The Simple Stuff

Mental Health and University (Interview with Liv Sharron, founder of 'Chilly Dippers'

Hello Simpletons, and welcome to Episode 5 of ‘The Simple Stuff’! For this episode, I interviewed Liv Sharron about her campaign, ‘Chilly Dippers’ (@chilly.dippers). Chilly Dippers is a social-media based platform and campaign founded in early 2019, where students and young people can discover natural coping mechanisms for stress, depression and anxiety. The discussion covered topics like loneliness at university, influencers and the pitfalls of social media, and the millennial burnout theory. With prescriptions for antidepressants on the rise worldwide, and a troubling lack of support for young people, Liv’s hashtag and dictum, ‘freezing the body to free the mind’, seems an important one, now more than ever. Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. SHOW NOTES - Book ‘Taking the Plunge’ by Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan (which features an interview on Liv) about the healing power of wild swimming for Mind, Body and Soul - Quarter Life – online publication - ‘Jog-On: How Running Saved my Life’ – Bella Mackie - Deliciously Ella’s podcast, ‘How Exercise Impacts on The Brain & Our Mental Health’ (from 2 October, 2018) - Matt Haig’s utterly brilliant books ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ and ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ – dealing with the idea of living in the present moment - The Power of Now - Samaritans – 116 123 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) - SANEline – 0300 304 7000 (4:30pm-10:30pm every day) - CALM (for those who identify as male) – 0800 58 58 58 (5:00pm-midnight every day)

Cancel Culture

Hello Simpletons, and welcome to Episode 4 of ‘The Simple Stuff’! For this episode, I got together with Emma and Bella in a small student kitchen on a rainy Oxford day and we had a chat about cancel culture. The discussion covered topics like the problematic relationship between comedy and offensiveness, accountability and the pitfalls of celebrity. In a week that saw the nation’s favourite detective, Coleen Rooney, throw Rebekah Vardy to the Twitter lion’s pit, it seemed right to have a discussion about the dehumanisation of figures in the public eye online, and how we might be living in an attention economy. As always, please follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. FURTHER READING: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2019/08/13/sarah-silverman-and-the-complexity-of-cancel-culture/#1cfc2adc3ee7 [https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2019/08/13/sarah-silverman-and-the-complexity-of-cancel-culture/#1cfc2adc3ee7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ePvuDm5Is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ePvuDm5Is] http://gal-dem.com/cancel-chris-brown/ [http://gal-dem.com/cancel-chris-brown/] https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/opinion/cancel-culture-call-out/ [https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/opinion/cancel-culture-call-out/] Keira Knightley Hollywood Reporter podcast: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-keira-knightley-colette-1147393 [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-keira-knightley-colette-1147393]

The Mixed Race Experience

Hi Simpletons! Happy Monday (better late than never) and welcome to another episode of ‘The Simple Stuff’. This week’s episode, in which I spoke to Ellie Gomes and Jess Macdonald, tackles the mixed race experience for young women today, from fetishization, to cultural appropriation, to Love Island’s race problem. Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. FURTHER READING: My article from last year on how racism is endemic at university: https://cherwell.org/2018/06/03/casual-racism-is-endemic-in-oxford/ [https://cherwell.org/2018/06/03/casual-racism-is-endemic-in-oxford/] Reni Eddo Lodge’s original blog post, ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/30/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/30/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race] Oxford Mixed Heritage Society is the first society of its kind in the UK, and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Homecoming Queen (zine based in Oxford): https://www.facebook.com/homecomingqueenzine/ [https://www.facebook.com/homecomingqueenzine/] Mixed Race Faces – London based photo campaign: https://mixedracefaces.com/ [https://mixedracefaces.com/] Cuntry Living Zine’s Podcast on ‘Fetishisation & Dating as a Womxn of Colour’: https://soundcloud.com/user-394605298/fetishisation-dating-as-a?fbclid=IwAR0DcfPsjuSONS6a18Ca8Pqs81VwI7MWARgoKhfLfmyfJdQCO-o8zq7IdBA [https://soundcloud.com/user-394605298/fetishisation-dating-as-a?fbclid=IwAR0DcfPsjuSONS6a18Ca8Pqs81VwI7MWARgoKhfLfmyfJdQCO-o8zq7IdBA] Guardian short film, ‘Black Sheep’ BBC’s adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel ‘The Long Song’ BBC radio programme, ‘My Mixed-Up World’ BBC 4’s ‘Soon Good: A Windrush Chronicle’

Street Harassment (Interview with Eliza Hatch, founder of 'Cheer Up Luv')

Hello Simpletons! This episode takes the form of an interview with the incredible Eliza Hatch, creator of the online photo campaign ‘Cheer Up Luv’, a movement to shed light on the experience of female harassment both in the UK and further afield. In a conversation recorded earlier this year (June 2019), Eliza and I spoke about her collaboration with the United Nations, the enduring presence of sexual shame, and the importance of rewriting the rulebook when it comes to educating the world about pleasure and female bodies. Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. --- FURTHER READING: Eliza’s phenomenal photo campaign, ‘Cheer Up Luv’: @cheerupluv (Eliza is now based in New York – US friends, get in contact and tell your stories!) Gemma and Maya Tutton’s important petition to make street harassment illegal: https://www.change.org/p/make-street-harassment-illegal-in-the-uk [https://www.change.org/p/make-street-harassment-illegal-in-the-uk]

Female Anger & Fear of the Emotional Woman

Hello Simpletons, and welcome to the first show of The Simple Stuff, where we try and navigate our way through the concepts of female anger, expression, and the cultural fear of the emotional woman. How do we reckon with our expressions of emotion and their cultural impact, and why is female anger still such a contentious topic? We covered topics like anger and relationships, Nike's recent 'Dream Crazier' advertising campaign, and Serena Williams.  Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment if you're feeling extra nice.  --- FURTHER READING: Andre Lorde’s 1981 essay ‘The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism’ Soraya Chemaly’s Ted Talk ‘The Power of Women’s Anger’ Hotter – after a wildly popular run in Edinburgh, the play’s run at Soho Theatre comes to an end this Saturday (7thSeptember) so snap up tickets as soon as you can. (https://sohotheatre.com/shows/hotter/ [https://sohotheatre.com/shows/hotter/]) ‘The Female Price of Male Pleasure’, an article by Lili Loofbourow published in The Week (https://theweek.com/articles/749978/female-price-male-pleasure [https://theweek.com/articles/749978/female-price-male-pleasure]) The Art of Loving: Story of Michalina Wislocka (Film) – Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJRdeC2aqKk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJRdeC2aqKk] Rebecca Traister’s 2018 novel, ‘Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger’ (https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/anger-persists-on-rebecca-traisters-good-and-mad-the-revolutionary-power-of-womens-anger/ [https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/anger-persists-on-rebecca-traisters-good-and-mad-the-revolutionary-power-of-womens-anger/]) Bitch Media series on female anger – ‘The Future is Furious’ (https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/its-time-embrace-feminisms-anger [https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/its-time-embrace-feminisms-anger])