Episode 115: Tonya Harding, Prison Book Bans, and the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal

In this episode, Neil, Natalia, and Niki debate Tonya Harding’s comeback, book bans in prison, and the 20th anniversary of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.

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Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show:

• I, Tonya, is now in theaters and has prompted a new wave of interest in the 1990s scandal involving skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Natalia referenced Chloe Angyal’s New York Times piece on “gymnastics feminism” and Niki referred to the 1995 book Women on Ice: Feminist Responses to the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding Spectacle.
• Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow was effectively banned from New Jersey jails, raising questions about how such decisions are made. Niki referred to another banned book, Douglas Blackmon’s Slavery by Another Name. Natalia mentioned Heather Thompson’s book about the Attica Uprising, Blood in the Water.
• It has been twenty years since the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. Natalia referred to Lewinsky’s 2014 interview in Vanity Fair and her TED talk on cyberbullying. Niki wrote about how the Lewinsky scandal shaped modern American politics in her column for The Age.

In our regular closing feature, What’s Making History:

• Natalia shared the Amazon Originals show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
• Neil discussed this Atlas Obscura article on when the Soviet Union paid Pepsi in warships.
• Niki commented on the New York Times article on how an African-American character, Franklin, was introduced to the Peanuts cartoon.