After a much-needed summer break (pandemic style), Deanna Costa returns to hosting The Short Fuse Podcast. Season three opens with a revelatory conversation featuring professor and author Felicia Angeja Viator. The two discuss Viator's new book, To Live and Defy in LA: How Gangsta Rap Changed America (Harvard University Press, 2020). Unpacking her work leads to wise observations about American culture -- both past, present, and under the pandemic.
Before diving into current events, we're taking time in this episode to reflect on the health crises that were impacting the US during our absence. These issues will continue to weigh on all Americans to varying degrees, and we'll always do our best to respectfully take note of the reality of our current society. Music can provide a unique vehicle for self-expression, which is a power that Felicia Angeja Viator knows all about. Her diverse experiences and extensive knowledge come together to form a multifaceted view that is insightful and useful for all. This is part one of an interview that will be featured again later in the season. Our theme music guru DYLIS also returned to deliver a new full-length track, "Wonderland". Other upcoming episodes will include commentary on the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, updates from former podcast hosts Matt Hanson & Lucas Spiro, a State of the Arts with Fuse Founder Bill Marx, and so much more!