<description>&lt;p&gt;Well, that surely was an episode. We do our best to reflect on the season as a whole and consider why some of these decisions might've been made. We try to identify a few of the things that we felt were missing to have made it work. And how do we feel about where the characters are now? It depends.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We've still got some transcripts to finish, but will be on hiatus otherwise for the foreseeable future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ruth: If you're missing Lovecraft Country, we encourage you to check out the &lt;a href="https://theconvention.fiyahlitmag.com/the-ignyte-awards/"&gt;IGNYTE awards finalists list&lt;/a&gt; for tons of new worlds to explore. The awards are sponsored by &lt;a href="https://theconvention.fiyahlitmag.com/"&gt;FIYAHCon, for BIPOC+ in speculative fiction&lt;/a&gt;, to “celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror." The awards include novels, novellas, short stories, young adult, comics, anthologies, podcasts and more. It includes some of my favorite reading of the last year, plus plenty of stuff for my to-read and listen lists!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

 &lt;p class="credits"&gt;Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by &lt;a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/"&gt;Patrick de Arteaga&lt;/a&gt;. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.&lt;/p&gt; </description>

...surely was an episode.

Well, that surely was an episode. We do our best to reflect on the season as a whole and consider why some of these decisions might've been made. We try to identify a few of the things that we felt were missing to have made it work. And how do we feel about where the characters are now? It depends.
We've still got some transcripts to finish, but will be on hiatus otherwise for the foreseeable future.
Ruth: If you're missing Lovecraft Country, we encourage you to check out the <a href="https://theconvention.fiyahlitmag.com/the-ignyte-awards/">IGNYTE awards finalists list</a> for tons of new worlds to explore. The awards are sponsored by <a href="https://theconvention.fiyahlitmag.com/">FIYAHCon, for BIPOC+ in speculative fiction</a>, to “celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror." The awards include novels, novellas, short stories, young adult, comics, anthologies, podcasts and more. It includes some of my favorite reading of the last year, plus plenty of stuff for my to-read and listen lists!
 Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by <a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/">Patrick de Arteaga</a>. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.

Episode 10: Well, That Was an Episode Alright

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Content note: This week we'll be talking about the episode which takes place during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. We primarily discuss family relationships and plot threads and how they connect to this week's events. Rather than do a media break, we'd recommend our fellow white listeners spend some time learning how widespread such massacres were and spend time reflecting on the knowledge, connection, sense of home, and lives taken.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is also a technical issue in this episode. Rachel was using a very old microphone which began giving out during the episode. Ruth did her best to salvage it for the episode, but next week should be better.&lt;/p&gt;

 &lt;p class="credits"&gt;Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by &lt;a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/"&gt;Patrick de Arteaga&lt;/a&gt;. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.&lt;/p&gt; </description>

And nice job with the magic stone, Christina

Content note: This week we'll be talking about the episode which takes place during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. We primarily discuss family relationships and plot threads and how they connect to this week's events. Rather than do a media break, we'd recommend our fellow white listeners spend some time learning how widespread such massacres were and spend time reflecting on the knowledge, connection, sense of home, and lives taken.
There is also a technical issue in this episode. Rachel was using a very old microphone which began giving out during the episode. Ruth did her best to salvage it for the episode, but next week should be better.
 Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by <a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/">Patrick de Arteaga</a>. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.

Episode 9: Coming Full Circle in Tulsa

<description>&lt;p&gt;In one of the most terrifying episodes yet, Dee is left on her own to face down police violence, evil magic, and two monstrous creatures dreamed up by white imagination. And let's not forget the trauma of her mother's disappearance and the murders of her father and good friend. She began the series as a little girl with a beautiful Afrofuturist vision and we don't want her to lose that—but as Montrose says, they keep taking.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;All the adults, except Montrose, are caught up in making devil's bargains with Christina. Montrose really tries to come through for Dee, but it's not what she needs. On that note, the Harvard Gazette recently published &lt;a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/the-1921-tulsa-race-massacre-and-its-enduring-financial-fallout/"&gt;a story on the financial fallout of the Tulsa massacre&lt;/a&gt;. Nor was that the only one. The authors mention that every lynching was a reminder the entire community that personal security, freedom to work and innovate, could be taken away at any moment. It's true and also so much more, which we see in the devastation Montrose carries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While the shoggoth who never skips leg day can't fix things, it evens the score a little bit in this episode.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ruth: While we shouted-out &lt;a href="http://www.darkerhuestudios.com/projects"&gt;Chris Spivey's work&lt;/a&gt; in one of our earliest media breaks, I want to talk about the &lt;strong&gt;Harlem Unbound&lt;/strong&gt; RPG setting again in light of this week's episode. Like our protagonists, you may cast dangerous spells, carry curses, and fight monsters who just happen to be the police—you'd be lucky to get a Lovecraftian monster on your side, and by lucky I mean it would come with a dangerous consequence, for sure. The first edition &lt;a href="http://www.darkerhuestudios.com/shop/digital-copy-harlem-unbound"&gt;sold-out in print and available as PDF&lt;/a&gt; supports the Call of Cthulhu and Trail of Cthulhu systems. The second &lt;a href="https://www.chaosium.com/harlem-unbound-2nd-edition-hardcover/"&gt;available now in PDF and for pre-order&lt;/a&gt; supports Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and includes 4 new scenarios. You can check out an &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00R_FyGMBOg"&gt;August 2020 actual-play of "Harlem Hellfighters Never Die"&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

 &lt;p class="credits"&gt;Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by &lt;a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/"&gt;Patrick de Arteaga&lt;/a&gt;. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.&lt;/p&gt; </description>

and the Shoggoth Who Never Skips Leg Day

In one of the most terrifying episodes yet, Dee is left on her own to face down police violence, evil magic, and two monstrous creatures dreamed up by white imagination. And let's not forget the trauma of her mother's disappearance and the murders of her father and good friend. She began the series as a little girl with a beautiful Afrofuturist vision and we don't want her to lose that—but as Montrose says, they keep taking.
All the adults, except Montrose, are caught up in making devil's bargains with Christina. Montrose really tries to come through for Dee, but it's not what she needs. On that note, the Harvard Gazette recently published <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/06/the-1921-tulsa-race-massacre-and-its-enduring-financial-fallout/">a story on the financial fallout of the Tulsa massacre</a>. Nor was that the only one. The authors mention that every lynching was a reminder the entire community that personal security, freedom to work and innovate, could be taken away at any moment. It's true and also so much more, which we see in the devastation Montrose carries.
While the shoggoth who never skips leg day can't fix things, it evens the score a little bit in this episode.
Ruth: While we shouted-out <a href="http://www.darkerhuestudios.com/projects">Chris Spivey's work</a> in one of our earliest media breaks, I want to talk about the Harlem Unbound RPG setting again in light of this week's episode. Like our protagonists, you may cast dangerous spells, carry curses, and fight monsters who just happen to be the police—you'd be lucky to get a Lovecraftian monster on your side, and by lucky I mean it would come with a dangerous consequence, for sure. The first edition <a href="http://www.darkerhuestudios.com/shop/digital-copy-harlem-unbound">sold-out in print and available as PDF</a> supports the Call of Cthulhu and Trail of Cthulhu systems. The second <a href="https://www.chaosium.com/harlem-unbound-2nd-edition-hardcover/">available now in PDF and for pre-order</a> supports Call of Cthulhu 7th edition and includes 4 new scenarios. You can check out an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00R_FyGMBOg">August 2020 actual-play of "Harlem Hellfighters Never Die"</a>
 Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by <a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/">Patrick de Arteaga</a>. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.

Episode 8: Haunted by White Imagination

<description>&lt;p&gt;We've been on a few road trips this season, but Episode 7 is a full-fledged journey across time, space, and dimensions. After a quick checkin with Montrose (oh dear), Christina (strong bisexual energy), Ruby (on a break, but we think she's hooked), and our main duo, we follow Hippolyta on her journey of discovery.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; Hippolyta, free and in Paris and being smooth as fuck with Josephine Baker's cigarette. She &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; Hippolyta, Dahomi Amazon warrior, fighting for her freedom and avenging herself and her ancestors. She &lt;em&gt;is&lt;/em&gt; Hippolyta... Discoverer, woman who named a comet. It's a shift from the horror, haunted house, Indiana Jones, and war movie tones so far, and we're delighted with the Afrofuturist aesthetic which comes alive in it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Voiceover in the episode was from &lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Is_the_Place"&gt;Space is the Place&lt;/a&gt;, one of the earliest Afrofuturist works (from the 1970s, before the term was coined). Listen to Sun-Ra, P-Funk (&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/24/579982124/george-clinton-the-p-funk-all-stars-tiny-desk-concert"&gt;still at it!&lt;/a&gt;), and Janelle Monae's Cindi Mayweather Trilogy (&lt;em&gt;Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase)&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;The ArchAndroid&lt;/em&gt;, and &lt;em&gt;The Electric Lady&lt;/em&gt;).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Titles recommended during the media break:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Octavia Butler's &lt;em&gt;Xenogensis&lt;/em&gt; trilogy (renamed &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780446676106"&gt;Lilith's Brood&lt;/a&gt;) and all her work from &lt;em&gt;Parable&lt;/em&gt; series to &lt;em&gt;Kindred&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780989141147"&gt;Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond&lt;/a&gt;, with stories from many authors already named on this podcast&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Nnedi Okorafor's &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780765385253"&gt;Binti&lt;/a&gt; (or the &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780756416935"&gt;whole trilogy&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Rivers Solomon's &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9781617755880"&gt;An Unkindness of Ghosts&lt;/a&gt; (also check out their &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9781534439870"&gt;The Deep&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;N.K. Jemisin's &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316527194"&gt;Broken Earth Trilogy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;and remember, buying from a real bookstore will take more time than buying from Amazon! But it's worth it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And some videos (may require being on the site to view):&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"&gt;
 &lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uQFGkGk4PSc" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"&gt;
 &lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bCalqwsicls" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;"&gt;
 &lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Esmjx8eVcE" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;!-- raw HTML omitted --&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

 &lt;p class="credits"&gt;Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by &lt;a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/"&gt;Patrick de Arteaga&lt;/a&gt;. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.&lt;/p&gt; </description>

Beyond that which is

We've been on a few road trips this season, but Episode 7 is a full-fledged journey across time, space, and dimensions. After a quick checkin with Montrose (oh dear), Christina (strong bisexual energy), Ruby (on a break, but we think she's hooked), and our main duo, we follow Hippolyta on her journey of discovery.
She is Hippolyta, free and in Paris and being smooth as fuck with Josephine Baker's cigarette. She is Hippolyta, Dahomi Amazon warrior, fighting for her freedom and avenging herself and her ancestors. She is Hippolyta... Discoverer, woman who named a comet. It's a shift from the horror, haunted house, Indiana Jones, and war movie tones so far, and we're delighted with the Afrofuturist aesthetic which comes alive in it.
Voiceover in the episode was from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Is_the_Place">Space is the Place</a>, one of the earliest Afrofuturist works (from the 1970s, before the term was coined). Listen to Sun-Ra, P-Funk (<a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/01/24/579982124/george-clinton-the-p-funk-all-stars-tiny-desk-concert">still at it!</a>), and Janelle Monae's Cindi Mayweather Trilogy (Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), The ArchAndroid, and The Electric Lady).
Titles recommended during the media break:
<ul>
<li>Octavia Butler's Xenogensis trilogy (renamed <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780446676106">Lilith's Brood</a>) and all her work from Parable series to Kindred</li>
<li><a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780989141147">Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond</a>, with stories from many authors already named on this podcast</li>
<li>Nnedi Okorafor's <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780765385253">Binti</a> (or the <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780756416935">whole trilogy</a>)</li>
<li>Rivers Solomon's <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9781617755880">An Unkindness of Ghosts</a> (also check out their <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9781534439870">The Deep</a>)</li>
<li>N.K. Jemisin's <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316527194">Broken Earth Trilogy</a></li>
</ul>
and remember, buying from a real bookstore will take more time than buying from Amazon! But it's worth it.
And some videos (may require being on the site to view):

<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
 <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uQFGkGk4PSc" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"></iframe>
</div>


<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
 <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bCalqwsicls" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"></iframe>
</div>


<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
 <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Esmjx8eVcE" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" allowfullscreen title="YouTube Video"></iframe>
</div>

 Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by <a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/">Patrick de Arteaga</a>. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.

Episode 7: She IS Hippolyta

<description>&lt;p&gt;We finally get to learn about Ji-Ah, who's been a voice on the phone and a figure in Tic's nightmares. We look at the parallels between her life, Tic's, and those of the episode's supporting characters while asking an important question... can monsters love?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This podcast supports monsters loving. We're not too big on the whole eye-tail-tentacle mashup thing. We're also not big on proxy wars and imperialist interference in other peoples' lives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Some additional context, this 1996 retrospective on &lt;a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-04-28-1996119168-story.html"&gt;1st Lt. Leon Gilbert&lt;/a&gt; delves into his 1950 court-marshalling and death sentence (later changed to 20 years with parole after 5), his PTSD from Italy, the state of the Korean war at the time, and the obliteration of the last remaining all-black regiment. It's a long read but also talks about the U.S. Army's complete inability to handle psychiatric stress at the beginning of the Korean war.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ruth: This week, I'd like to recommend two books which take on the same thing in vastly different ways. The first is N. K. Jemisin's THE CITY WE BECAME (&lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316509848"&gt;hardcover&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316509886"&gt;pre-order paperback&lt;/a&gt;). It fully falls into the category of Weird Fiction, while being so much more too. The second, Alyssa Cole's WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING (&lt;a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780062982650"&gt;paperback&lt;/a&gt;) is a gentrification thriller, set in Brooklyn, in a reality so close to our own that I felt the urge to check the news. Both tell stories of communities forming or drawing on deep roots help them create something bigger than themselves as they go up against sinister adversaries. I try not to get involved in series before they're finished, but I am itching to order the next book in Jemisin's Great Cities series.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

 &lt;p class="credits"&gt;Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by &lt;a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/"&gt;Patrick de Arteaga&lt;/a&gt;. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.&lt;/p&gt; </description>

Yes, but those are freaky tails!

We finally get to learn about Ji-Ah, who's been a voice on the phone and a figure in Tic's nightmares. We look at the parallels between her life, Tic's, and those of the episode's supporting characters while asking an important question... can monsters love?
This podcast supports monsters loving. We're not too big on the whole eye-tail-tentacle mashup thing. We're also not big on proxy wars and imperialist interference in other peoples' lives.
Some additional context, this 1996 retrospective on <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-04-28-1996119168-story.html">1st Lt. Leon Gilbert</a> delves into his 1950 court-marshalling and death sentence (later changed to 20 years with parole after 5), his PTSD from Italy, the state of the Korean war at the time, and the obliteration of the last remaining all-black regiment. It's a long read but also talks about the U.S. Army's complete inability to handle psychiatric stress at the beginning of the Korean war.
Ruth: This week, I'd like to recommend two books which take on the same thing in vastly different ways. The first is N. K. Jemisin's THE CITY WE BECAME (<a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316509848">hardcover</a>, <a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780316509886">pre-order paperback</a>). It fully falls into the category of Weird Fiction, while being so much more too. The second, Alyssa Cole's WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING (<a href="https://www.loyaltybookstores.com/book/9780062982650">paperback</a>) is a gentrification thriller, set in Brooklyn, in a reality so close to our own that I felt the urge to check the news. Both tell stories of communities forming or drawing on deep roots help them create something bigger than themselves as they go up against sinister adversaries. I try not to get involved in series before they're finished, but I am itching to order the next book in Jemisin's Great Cities series.
 Intro music from "The Ninth Crewman" by <a href="https://patrickdearteaga.com/horror-music/">Patrick de Arteaga</a>. Outro music "In the Pines" performed by Micah Tillman.

Episode 6: Can Monsters Love?

One's a die-hard horror fan. One gets spooked. What happens when they watch HBO's new show: Lovecraft Country? Let's take a little trip and find out...

R & R in Lovecraft Country

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