this was your idea

Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Mansplain of the week: Anti-Japanese sentiment in China Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Mansplain of the week: in defense of Monosodium glutamate (also check out this This American Life episode on the origin of "Chinese restaurant syndrome") Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Content warning: feces! Complementary watching: The crossing-the-road lucky cricket scene from Mulan Mansplain of the week: a complete and exhaustive History of China Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Embarrassingly, around the 20 minute mark Kevin referred to the Chinese writing system as ideographic, instead of the more accurate logographic. Our sincerest apologies. Mansplain of the week: culture shock Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

After our first week of being away from each other since coming to China, join us for a very special episode that consists of nothing but a (34 minute) mansplain on tourism, sightseeing and authenticity, followed by an 18 minute analysis of our fight of the week, female anger and conflict in general. Enjoy, and follow us on the Insta for more authentic material! Mansplain of the week: Jonathan Culler's The Semiotics of Tourism (1981/1990) Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Happy National Day! In this episode we very superficially and ill-informedly touch upon the subject of cultural appropriation for the first time (which we absolutely promise to discuss more seriously in a later episode), alongside more in-depth discussions of our interior design desires, negotiating identity in a foreign environment, energy levels, throwing ducks at each other and, last but not least, trampolining. Complementary instagram-proof visual material: evidence of our home improvement activities (including the humongous map that is now finally up on our wall!) Mansplain of the week: National Day of the People's Republic of China Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

On the occasion of mid-autumn festival, we proudly present our first ever field recording created during our romantic outing to Kunming Waterfall Park as well as B&Q for home improvement shopping. Instagram-grade visual documentation of our trip available here. Mansplain of the week: noodles Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Despite what it sounds like, we did not in fact break up after the end of the episode, I just finally managed to trip Ellen up over her own "humorous" obsession with us breaking up. Mansplain of the week: the Kunming-Haiphong railway Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Complementary visual material: the health check center biohazard waste bin Mansplain of the week: Chinese inner city traffic habits Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.

Welcome to the very first episode of our podcast, featuring our initial impressions of China, a horrendous number of sniffs by Ellen (all cut out) as well as an abnormal amount of creaky voice by Kevin (no way to edit this out, we promise we'll improve on our recording voices very soon). Mansplain of the week: the Chinese language (and its many dialects) Follow us on Instagram: @this_was_your_idea Stock media provided by TrueMusic/Pond5.