Opinion | How’d I go from global policy to Joe Rogan?

The best thing about my graduate school years was that I didn’t spend time thinking, wondering, or worrying about basic things like diversity and racial integration (which is now a big concern). is). We, students, will work together to solve the urban development problems facing our cities, to find strategies to protect the environment, and to help the poor and disenfranchised around the world. The focus was on how we can use our minds and experiences.

In that setting, our cultural, political, racial and religious differences were assets rather than threats. , I have not been naive about what we can do in the face of colonization, an international order built through the deliberate underdevelopment of the so-called global South. benefits of the West. But with more research and work, our imagination has opened up to possibilities. And, frankly, it was insanely fun. (Our party and food exchange was legendary.)

I dropped out of graduate school and became a freelance reporter in the Caribbean, Curacao to be exact. Once a Dutch colony, it was also a country where a clear legacy of racism and inequality is still present in everyday life, but it was another place where I encountered cultures from around the world.

Fast forward to the decade I spent in the United States and I realize how much of my time and energy has been spent. The rooms are good.

I know: they will say, “Keep up the good fight.” But this weekend is a reminder that I didn’t go to Ivy League graduate school and become a diversity janitor cleaning up the chaos of white corporate America. I wanted to, so I went. I chose journalism as the best way to express that desire.

Home Front: Spotify’s $100M Band-Aid Is Over

My pessimism about racial progress in white America is sponsored by Spotify today.

When super-popular podcast host Joe Rogan was found on tape last year using the n-word more than 20 times, audio streaming services rushed to cover the chaos. I wrote about how. Spotify has scrambled and deleted his 100+ episodes of Logan’s show. They also pledged to donate his $100 million to his creator of diverse content.

Bloomberg News has found that Spotify uses less than 10% of its so-called Creator Equity Fund. According to a Bloomberg article, “The initiative has lagged behind in recruiting staff and has struggled with shifting priorities.” We hadn’t decided yet.”

According to Complex, a Spotify rep only said it used “more” than the numbers Bloomberg reported.

Spotify told Bloomberg that the fund is “dedicated to a range of initiatives that help advance and support a comprehensive and diverse portfolio of artists and creators on its platform” and will be used over multiple years. I pointed out that it is designed to

Meanwhile, Logan is still coasting along with a deal with Spotify worth at least $200 million.

Does it seem like big corporations are whispering about racial equality? Color me shock.

Do you have any questions, comments, tips, recipes, poems, praise or critiques for me? Submit here. I read all submissions and may include yours in future versions of the newsletter.