Coffee & Cocktails® Podcast

‘Bodily functions’ are not normally brought into discussions meant for the general public. But what happens when those ‘functions’ take place in the workplace and/or around one’s working environment? In this episode with Dr Chiara Cocco, we discuss taboo topics like ‘menstruation’ and ‘breastfeeding’ and why these basic, normal aspects of the reproductive process can be seen as disruptive to the workplace. With some companies offering policies like ‘period leave’ for those with more serious biological conditions, the shame, disgust and concealment associated with periods means that some employees suffer in silence. This is made that much more difficult when some female employees are less sympathetic to those colleagues who are struggling. If you have found yourself in a similar position, feel free to leave a comment below or write us directly if you would like to share your story so that others know that they are not alone.

Whenever anyone hears of students who are ‘kicked out’ of school, the responses as a whole tend to be negative towards students who are viewed as ‘troubled’ rather than towards educational government policies that have been put in place. With the UK's Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) showing mixed results, their effectiveness is not always guaranteed, resulting in many students feeling like they are ‘forgotten’ leading to more disruptive student behaviour. In this November episode with anthropologist at UCL, Dr Alison Macdonald and Secondary teacher, Sally Dennehy, we discuss the uncomfortable truths that school exclusions have on students, particularly amongst England’s rural youths, and how permanent exclusion from mainstream education can affect students’ identities and their place within society.

Warning: This episode contains stories involving child sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. ‘Stigma’ and ‘silence’ are two powerful reactions when it comes to child sexual abuse, so much so that the lack of response from society has had lasting effects on victims into adulthood. In this important episode with Dr William Tantum of the University of Bristol, we discuss his recent work on the largest independent inquiry into child sexual abuse cases of children in England and Wales, while we explore the institutional failings that were designed to protect children in education and other professional environments. Working on the back of the Jimmy Savile case, which affected hundreds of children over several decades, Tantum’s work on ‘The Truth Project’, the ‘Network for Promoting Change’, and ‘Challenging Silences’ should be a reminder that regardless of the taboo, reports of child sexual abuse should never be ignored, and victims of trauma should always have a space where they are listened to and reminded that their voice matters. To access our show notes, head to: coffeeandcocktailspodcast.com Like our show? Then consider becoming a Patron starting at £1 per month. It's support from our Patrons that really helps to keep the show going. Sign up now to receive a 7-day FREE trial. https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

Interested in being on the show? Then make sure to contact us at: coffeeandcocktailspodcast.com/contact #coffeeandcocktails #podcast #newseries #guestspeakers #wanted

The West’s understanding of Pakistan is largely based on (social) media portrayals of a country in conflict, effected by terrorism and continued brutality. Women’s rights, it is said, are infringed upon, especially when it comes to education, as evidenced by Malala who survived an attack that almost left her for dead. But what if we were to tell you that there is more to Pakistan than initially meets the eye? And that the country is steeped is a multicultural layout that extends well beyond its city borders? This multilingual, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious country has largely been overlooked by its leaders who have tried to impose a monolithic identity in response to its empire-based past. The result is a Muslim, Urdu (and English)- speaking identity established by the garrison state, which sweeps under the rug Pakistan’s diverse identities that exist within. With cultural influences coming from India, other parts of South East Asia, Saudi Arabia, as well as Turkey, anthropologist Sonia Gulzeb Abbasi explains to us what it means to be Pakistani today.

According to Eugenia: 'Mexico, a high middle income country, is the place where professionals work more hours than anywhere else in the world (OCDE), and 60% of its population lives in poverty (CONEVAL). Working 8 hours, six days a week, with a daily commute of 3 hours means people are exhausted, and their remaining time is just sufficient to do chores and rest a bit, forget about checking on children, socialising, exercising, cultivating other interests and caring for others. Imagine the stress levels and the socioeconomic impact of this on society as a whole. On top of that, 40% of people with formal jobs cannot even afford proper food for their families, and we have not even reached the conversation about clothing and housing. Furthermore, four years ago I moved to the South, Mexico´s poorest region, where I encountered realities that are as harsh as in Africa, and the number of them are kind of overwhelming. It feels like a breaking point for me. I cannot help but raise awareness about these issues, and hope that more people will join in transforming these realities for the best. A CLARIFICATION NOTE During the show I mentioned how Mexico was dubbed “the perfect dictatorship” as the electoral bodies were subjected to the government, which is true. As a result, we had a one-ruling party for over 70 years. However, I forgot to mention during the show that in 1990 a new system was negotiated and by 2020 it was considered one of the most robust in the world. This system has overseen the rotation of power among the three main political parties, and it is now under threat as the current dominant party relentlessly tries to pass unconstitutional law reforms taking advantage of their majority in the legislative cameras, influencing judicial decisions, and blocking the operations of both the electoral and transparency institutions, by slashing their budgets and failing to allocate enough representatives to reach quorum.'

The caste system in India is deeply embedded into the historical and psychological foundations of the Indian psyche, so much so that after the post-colonial era it still very much functions as a part of Indian identity. In this episode with Anthropologist Pragati Gupta, she provides us with her personal accounts of what it means to be a person from a marginalized community who has worked their way into higher education. By discussing the Indian government’s ‘reservation policy’ through its attempts to provide better opportunities for lower castes to access university, she explains the mental health repercussions that some 1st generational university students feel when categorized by the government as ‘marginalized’ and/or ‘backwards’ in comparison to their upper-caste peers.

NEW SERIES: Giving Voice to the Voiceless by Dr Ann Wand

In this final episode of our ‘Controversies and Contraband’ series, we sit down with yoga specialist, Dr Patrick McCartney to discuss the somewhat surprising historical origins of yoga and mallakhamb (the wrester’s pole). What originally started as a general interest in postural yoga due to a sustained growth spurt during his teens, by university he became somewhat of a ‘yoga fundamentalist’ and eventually moved to India. After a decade of teaching yoga and meditation around the world Dr McCartney’s research began to shift towards questioning the way yoga is branded and sold to the global consumer. Advertised as a form of ‘social justice’ through critical race theory, McCartney explores how yoga has been able to transcend boundaries and caste systems, while at the same time overlook its potential origins linking it to nomadic street performers and prostitution.

The concept of ‘dark food’, like ‘dark tourism’, is directly linked to consumption and how identities are forged by making sense of the past through present-day cultural memories. In this bonus episode with Alessandra Pino, co-author of A Gothic Cookbook, we discuss her research on understanding dark food through the Cuban legacies of slavery and sugar plantations. And how the ‘recreation of traumatic memories through the medium of food’ provide a face for the historically oppressed, exiled, and diasporic communities originating from Cuba. If you'd like to access Dr Pino's newest book, A Gothic Book, head to: https://unbound.com/books/a-gothic-cookbook/ Discount code is: GOTHICPOD10 #cuba #coffeeandcocktailspodcast #darktourism #darkfood #tourism #food #oppression #exiled #diaspora #trauma #memory #representation #agothiccookbook

The history of Western feminism has had a tendency to impose its own world views on non-western women at the expense of allowing other female voices to express their thoughts on freedoms, rights, and religion. In this bonus episode with Sonia Gulzeb Abbasi we discuss concerns surrounding (white) Western feminism and its (un)intentional imposition on Muslim women’s identity in Pakistani and Afghani culture. #feminism #coffeeandcocktailspodcast #thewest #pakistan #afghanistan #women #culture #anthropology #podcast

*Apologies for the sound quality of this episode. We were having some difficulties with the mic, but the content is absolutely fine! Just make sure to keep the volume slightly quieter than usual. When Dr Heather Munro initially approached me about her research on Haredi and Hasidic identity in London, New York, and Israel, I completely underestimated the complex web that makes up the ultra-orthodox community. To ‘simplify’ her work (although I use that term lightly) we decided to break apart her research into two parts with this first part examining the background history of the Haredi and Hasidic communities. The goal with this episode is to better understand the roles that Haredi/Hasidic men and women play within their own environment so that we can discuss in Part II some members’ responses to the anti-vaxx movement within the Haredi community. ***** Want to support show? Consider becoming a Patron starting at £1 per month: https://patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

How do we deal with preserving memory when the historical past can be so controversial? In this Patreon-only special release (recorded in August 2021), Dr Hannes Obermair from EURAC Research gives us his perspectives on the role of statues and how South Tyrol’s decision to preserve its Fascist (and Nazi) past led to the creation of a documentation centre located in the basement vault underneath Bozen-Bolzano, Italy’s giant monument dedicated to none other than Mussolini. For further reading, check out Prof Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s article in The New Yorker, ‘Why are so many Fascist monuments still standing in Italy?’ (2017): https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/why-are-so-many-fascist-monuments-still-standing-in-italy Note: If you are not familiar with the history of South Tyrol, Italy, I highly suggest you listen to ‘Episode 30: Italy’s segregated schools’ before checking out this episode. *PPT images from Hannes’ talk are available on Patreon* https://patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

When Pompeii was first excavated in the 18th century, the individuals involved in the re-discovery of this coastal town were surprised (or dare I say ‘shocked’) to discover the massive array of erotic male (and female) genitalia scattered throughout the ancient establishment. Considered taboo and eventually locked away into Pompeii’s now famous, ‘Secret Cabinet’, this museum of wonders was closed off to women until the 1980s. In this fascinating episode, I talk with Australia’s favourite Ancient Historians and hosts of The Partial Historians podcast, Dr Peta Greenfield and Dr Fiona Radford, about the history of sexuality in Ancient Rome and how Roman society’s concepts of ‘gender’, agency, and sexual acts were largely linked to the Roman citizen’s understanding of social status and political power.

In this episode, lecturer in Pakistan Studies, Sonia Gulzeb Abbasi, takes us through a tour of the background history of travel photography in the Middle East and Africa and its potential link to modern day notions of power and post-colonialism. Nowadays a very common motif for bloggers on social media sites like Instagram, she advises listeners to pay attention to the ethical implications behind travel photography, especially when Western photographers avoid photographic consent and profit from ‘othering’ minors. This deep dive into concerns surrounding ‘poverty porn’ and the ‘white saviour complex’ is designed to critique how Westerners choose to portray and make sense of other cultures, focusing more on their negative aspects rather than celebrating their cultural positives. ***** If you'd like to support the continuation of this show, consider becoming a Patron starting at £1 per month: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

As promised, Dr Helen Cornish (Goldsmiths, London) is back to discuss the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, Cornwall. In her talk she explores how contemporary witches navigate the ‘unfamiliar’ by experiencing the uncanny through magical consciousness as part of their occult practice. By focusing on St Nectan’s Glen, the labyrinth of Rocky Valley, and the witch memorial of Joan Wytte, Cornish explores how modern witches intellectually rationalise their sense of place, and ‘find themselves’ through childlike ideas of imagination. **** Like the show? Consider becoming a Patron starting at £1 per month: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

The history of piracy is steeped in legend, full of myth and fantastical stories. But what if I told you that some of these stories are based on actual facts? In this contraband portion of our ‘Controversies and Contraband’ series we explore the hidden world of female pirates through Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and Grace O’Malley, and how their origin stories in England and Ireland led one of them to ‘switch sides’ and join Queen Elizabeth. If you like the show, consider becoming a Patron starting at £1 per month: https://patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

In this month’s bonus episode, Dr Banu Karaca, talks about the darker side of the art world through the eyes of its hidden figures: gallerists, art collectors, and corporate sponsors (sometimes referred to as neo-liberalists) in Istanbul (Turkey) and Berlin (Germany). With the history of art steeped in state violence, Karaca’s anthropological approach to understanding the art world provides us with an inward glimpse of the gatekeepers who possess and mediate how the public sees (and gains access to) art. In the words of Karaca, ‘to know about art is to know about power.’ *If you want to learn more about Dr Karaca’s work, make sure to listen to Episode 28: Nazism, art, and questioning free speech. **** Feel free to support the show by becoming a Patron for just £1 per month: https://patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast Or consider offering a one-off donation here: https://paypal.me/coffeeNcocktails

What are the differences (if any) between cancel versus call-out culture? And what sort of effects can cancel culture have on an individual through the lens of social media? In this one- hour episode, Dr Wand sits down with consulting anthropologist and founder of Culture Contact, Helidth Ravenholm, to discuss the multi-layered consequences of online bullying through social venues like Twitter and Reddit. ‘The road to hell’ so it is said, ‘is paved with good intentions.’ Could the same be said of social media and its support of cancel culture? Sponsored by: Your Editing Alternative https://youreditingalternative.com/ ***** If you like the show, consider becoming a Patron for just £1 per month: https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

When serial entrepreneur, Brady Simpson, made the decision to start up and found his own businesses (Simtek and Peanut), he took his years of experience working at Facebook and LinkedIn to discover what it really takes to succeed in the tech industry. In this one-hour interview he sits down with Dr Ann Wand to discuss the ins and outs of the tech industry and how researchers and academics can transition into the entrepreneurial field through their passions, problem solving skills, and impact driven interests. **** If you like the show, feel free to support us on Patreon for just £1 per month: https://patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast