I Told ChatGPT To Write This Episode (And It Sucked)

American Mythologies, Barbenheimer, and Satirizing Superheroes

After a brief hiatus (and a looming name change???), the pod returns to discuss the most dominant cultural phenomenon of the summer: "Barbenheimer." "Barbenheimer" fondly refers to the two diametrically opposed films released on the same day, Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer". However, in this episode I am going to argue that these films actually address the same subject matter: American exceptionalism and the influence of 1950s material culture on the American psyche. Ultimately, these two films address what I call "American mythology": the stories that form the backbone of our society and the figures that Gerwig and Nolan hold up as mirrors to our modern culture. Digressions include the US's deeply disturbing realization that yes, women also experience sexual pleasure; the proliferation of pink on the streets of New York and whether Wikipedia's ideas of "American myths" are really valid...   Sources: Barbie is Brilliant, Beautiful, and Fun as Hell - The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/barbie-is-brilliant-beautiful-and-fun-as-hell] What Barbie Dolls Have to Say about Postwar American Culture [https://smithsonianeducation.org/idealabs/ap/essays/barbie.htm] Christopher Nolan on Exploding Myths & Exposing Humanity in "Oppenheimer" - The Credits [https://www.motionpictures.org/2023/07/christopher-nolan-on-exploding-myths-exposing-humanity-in-oppenheimer/] The Rabbit Room | The Myths of Oppenheimer [https://rabbitroom.com/2023/07/the-myths-of-oppenheimer/] ‘Oppenheimer’ Review: A Man for Our Time [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/movies/oppenheimer-review-christopher-nolan.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare]   (and of course, my brain)

evolution: the second fashion one

I revisit "The Fashion One" to reflect on how my personal style has evolved over my year in Berlin, and how it has reflected my state of mind throughout my experience. I’ve been through many an aesthetic crisis, and I realized I wasn’t always staying authentic with how I expressed myself through fashion: from trying too hard to be an Edgy Fashion Girly or abandoning personal style altogether. I discuss learning how to shop in our capitalist hellscape, to discovering various Berlin archetypes (from Y2K art student to Raver Kid) and what to wear to each of the city’s techno clubs (spoiler alert, not always black).   Digressions include a realization that Berlin Fashion Week is Not Like Other Girls (by “girls” I mean international fashion weeks), a sociocultural critique of the Sex and the City archetypes, and devastating Taylor Swift Eras Tour moment…

I Told ChatGPT To Write This Episode (And It Sucked)

This week I'm talking about the Writers Guild of America strike, and how streaming and AI are leaving writers without fair compensation for their work. I go into the history of labor rights in Hollywood (including the Academy Awards' unlikely origin story), why creative professions are often subject to exploitation, and whether making it in Hollywood is truly the American Dream - or a mere myth.  Digressions include a brief mention of my own history acting in Hollywood, the unfortunate reason Donald Trump got so much airtime in 2007, and a debate over fandoms: toxic or empowering?   Sources: Opinion | Can the Writers’ Strike Fix Hollywood? - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/20/opinion/writers-strike-hollywood.html?searchResultPosition=11] Strike Rules FAQ [https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/strike-rules-faq] Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) Overview | Writers Guild of America, East [https://www.wgaeast.org/guild-contracts/mba/overview/#:~:text=The%20MBA%20covers%20issues%20relating,the%20enforcement%20of%20contract%20provisions]. Hollywood Directors Reach Deal With Studios as Writers’ Strike Continues - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/business/media/hollywood-directors-guild-deal.html?searchResultPosition=3]  The Luddites of Hollywood - The Atlantic [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/writers-strike-hollywood-wga-union-streaming-platforms/674056/] With Hollywood on strike, foreign shows enjoy the limelight - The Economist [https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/05/21/with-hollywood-on-strike-foreign-shows-enjoy-the-limelight] Why Hollywood writers' strike won't end soon. Here are six sticking points [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-03/writers-strike-wga-hollywood-labor-amptp-netflix] When Will the Writers Strike End? Three Scenarios, From Fantasy to Hellish Dystopia | Vanity Fair [https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/05/when-will-the-writers-strike-end-three-scenarios-from-fantasy-to-hellish-dystopia] SAG-AFTRA Contract Talks Officially Begin Following “Astounding” Strike-Authorization Vote [https://deadline.com/2023/06/sag-aftra-contract-talks-begin-hollywood-actors-union-1235410308/] The 2023 WGA Strike for Dummies [https://www.vulture.com/2023/05/wga-strike-2023.html] Inside the writers' 'guerrilla tactics' to shut down live productions [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-24/writers-strike-productions-billions-tv-wga-strategy-networks] Writers on strike talk pay, family and the future of TV - Los Angeles Times [https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-05-14/wga-writers-strike-impact] Actors Authorize Potential Strike With Hollywood Writers Still Picketing - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/business/media/hollywood-actors-strike-vote.html?searchResultPosition=1] The WGA strike is part of a recurring pattern when technology changes [https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/05/30/wga-strike-hollywood-residuals/] A.O. Scott Says Goodbye to Film Criticism - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/17/movies/film-critic-ao-scott.html]

Audre Lorde’s Intersectional Feminism and the Afro-German Women’s Movement

This week I am talking about poet, activist and philosopher Audre Lorde: her legacy in Germany, and her little-discussed impact on German feminism and racial justice. Widely credited with coining the term “Afro-German”, Lorde’s work amplifying the voices of Black German women poets and writers helped to rewrite a feminism that was largely centered on white women. Her writing from the city of Berlin, and the networks of women she was able to create, encouraged women to share their own stories and perspectives, and view social justice movements as fundamentally intersectional.    Ultimately, Lorde’s contributions helped reposition Germany as a “diasporic place” with a responsibility to its Black and Afro-German population, enabling a global feminism to take root in the country. In this episode I hope to draw attention to Lorde’s little-studied transatlantic legacy, and the extent of her impact as a writer and activist.   ources:   Audre Lorde | Poetry Foundation [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/audre-lorde]   Lorde, Audre. “Berlin Is Hard on Colored Girls.” Callaloo, no. 26 (1986): 89–89. https://doi.org/10.2307/2931057 [https://doi.org/10.2307/2931057].   Lorde, Audre. “This Urn Contains Earth From German Concentration Camps: Plotzensee Memorial, West Berlin, 1984.” Callaloo 14, no. 1 (1991): 43–44. https://doi.org/10.2307/2931426 [https://doi.org/10.2307/2931426].   Lorde, Audre. “The Dream of Europe—Remarks.” Audre Lorde’s Transnational Legacies, edited by Stella Bolaki and Sabine Broeck, 23–26. University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.6 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.6].   Farber, Paul. “‘I Cross Her Borders at Midnight’: Audre Lorde’s Berlin Revisions.” Audre Lorde’s Transnational Legacies, edited by Stella Bolaki and Sabine Broeck, 148–62. University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.17 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.17].   Gerund, Katharina. “Transracial Feminist Alliances?: Audre Lorde and West German Women.” Audre Lorde’s Transnational Legacies, edited by Stella Bolaki and Sabine Broeck, 122–34. University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.15 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.15].   Kraft, Marion. “Bonds of Sisterhood / Breaking of Silences: An Interview with Audre Lorde.” Audre Lorde’s Transnational Legacies, edited by Stella Bolaki and Sabine Broeck, 41–54. University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.8 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.8].   Piesche, Peggy. “Inscribing the Past, Anticipating the Future: Audre Lorde and the Black Women’s Movement in Germany.” Audre Lorde’s Transnational Legacies, edited by Stella Bolaki and Sabine Broeck, 222–25. University of Massachusetts Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.23 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1cx3sqx.23].   Rowell, Charles H., and Audre Lorde. “Above the Wind: An Interview with Audre Lorde.” Callaloo 23, no. 1 (2000): 52–63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3299518 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3299518].   Audre Lorde’s Berlin - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/19/travel/berlin-audre-lorde.html]

Addiction, Capitalism and Sugar Free Vanilla: Beware the Coffee Shop

Coffee, the "most widely used psychoactive substance in the world", has led us from religious ceremonies to saving our sanities during COVID, and from the humble bean to the monstrous Frappuccino. As in religious rites in Yemen and (probably) your street corner, coffee’s journey through time knits together addiction, political activism, capitalist world domination, war, labor violations, and climate change. Ultimately, coffee’s contribution to global capitalism can’t be understated.    Finally, I cover the current legal battle over trade unions at Starbucks and subpoena of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.   Digressions include the Writers’ Strike’s effect on Hollywood, Paul Mescal’s appearance in the phenomenal A Streetcar Named Desire, and Beyonce giving us sexy Mugler bee during the Renaissance World Tour...   Sources:    Fellner, Kim. Wrestling with Starbucks : Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino, Rutgers University Press, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/huberlin-ebooks/detail.action?docID=361653.   Juliano, L.M., Griffiths, R.R. “A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features.” Psychopharmacology 176, 1–29 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x [https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x]   Olekalns, Nilss, and Peter Bardsley. “Rational Addiction to Caffeine: An Analysis of Coffee Consumption.” [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2138954] Journal of Political Economy 104, no. 5 (1996): 1100–1104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2138954 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2138954]. (quoted in episode description)   Topik, Steven. “Coffee as a Social Drug.” Cultural Critique, no. 71 (2009): 81–106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475502 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/25475502].   Vogt, Melissa. “The International Coffee Industry.” In Variance In Approach Toward A ‘Sustainable’ Coffee Industry In Costa Rica: Perspectives from Within; Lessons and Insights, 39–54. Ubiquity Press, 2019. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11cvx7c.10.   Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Spars With Democrats at Senate Hearing - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/business/economy/howard-schultz-starbucks-union-senate.html?searchResultPosition=4]   Bernie Sanders Presses Ahead With Subpoena of Starbucks C.E.O. - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/us/politics/starbucks-bernie-sanders-howard-schultz.html?searchResultPosition=9]   Here's how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change [https://theconversation.com/heres-how-your-cup-of-coffee-contributes-to-climate-change-196648]   A future without coffee? Climate change could wipe out 50% of global coffee crop by 2050. [https://www.iadb.org/en/improvinglives/most-unexpected-effect-climate-change]   Coffee and Climate Have a Complicated Relationship - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/business/coffee-climate-change.html]   What Climate Change Could Mean for the Coffee You Drink [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/climate/coffee-liberica-uganda.html?searchResultPosition=2]