“Black Myth: Wukong” is China's first so-called "AAA" blockbuster video game, and CyberPink gals are here to talk about it. We haven't discussed gaming before, as none of our hosts (other than Yifang) are avid gamers, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to join the discourse around this cross-cultural phenomenon that's the game of the summer (or dare we say, year).
To fully understand the hype around "Black Myth: Wukong," all participants in this episode played the game. Especially Xiaolan who decided to jump right into the Wukong universe, as a new gamer. Along with our two guests who are both gaming industry professionals and passionate gamers, we discuss the psychological journey of female gamers as they engage with the game. Is "Black Myth: Wukong" considered a Soulslike game, and if so, how do Soulslike games allow us to perceive our agency while we're engrossed in the game's narrative?
While many view the commercially successful "Black Myth: Wukong" as a pinnacle of Chinese cultural export in recent years, news about misogynistic comments from the development team surfaced. What does this mean for the persistent misogyny in the gaming industry as a whole? We talk about Gamergate 1.0 and 2.0, what it means to be a woman and a gamer, and the gaming community at large. Tune in for a riveting discussion on "Black Myth: Wukong" and more!
Our Guests：
Game designer, exhibition curator and writer Yang Jing
Gaming industry professional and gaming enthusiast Jing
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 discuss the recently released film "Dìdi" (meaning "little brother" in Chinese). This coming-of-age story explores the growing pains of its 13-year-old protagonist the summer before starting high school in Fremont, California. The film marks the directorial debut of Taiwanese-American filmmaker Sean Wang and draws heavily from his own experience.
The narrative centers on Chris, a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American boy, during a transformative two-month summer vacation in 2008. Throughout this brief period, Chris navigates his first love, family conflicts, identity confusion, and discovers his passion for videography and skateboarding. Starting with the film's title "Didi," we share our thoughts on this nostalgic youth drama. The subtle themes of gender and the boy's growth in the early digital age resonate with our own experiences as old millennials. The story's portrayal of gender bias within East Asian families and the protagonist's online coming-of-age journey mirror aspects of our own upbringings.
16:28 the story explores how our generation was raised by the internet, featuring cursors, keyboards, PCs, and early social media
23:25 the film may be attempting to convey healthy masculinity through the use of "bro" culture
30:36 Joan Chen portrays a mother figure characterized by unconditional love and acceptance
40:39 the movie presents a typical East Asian family dynamic with an absent father, a trapped mother, a departed sister, and a doting grandmother
01:08:38 a comparison with autobiographical works by different generations of Taiwanese directors, particularly in how male creators depict care from women
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content to talk about our readings, what we are watching, the events we are going to, and more. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
As a pop culture podcast, we can’t not talk about one of the biggest cultural moments in hip hop (and beyond): the infamous rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. But for us here at Cyberpink, dissecting this rap beef goes further than just chronologically listing out who dropped what song when, or the cultural significance of “Not Like Us.” When we first experienced racialization as young immigrants, Kendrick’s profound lyrics were part of the canonical texts we read to understand race and identity in the U.S.
Kendrick vs. Drake goes beyond two rappers showing off their creative chops -- it started a whole conversation around how we should consume and evaluate hip hop culture. As insults were traded and the battle escalated, accusations of domestic violence and pedophilia became lyrical weapons casually thrown around; no women or child was spared as partners, sons, daughters, and parents got dragged into the mix.
Are these unverified accusations meant to protect real women, or are the two rap stars using each other’s fragile ego and fear of losing fame or wealth for their own gain. What are they gaining -- clout or their name in history as the winner? And at what cost -- women who get caught in the crossfire and further extending hip-hop’s inherent misogynistic tendencies? Is this whole showdown an indication that those with resources are indifferent to women's plight?
It’s our job as culture consumers to ask these tough questions. Tune in for our discussion.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content to talk about our readings, what we are watching, the events we are going to, and more. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
051 | 亚裔美国人的边缘身份和细微心境 Minor Feelings: the evolving Asian American Identity
Aug 01, 2024
【聊了什么The What】
“Minor Feelings”是由韩裔美国作家诗人Cathy Park Hong的一本书，通过回忆录、文化批评和历史回顾的方式探讨了亚裔美国人流动的身份、情感和经历。作者自己作为一个“东亚女儿”和“少数族裔作家”的多重身份让她能敏锐地感受一系列仿佛已经成为日常的羞耻、愤怒和自我怀疑。在美国这样一个高度种族化的社会，亚裔往往被塑造成“模范少数族裔”，他们的勤奋和成功成了主流社会维护现状的工具。然而，当他们感受到种族歧视时，这套话术往往又会阻止亚裔美国人的表达。这些因为边缘身份产生的”微妙情感“（minor feelings）与美国关于种族的主流叙事相冲突，和亚裔美国人这个群体一样在黑白分明的种族讨论中被忽视或误解。
"Minor Feelings" is a book by Korean-American poet and writer Cathy Park Hong that explores the fluid identity, emotions, and experiences of Asian Americans through memoir, cultural criticism, and historical review. As an "East Asian daughter" and a "minority writer," Hong keenly perceives a range of everyday feelings of shame, anger, and self-doubt. In the highly racialized society of America, Asians are often cast as the "model minority," with their diligence and success used as tools to uphold the status quo of mainstream society. However, when they experience racial discrimination, this narrative often stifles Asian Americans' expressions. These "minor feelings" that arise from marginalization conflict with the mainstream American narratives about race and, like the Asian American community, are often overlooked or misunderstood in the black-and-white racial discourse.
Recently translated into Chinese and published in China, we took this opportunity to invite our good friend, Duke University professor Eileen Chow, to discuss racial consciousness, the model minority myth, and the impact of historical events on personal and collective identity.
We also shared our own immigration experiences and how these subtle feelings arise in our everyday situations.
Apart from the podcast, we have set up an official account on Xiaohongshu. We will periodically post content to talk about our readings, what we are watching, the events we are going to, and more. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
同时，我们瞎扯了在这个夏天在各地的旅行和观察，包括眉头紧锁忧虑意大利经济、在南法的戛纳边参加婚礼边沉浸式体验班味十足的影展、在伦敦搬砖却被锁在共享工作室外要靠美国人来救等等。另外我们还闲聊了一些推荐的书和展。以及在路上 vs 在家土豆 vs 在路上土豆的种种支撑四个女的把日子好好过下去的精神养料。
另外，大家可以关注我们的小红书去看我们提到的萨金特展。
Recorded back in June, this is our summer vibe check with CyberPink. We conducted an urgent(?) mental health check on the four women and explored the time-bending mystery of "How is 2024 already half over?"
We chat about our summer travels and observations, our concerns over Europe's economy, recounting our experience attending a distinctly not-chill Cannes film festival, starving in the south of France, being locked out of a shared workspace in London, only to be rescued by overworked Americans.
We also chat about books and exhibitions, and discuss the various intellectual nourishments that keep us going - whether we're potating on the road or couch-potating at home.
Please follow our Red (Xiaohongshu) account to see the Sargent Exhibition.
By the way, CyberPink has quietly reached its 50th episode! As we hit the midpoint of 2024, we invite you to continue supporting these four women in making this podcast a better one.
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 today's episode, we unpack this summer's hottest blockbuster "Challengers," starring A-list superstar Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist. We follow these three gorgeous on-screen characters as the movie volleys back and forth in time to show us over a decade of entanglement, and we dissect how their relationship as friends, lovers, and foes, evolves over time. This episode includes a sponsored ad for Tylenol.
10:00 The film's aesthetics, cinematography, and unique perspective
13:20 This seemingly ordinary tennis match is a journey of self-discovery for the three protagonists in disguise, showcasing the reality of competitive sports
21:18 Tennis as a not-so-subtle sexual metaphor and professional athletes' review of the film
30:20 The director's portrayal of the emotional dynamics between the three characters
32:55 Analysis of Tashi's character arc and the complex love triangle between the three
50:20 Is Tashi deemed a prize by the two men? Is she a referee, or the puppet master of the trio's fate?
1:04:00 Deeper analysis of the love triangle: are they all winners in their own way?
1:17:05 The film's product placement and what it says about sports and branding, in association with the film's costume design
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!
Alex Garland's latest film, "Civil War," was set against a fictional war between two different factions within the United States. The film has sparked considerable controversy. It explores America’s political reality through the lenses (zing!) of four war correspondents, centering on journalistic ethics and the struggles of the human condition, but somehow sidestepping all of the more contentious, real political issues currently dividing America. We were not sure if we liked this artistic choice, so we recorded an episode with our friends from 美轮美换 The American Roulette to process it.
Do we like Alex Garland’s decision to obscure the causes of the war? Why do we need photojournalism? Do we still have the capacity to process the harsh realities of conflict and suffering, and hold complexities in this age of social media?
With the election around the corner, if you would also like to receive high quality Chinese content on US politics, please consider joining American Roulette's membership program: https://theamericanroulette.com/paid-membership/
01:02:09 The self-contradiction of photojournalists: to document or to intervene?
01:09:24 In the age of social media, the responsibility of journalists and the responsibility of the audience
01:16:08 Senior journalists' helplessness towards their juniors: This profession causes inevitable moral or physical injuries, but they can't stop people from joining
01:18:03 Despite advances in technology, the absurdity of war remains unchanged
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!
为了准备这期播客，我们一起读了三本关于女性创作的书：讲述奥威尔妻子艾琳的Wifedom，讲述作家乔治·艾略特的The Marriage Question，和讲述“成为怪物的艺术家”的Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma。许多伟大的男性艺术家背后都有默默付出的妻子，而女性一旦成为母亲往往就被吸干注意力，失去创作的空间。这三本书中被抹去的女性、挣扎的女性、和小心翼翼担忧成为怪物母亲的女性们，都在试探着自我实现和作为妻子/母亲这两者的边界。
同时，我们也通过观察Ursula Le Guin等等女性作者的生命历程和创作历程拷问"伟大的母亲"的角色。当一个伟大的母亲需要为了自己的创作而"离开"，怎么办？在资本主义效率至上的逻辑下，母亲的付出被视为理所当然，价值也被剥夺，但我们是否应该反思和重估母职劳动的价值？
This is the final episode of the "Wife Trilogy," a series that takes the highly familiar social role of the "wife" as its central focus. This topic encompasses our contemplations on the profound implications of being a wife.
However, this podcast episode may well be one of the most significant we have recorded at this stage of our lives. It prompts us to reflect on how an individual with a fervent creative drive can possibly reconcile with the rigid social demands of that of a wife.
In preparation, we collectively delved into three books exploring women's creative pursuits: "Wifedom," chronicling the story of Eileen, the wife of George Orwell; "The Marriage Question," illuminating the private life of novelist George Eliot; and "Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma," examining the notion of the "monstrous female artist." Many great male artists have benefited from the silent sacrifices of their wives, while women, upon becoming mothers, often find their creative energies drained and mental space constricted.
By observing the lives and creative trajectories of women authors such as Ursula Le Guin, among others, we interrogate the notion of the "great mother." Can a good mother just "leave" to pursue her artistic endeavors? Under the capitalist system of efficiency, a mother's contributions are taken for granted, their value stripped away. Should we not re-evaluate and reappraise the worth of maternal labor and how it is actually a fiercely and terrifyingly intellectual pursuit?
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!
This is the 2nd part of CyberPink’s "Wife trilogy.” Centering on the ubiquitous role of "wife," we cautiously circumscribe a boundary around it. Within this boundary lie our contemplations and fear, our ponderings on the implications of being a wife.
In this episode, our discussion is about royal wives - from Kate Middleton, the object of pop culture's adoration, to the legendary Princess Diana, to the women of Japan's imperial family. We explore their ordeals with illness, the tribulations of childbirth, and the scrutiny of the public eye. How are their bodies dissected and consumed by the media? From the moment they assume the mantle of "royal wife," how do their bodies cease to be their own?
The specter of Kate's ailments unveils another facet of her role as the quintessential royal wife and mother, meticulously observed and governed by the machinations of "the firm." Diana, the defiant rebel against "the firm," and Meghan, the escapee, find themselves entombed within the role of "royal wife," even as the very title exacts its punishing toll. Beyond the British monarchy, we ponder the plight of royal women in Japan and nations abroad - how do they persevere?
01:12 Beginning with the cloud of cancer suspicion surrounding Kate Middleton
06:50 Kate as the epitome of the perfect English woman and mother
12:26 A royal woman's body is an invaluable asset of the nation, never truly her own; Kate seems to have never experienced the uncomfortable transition from "wife" to "mother"
19:00 "The Firm" - what exactly is the British Royal Family? Why is it so difficult for them to even change the color of an outfit?
22:00 Why Diana is so fondly remembered: how the Royal Family exploited the young Diana, and how she broke away and escaped
30:50 When royal women cannot voice their pain, their bodies begin to manifest major issues, starting with women in the Japanese Imperial Family
47:30 What happens when a young woman "gives" her body to the Royal Family?
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!
045｜戛纳特辑:《疲惫娇娃》x《赶场》：这个世界特别差，年轻人都在挣扎 Cannes Film Festival Special Episode
May 20, 2024
【聊了什么The What】
戛纳电影节第四天，《疲惫娇娃》的一芳和《赶场 Way To Cinemas》播客的Selina在戛纳电影宫的天台坐了下来录制本期特辑节目，聊聊戛纳体验和目前看过的电影。
谢谢豆瓣对本期播客的支持，现在豆瓣也可以听播客啦！
剪辑和时间轴：陆小鸟，汤包（赶场）
主播：Selina（小红书 About Cannons）赶场 Way To Cinemas，一芳《疲惫娇娃 CyberPink》
On the fourth day of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, Yifang and Selina (host of Way To Cinemas) sat down to record this special episode, talking about their experience with the festival and the films they’ve seen so far. Thanks to douban.com for their support, you can now find our podcast on Douban.
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!
Today we want to dive into the deep internet rabbit hole of "Trad Wife" -- short for traditional wife, this social media phenomenon has taken the world by storm, and we want to unpack it all.
To talk about trad wives, we first have to time travel back to the emergence of the American suburb in the post-war 1950s, the image of the white-picket-fence home, the nuclear family, and the blonde, ruby-lipped housewife that's imbued with class and political undertones. This visually evocative image has resurfaced in recent years on social media, sparking a discussion on the deeper socioeconomic and political undertones of the trad wife revival.
In this episode, we unpack how the trad wife trend is not merely an aesthetic style but also an ideological core with a religious and politically conservative undertone. The rise of this online movement has collided with contemporary feminism, reflecting the challenges women face on various fronts, including balancing family and work, surviving the pandemic, participating in the economy, as well as their naïve embrace of tradition as a means of emancipation.
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!
Sports have never been merely about the games themselves; they shape the popular culture we engage with, from fashion to music, reflecting the cultural zeitgeist. Those who have been closely following American sports will have noticed the surging popularity of women's college basketball and its standout stars—Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Kamilla Cardoso, and many others. Remarkably, the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship was the most-watched basketball game on television since 2019, attracting a staggering 18.7 million viewers. This viewership even surpassed last year's NBA Finals (sorry, Nuggets), sparking widespread discussion both online and offline.
In this conversation, we talked to Yifan from The Athletic and Siqi from the Brooklyn Nets, and delved into the factors beyond mere statistics, exploring the obstacles these athletes had to overcome for women's basketball to achieve its current prominence.
00:00 How popular is women's college basketball this year?
15:45 Exploring the income gap between men's and women's basketball: What highlighting this disparity matters? It's not just about income.
24:30 Imagining two highly talented middle school students—Kevin and Kelly Durant—dropped into the world: How would their career trajectories differ from rookies to retirement?
52:17 Why isn't the basketball hoop height lowered for women?
01:13:18 The WNBA at the intersection of gender, racial, and LGBTQ+ identities
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!
The CyberPink squad is back with an episode on the recently wrapped 96th Academy Awards!
Over the past few years, the Academy Awards have faced a lot of questioning and criticism. As the self-proclaimed pinnacle of cinematic excellence, the Academy is struggling to maintain its reputation and convince people of its relevance. But the Oscars ceremony still provides an interesting lens to examine how this major cultural institution addresses ongoing events - from the writers and actors strikes to the conflict in Gaza. Which films, actors and actresses win ultimately is not based on merit, but on a myriad of factors and a relentless awards season campaign that has become the norm of the industry, a profound legacy of none other than Harvey Weinstein and his company Miramax.
We discuss the history of Oscars, its genre bias, and what we think about the “Barbie snub.”
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!
The Oscar-nominated work "American Fiction" tells the story of Thelonius “Monk” Ellison, a Black writer who finds himself in a creative dilemma. Out of anger, spite, and disappointment in the publishing industry status quo, he takes up a pen name and writes a piece of "Black literature" filled with stereotypes as a form of rebellion, yet the publishing world gobbles it all up.
The movie, when translated into familiar contexts, reveals universal challenges: Is it merely a form of capitalizing on feminism when women write about women's suffering? Is it catering to white audiences when Asians write about Asian trauma? How can one stay true to their own life experiences in their creative work, while also achieving dignity in creation (income, attention, etc.)? How can the complexity of life be conveyed in a way that also encourages empathy from people of other ethnic groups?
Caiwei, our a talented female writer friend, also joins this dialogue.
00:00 “American Fiction”: overview of this Oscar-nominated movie and its creator: screenwriter-turned-director Cord Jefferson
05:58 The duality of the movie: intertwining storylines of the literary plot and the family drama, the complexity of life as a middle-aged man, all from protagonist Monk’s point of view
17:39 The intentional one-dimensional portrayal of characters in the publishing industry and the satirization of a white audience
34:00 The meta structure of this movie’s storytelling
40:59 Our discussion around the choice for an open-ended ending and what kind of creators are allowed to tell what kinds of stories
01:00:23 We all deserve to see authentic and nuanced stories
01:06:55 Bella's patricide, reconciliation with her father, and eventual symbolic rebirth as her father
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!
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
【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
【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!
From the moment acclaimed feminist filmmaker Greta Gerwig took the helm of this project, the CyberPink team has intuited that this film would resonate deeply with us—as women content creators peering into pop culture. Barbie is the movie we need right now—one destined to be made, seen, and discussed by a new generation of women who experienced this cultural icon in our own ways. Its central themes echo our longtime theses: gender power dynamics, women’s role in society, the conflicts we grapple with, and paths to self-actualization.
Through clever satire of patriarchal tropes, raw disappointment with the real world, surprisingly sharp critiques of the tensions women face, and an arc of personal awakening, Barbie reflects our collective zig-zagging journey.
For us, watching Barbie is a communal experience, spanning a spectrum from playful reverie to solemn rumination.
On the opening day, we reveled in the gleeful pink fever dream of Barbie. Then came endless rehashing of plotlines, contextual research, reviews, introspection, and of course, culminating in this podcast episode that unpacks it all. This pink storm led to an epic 2-and-half-hour recording session. The film resonates as both a cultural touchstone and an opportunity for personal reflections —an instant classic to savor alone and together.
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, lighter, more fun and more experimental stuff about our lives. Leave us some comments on Xiaohongshu!
In this episode, we talk about a very under-explored topic in pop culture -- sex (lol) We reminisce about the pop culture characters from childhood that sparked our sexual awakening. We critique the controversial HBO series "The Idol" for its terrible portrayals of desirability and sex. We also discuss recent shows praised for their positive depictions of female sexuality, encouraging women to embrace their own wants and needs.
A note from CyberPink - our perspectives come from personal experiences as cis heterosexual women, which come with inherent limitations.
This episode is sponsored by the female sexual wellness brand OSUGA. Tune in to hear our thoughts on their sex toy "Rabbit Moon"!
01:50 We rave about the advanced new product "Rabbit Moon" and enthusiastically (maybe too much) introduce product details and real user experiences (we talked for a full 10 minutes!)
10:08 Cyberpink’s sexual awakenings from movies and TV shows - twisted female sexual subjects in mainland Chinese media vs alluring female characters in Hong Kong & Taiwanese media
14:10 Sexual repression in the Disney version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame": sexual power can transform into darkness and destruction
17:25 Two generations of women's tragedies in "Romance in the Rain", and mundane sex on screen
21:27 Forbidden and cross-class sex in "Atonement"
25:40 Women still don’t know how to express sexual needs
28:20 HBO's "The Idol" and its terrible portrayals of the female body and sexuality
42:20 The positive sexual ethos in Netflix's "Never Have I Ever"
49:17 Asian sex icons and inspirations during Pride Month
"Past Lives" is the first feature film by director Celine Song. The movie tells the story of Nora (played by Greta Lee) reuniting with her childhood sweetheart Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo) after 20 years in New York. But by now, Nora has formed a family with Arthur (played by John Magaro) and is chasing her dream to be a successful playwright. It's the best original scripted film we've seen this year, and it provokes some soul-searching and reflections on our own past life stages. The heroine Nora is like a close friend of ours. Her leaving, staying, pursuit of dreams, and determination to control her own fate remind us of our own paths to our current life.
Movie and TV writers started a prolonged strike led by the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in early May, demanding better revenue share from the studios and protection from the threat of artificial intelligence. The strike has resulted in the suspension of multiple talk shows, some of our favorite late-night shows, and delayed production of many drama series.
In this episode of CyberPink, we talk about the reasons behind this strike, and how streaming and the era of prestige TV changed the industry's revenue structure. We interviewed director and writer Maegan Houang, who is a strike captain at WGA, about why she decided to start the strike and what she thinks the studios need to do. The points she made (the interview was in English) were relayed and incorporated throughout the episodes.
Alas, it is over. The fight for the throne of media conglomerate Waystar Royco has settled. The king, Logan Roy, alongside his four hapless offsprings, have finally taken their bow. The show launched during the peak of the Trump era and ended as the U.S. smolders in the aftermath of a pandemic. Every form of power that is inherent to our era — patriarchy, money, politics — has been laid bare, scrutinized, taken apart on the screenwriter's operation table. Our perceptions of power structures might have been irrevocably reshaped by this show, in ways we cannot quite put into words yet. But still, we try in this episode:
"Brush up Life" is a Japanese comedy about Kondo Asami, who discovers that she can go back to being a baby and relive her life after dying in an accident at 33. After experiencing five reincarnations, she gradually realizes the meaning of her rebirth and ultimately returns to her hometown to live out her days with her childhood friends. The screenwriter, BakaRhythm, uses a light touch to discuss the grand theme of life and death, outlining a world that allows us to feel such a strong emotional resonance with the characters despite being from different backgrounds. The protagonist in the story has a sense of certainty about who she is and a relaxed attitude toward conventional success. Her hometown is depicted as a utopian community opposite from our atomized society. The brilliance of this drama lies in its gentle reminder of the unreasonable way we refuse to accept that death could come at any moment in life, as well as our obsession with being extraordinary.
In the realm of popular culture, the female body appears to be infinitely malleable: social media promises that with discipline and luck, any desired physique is within reach. But in reality, our relationship with food often twists into a painful knot. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors evolved an insatiable craving for sugar and fat; in mere decades, the modern food industry has made these indulgences effortlessly accessible, incessantly tempting our willpower at every turn. Recently, a new drug called Ozempic — the key to the Kardashian-esque metamorphosis from silicon-injected peaches to sinny Barbies — has ignited a fervent debate in America. Does obesity signify a weakness of will? In a world where the body remains commodified, how should we perceive the seductive allure of Ozempic's promise of effortless slimming? Is fat bias systemic and how do we fight against it?
In this episode, we are talking about A24's latest hit show "Beef," how it serves up Asian American fury, discuss intergenerational trauma, power dynamic and class differences within a marriage, and the limitation of therapy. We also discuss the controversy over David Choe, who plays Issac in the show.
本节目有关于性的提及，请酌情收听。This episode is explicit in every way. Please listen with caution.
We are obsessed with the video game adaptation TV series by HBO, The Last of Us, and invited our old friend Sophia (screenwriter) to join us in diving into the details of this well-made show. Love is a major theme of the show -- but does it conquer all? Does it forgive all faults? Does the end justify the means? Tune in to find out.
Major spoiler alert, we will be discussing several episodes and the ending as well, so this is your reminder to watch the show if you haven't, or be prepared to find out what (controversy) happens at the end.
"Everything Everywhere All At Once" swept the 95th Academy Awards last week. In this episode, we break down the universal themes behind the movie, why it's considered a zeitgeist of our times, as well as the career trajectory of Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh. We also briefly discuss other Oscars frontrunner nominees, and why we haven't watched most of them.
020 | 「白莲花度假村」：出淤泥而全染的人间群像 "The White Lotus 2": a scan of reality
Mar 19, 2023
本期节目由大人糖赞助播出
【聊了什么The What】
「白莲花度假村」 White Lotus 2是今年呼声最大的剧集之一，引发了无数中英文关于人性幽微、性与权力、表演性女权主义者等等问题的思考和讨论。这次我们和神交很久的好朋友Hayami聊了这部剧集。
White Lotus 2 is one of the most popular dramas of the year, sparking countless think pieces and discussions in both English and Chinese about class, about the nuanced power dynamics in relationships, sex and desire. In this episode, we invited our friend Hayami to talk about how the series was received in China and the U.S.
I asked ChatGPTto draft me a few questions to OpenAI in the style of Leung Man-tao, and it responded with - "In the face of a rapidly changing era, how do we adapt to these changes while maintaining humanity's uniqueness and authenticity? And how do we deal with the changes brought about by AI technology?"
I like this question. Perhaps you are already feeling the revolutionary changes AI might bring in our lives, an equally exciting and unsettling era to be in. In this episode, we talked to a researcher, a founder and a journalist about the inspiration, impact, and reflections that AI has brought us over the past year.
【时间轴 The When】
02:00 给大家表演一个分角色朗读课文 Kevin Roose and his mid-night chat with “Sydney”
13:44 我们生活中在如何使用GPT：找选题，产品文档，搞艺术 How we use GPT in our daily lives: brainstorming, writing product documents, creating art.
28:30 AI为什么会“瞎编”、为什么用户可以很容易的玩坏GPT Why does AI "make up" things, and why can users easily manipulate GPT?
40:13 为什么大型语言模型会展示出某种价值观？AI的价值观会反过来影响人类吗？Why do large language models exhibit certain values and ideologies? Will the values of AI in turn affect humans?
52:30 我们会把记者、医生、律师甚至统治国家都交给AI吗？Will we entrust reporters, doctors, lawyers, or even governing nations to AI?
We discussed our new favorite Star Wars show: Andor. As the prequel to Rouge one, Andor focuses on Cassian Andor and his life living under the rule of the Empire. Star Wars knowledge is not required to thoroughly enjoy the latest installment (and the most grown-up) in the ever-expanding universe of Star Wars IP.
【时间轴 The When】
00:00: 剧情简介 Brief overview of the show
02:12 安多是如何走上革命之路 How Cassian Andor became a rebel
The first season of HBO's blockbuster series "The House of Dragons" ended. Based on George R. R. Martin's "Blood and Fire," "House of Dragons" is set 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones" and focuses on the Targaryen family and the civil war known as "The Dance of the Dragons."
Under the shadow of "Game of Thrones," "House of Dragons" has become a deservedly big cultural phenomenon in 2022. In the palace of Westeros, the interaction between the women of the Targaryen family and the power constitutes the main storyline of the show. In this episode, we discuss why the domestic sphere constitutes war and the epic.
“Tar” tells the story of Lydia Tar (Cate Blanchette), conductor of Berliner Philharmoniker, who fell from the height of the classical music industry after her inappropriate romantic involvement with a former student came to light. In this episode, we talk about the other side of “Me Too,” cancel culture and the very real sexism problems in classical music industry, and the central question of what is the relationship between Art and its creator.
We have now entered the months of fall, and before Mariah Carey starts trending again to ring in the holiday season, we want to share with you a ~fall special~ where we dive into the juicest tea and share some of our favorite (or not so favorite things) this season.
This is a special “girls’ chat” episode with our friends from 不合时宜. In this episode, we try to deconstruct the myth of the muse and the lone genius in pop culture and reflect on how it affected us.
Jordan Peele's new sci-fi thriller-comedy western monster movie "Nope" really messed us up. Like Jordan Peele's previous works, it sparked so much discussion across the world. Some saw a tribute to Jaws, some saw a commentary on our relationship with nature, and some even saw a contemporary parable satirizing the entire image-generating content industry - so much packed into the cinematic spectacle enough for a three-credit film class. Since we won’t have your attention for an entire semester, here is the 50 minute version of our post film rant.
In this episode, we talk about contemporary work and derivative topics from the drama "Severance." In what Han Byung-Chul calls the "Burnout Society," the meaning of work is being redefined. The relationship between work and us is gradually being tested and revised.
11:53 What is the concept of compartmentalization? Why does the brain need to be alerted to separation? How does the aesthetics of the show manipulate people's emotions?
19:00 Post-2008, the zeitgeist shift has led us to remove meaning from our jobs
30:38 Why is it that "the richer you are, the busier you are"?
31:40 America wakes up early, China doesn't sleep - China and the U.S. are increasingly burned out after leaving the welfare state
38:30 Lumon: The extreme metaphor of corporate culture becoming a religion
48:18 What is a "dirty job"? Why is it so hard to find people to do "dirty job" in the capitalist labor market?
Good Luck, Leo Grande is a recent dramedy from the UK, which tells the story of Nancy, a widowed retired teacher who hired a male sex worker named Leo Grande to help her achieve the first orgasm of her life. In this episode, Xiaolan, Xiaoyang and Yifang, three hetero, cis women talk about our anexiety related to sex, the difference between sex and intimacy, what shaped our imagination of sex and why the film should not be seen as an accurate nor comprehensive depiction of the experience of being a sex worker.
From the Academy Award Best Picture “CODA” to horror blockbuster "A Quiet Place", and to Marvel's introduction of its first deaf superhero Makkari, are we catching a tide shift of deaf representation on the big screen? In this episode, we tried to unpack the disability narrative in Chinese popular culture with our two guests - special education teacher Yiru Chen, and PhD candidate on disability law Renci Xie, highlighting ableism in those tropes, and attempted to imagine a version of pop culture that includes and elevates those disadvantaged.
Summer is here again.
The girls finally met in New York and gathered under the same roof. Sitting in a room with a few microphones in front, we feel the summer permeates in the air. What kind of conversation will be sparked out? This special vibe-checking episode is a tribute to this summer and our friendship. Cheers.
在英文写作中，在非虚构故事中，二代移民 VS 中国本土视角有怎样的冲突？故土和历史的距离赋予了许多华裔作家自由创作的权力，但同时他们仿佛拥有看起来很刺眼的特权。英文环境下长大的人能否准确地刻画对于在中国长大，生活的人，和人们真实经历的生活？以及如果你是一个中国出生长大的作家，用英语写作是一种对思维和真实经历的折损吗？本期请来了我们的好朋友Rui Zhong（华人二代移民）, Karoline Kan（用英语写作、常驻北京的中国记者）和Caiwei Chen（英文写作者、记者），让她们聊聊自己用英文书写的经历。
"Being foreign" is a harsh way to describe a group of people. And we are often referred to as "foreign guests". A large part of the reading we devour every day comes from this "foreign guest perspective". Many English writers, or Chinese people who write in English, would use a cold, alienated tone to portray a "real China." However, we sense China in a more vivid way.
The dichotomy of competing China narratives inspired this episode. In English writing, in non-fiction stories, what is the conflict between the perspectives of second-generation immigrants and Chinese natives? The distance between homeland and history has given many Chinese-American writers the power to create freely, but at the same time they seem to have privileges that some of us don't have. Can people who grew up in an English-speaking environment accurately describe China as a country and experience? And if you are a writer born and raised in China, is writing in English a compromise of your authentic thinking and wholeness?
In this episode, we invited our friends Rui Zhong, Karoline and Caiwei to talk about their experiences of writing in English.
Freedom from distraction - what a luxury. The chores of daily life piling like mountains of receipts; no longer able to depend on the shelter of family or school, all of a sudden you become the caretaker of your partner, your client, your teammates, you aging parents, and sometimes a small human being. The internet feeding us a constant stream of faraway sufferings and instant gratification, tearing at our already meager reservoir of attention, it is hard not to feel like we are living in a multiverse all the time. When we look back at my own mother, we are more and more amazed: How did you do that? Aren’t you some sort of multitasking superhero?
In this episode, we talked about the hit new Michelle Yeoh film "Everything Everywhere all at Once", and talked about:
How do you tell a coming-of-age story? As teenagers, we tell our friends stories that minimize our mothers’ roles in anticipation of our independence; mothers, in turn, exchange stories about their meticulous planning and their level of insight on the children’s growth. In the end of the day, we like telling stories about our own growth, our own control and independence, and a child’s coming of age is equally a story of growth and discovery for the mother. “Turning Red” is a story about a girl and her mother’s growth as she comes of age, their miscommunicated heart-to-hearts, and their parallels of evolving womanhood. In honor of this parallel, we brought two daughters and two mothers into this conversation about womanhood and motherhood.
Back in 1996, John Barrow declared in the Cyberspace Declaration of Independence: "Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.” Twenty-six years later, our screentime racks up to 18 hours of screen time a day; Twitter and Weibo doomscrolling competes with Slack notifications, TikTok challenges, the glamorous Instagram life and countless products vying for our attention and our time.
We can’t help but wonder: Is this version of the internet something we should simple accept?
Recently, the framework of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 as a way of describing the progression of the internet dominated the conversation. This episode is the musing of four burntout female tech workers, as we look back on the promise of freedom and collaboration of Web1.0, and the prevalence of surveillance capitalism in Web 2.0. We also talked about our hopes and dreams and reservations on this new version of the internet.
We talked about -
1:10 Our lived experience of the Internet history
9:38 How did the internet end up this way?
12:08 Our first decentralized experience: Wikipedia, Linux
14:31 What are we talking about when we are talking about Web1.0
30:00 Web2.0’s cannibalistic profit model, and what is real anyways
This episode is a special program for International Women's Day, co-hosted with Alexwood from “Be a Dodo”. This is also a part of a Weibo campaign for #看见真女人# (seeing real women) -- through a series of videos, podcasts, and articles, we show the world what real women really look like in life, and reflect on society’s unrealistic standards imposed on women.
We chose a tricky angle to explore the concept of real women, but looking at the story of several “fake women”: Song Ji A from Netflix’s hottest show, “Singles Inferno; disgraced former Silicon Valley darling Elizabeth Holmes, portrayed by Amanda Seyfried for Hulu’s “The Dropout”; and the fake socialite Anna Delvey who recently is the protagonist of Netflix’s “Inventing Anna”. What can they teach us about faking it? The images of these "fake women" themselves embody the standards and expectations of society for the "ideal women", and if we analyze these images of women, we will understand why it is so difficult for us to truly be ourselves, or "real women".
9:40 our first example: Song Ji A, from Netflix’s “Single’s Inferno”
33:42 our second example: Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos, the legend of Silicon Valley, currently found guilty of fraud
44:52 our third example: Anna Delvey, former NYC socialite and fake German heiress
1:03:25 women are always suggested to “fake it till we make it”, but why? Perhaps women have to “fake it” to adjust for gender inequality, rigid socioeconomic classes, and polarizing wealth disparity
1:10:23 the public loves creating new idols, and then subjecting these man-made idols to impossible standards and accusing them of “failing” the people. Why is that?
1:17:48 Do we all have a fake woman in our hearts? How do we deal with social media-driven body dysmorphia, mental health, and the filter-heavy online world?
Food is both an utterly public and intimate matter. Every decision you make around food is related to infinitely more topics: commercialism, labor, population mobility, sustainability, culture & history, and more. During the past two years of the pandemic, the sprawling diaspora that we are a part of has been forced to face their yearning for home heads on.
So we turn to the kitchen to heal our homesickness and cravings for hometown food, and gathered seven women here today to chat about food, the role it plays in our lives, and how it relates to our personal and cultural identities.
10:58 What to do while missing home during Chinese New Year? How to find a sense of home abroad? How our childhood and upbringing helped shape our memories of food
20:12 Politics and food, and the Asian supermarkets that have everything
26:25 Growing up in Northern China and how lack of resources instilled an instinct to save up food; on labor and food
What’s your impression of the Über-rich? Is it “my super power is rich'' superhero Bruce Wayne? Or reckless entrepreneur like Elon – we mean Iron Man Tony Stark? Or 4D-chess grandmaster Bobby Axelrod of Billions? Or like us, you realized after an orange man settled himself with his glamorous children in the White House — that rich people can be stupid, and are in despirate need of a psychiatrist.
Join us in this episode where we discuss HBO's hit series "Succession":
00:03:14 Deep-dive into the media industry the show is loosely based on
00:10:03 Classical literary references in “Succession”: Shakespeare, Greek Mythology and Palace Fights in Chinese TV
00:16:25 Shiv and her Schrödinger’s feminism: is it fake or sincere?
00:24:30 Kendall and the fragile and privileged elitist struggle of the firstborn
00:33:40 Tom and the unspeakable pain of being caught between sex and class
00:39:35 For narcissists, shame and anger are two sides of the same coin
00:49:00 Corporate lingo 101 and discussion on meritocracy
00:59:05 Shaky camera movement, deliberately inexplicable sets, off-tune soundtrack, and all the juicy details we will be marinating on for the next decade
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