Episode 132: "I Love You"

“I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.”
— Roy Croft
“I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way.”
— Pablo Neruda

Especially around and after Valentine's Day, it's worth reexamining our cultural definitions of love, how we express it and how we relate to it. In particular, the phrase "I love you" has various connotations and contexts tied to its utterance. It seems to represent gentle, almost habitual moments but also the dramatic, life-or-death circumstances depicted in romantic cinema and literature. It can be said in platonic, romantic and even euphoric circumstances. So this week, we welcome Anna Gomez to talk about how we use this phrase, what we might reduce or obscure in the process and what its cultural functions are. Do we overuse or misuse the phrase in any way? Has it become an emotional substitute for more complicated feelings? We would also like to thank Mark Ashin, Richard Pera, Charlotte Graham and Megan Carr for their written contributions to this episode.

Episode 131: The Path of Objectivity in Journalism

In our respective attempts to understand the world and societies in which we live, many of us turn to journalism and the narratives it helps convey. Some stories illuminate hidden details about our communities while others clarify obscurities surrounding our leaders and icons. But when looking for stories and journalists we find reliable, objectivity becomes key. Can we trust that a story is "fair" if it involves sensitive information and arguments? Does fairness mean equal representation or the acknowledgment of a biased perspective? This week we welcome Gabe Brison-Trezise to discuss his thoughts on the subject. How are journalists required to balance objectivity and gripping stories? How do economic concerns regarding journalism factor in?

Episode 130: The 2017 Golden Globes

“But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good; there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it, and I still can’t get it out of my head, because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life. And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others we all lose. O.K., go on with it.”
— Meryl Streep, in her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award
“What does it mean, to dream urgently? And how will films continue to help people to do it? The Globes ceremony was, in the end, revealing not just about Hollywood’s love for itself—La La Land, the consummate film about filmmaking, emerged with the most Globe awards ever granted in one evening—but also about its sense of its own moral purpose. The telecast presented itself, for all its wacky antics, as an epic battle: kindness versus cruelty, good versus its absence, a Hollywood that emphasizes inclusion and understanding—“we have to remind each other of the privilege and the responsibility of the act of empathy,” Streep put it—pitted against a Washington that so often fails to see beyond the self. Here were some of the most wealthy and powerful people in the world, claiming their averageness by way of their empathy. But here, too, was Meryl Streep, the master of American drama, acknowledging—warning—that empathy, far too often, is not enough.”
— Megan Garber, "The Introverted Politics of the 2017 Golden Globes," The Atlantic, January 9, 2017

A few weeks ago, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) awarded the 74th Golden Globes. As art reflects life and the societies in which we live, the films, shows and their stars and creators were given particular attention in these times of great social and governmental change. We are pleased to welcome Olivia Sanabria to help dissect some of the awards given, the status they confer and the atmosphere of awards season as a statement on our culture. How might recognition through awards actually delay meaningful conversation? What do the winners and nominees suggest about our preferences in the arts? What do their creations indicate about the stories which are and are not told and the tone with which we expect stories to be addressed?

Episode 129: The Universe of Late-Night Thoughts

In our daily lives, routines and schedules often demand that we streamline our thoughts and behavior. Especially surrounded by colleagues, friends and peers, we do not always have the chance to spend time alone with our thoughts. But at night, many of us have the freedom to think more openly and with greater freedom to explore our deepest ruminations. This week, we are joined by CJ Clinkscales to discuss our experiences with late night thoughts. How do they help separate us from society in order to think with more clarity? How can they help us to confront buried or layered thoughts in new ways? And how can late-night thoughts translate into more intimate and socially-bonding conversations with those around us?

Episode 128: The Influence of Gift Cards

“The holidays are over. The presents are unwrapped. And you have a pile of gift cards that you may never use. You’re not alone. According to CEB TowerGroup, nearly $1 billion in gift cards go unused each year.”
— Zack Friedman, Forbes, January 10, 2017
“November and December now account for less than 21 percent of annual retail sales at physical stores, down from a peak of over 25 percent, and experts believe it’ll keep dropping. Those extra percentage points would have translated into an extra $70 billion more in buying for last year, says Michael Niemira, principal at The Retail Economist.”
— NBC Report by The Associated Press, December 24, 2016
“We treat money like it’s unseemly and gauche to exchange, but what’s more perverse: handing someone valuable, but unappreciated plastic or handing them a guaranteed-to-be-useful, one-size-fits-all cash money gift? Year after year, studies show that gift cards are great gifts ... if you’re a retail business (actually, it’s a bit of a problem for them too, because the government often takes a portion of unused sums under laws regulating unclaimed property). But in general gift cards usually guarantee that the user will overspend.”
— Debra D. Bass, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 14, 2017

Though we might have the tendency to overlook them as mundane or commonplace, gift cards play an interesting role in our gift-giving practices. Increasingly, they are more popular than tangible gifts and present a comfortable middle ground between the effort of finding a gift and the impersonal association we have with giving cash. We are grateful to have Leland Holcomb return this week to discuss these and other ideas about gift cards. And though their convenience is undeniable, how does it affect our gift-giving culture and by extension, our relationships? Does convenience stifle our otherwise creative and arduous journeys to find perfect gifts? Do we distance ourselves further from in-person shopping experiences? What might gift cards suggest about our knowledge of the recipient?