Poor Things is a juicy, chewy, twisted coming-of-age fable about exploitation and womanhood. The two hours we spent following the curious, bold protagonist Balla Baxter provided a helpful chaos for us to metabolize an array of complex problems: the pursuit of female autonomy in a world seeking to define and confine it, the nature of sex work as gritty, exploitative labor, and, at some point, the ethics of biohacking and CRISPR.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
In our quarterly “vibe check” tradition aka rambling chatfest, the CyberPink girls back to dive shallow(ish) once more.
We hit the full life spectrum - from celebrating magical moments, untangling our love/hate with things (to Marie Kondos’s delight/chagrin), pondering how to properly “adult”...to spiraling into ‘what’s trending hot and not’ before emerging somehow wiser. Or at least blissfully 90 minutes older.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
As the ball is about to drop to ring in 2024, CyberPink joined up with our comrades to put together another episode — a raw confessional session airing those vulnerabilities from the past year that we’d rather keep under wraps. We gathered round, spinning yarns into the wee hours about our solitary moments of fragility over months past, staring into the abyss of our souls as darkness enveloped us; the lingering emotional baggage yet to be reconciled and wounds still laid bare for all to see. And cheers to a bright new year ahead, friends.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
037｜垫底俱乐部 Bottoms：一场酣畅淋漓的Y2K校园“发烧梦” A Gen Z High School Fever Dream
Jan 01, 2024
Show notes
【聊了什么The What】
有人说Bottoms 垫底俱乐部是一部高校性转版的《搏击俱乐部》，但其实远远不止如此。它荒诞离奇，充满暴力和一些隐藏的不算太深的讽刺和哲思，是适合我们这个时代的美国高校喜剧电影。
故事围绕着Josie和PJ这一对好友展开，她们是这所美国高中食物链的底层，不只是因为她们是拉拉，而是用她们自己的话来说：“gay，ugly and untalented”。在高三毕业前的最后一年这对好友决心突破自己，互为僚机泡到全校最受欢迎的拉拉队队员，而她们达成目标的方式就是阴差阳错组建了这个高中第一个女子搏击俱乐部。
这一期，小蓝和四位酷儿/Gen Z/Older Millennial朋友们，也是一档全新的女权喜剧播客《大波福娃》的主播们，一起聊了聊这部酷儿青少年校园“发烧梦”。
Some say "Bottoms" is a high-school-themed, gender-flipped version of "Fight Club," but it's far more than that. It's a bizarre and whimsical journey, filled with violence and some blazen satire and not-so-subtle philosophical musings— a perfect update of the high school comedy genre fit for our times.
The story revolves around Josie and PJ, a dynamic duo situated at the bottom rung of the American high school social ladder. Their struggles extend beyond being lesbians; in their own words, they're "gay, ugly, and untalented." In their final year before graduating high school, this determined pair sets out to break free from their constraints to date the two most popular cheerleaders in the school. Their unconventional method? Accidentally forming the first all-female fight club in the high school.
In this episode, Xiaolan and her four queer/Gen Z/Older Millennial friends, who are the hosts of the brand-new feminist comedy podcast "Dat Beauvoir," convene to chat about this queer teenage "fever dream."
本期参与录制的有：
桃子（she/her）：一个还没出道就隐退了的业余脱口秀演员，精通捆粽子和翻花绳
跑跑（they/them）：工匠/小丑/人民教师/高科技亚逼（消歧义），尊重且热爱谐音梗，老龄 Z 世代。
小苕 (it/its)：一颗零零后坡塔头，咖喱牛腩里的薯仔，地三鲜里的土豆
Nancy (she/her)：惨惨的博士僧，是一个older millennial中年人
Sis Peach (she/her): I have a Golden retriever, a plush dog with an imaginary ESA vest.
Runrun (they/them): local shop tech / clown / adjunct / computer beep boops, pun always intended.
Shao (it/its): A potato with Chinese characteristics. Can’t be fried or smashed.
Nancy (she/her): a struggling PhD, older millennial
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
Whether you’re a die-hard Swiftie or just a regular person who’s not into her songs, there’s no denying the grip that Ms. Taylor Swift has had on American pop culture since her debut in 2006.
In her most recent “Eras” tour, which generated roughly $5 Billion USD for the US economy, Taylor Swift walks the audience through her many eras: the hopeless romantic princess in sparkly dresses in “You Belong With Me,” who then fell from her pumpkin carriage and claimed victimhood after Kanye’s public humiliation of her in 2009; clapping back at critics and experimenting musically with “Red;” embracing her "girl squad" of famous friends and cementing her spot as a pop culture icon with “1989;” her villainelle era with “Reputation;” and taking quaratining at home to the next level by embracing cottagecore with “Folklore” and “Evermore” during the pandemic.
In this episode of CyberPink, we take a look at how different stages of our own lives intersect with Taylor Swift’s eras and how we interacted with her – whether it’s through passionately listening to her songs on repeat, reciting the lyrics, or simply studying her as a pop culture artifact and what her popularity means from an anthropological perspective. Each Taylor era evokes memories and emotions that allow us to revisit a moment somewhere in the last fifteen years. So join us as we dive deep into her many looks through the years, career-changing award show moments, feuds with other mega stars, and her music – and explore how the themes intricately intertwined with our own growth, and the evolution of what it means to be a modern woman.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
035 | 「坠楼的审判 」：老公你安心地走吧 Anatomy of a Fall
Nov 02, 2023
Show notes
【聊了什么The What】
从荞麦信箱和Reddit上的“Am I the Axxhole”，全世界人类的一大共性就是热衷于观察其他人的“家务事”，并给出自己的判决——You are not the axxhole，为网友的乳腺着想，分手吧。在最琐碎的家务事中，有无数隽永的社会问题和模糊的道德难题；故事随处可见，但把这样的故事讲好又非常难。2023年斩获金棕榈的法国剧情悬疑片《坠楼的审判》就是个中出彩之作。女作家Sandra的丈夫Samuel从他们的家顶楼坠楼离奇死亡，而Sandra成为了最大的嫌疑人。整个故事就围绕着这桩疑似谋杀案的司法调查展开，但被当堂剖析的不只是疑案——Sandra和Samuel之间失败的婚姻，父子、母子和伴侣之间那些心照不宣，无法言说的细微情绪统统被放在法庭上被代表所谓公平正义的律师、法官和看客逐一剥茧抽丝。
If the popularity of the “Am I The A**hole” subreddit and its Chinese equivalence were any indication, we humans really love nothing more than sticking our noses all the way in other people’s family business and passing judgments. But it takes an extraordinarily skilled storyteller to bring out the universal, profound moral struggles embedded in our seemingly mundane, daily life: what does it mean to be understood, even in the most intimate relationships? Can anyone be persuaded? If so, by facts or manipulation? “The Anatomy of a Fall,” which won the Palme d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year, is an icey, cerebral thriller about a mysterious death and a failed marriage, but also about truth, persuasion, the power of narratives, and all the unspoken love and cruelty within human relationships.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
In this episode, we bring together two beloved shows—Ted Lasso and The Bear— to discuss how although one takes place on the football pitch and the other in the kitchen, both follow the same narrative blueprint. How do people resolve trauma and find themselves? How do they communicate and resolve friction at work and in teams?
In 2023, the post-pandemic era, we explore how the conflicts between these characters are written, how they recover from trauma, rediscover and redefine themselves. We also explore ourselves to some extent - how do we understand our own emotions? How do we interpret the behaviors of family, colleagues, partners, teammates, and friends? How do we better understand ourselves, build deep connections through frictions, and grow beyond trauma through collaboration?
0:00 - 06:10 - Our first experience of 简单心理 therapy *Sponsored
06:10 - Synopses of Ted Lasso and The Bear: how sports, growth, and intergenerational trauma are portrayed
16:00 - Why do we become enamored with "divine faces" on the big screen and "familiar faces" on the small screen?
18:45 - Within masculine cultures, how are these two shows handling emotional, traumatized men and inviting the audience to observe their emotions microscopically?
23:00 - We see the script of harm play out repeatedly throughout both shows, and we observe how grief is not linear. How do these two shows portray intergenerational trauma through scenes?
29:40 - In the all-American narrative, how do immigrants ease their pain through labor?
35:00 - We discuss effective communication habits in Ted Lasso and The Bear, and the reality of how arguments always start from the “root”
40:05 - Intertextuality in Ted Lasso's plot - cultural conflicts and personal trauma
44:58 - How Ted Lasso constructs a psychological "safe space" by incorporating literary content, and why we enjoy watching sports stories
52:00 - How can going to therapy intervene with our engrained ways of communication and revive one's happy “inner puppy”?
59:40 - Our host Xiao Yang and Guest Eileen's stories on cultural gaps and going to therapy
1:03:00 - Anxiety is addictive - the existential anxiety of immigrants and the psychological experiences of lower-class Chinese immigrants in Chicago's Chinatown (history lesson time)
1:09:00 - To survive, immigrants are always partially living in the past
1:15:00 - Why we don't romanticize Carmy and Sydney's relationship
1:22:30 - There’s not enough portrayal of women going through mid-life crises on the big or small screen
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun, and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
Happy pumpkin spice latte season! We like season changes, because it means we get to record our seasonal vibe check episodes. A couple of weeks ago out of a burst of productivity we shipped a survey to get to know yall better, which includes an AMA section where we collected all of your simmering questions. We had so much fun reading the responses (keep’em coming!!), and decided to break out the mailbox for an AMA episode! The survey will stay open, we read every entry religiously, so consider that a way to let us know about your questions, concerns, thoughts, anything you would like us to know. You can also email us at cyberpinkfm@gmail.com.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
In preparing this episode, my mind kept going back to a print by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya – The Dream of Reason Produces Monsters. Its themes resonate eerily with the moral complexities of Oppenheimer – a man haunted by the monster he dreamed into reality. When ChatGPT went live earlier this year, many people started asking – does humanity face another Oppenheimer moment? Did we unleash another monster? – and many others started to find that question itself distracting, or even dangerous.
As we delve into the second installment of our conversation on Oppenheimer, this episode also shines a spotlight on Qian Xuesen's life, drawing parallels with Oppenheimer's own story. We probe the ethical issues arising from the dichotomy between scientific openness and national allegiance, and unpack the burgeoning anxiety around an so-called AI apocalypse.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
How do you even begin to tell the story of the Atomic bomb, when humanity split the atom out of wartime desperation, and finally created the ability to destroy ourselves? For eight decades, we've lived in its looming shadow, a tool of annihilation that has redefined global geopolitics and provoked existential inquiries that span generations. It takes a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan to project it onto the grand canvas of a 70mm IMAX screen. Enter 'Oppenheimer,' this summer's epic blockbuster.
To discuss the film, two former physicists - Zhao Zhichen, a former theoretical physicist, and Cheng Yangyang, an experimental particle physicist - engaged in a two-hour conversation to unpack the summer epic blockbuster Oppenheimer. In the first part, we reflect on the narrative choices and visual language of the film, uncovering many overlooked figures in nuclear history - indigenous peoples, women, colonized nations and citizens, victims of the bomb. We also explore how their backgrounds in nuclear physics inform their unique perspectives on this memorable cinematic experience.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content such as “CyberPink Reading,” “CyberPink Watching,” “CyberPink Traveling,” “CyberPink Vlog,” and more. Those are lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
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