For all the influence Twitter has had on our culture, no community there has made quite as much impact as Black Twitter. The virtual community grew from a loose online hangout to an influential cultural force that directed conversations about race and culture not only on social media, but in our society at large. A new documentary miniseries from Hulu called* Black Twitter: A People's History* charts that monumental trajectory.
This week on Gadget Lab, we chat about the rise and solidification of Black Twitter with showrunner Joie Jacoby, director and executive producer Prentice Penny, and WIRED senior writer Jason Parham, who wrote the WIRED cover story the docuseries is based on.
Black Twitter: A People's History) premieres on May 9th on Hulu. Read Jason’s three-part series) of stories) about Black Twitter).
**Recommendations:*Joie recommends the Met Opera show Fire Shut Up in My Bones). Prentice recommends the YouTube channel Pitch Meetings). Jason recommends X-Men 97) on Disney+. Lauren recommends watching Black Twitter: A People’s History) *and reading Jason Parham’s story) that inspired the show. Mike recommends trying the new instant coffees that are popping up. (Instant coffee is good now, he swears.) Jason Parham can be found on social media @nonlinearnotes). Joie Jacoby is @joiejacoby). Prentice Penny is @The_A_Prentice) Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode). Michael Calore is @snackfight). Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab). The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth)). Our theme music is by Solar Keys).