The Obamalisk

About this episode

The episode discusses political coercion, the Obama Presidential Center, and critiques the theory of colorblindness in relation to the Voting Rights Act.

In this week's episode, the hosts touch on the notion of jawboning as a means of political coercion and the Obama Presidential Center - the 8-story, 225-foot-tall museum tower designed for community in ways that the other presidential centers have not accomplished. Lastly, the Drs deep dive into the theory of colorblindness using the Voting Rights Act as a backdrop. It can make intuitive sense to people, but the Drs argue it actually perpetuates inequality. Mentioned in the show The ‘Obamalisk’ Rises on Chicago’s South Side - NYT Welcome to the Obama Foundation Racial Color Blindness: Emergence, Practice, and Implications – The Association of Psychological Science Voters Can Be Disenfranchised Now – Adam Serwer, The Atlantic John Roberts Believes in an America That Doesn’t Exist – Jamelle Bouie, NYT Opinion

People in this episode

Host: Drs

Topics covered

• political coercion
• Obama Presidential Center
• colorblindness
• Voting Rights Act
• inequality

Keywords

• jawboning
• Obama Presidential Center
• colorblindness
• Voting Rights Act
• political coercion

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Obama Presidential Center, Obama Foundation, The Atlantic, NYT Opinion

Books & works: The ‘Obamalisk’ Rises on Chicago’s South Side, Racial Color Blindness: Emergence, Practice, and Implications

More episodes of [Un]phased Unedited Podcast

• Adaptive Intelligence · June 9, 2026 · 36 min
• The Odyssey · June 2, 2026 · 52 min
• Michael, Money, and Mayhem · May 26, 2026 · 46 min
• RIP VRA · May 12, 2026 · 52 min
• Who Loses? · May 5, 2026 · 56 min
• Solopreneurship · April 28, 2026 · 47 min