“Hamilton” is back in the mix, but the flavor has changed from beloved historical blockbuster to “wait, that’s what this is?” Elsewhere, in new works like “Baited,” on Instagram Live, and “I May Destroy You,” on HBO, Black women are getting personal in ways that are expanding our palates for discomfort.

Discussed this week:

• “Hamilton” (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Disney+, 2020)
• “Baited” on Instagram Live
• Ziwe Fumudoh
• “I May Destroy You” (written by Michaela Coel, HBO, 2020)
• Native Land project
• “White Fragility” lecture (by Robin DiAngelo, 2019)

When Quaker decided to take Aunt Jemima off the red pancake box after 131 years, did it also try to scrub the legacy she represents? And what sort of compensation is appropriate — and to whom — from a brand that maintained that image in public for so long?

Discussed this week:

• “Aunt Jemima Brand to Change Name and Image Over ‘Racial Stereotype’” (Tiffany Hsu, The New York Times, June 2020)
• “Aunt Jemima: I’se in Town, Honey” (Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University)
• “The Dixie Chicks Change Their Name, Dropping the ‘Dixie’” (Ben Sisario, The New York Times, June 2020)
• “Lady Antebellum Sues the Singer Lady A Over Name Change” (Joe Coscarelli, The New York Times, July 2020)
• “Aunt Jemima’s Heirs’ $3 Billion Lawsuit Against Pepsi, Quaker Oats Tossed by Judge” (Tim Kenneally, The Wrap, February 2015)
• “What Is Owed” (Nikole Hannah Jones, The New York Times, June 2020)
• “The Case for Reparations” (Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, June 2014)

Excerpts from our June 12 live event, where we caught up about the uprisings and resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. This is the first of three special summer episodes.

Discussed this week:

• Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris in a live New York Times event (June 12, 2020)
• “‘Cops,’ Long-Running Reality Show That Glorified Police, Is Canceled” (The New York Times, June 2020)
• “LEGO Pulls Back Police Playset Affiliate Marketing Amid George Floyd Protests” (ToyBook, June 2020)
• “NASCAR Says It Will Ban Confederate Flags” (The New York Times, June 2020)
• Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris on “CBS This Morning” (Aug. 18, 2017, CBS)
• Speech by Stokely Carmichael (a.k.a. Kwame Ture) (Oct. 29, 1966, Berkeley, Calif.)
• “John Lewis: Good Trouble” (directed by Dawn Porter, July 2020)

In our final episode from our living rooms, we visit the dystopia of “Westworld” and the utopia of “Hollywood” to see if we can glean anything about what might be in store on the other side of this pandemic — and about who we want to be.

Discussed this week:

• “Westworld” (HBO, 2016-20)
• “Hollywood” (Netflix, 2020)
• Ryan Murphy
• “The Stepford Wives” (directed by Frank Oz, 2004)
• “The Stepford Wives” (directed by Bryan Forbes, 1975)
• The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930
• “Love Jones” (directed by Theodore Witcher, 1997)
• “Love & Basketball” (directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2000)
• Anna May Wong
• Hattie McDaniel
• Oscar Micheaux
• “Delivering Thanks Team” (Papa John’s, 2020)

Covid-19 isn't "the great equalizer" – except when it comes to making us need our devices more than ever. Screens have revealed superstars as civilians, and turned sitcom grouches into teddy bears. Basically: We’re ready to be more open with one another. 

Discussed this week:

• “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration” (Broadway.com)
• “The ‘Credibility Bookcase’ Is the Quarantine’s Hottest Accessory” (Amanda Hess, The New York Times)
• Randy Rainbow’s YouTube Channel
• “A Parks and Recreation Special” (NBC, 2020)
• “The Power of Vulnerability” (Brené Brown, TEDx)
• “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead” (Brené Brown, 2012)
• The “Unlocking Us” Podcast (Brené Brown)
• Teddy Riley Verzuz Babyface

"Fetch the Bolt Cutters" is Fiona Apple's master class in channeling frustration and anger into what can only be called wisdom. Also, we hear from listeners all over the planet, sharing how they are taking care of the people in their lives.

Discussed this week:

• "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" (Fiona Apple, 2020)
• Fiona Apple on the VMAs in 1997
• "Regret" (Fiona Apple, "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do", 2012)
• "Criminal" (Fiona Apple, "Tidal", 1996)
• "Hold Up" (Beyonce Knowles, "Lemonade", 2016)

We’re trying something new this week. We want you to watch a movie with us, and not just any movie, but the 2004 superhero bomb “Catwoman,” starring two of our favorites: Halle Berry and Sharon Stone. We’ve got fun facts, some questions and a little bit of, um, cattiness.

Discussed this week:

• Catwoman
• Halle Berry
• Sharon Stone
• Benjamin Bratt
• Alex Borstein
• Pitof

Activists stood up against the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s, but the tools they used to make themselves heard are unavailable during our coronavirus pandemic. Still, many of that era’s strategies and warning signs seem alarmingly relevant now.

Discussed this week:

• “How to Survive a Plague” (directed by David France, 2012)
• ACT UP New York 
• “How ACT UP Remade Political Organizing in America” (David France, The New York Times, April, 2020)
• “‘A Tragedy Is Unfolding’: Inside New York’s Virus Epicenter” (Annie Correal, Andrew Jacobs and Ryan Christopher Jones, The New York Times, April, 2020)
• “America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic” (Linda Villarosa, The New York Times, June, 2017)
• “Amazon’s Whole Foods to Cut Medical Benefits for Part-Timers” (Spencer Soper, Bloomberg, September, 2019)

Lions, and tigers and barely suppressed glee at criminal weirdos, oh my!

What has big personalities, big issues and big cats? Netflix’s hit streaming show “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” We explore what the show says about America’s unique relationship to freedom.

Discussed this week:

• “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” (Netflix, 2020)
• “Blue Caprice” (directed by Alexandre Moors, 2013)
• “The Wire” (HBO, 2002-08)
• “Breaking Bad” (AMC, 2008-13)
• “O.J.: Made In America” (ESPN, 2016)
• “Fargo” (directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996)
• “Empire” (Fox, 2015-20)
• “Surviving R. Kelly” (Lifetime, 2019)
• Gunther Gebel-Williams

Not all reboots deserve to exist. Lots of them aren’t even things we want.

But the new "High Fidelity" on Hulu is the reboot we didn’t know we needed.

Discussed this week:

• Barack Obama’s Twitter
• Cardi B’s Twitter and Instagram
• "Celebrity Culture is Burning" (Amanda Hess, 2020)
• "Oprah Talks Covid-19" (Apple TV+, 2020)
• Britney’s Instagram
• "High Fidelity" (directed by Stephen Frears, 2000)
• "High Fidelity" (Hulu, 2020)

From our living rooms to yours, “Still Processing” is back.

During this unprecedented time in our lives, we talk routines, dreams and what’s on our screens — or at least what will be on our screens. Because screens are all we have left.

Discussed this week:

“Darn That Dream” (Dinah Washington, 1954)

The Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC)

Working out with Mr. and Mrs. Muscle

“Ra Ma Da Sa” (Amanbir Singh, 2017)

The Wiz (directed by Sidney Lumet, 1978)

High Fidelity (Hulu, 2020)

New episodes coming March 26! You’ve got a lot of time on your hands, and so do we. Let's spend it together <3.

We examine how HBO’s series “Watchmen” and Bong Joon Ho’s film “Parasite” bring to light the hidden histories that shape our modern lives.

Discussed this week:

• “Parasite” (directed by Bong Joon Ho, 2019)
• “Watchmen” (HBO, 2019)
• “White Flights: Race, Fiction, and the American Imagination” (Jess Row, 2019)
• “In the Wake: On Blackness and Being“ (Christina Sharpe, 2016)

We're going on hiatus, but we'll be back in your ears in early 2020!

California’s new legislation allowing college athletes to make money off endorsements. One step forward. The backlash against victims who came forward in the wake of #MeToo. Two steps back. Does big, sustainable change have to feel like grasping at straws?

Discussed this week: 

• “California Tells the N.C.A.A. to Share, and It Pitches a Fit.” (Michael Powell, The New York Times, Oct. 4, 2019)
• “The Toll of Me Too.” (Rebecca Traister, The Cut, Sept. 30, 2019)

We revisit "Fight Club" on the 20th anniversary of its release, and consider how the trope of the "psychobro" is showing up onscreen — in the new blockbuster “Joker” and HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Succession” — and off.

Discussed this week: 

• "The Unbearable Bradness of Being" (Chris Heath, Rolling Stone, Oct. 28, 1999)
• "Fight Club" (directed by David Fincher, 1999)
• "Joker" (directed by Todd Phillips, 2019)
• "Succession" (HBO, 2019)
• "Whistleblower Explains How Cambridge Analytica Helped Fuel U.S. 'Insurgency'" (Fresh Air, Oct. 8, 2019)

Jennifer Lopez is having a triumphant 2019. From her Motown tribute at the Grammys to the success of “Hustlers” to the announcement that she’ll be performing at the Super Bowl halftime show, she seems to be enjoying the fruits of her labor from about three decades in show business. So we want to know: is Jennifer Lopez finally getting her due?

Discussed this week:

• “How Jennifer Lopez’s Versace Dress Created Google Images” (Rachel Tashjian, GQ, Sept. 20, 2019)
• “Hustlers” (directed by Lorene Scafaria, 2019)
• Jennifer Lopez’s Motown Tribute at the 2019 Grammy Awards
• “Jennifer Lopez Talks Engagement, Diddy’s Instagram Comments, Bonding With Cardi B + More” (Breakfast Club, Apr. 10, 2019)
• “‘Hustlers’ Has a Strong Opening at the Box Office” (Gabe Cohn, The New York Times, Sept. 15, 2019)
• “Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez Announce Their Engagement” (The Associated Press, March 9, 2019)
• “Selena” (directed by Gregory Nava, 1997)
• “Movies (And Other Things)” (Shea Serrano, 2019)
• “Waiting for Tonight” (Jennifer Lopez, 1999)
• “1999” (Prince, 1982)
• “Out of Sight” (directed by Steven Soderbergh, 1998)
• “Monster-in-Law” (directed by Robert Luketic, 2005)
• “The Wedding Planner” (directed by Adam Shankman, 2001)
• “Maid in Manhattan” (directed by Wayne Wang, 2002)
• “Gigli” (directed by Martin Brest, 2003)
• “Jenny from the Block” (Jennifer Lopez, 2002)
• “Play” (Jennifer Lopez, 2001)
• “Rap Performer Puffy Combs Is Arrested After Shootings at Times Sq. Nightclub” (William K. Rashbaum, The New York Times, Dec. 28, 1999)
• “El Cantante” (directed by Leon Ichaso, 2006)
• “American Idol” (Jennifer Lopez as judge in Seasons 10-11 and 13-15)

We'll be back with a new episode next Thursday, October 17th.

Comedy is changing. Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix comedy special, "Sticks & Stones," makes us wonder if he can keep up.

Discussed this week:

• "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones" (Netflix, 2019)
• "Aziz Ansari: Right Now" (Netflix 2019)
• "A Black Lady Sketch Show" (HBO, 2019)
• "My Favorite Shapes" (HBO, 2019)
• "Ramy Youssef: Feelings" (HBO, 2019)

We’re in love with MTV’s dating-reality TV show “Are You the One?”

Discussed this week:

• Jenna Wortham. "How Queer People Brought Some Actual Reality to Dating-Reality TV" (The New York Times Magazine, Aug. 28, 2019)
• Wesley Morris. "Rom-Coms Were Corny and Retrograde. Why Do I Miss Them so Much?" (The New York Times Magazine, April 24, 2019)
• "Are You the One?" (MTV, Season 8, 2019)

How "Old Town Road" gave us hope without making us cringe, and became our song of the year.

Discussed this week: 

• Joe Coscarelli, Alexandra Eaton, Will Lloyd, Eden Weingart, Antonio de Luca and Alicia DeSantis. "Diary of a Song — ‘Old Town Road’: See How Memes and Controversy Took Lil Nas X to the Top of the Charts" (The New York Times, May 10, 2019)
• Jon Caramanica. "The Short Rise and Long Tail of Lil Nas X" (The New York Times, Jun. 26, 2019)
• Jade Jolie
• "Shut Up & Sing" (directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck, 2006)
• BriMalandro.tumblr.com

Remember that beer test? It’s not enough. That’s why this election season, we bring you: Still Processing’s Rubric for Leadership and Democratic Excellence.

Discussed this week:

• Astead Herndon, Jon Caramanica and Jon Pareles. "What Do Rally Playlists Say About the Candidates?" (The New York Times, Aug. 19, 2019)
• Clara Guibourg and Helen Briggs. "Climate change: Which vegan milk is best?" (BBC News, Feb. 22, 2019)
• The AP reporter Alexandra Jaffe’s post on Twitter that Senator Kamala Harris drinks oat milk
• Matt Flegenheimer and Sydney Ember. "How Amy Klobuchar Treats Her Staff" (The New York Times, Feb. 22, 2019)
• Carl Zimmer. "Elizabeth Warren Has a Native American Ancestor. Does That Make Her Native American?" (The New York Times, Oct. 15, 2018)
• Adrienne Keene, Rebecca Nagle and Joseph M. Pierce. "Syllabus: Elizabeth Warren, Cherokee Citizenship, and DNA Testing" (Critical Ethnic Studies, Dec. 19, 2018)
• Thomas Kaplan. "Elizabeth Warren Apologizes at Native American Forum: ‘I Have Listened and I Have Learned.’" (The New York Times, Aug. 19, 2019)
• Matt Stieb. "Where Does Marianne Williamson Actually Stand on Vaccines?" (NYMag, Aug. 4, 2019)
• Glenn Thrush. "Obama and Biden’s Relationship Looks Rosy. It Wasn’t Always That Simple." (The New York Times, Aug. 16, 2019)

Still Processing will be back in your ears on Thursday, September 12th.