What Most People Get Wrong About Vodou | With Steveen Ulysses

What Most People Get Wrong About Vodou | With Steveen Ulysses

When most people hear the word "Vodou," they think of Hollywood movies, zombies, curses, and dolls. In this episode, Ronit sits down with PhD researcher Steveen Ulysses to talk about the reality of Haitian Vodou. They discuss its roots in West Africa, the influence of Catholicism, the role Vodou plays in everyday life, and how centuries of misunderstanding have shaped public perception. Steveen also shares insights from his doctoral research, explains why Vodou is often better understood as a cultural inheritance rather than a single religion, and discusses the challenges of preserving traditions while correcting misconceptions. If your knowledge of Vodou comes mostly from movies and television, this conversation might surprise you.

From "Mom" to "Mum": What Living in the UK Taught My Daughter

In Part 2 of our UK grad school series, Dannah shares the cultural side of studying at the University of Manchester. We talk about British slang, student life, traveling across Europe, orientation in the UK, and the surprising ways living abroad can change how you see the world. Along the way, we compare American and British English, discuss party culture, museums, travel mishaps, and whether studying overseas is worth it. A relaxed conversation about education, travel, and growing through new experiences.

Apparently Hawaii Wasn't Far Enough | Grad School in the UK (Part 1)

After choosing Hawaii for undergrad, our daughter somehow decided that wasn't far enough and moved to England for graduate school. In Part 1, Dee talks about why she chose the University of Manchester over USC and University College London, what it was like arriving alone in the UK, navigating housing, banking, roommates, and the surprises of living abroad for the first time. We also talk about graduate school rankings, student housing, international students, and why free city Wi-Fi isn't always as free or useful as advertised. No script. No heavy editing. Just an honest conversation about studying overseas and figuring things out as you go.

We Stopped Caring… And Honestly? Life Got Better

What happens when you stop caring about the things that once felt so important? In this episode, we talk about getting older, getting tired… and surprisingly, getting freer. From canceling plans without guilt to choosing comfort over “looking cool,” we explore the quiet (and sometimes hilarious) ways our priorities have shifted over time. We even play a game: Would Younger You Approve? — and the answers say a lot. We also get into: * Why we care less about trends, appearances, and social pressure * The things we still care way too much about (yes… dishwasher loading counts) * Career ambition, identity, and what we wish we let go of earlier * The strange mix of freedom and exhaustion that comes with age Somewhere between wisdom and just being too tired for nonsense… we’ve landed here. And honestly? It’s not a bad place to be. 💬 What’s something you’ve stopped caring about as you’ve gotten older?

We Thought We Knew Parenting… We Did Not.”

Ronit and WizCate take on one of life’s biggest experiments: raising kids. From cultural expectations to real-life chaos, they talk about what they thought parenting would be like… and what actually happened. They get into: * Raising kids across cultures (Hong Kong, U.S., France) * The gap between expectations and reality * Why siblings can be completely different humans * Teenagers, hormones, and survival strategies * The things they worried about that didn’t matter * The small moments that mattered the most * Letting go vs staying close * And the one thing they’d do differently Plus: * The “50-second parenting rule” * Lamb bedtime stories with hidden life lessons * Why “don’t waste food” becomes a lifelong value * And a Cantonese translation fail that turned into “eating poop will kill you” 😅 No scripts. No perfect answers. Just real stories from two moms figuring it out as they went. 💬 We’d love to hear from you: What’s your funniest (or most chaotic) parenting moment?