Netflix

Are you a fan of Netflix’s Bridgerton? Can you see yourself hanging out with the rest of the Ton attending extravagant balls in over-the-top gowns? Well before you do, you might want a quick lesson on the real traditions that took place during the Regency Era, and Dina Copelman, associate professor emerita of history and cultural studies at George Mason University, tells all about the facts and the fiction of all three seasons of the Shondaland drama.

In this fascinating conversation, President Gregory Washington speaks with Kevin Clark, director of original animation for preschool programming at Netflix, and retiring professor in the Learning Technologies Division in George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development, about how technology and economics are helping fuel the rich entertainment content highlighting people of color, and how that programming can be a conduit for anti-racism efforts.

“It’s a dream job because I get to create content,” Clark said. “I get to be involved in what young people and their families see, especially at the preschool level. This is some of the first media they are exposed to besides books and stories that their parents and caregivers communicate to them, so we have to get it right.”