Yo, Is This Racist? (also stylized as Yo! Is This Racist?) is a blog and associated podcast run by Andrew Ti, addressing questions from readers and listeners about whether given phenomena are examples of racism. In 2018, Tawny Newsome joined the podcast as co-host.[1]

Yo, Is This Racist?
Presentation
StarringAndrew Ti and Tawny Newsome
LanguageEnglish

Ti, a writer for Comedy Central at the time,[2] launched the Yo, Is This Racist? blog in November 2011 on Tumblr[3][4] as the result of a conversation with a coworker about whether Yosemite Sam's oath "cotton-picking" is racist.[5] Within 24 hours, the blog had nearly 2000 followers.[6] The podcast was started a year later and was hosted by Earwolf from its creation.[7][3] In November 2020, Ti and Newsome chose to leave the Earwolf network and launched Sub-Optimal Pods to host the podcast independently, a move which they said freed them from "trying to be the wokest show on a comedy network."[7]

Reception

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The New York Times has called the blog "funny and profane",[8] while MTV describes it as "edutaining"[9] and the Huffington Post compares Ti to "Dear Abby for racists".[2] Complex has ranked it the 4th-best Tumblr blog "of all time".[10]

Vox has listed the podcast as one that people "should be listening to",[11] while the journal Humanity & Society considers it a "prime example of 'racial discourse,'" "astute," and a "humorous and potentially disarming critique of color-blind ideology and articulation of systemic racism," but criticizes it for its occasional "epistemological uncertainty," and for Ti's "generally nonconfrontational approach with guests" which can result in "somewhat awkward moments of misunderstanding or equivocation."[12]

References

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  1. ^ Ito, Robert (2019-10-23). "When People Ask 'Yo, Is This Racist?' These Podcasters Find It Usually Is". Lamag. Archived from the original on 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2019-12-08.
  2. ^ a b Miles, Kathleen (December 18, 2013). "'Yo, Is This Racist?' Says What We're All Thinking About Racism". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "“Yo, Is This Racist?” Andrew Ti sounds off", by Patrick Caldwell, at the Daily Dot; published November 12, 2012; retrieved January 31, 2017. Archived 2017-07-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ If You Have To Ask If It's Racist, It Probably Is Archived 2018-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, by Celeste Headlee, on Tell Me More, at National Public Radio; published July 25, 2013; retrieved January 31, 2017
  5. ^ 'Yo, Is This Racist?' Andrew Ti's Tumblr Has Your (Hilarious) Answer Archived 2017-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, by Channing Kennedy, at ColorLines; published January 2, 2012; retrieved January 31, 2017
  6. ^ Yo is this racist? The answer's probably yes Archived 2017-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, by Lauren Rae Orsini, at the Daily Dot; published November 4, 2011; retrieved January 31, 2017
  7. ^ a b Warren, Nick (Jan 13, 2021). "Podcasts Picks: Yo, Is This Racist?". Erie Reader. Archived from the original on November 4, 2021. Retrieved Nov 1, 2021.
  8. ^ On ageism and 'Eastwooding' Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine, by Paula Span, in the New York Times; published September 4, 2012; retrieved January 31, 2017
  9. ^ "This Year In 'North Mollywood': The weekly altered-reality pop-culture recap that you didn't know you needed", at MTV; published December 13, 2016; retrieved January 31, 2017. .
  10. ^ Gamboa, Leon (March 6, 2012). "The 100 Best Tumblrs of All Time". Complex. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  11. ^ "26 podcasts you should be listening to", by Libby Nelson, at Vox; published March 29, 2015; retrieved January 31, 2017. Archived 2017-03-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ Podcast Review: Yo, Is This Racist? Racial Discourse and Comedic Articulations of Systemic Racism., reviewed by Michael Rosino, in Humanity & Society, 2014, vol. 38 (4) 480-482; at SAGE Publications; retrieved January 31, 2017; doi:10.1177/0160597614554060
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