Episodes
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Leaving Cities
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
The Banana Boyz touch on the exodus of workers from major urban centres, how it's touched their own lives, what it means, and the implications of it all.
SECOND BANANAS NEWS:
MAIN ARTICLE:
Here’s the income you need to afford rent in major Canadian cities (Globe and Mail
Groups you can get involved with:
Vancouver For All Listening Circles - Municipal Elections.
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Terryology
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
Wednesday Feb 23, 2022
The Banana Boyz learn about actor, musician, businessman and philosopher-mogul Terrence Howard and his quest to teach the world about Terryology, his unique formal language of logic.
SOURCES
Terrence Howard | Wikipedia | IMDB | Instagram | Twitter
Domestic Abuse and Assault Allegations
Terrence Howard's Dangerous Mind (Rolling Stone - 2015)
Terrence Howard | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Doctor Katalin Kariko
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Wes learns the other Banana Boyz about Dr. Katalin Kariko, who spent decades researching mRNA, facing setbacks both personal and professional. Despite this, she persevered, and her research made COVID Vaccines possible.
Because of her, science is already using mRNA to explore a number of exciting new treatments for a universal coranavirus vaccine, sickle cell immunity, a cure for malaria, and even vaccines for peanut allergies! And mRNA is now seriously being considered as a potential treatment for pretty much every known illness.
SOURCES:
Dr. Katalin Kariko on Wikipedia
The story of mRNA: How a once-dismissed idea became a leading technology in the Covid vaccine race (STAT Magazine)
Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus (NY Times)
The Unlikely Pioneer Behind mRNA Vaccines (The Daily Podcast)
How COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Work (YouTube)
The Story Behind mRNA COVID Vaccines: Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman (YouTube)
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Altamont Free Concert
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
Tuesday Nov 09, 2021
The Banana Boyz dig into the Anti-Woodstock that was the Altamont Free Concert. Considered by some "The Day the Music Died", it was a Free Concert put on by The Rolling Stones in Northern California.
Wary of cops, they hired The Hells Angels to do security, and last-minute changes to the venue resulted in unsafe stages, bad acid trips & massive overcrowding. 4 people died, including Meredith Hunter, a young black man, who was stabbed to death by the Hells' Angels.
SOURCES:
Selvin, J. (2016). Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock’s Darkest Day. HarperCollins.
Austerlitz, S. (2018). Just A shot away: Peace, love, and tragedy with The Rolling Stones at Altamont. Thomas Dunne Books.
Barger, S.(2000). Hell’s Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and The Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club. Fourth Estate.
The Rolling Stones Disaster at Altamont: Let It Bleed (Rolling Stone)
Altamont Free Concert (Wikipedia)
Rock N Roll Archaeology - Episode 19: 1969 Part II (Pantheon Podcasts)
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Dillinger Four
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
The Banana Boyz revisit one of Joe's favorites, Dillinger Four - a pop-punk band comprised of four beer-swilling, bartending, butt cracking dudes from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and compare their underground success as a "bands' band" to punk rock super stars Green Day! It's really a jumping-off point for a discussion about DIY Punk scenes in North America, the roots of pop punk, and why Joe just loves D4 so damn much!
Sources/Further Reading:
In Dillinger Four We Trust (Vice/Noisey)
The Official Dillinger Four Angelfire Page
Dillinger Four's 'Midwestern Songs of the Americas' Spawned a Scene of Copycats (Vice/Noisey)
25th Anniversary Interview (Scene Point Blank)
Situationist Comedy Release Interview (Lollipop Magazine)
Erik Funk Interview (PunkNews)
Patrick "Paddy" Costello Interview (PunkNews)
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Rosemary Brown (with Derrick O‘Keefe)
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Monday Sep 13, 2021
The Banana Boyz have Ricochet Editor, Organizer, Former Vancouver City Council Candidate & Socialist Dad Derrick O'Keefe on the pod to talk about the life & times of Rosemary Brown; the first Black Woman elected to a Canadian provincial legislature; first Black Woman to serve as Speaker of the House in a provincial legislature, and the first Black Woman to run for leadership of a Canadian Federal Party - coming in second to Ed Broadbent for leadership of the Federal NDP in 1975!
Rosemary was also an open socialist who was unafraid to criticize her own party and its white, male leaders. She spoke openly of how poverty disproportionately affected women, particularly Black & Elderly women. In her 1975 bid for the leadership of the NDP, she advocated for socialism, anti-imperialism, and feminism. Despite being recognized as a trailblazer & advocate, her radicalism is often downplayed or softened in official records.
Please also check out this list of Black Organizations & Fundraisers in British Columbia you can support!
SOURCES/FURTHER INFO:
Section 15 Biography on Rosemary Brown
Historica Canada Video on Rosemary Brown (YouTube)
Rosemary Brown on Royal BC History Museum
INTERVIEW: The Task Force on Aging Women - 1980 (YouTube)
DOCUMENTARY: No Way, Not Me! (YouTube)
CBC Archive: Rosemary Brown Makes Leadership Bid in 1975 (CBC Video)
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Bratz Dolls (with Tess Eneli Reid)
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
(EPISODE UPDATED TO FIX AUDIO ISSUE)
Assistant director, story artist, and comic artist Tess Eneli Reid brings the truly fascinating world of Bratz Dolls (Second Bananas to reigning Doll Queen Barbie) This episode delves into the sexual & racial politics swirling around the Bratz dolls, their absolute circus clown CEO, and the many times they've left us and come back. This one's a banger, folks!
Sources/Further Reading:
A Brief Investigation Into the Complicated History of Bratz (W Magazine)
When Barbie Went to War With Bratz (The New Yorker)
The Toy Mogul Who Became A Billionaire Through His Fight To The Death With Barbie (Forbes)
Bratz CEO Apologizes For Racist Rant (Buzzfeed)
Bratz Dolls Released A Statement on George Floyd's Death (Teen Vogue)
The Strange Phenomenon of L.O.L. Surprise Dolls (The Atlantic)
The Bratz Movie (IMDB)
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Cinderella III (with Alexis Sugden)
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Tuesday Aug 17, 2021
Animator, Director & Comic Creator Alexis Sugden talks Cinderella III and other direct-to-video Disney Sequels with the Banana Boyz!
Cinderella (The Folk Tale) on Wikipedia
Cinderella (The Movie) on IMDB
Cinderella III: A Twist In Time on IMDB
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Martov, Trotsky & Stalin (Part 2)
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Tuesday Aug 03, 2021
Part 2 of The Banana Boyz going HAM on the many Second Bananas of Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, aka V.I. Lenin.
Joe - Julius Martov
Craig - Leon Trotsky
Wes - Joseph Stalin
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Martov, Trotsky & Stalin (Part 1)
Monday Jul 19, 2021
Monday Jul 19, 2021
To celebrate their 25th episode, The Banana Boyz each took on one of the many Second Bananas of Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, aka V.I. Lenin.
Joe - Julius Martov
Craig - Leon Trotsky
Wes - Joseph Stalin
Part 2 comes out in 2 weeks!