotify and at Stitcher.

A Conversation with Psychiatrist Mark Goulston about Maintaining Our Emotional Health and Being Better Communicators in Troubled Times

Mark Goulston is the guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is a psychiatrist and author of several best-selling self-help books including Just Listen, Get Out of Your Own Way, and Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life.

Dr. Goulston has either been a guest on or his work featured by the CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC News, Oprah, Today, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily and the Los Angeles Times. He also hosts the podcast Prison Letters with Dr. Mark Goulston.

During this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Dr. Goulston and Chauncey discuss how to overcome self-sabotage, becoming better communicators, managing negative influences in our lives, and fighting back against depression and other mental health challenges. Dr. Goulston also reflects on the 2016 presidential race and offers some suggestions as to how the Democratic Party can better fight back against Donald Trump's alpha male bullying behavior.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega honors brother Malcolm X's birthday by sharing a New York Times editorial about his assassination. Unfortunately, Chauncey is also forced in the aftermath of the Sante Fe massacre by gun, to again, discuss how ammosexuals and other conservative gun fetishists are feeding America's children to the Gun God Moloch. On this week's show, Chauncey also peers into the right-wing hate sewer and its pit of defective women-hating "incels" who are debating if the Sante Fe mass murderer Dimitrios Pagourtzis was "too handsome" to be counted among their breed.

Of course, Trump University is always is session. This week's topic? The newest revelations about how Trump's cabal was willing to take assistance from Saudi Arabia and the UAE as coordinated by a child molester to steal the 2016 presidential election and by doing so to undermine American democracy.

This episode with Mark Goulston can be downloaded from Libsyn and also listened to here.

The Chauncey DeVega Show is available on Itunes, Spotify and at Stitcher.

A Conversation with Timothy Snyder About "Sadopopulism" and How Donald Trump and the Republican Party are Hurting White Voters in Order to Stay in Power

There are two guests on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. 

Yale University historian and New York Times-bestselling author Timothy Snyder returns to The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the author of "On Tyranny" and the new book "The Road to Unfreedom". This is Professor Snyder's fourth appearance on The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Professor Snyder and Chauncey discuss how America's democratic institutions are under siege by Donald Trump and the Republican Party's fascist campaign, the ways that Trump and his allies are hurting white voters in order to stay in power by redirecting their rage at nonwhites and other groups, and the concept known as "sadopopulism". Professor Snyder also explains how both liberals and conservatives are weakening America's democratic project.

Jared Yates Sexton is the second guest on this week's example of The Chauncey DeVega Show. He is the author of The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage. On this week's show, Jared and Chauncey discuss on the American news media continues to fail the public by not telling the truth about the threat posed by Donald Trump and how comedienne Michelle Wolff dared to expose the too cozy relationship between the so-called liberal news media and their right-wing propagandist "frenemies".

Jared also explains how Donald Trump is a political mafia boss who is running the White House like a criminal enterprise and personal protection racket.

Of course, as is their habit, Jared and Chauncey have to talk about the former's trip to this year's Wrestlemania, booking Roman Reigns, the Andre the Giant documentary on HBO, and how logical storytelling can help to salvage so many of the problems plaguing the WWE.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega explains the hidden history of Mother's Day and its radical progressive roots in the women's rights and pacifist movements. Chauncey also offers an update in the Republican Party's continual effort to punish and hurt the most weak and vulnerable members of American society. This week's target? The elderly, differently-abled, and other people who will be thrown out of nursing homes and into the streets because of cuts to Medicare. Chauncey also gives a "You Big Dummy Award" to one of Trump's human deplorables whose business is going bankrupt because of the Great Leader's "soft ethnic cleansing" campaign against nonwhite immigrants.

This episode with Timothy Snyder and Jared Yates Sexton can be downloaded from Libsyn and also listened to here.

The Chauncey DeVega Show is available on Itunes, Spotify and at Stitcher.

A Conversation with Reed Tucker About the Secret History of the Rivalry Between Marvel and DC Comics

There are two guests on this week's Avengers: Infinity War and the secret history of Marvel vs. DC comics themed episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show.

Writer and Hugo-award nominated podcaster Alasdair Stuart is the first guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. Alasdair and Chauncey discuss their thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War and what it reveals about the future of the Marvel film universe, the pathos and menace of Josh Brolin as Thanos, and all that Infinity War does so very right in terms of emotion and relationships. Alasdair also tries to convince Chauncey that Star Trek: Discovery is not that horrible and offers some positive energy about why the new Han Solo Star Wars movie may actually be much better than expected.

Reed Tucker is the second guest on this week's episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. His work has been featured in the New York Post, Esquire, Fortune, and USA Today. Reed is also the author of the new book Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC.

During this week's installment of The Chauncey DeVega Show, Reed explains the secret history of Marvel and DC comics, the bust and boom era of comic books in the late 1980s through to the 1990s, great forgotten and obscure characters, tales of espionage, the trials and tribulations of Superman, and if this great era of superhero movies will end well--or terribly.

In this week's episode Chauncey DeVega tries to make sense of a Donald Trumpian dystopian moment that feels like it is torn out of the pages of a poorly written science fiction novel or comic book. To wit: During this wild and wacky last week Trump and Kanye West united, Alex Jones claimed that Trump is part of a secret alliance which is fighting a sentient computer program like in the Terminator movies, and The New York Times pondered if so-called "incel" terrorists should have access to sex robots, human sex workers, and other unfortunates who will be receptacles for male sexual rage. Chauncey connects the dots so that you can stay (relatively) sane.

This episode with Alasdair Stuart and Reed Tucker can be downloaded from Libsyn and also listened to here.

The Chauncey DeVega Show is available on Itunes, Spotify and at Stitcher.