S3E6 - Season 3 Gab: Taking Stock, Making Resolutions

One year is over, another just begun! In this mid-season gab we talk about how to look back over the past year and share strategies for making New Year's resolutions that stick. Discover the official Noorain Khan method for taking stock at the end of a year, hear our goals for 2017, and get some concrete advice on how to make  a good resolution courtesy of kids.usa.gov. We also reveal our greatest resolution successes (Maria's involves Mordor, kind of) and swear that THIS is the year we're going to stay active - really!! Ready to take on the new year? Tune in for a chilled-out chat about taking the next steps! 

Links to Stuff we Talk About

On Noorain's love of self-improvement, quantified and otherwise:

S1E8: Our Quantified / Cyborg Selves http://www.intheory.us/episodes/2015/9/16/episode-8-our-quantifiedcyborg-selves

S3E1 - Self Help http://www.intheory.us/episodes/2016/10/18/s3e1-self-help

Stephanie Pappas, “Why We Make New Year's Resolutions,” LiveScience. December 31, 2013. http://www.livescience.com/42255-history-of-new-years-resolutions.html

Tips from kigs.usa.gov to help you reach your New Year's resolutions: https://kids.usa.gov/exercise-and-eating-healthy/new-years-resolution/index.shtml

Music by Bing Crosby, New Buffalo, and (of course!) Prince.

S2E7 - Do-It-Yourself Theory and the Crafting Comeback

From craft brewing to knitting, when did acting like we’re home on the range get so cool? And why is it so satisfying to can your own jar of jam, hand-build a table, or make a quilt? This week we take on the history, culture, and politics of hipster crafting and DIY. With the help of our trusty friend Marx and a theory of "new domesticity," we dig into what modern-day maker throwbacks can tell us about our work lives and gender identities. Sociologist and beer whisperer Dr. Allison McKim helps us unpack the homebrewing explosion and its gender-troubled history, PLUS we get into Maria's love of Renaissance Faires, Noorain's once-but-no-more work alienation, and high-concept housekeeping. Pour yourself a beer (or a cold brewed coffee if you're Noorain) and come talk crafting! If you can make it, we will talk about it!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Karl Marx, “Estranged Labour,” in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/labour.htm (Marx's theory of alienation explained in everyday language here and here) 

Rachel Lee Rubin, Well Met:  Renaissance Faires and the American Counterculture (NYU Press, 2012) http://www.amazon.com/Well-Met-Renaissance-American-Counterculture/dp/1479859729

Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) http://www.econlib.org/library/Smith/smWN.html (on division of labor and the rise of capitalism) 

Articles

Krystal Baugher, “Women and Beer: A 4,500-Year History Is Coming Full Circle,” The Atlantic. November 11, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/women-and-beer-a-4-500-year-history-is-coming-full-circle/281338/ 

Emily Matchar, “The New Domesticity: Fun, Empowering or a Step Back for American Women?” The Washington Post. November 25, 2011. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-new-domesticity-fun-empowering-or-a-step-back-for-american-women/2011/11/18/gIQAqkg1vN_story.html

Bonnie Rochman, “Handmade in America: Crafting's Comeback,” Parade. October 19, 2013. http://communitytable.parade.com/214945/bonnierochman/handmade-in-america-craftings-comeback/ 

Context

“2012 State of the Craft Industry” Craft & Hobby Association Presentation. 2012. https://www.craftandhobby.org/eweb/docs/2012.State.of.Craft.Industy_Key.Insights.pdf

“Indie Craft Inspiration.” Craft & Hobby Association’s Portfolio Magazine. Winter 2009. https://www.craftandhobby.org/EWEB/docs/cha/Portfolio-Pdfs/2009%20Winter%20Portfolio.pdf

Shannon Hayes,  Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture. Left to Write Press. February 1, 2010. 
http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Homemakers-Reclaiming-Domesticity-Consumer/dp/0979439116/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51%2BGpPUHCPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=0FHRX0XDDE8PZFHJHF18

Bonus

Beer whisperer Allison McKim is also an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Bard College; more on her here. 

Music this week from Billy Currington, Jewel, Lila Downs, The Cardigans, and Erykah Badu! 

S2E4 - Destination: VACATION

Ever tried to cram a year's worth of relaxation, adventure, and bonding into your precious few vacation days? Had a meltdown while lost down the TripAdvisor rabbit hole? Got down on yourself for feeling unproductive and wanting to ditch? This time Noorain and Maria talk about vacations: who gets to take them and who doesn't, the benefits of leaving your job both physically and mentally behind, "authentic" trips and the upsides of kicking back in a world of total artifice. Maria spills about her epic Disney Cruise experience, Noorain admits her addiction to online travel planning, and Max Weber and Jean Baudrillard toss their most vacation-relevant theories into our luggage for the trip. Whether you need some holy days of holiday reflection or just want to vacate on your vacation...all aboard!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, transl. Sheila Faria Glaser (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1994). http://www.amazon.com/Simulacra-Simulation-The-Body-Theory/dp/0472065211, especially hyperreality.

Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905). http://www.amazon.com/Protestant-Ethic-Spirit-Capitalism-Twentieth-Century/dp/0140439218

Context

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights' "right to rest" (Article 24): http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

Rebecca Ray, Milla Sanes, and John Schmitt, "No-Vacation Nation Revisited." Center for Economic Policy and Research. May 2013. http://cepr.net/publications/reports/no-vacation-nation-2013

Juliet Schor, The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure (Basic Books, 1993). http://www.amazon.com/The-Overworked-American-Unexpected-Decline/dp/046505434X

George Tripp, "The Christian's Work Ethic" (excerpt from New Journey Fellowship Ministries sermon). Archive.org. July 11, 2012. https://archive.org/details/TheChristiansWorkEthic  NOTE: we excerpt from this in our discussion of the Protestant Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism. Fittingly, George Tripp also has a ministry consulting company (Grace & Truth Consulting) that you can check out here.

Articles

Anne Fisher, "Why don't Americans take more time off?" Fortune Magazine. July 28, 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/07/28/americans-vacation-use/

Douglas LaBier, "So Much Work, No Time For Vacation? Here's Why!" Psychology Today Online. August 11, 2014. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-new-resilience/201408/so-much-work-no-time-vacation-heres-why

Andrea Sachs, "How TripAdvisor altered your vacation planning universe." The Washington Post. August 29, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/how-tripadvisor-altered-your-vacation-planning-universe/2015/08/27/43fdec1e-4064-11e5-bfe3-ff1d8549bfd2_story.html

Brigid Schulte, "Leisure is the new productivity." CNN.com. February 4, 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/12/opinions/schulte-leisure-productivity/

Bonus

Plan your own Disney cruise...we are in no way sponsored by Disney, but are open to offers. ;) Or get philosophical with Robert Rowland Smith's Breakfast with Socrates: An Extraordinary (Philosophical) Journey Through Your Ordinary Day (Free Press, 2011). Or both! That great Emerson quote from the end of the episode is, for the record: “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”

Music this time around by the legendary Britney Spears (work bitch!), Malian duo Amadou & Mariam, your grandma's (and Gabriel's) favorite old-time crooner Bing Crosby, and the fabulous Lana Del Rey.

S2E2 - Food for Thought

If you are what you eat...what does that make us as Americans today? In this MEGA-EP we're talking about food: how it gets produced, its impact on people, animals, and the environment, and how to make better decisions in the grocery store. We are super excited to feature an in-depth interview with food activist and all-around legend Kate Galassi. Then Maria and Noorain break open the world of assembly-line chickens, ask some questions about food deserts, and do their best to avoid slave shrimp. Hold on to your jicamas everyone, it's time to chow down on another episode of In Theory!

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

On Fordism: Steven Tolliday & Jonathan Zeitlin, The Automobile Industry and its Workers: Between Fordism and Flexibility (New York: St.Martin's Press, 1987) http://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Empire-Americas-Advance-Twentieth-Century/dp/0674022343

Context

Lisa Ling takes us inside a slaughterhouse: http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Inside-a-Slaughterhouse-Video
The US Department of Agriculture’s official definition of food deserts: http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts     

Articles

Roberto A. Ferdman, “The key difference between what poor people and everyone else eat.” The Washington Post. September 17, 2015.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/09/17/the-depressing-difference-in-what-poor-people-and-everyone-else-eats/?tid=a_inl

Becky Krystal, “How to find shrimp that’s not produced by slave labor in Thailand.” The Washington Post. December 16, 2015.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2015/12/16/how-to-find-shrimp-thats-not-produced-by-slave-labor-in-thailand

Margie Mason, Robin McDowell, Martha Mendoza, and Esther Htusan,“ Global supermarkets selling shrimp peeled by slaves.” The Associated Press. December 14, 2015. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8f64fb25931242a985bc30e3f5a9a0b2/ap-global-supermarkets-selling-shrimp-peeled-slaves  

Margot Sanger-Katz, “Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It.” The New York Times. May 8, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/upshot/giving-the-poor-easy-access-to-healthy-food-doesnt-mean-theyll-buy-it.html

Bonus

BIO! The wonderful Kate Galassi started her career in food working on an organic produce farm in southern New Hampshire. She’s worked for a dozen small farms and food manufacturers, most of them involved with the New York City Greenmarket. She first trained as a produce buyer at The Spotted Pig and The Breslin. In 2013 she co-founded Quinciple, a home delivery service for curated farmers’ market boxes. She is now the New York Project Head for Natoora, a London based fruit and veg supplier committed to upending the traditional distribution model by working directly with farms of all sizes.

Check out artist Mishka Henner’s amazing/insane/gorgeous/horrifying aerial photos of the toxic runoff from American feedlots:
http://www.businessinsider.com/mishka-henners-photos-of-american-feedlots-2014-8

Music this week from Judy Collins, the Presidents of the United States of America, Weird Al, and our girl Mariah. Special thanks to Beth Pearson for being a brain trust on this week's ep!

Interview with Noorain & Maria: Part 2

Here it is, the exciting second half of our interview! Just one week away from the official start of S2...

Missed us? We’re (almost) back! In the weeks leading up to Season 2 we’re releasing this two-part interview with your co-hosts…and introducing our fab new team member Olive! Listen in for the inside scoop on how Maria and Noorain met, how the podcast came about, and reflections on growing up different in “flyover states.” (Olive’s family raised POT BELLIED PIGS!) We’re putting theory aside for the moment and just hanging out – come join! You know we won’t be able to resist nerding out, high fiving, and getting sentimental about our big-picture hopes for the future. 

Interludes in Part 2 from the Gorillaz and the Roots.

Interview with Noorain & Maria: Part 1

Missed us? We’re (almost) back! In the weeks leading up to Season 2 we’re releasing this two-part interview with your co-hosts…and introducing our fab new team member Olive! Listen in for the inside scoop on how Maria and Noorain met, how the podcast came about, and reflections on growing up different in “flyover states.” (Olive’s family raised POT BELLIED PIGS!) We’re putting theory aside for the moment and just hanging out – come join! You know we won’t be able to resist nerding out, high fiving, and getting sentimental about our big-picture hopes for the future. 

Interludes in Part 1 from Sylvan Esso and Little Dragon.

Episode 8: Our Quantified / Cyborg Selves

Is your Fitbit turning you into a cyborg? In this week's podcast we explore the Quantified Self Movement, which encourages gathering data about ourselves in the quest for self-improvement. We get into what this means for our culture of maximization and productivity, how new technologies have helped us to think of ourselves as machines, and how the singularity movement envisions our cyborg future. On the way we talk about Donna Haraway's feminist Cyborg Manifesto, how long Ray Kurzweil thinks it will take for us to live forever, and what it means to be human. You know, the small stuff. Come "process" it all with us…resistance is futile! 

Links to Stuff We Talk About

Theory

Donna Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (Routledge, 1991) 
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/donna-haraway/articles/donna-haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto/ 

Reader-friendly introduction to Haraway’s cyborg manifesto in Wired: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway_pr.html

Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964). https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/understanding-media

Context

Documentary about Ray Kurzweil:
http://transcendentman.com/

Articles

John Berman. “Futurist Ray Kurzweil Says He Can Bring His Dead Father Back to Life Through a Computer Avatar.” August 9, 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/futurist-ray-kurzweil-bring-dead-father-back-life/story?id=14267712

Gary Wold. “The Data-Driven Life.” The New York Times Magazine. April 28, 2010.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/magazine/02self-measurement-t.html?_r=0  

“Ray Kurzweil: Humans will be hybrids by 2030.” CNN Money. June 4, 2015. 

Bonus

And if you’re interested, check out choice photos of White Men Wearing Google Glass, M.T. Anderson’s amazing novel FEED, and the mysterious replacing-ship-parts question Maria threw out there: Ship of Theseus. 

Music this week from our fav electric lady Janelle Monae, Kanye, the STNG soundtrack composers, AND Styx.