Is There a Black Barber in Middle Earth?

Why does the outrage over people of color cast in fantasies feel so predictable? Sam chats with associate professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, author of The Dark Fantastic: Race and Imagination from Harry Potter to The Hunger Games, about how fantasy writing in the Western world has become so entrenched in whiteness that the mere presence of a Black hobbit seems “shocking.”

We also ask Abbi Jacobson and Chante Adams of A League of Their Own if they are into Cher calling Queen Elizabeth II a cow. And we hear about the culture that's haunting us: Dave Grohl watching Taylor Hawkins' son drumming to "My Hero" at a tribute concert is a scene straight out of a Pixar movie.

Send us your culturegeist. What specific thing in the culture has been haunting you for days, weeks, or even years? Send us a short voice memo at intoit@vulture.com.

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