Rosenstrasse

Back in 2010 I planned my first Jewish wedding. It was an awesome experience, in part because I got a learn the beautiful marriage and community traditions of Judaism and in part because the couple were just incredible people who needed help getting married. It was my honor to provide that help and then to remain in their lives since.

Particularly, Jess has been a wonderful person. She has shared her culture and been kind enough to answer many questions, to patiently point out when I'm wrong, and graciously accept apologies. Basically, she's what we all hope to be.

And now she's created a game, along with her creative partner Moyra. The game is best described by their own words, which you can read in the Campaign section of their Kickstarter.

Whether you like supporting women, independent games, historical and cultural education, or just an awesome person, you should support this game. I did.

Rosenstrasse Kickstarter

Februrary Podcast Review

This month I added to my ongoing, cleared 3 more terms ones (OMG Slow Burn is so good), and added to my On Deck circle. Oh, and the biggest news...I have a pretty logo, courtesy of my friend GG. It allows me to post on Instagram!

See, I can social media...

Ongoing

10 Things That Scare Me - This one calls itself a tiny podcast, which is accurate given the episodes are about 6 minutes. They are just people running through a list of what scares them, with some elaboration. There are a lot of people that are familiar and it's a nice background noise kind of podcast.

After the Fact - biweekly - Every episode is centered around a statistic and digs deeper into the background of that statistic. The episodes are around 20 minutes.

Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green - monthly - John Green reviews 2 unrelated topics on a 5 star scale. This month it was Velociraptors and the film Harvey. The latter was particularly touching. The former was recommended by his son.

Awesome Etiquette - Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning - weekly - This is presented by two of the Post kids on behalf of the Emily Post Institute. An ongoing foray into modern and historical etiquette.

Battle Tactics for your Sexist Workplace - Jeannie Yandel and Eula Scott Bynoe - biweekly - I heard these hosts on Unladylike and I love them. They tackle different aspects of work life, how it's sexist, and how to address it. I'm excited for the second season to get under way.

Cults - Greg and Vanessa - weekly on Tuesdays - This covers a cult, usually in two episodes. I find cults and the psychology of the people who lead and join them really fascinating. My only quibble is this group puts everything older than 6 months behind a paywall at Stitcher. These hosts also host one on Serial Killers, which might end up on my list at some point.

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness - Jonathan Van Ness - weeklyish - JVN, of Queer Eye fame, goes into a different topic each week with an expert. I've gotten a lot of other podcasts from him and he's the reason I joined Instagram. Mostly, he's pure joy, though some people might find his boundless enthusiasm, quick delivery, and vernacular somewhat grating. He's definitely a post-tea listen for me, but then I can listen for hours. I've been slowly listening through his back catalogue.

Lifemancy - Rachel Wilkinson - 2x a month (new moon and full moon) - The newest podcast on my ongoing list, this one is presented by my friend Rachel and explores various aspects of magic and the occult, where it overlaps with science and culture, and how you can take aspects away from it even if you don't buy into it all. If nothing else, listening to Rachel will make you laugh and leave you happier.

Make Me Smart - Kai Ryssdal and Molly Wood - weekly - Kai and Molly deep dive into various economic, technologic, and cultural topics, some of which connects back to things touched on in Marketplace.

Marketplace - Kai Ryssdal - daily Monday-Friday - I loved Marketplace on NPR, but I'm never in my car anymore since I bike to work. I listen to the previous evening every morning. My understanding of world and national economics is due to this program and Kai's voice doesn't grate me early, so this is the first one I listen to at work.

Marketplace Morning Report - various - 3x daily Monday-Friday - To add onto the Marketplace knowledge, these are short (around 7 minutes) updates in the morning that give a brief view of financial and economic news. They're done via the BBC.

The Moth - 2x a weekish - The Moth hosts live storytelling and the podcasts are collections around a topic. The individual stories are around 10 minutes each and the episodes are generally about an hour.

The New Yorker Radio Hour - weekly - This podcast pulls on writers and contributers to the New Yorker, highlighting books reviewed or stories published.

NPR Politics - I love this podcast! A few reporters on differet topics (Congress, The White House, voting, etc) get together when there is political news to report, including an end-of-week roundup. Generally pretty short and covering a variety of topics, but awesome. A good nonpartisan overview.

On the Media - Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield - 2x a week- Another NPR segment I like that looks into various issues related to the media, usually around a central topic. They are often very critical of their own industry, which I like hearing.

This Movie Changed Me - Lily Percy - biweekly - I caught an episode of this on a long car ride on NPR and started listening to it when it released. Every episode is a conversation with someone about a movie that changed their life. It's amazing. Hasn't updated since October 2018, so I'm itchy for a new episode.

Unladylike - Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin  - weekly - All caught up! These girls are great in their continued exploration of the patriarchy and its effects. A personal favorite - they are the first to say that, as white women, they don't have a full view of the damage patriarchy does since they're protected by whiteness, so they have taken a lot of efforts to showcase women of color, as well as queer women.

Term

Broken Harts - Remember the story about the two white women who adopted 6 black kids and then drove off a cliff, killing everyone? I'm a sucker for true crime and this one was intriguing. Also, it's presented by Glamour, which is a magazine I've been subscribed to for 14 years. Very interesting, very detailed.

Slow Burn - I got this one from the NPR Politics podcast. Season 1 covers Watergate in incredible detail. Season 2 is the Clinton Impeachment. The focus of both is what it was like then, in the moment of it happening, and the results are incredible. I've thought a lot about the similarities between them since listening and there's probably a future blog post about it. They haven't said anything about a season 3 so I'm calling it term.

Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge? - This one came from Slow Burn, as both are productions of Slate. It's a 5 episode dig into what happened during the standoff at Ruby Ridge and the results of the investigations and cultural impact. I have never really understood it so it was a really great listen.

On Deck

Boom! Lawyered - I heard about this one from Unladylike when one of the hosts was on the show. Looking forward to getting a better view of the legal system.

BackStory - I heard one of the hosts (Nathan Connolly) on one of the Slow Burn live episodes and it made me want to listen to him more, so I found his podcast. There are others on here as well but he's why it's on my list.

Katie Couric - I listened to Katie on JVN's podcast and adored her, so I want to give her show a listen.

Rachel Maddow presents The Bag Man - I love Rachel Maddow. I want to see if I love her podcast. It's about corruption in politics so...probably.

Small Doses with Amanda Seales - I heard Amanda Seales on Unladylike (so many good guests!) and I liked her, so I want to see if I like her for a number of episodes.

Still Processing - Wesley Morris was on Slow Burn. I loved his commentary so I'm following his podcast.

Tilted: A Lean In Podcast - So I have some serious issues with the whole Lean In thing, mostly because it was aimed a very specific segment of the population but presents itself as doable for anyone. That said, the podcast is supposed to be about the challenges and ingrained misogyny in the workplace. I'm withholding judgment.

How do you define....?

The first time I used to word "troll" to describe my mother (she is, it's cute) I got an odd look from her and my father both. This is not the first time I've used words that have not entered their lexicon, so I explained, because a common vocabulary is the baseline to good communication. My parents laughed.

Apparently, when they were young (60's and 70's) "trolling" was cruising for a date. In my hometown in Shawnee, you'd "cruise the 'Poo" (Kickapoo is the main street). For them, it would have been "trolling the Poo", which doesn't have the same ring.

It was the result of a generational difference in language. I love how language evolves and changes over time, the way words take on new meaning or context. I find that people who seek, as my parents do, to understand the way the generations after them use language rather than dismissing it as irrelevant have an easier time adjusting to the changes in the world...and the world changes quickly with technology connecting us in a way that would have been unheardof to my grandparents. That said, I text with my grandparents often. People can change with the times, if they aren't afraid of the changes or holding too hard onto a past that's gone.

I think another word that has had both a change of meaning but also a generational difference in understanding is socialism. My podcasts have talked a lot about the way many Democrats are embracing the word and how defining it will likely be something we will be seeing a lot over the next couple of years.

The Iron Curtain fell when I was about 9 so most of my life has been spent post-Cold War. I have an aunt who is from Russia and who has talked a lot about the terrible of living in the USSR and it's fascinating. But when my generation and later is talking about socialism, we're not looking at other countries, we're looking at ours.

At how Social Security and Medicare are regularly spoken of as two of the most important programs we have (and which our grandparents fight for zealously) and which are prime examples of socialism.

We look at the failings of rampant capitalism, how a lack of government involvement makes our country the most expensive healthcare in the world but we don't even have paid leave when someone gives birth; how people have a 4-year degree, student debt they can't pay, and are working for minimum wage, which can't even cover their housing costs. Housing costs that continue to rise while wages remain flat.

So we look at this country, which has a few really successful programs that are clearly socialism but a bunch of really failed areas (areas that effect our generations in way they don't effect the ones before us) that have been left to the ravages of unchecked capitalism. We aren't afraid that socialism will lead to communism because...well, it doesn't. We're more interested that democratic socialism would lead to homes, job, wages, healthcare, a chance at a life our parents and grandparents got a chance at...and then voted to dismantle for us.

For us, socialism isn't a scary threat from outsiders. We have time and history to look at and since our history books focus almost solely on European and Western history, we had them fed to us year after year. We can see what has gone well and what has gone terribly. And our thoughts have been formed accordingly.

If the word "socialism" causes you distress coming out of the mouths of your loved ones, I think the first thing to do is to ask them what they mean. Listen to what they're saying. It's possible that you and they are using two very different defintions for the same word. And try to look at the world through their eyes, through the eyes of their contemporaries. Our world is different than the one you were in at our age. We may well need some different definitions to navigate it. The question is, will you hold onto the past that is gone, afraid to change your understanding or adapt your definitions, or will we navigate it alone?

January Podcast Review

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. My job ensures at least a few hours, and sometimes all of them, are spent at a computer and so I can listen. Podcasts are interspersed with music.

To me, podcasts are defined in two categories: Ongoing and Term. The first is as it says - an ongoing podcast that revolves around a topic or a presenter. The latter is one that is a limited number of episodes based on the topic. The last set are the ones on deck for my next listening.

I've linked to the podcasts and I listen on Google Play, to which I have a subscription. These should all be available anywhere you listen.

Let me know if you start listening and what you think. Also, I'm always looking for recommendations!

Ongoing

Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green - monthlyish - This is my first introduction to podcats. John Green (of vlogbrothers and authorial fame) reviews 2 unrelated aspects of the anthropocene (the era of humans) on a 5 star scale.

Awesome Etiquette - Lizzie Post and Daniel Post Senning - weekly - This is presented by two of the Post kids on behalf of the Emily Post Institute. An ongoing foray into modern and historical etiquette.

Cults - Greg and Vanessa - weekly on Tuesdays - This covers a cult, usually in two episodes. I find cults and the psychology of the people who lead and join them really fascinating. My only quibble is this group puts everything older than 6 months behind a paywall at Stitcher. These hosts also host one on Serial Killers, which might end up on my list at some point.

Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness - Jonathan Van Ness - weeklyish - JVN, of Queer Eye fame, goes into a different topic each week with an expert. I've gotten a lot of other podcasts from him and he's the reason I joined Instagram. Mostly, he's pure joy, though some people might find his boundless enthusiasm, quick delivery, and vernacular somewhat grating. He's definitely a post-tea listen for me, but then I can listen for hours.

Lifemancy - Rachel Wilkinson - 2x a month (new moon and full moon) - The newest podcast on my ongoing list, this one is presented by my friend Rachel and explores various aspects of magic and the occult, where it overlaps with science and culture, and how you can take aspects away from it even if you don't buy into it all. If nothing else, listening to Rachel will make you laugh and leave you happier.

Marketplace - Kai Ryssdal - daily Monday-Friday - I loved Marketplace on NPR, but I'm never in my car anymore since I bike to work. I listen to the previous evening every morning. My understanding of world and national economics is due to this program and Kai's voice doesn't grate me early, so this is the first one I listen to at work.

On the Media - Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield - 2x a week- Another NPR segment I like that looks into various issues related to the media, usually around a central topic. Brooke's issues with Roseanne Cash was incredible and made me very sad that I couldn't get her albums via Google Play.

This Movie Changed Me - Lily Percy - biweekly - I caught an episode of this on a long car ride on NPR and started listening to it when it released. Every episode is a conversation with someone about a movie that changed their life. It's amazing.

Unladylike - Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin  - weekly - I'm almost caught up with this one! These girls are great in their continued exploration of the patriarchy and its effects. A personal favorite - they are the first to say that, as white women, they don't have a full view of the damage patriarchy does since they're protected by whiteness, so they have taken a lot of efforts to showcase women of color, as well as queer women.

Term

Dear Franklin Jones - I like cults (see above) and I found this one via another one (there's a lot of recommendations in podcasts). A man who grew up in a cult unpacks his parents' involvement and his own feelings towards the cult leader. It's really interesting. 7 episodes

Solid in America - I cannot recommend this one enough. Noor Tagouri created a documentary about sex trafficking and the sex trade in America and this podcast was produced in conjunction with it. It's incredible and goes into sex work from a variety of angles, talking to people we don't often hear from in conversations about the sex trade - the people who work in it. It's a challenge to all assumptions and may require quite a bit of introspection. 9 episodes though Noor has commented there might be some ongoing work here which I would love.

Unerased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America - This one was a bit rough to listen to, but it goes trough conversion therapy and it's history. This was released in conjunction with the film Boy Erased and talks to some of the subjects that inspired the film. Everyone should listen to this, especially if this has never been something in your face before (as it hasn't for most straight people and even a large number of queer people who may have come out later or were from accepting communities). If conversion therapy as a topic brings back bad memories, proceed with caution. 4 episodes.

On Deck

Boom! Lawyered - I heard about this one from Unladylike when one of the hosts was on the show. Looking forward to getting a better view of the legal system.

Katie Couric - I listened to Katie on JVN's podcast and adored her, so I want to give her show a listen.

Tilted: A Lean In Podcast - So I have some serious issues with the whole Lean In thing, mostly because it was aimed a very specific segment of the population but presents itself as doable for anyone. That said, the podcast is supposed to be about the challenges and ingrained misogyny in the workplace. I'm withholding judgment.

Ever Heard of SANEs? Me neither.

I have a planned post that will go over my current and recent podcast list, but one episode in particular struck me and I wanted to share.

An episode of Unladylike discusses the role of the SANE - Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. This wasn't something I knew existed but is such an incredible role. They are RNs who have taken hefty additional coursework and are able to conduct forensic examinations following a sexual assault, trained to collect DNA and other forensic data in a patient and care centered manner, reducing retraumatizing the patient. They are also connected to and aware of the state and federal rights and guidelines, so they can provide next steps for law enforcement, mental and physical health, as well as patient's rights.

This is incredible...but there aren't many. The SANE who spoke to the program in in Georgia and she's one of just 25 in the entire state. I checked their website and there are none in VA emergency rooms that I saw.

I'm not sure how to create more of these other than to raise awareness. I'm going to look into lobbying the VA to require them in their hospitals, maybe via the DAV (what's the point of having a membership if I'm not using it?).

For more information, you can listen to the podcast and go to the International Association of Forensic Nurses to see what the closest hospital in your area with one is.