Spemma: The Homo Sapien Podcast

Join Sparkle and Emma on a listen back at Season 2A where they asked each of their guests to answer the questions "What is Human?" before answering the question themselves. Spemma would like to thank all of our listeners and our supporters, Emma will be gone next semester and the role of co-host will be played by the lovely and talented Madi Mikay.Spemma is supported by RIZE Media and Gosha Guppy. We will return with new guests, new topics, and new (and better) equipment.

For the first installment of Sparkle x Madi Mikay we are joined by Junior Efua Osei who grabs the mic to recount her experiences starting as a first year at Wash U in her triple, what surprised her about her new college life, and starting RIZE media, Wash U's independent black student magazine which is a proud supporter of Spemma: The Homo Sapien Podcast. There is only one microphone in this episode so Sparkle and Madison are definitely quieter when asking the questions but Efua is very good about repeating into her mic. Please enjoy Efua Osei.

Georgia Binnington began her relationship with Wash U when she came here as a student, and has stayed here to become the Associate Dean of Students in the Sam Fox School; she is also Sparkle's four year advisor. She sits down with Emma and TOAO to discuss art, her relationship with Wash U, her love of the students here, and how this university has changed in her time on this campus. They discuss the importance of the arts, how draining they can be at times, and Emma's favorite topic in the entire world- color psychology. Georgia is an absolute light and we had the best time interviewing her.Spemma the Homo Sapien Podcast is supported by Gosha Guppy. #FreeGosha

After a brief hiatus where Emma tried to get her life together, SPEMMA IS BACK! Spemma sat down with Campus Celebrity WUPD officer Casem known widely across campus for telling people to keep track of their items and LABEL THEIR PHONES! You can often see Officer Casem in BD late at night making sure everyone knows to put their student ID number in their phones/laptops. Officer Casem recounts his emotional journey serving as a police officer for the Ferguson police department, and offers up his thoughts on why we shouldn't automatically fear law enforcement. Casem discusses why he joined law enforcement and how he ended up at this crazy land of Wash U, and finally calls out the bird scooters as the ableist commodity they are. (SPEMMA: The Homo Sapien Podcast publicly denounces the bird scooter. They must end.) In summary, Emma hates birds, Sparkle hates birds, Officer Casem hates the birds, and ALL WASH U STUDENTS SHOULD LABEL THEIR PHONES!!Spemma would like to offer a quick trigger warning for this episode. Towards the end Officer Casem tells the emotional story of Jamyla Bolden, a nine-year-old girl who has shot and killed while she was doing homework in her home. Officer Greg Casem was one of the first responders on the scene and did everything he could to save Jamyla's life. As Team Spemma, we are honored that Officer Casem joined us to share his stories with the Wash U community, but encourage all of our listeners to take care of themselves in whatever ways they can.

Spemma is taking a throwback with Eromosei (Daniel) Osemobor, a sophomore at wash u on the pre med track and one of Sparkles good friends from FSAP. He sat down with SPEMMA this week to talk about being an EMT on campus and the misconceptions that surround being a part of EST. He talks a little about his hometown in Connecticut and plays a round of unpopular opinions where he confesses to not liking cheesecake and Emma for some reason attacks almost every single one of her friends. In the end we are reminded that EST is a wholesome welcoming community of people, Grey’s Anatomy isn’t realistic, and Emma still hates Justin Timberlake.

Ola Adebayo is a Sophomore from Minnesota on the PreMed track and one of Sparkle and Emma’s favorite Homo Sapiens on campus. Ola sat down in the SPEMMA LAIR this week to discuss her experience as the CS40 Speaker, contemplate the end of the world, and reminisce over watching the Jonas Brothers' music video for "Sucker" with Emma for the first time (arguably one of the highlights of both their lives). The three talk about being “involved” in politics, how they do their best to stay informed, and what it really means to say “Politics doesn’t affect me”. In summary, Emma doesn't think you should brag about not knowing who the Vice President is, Ola hasn't watched reality TV since Jersey Shore ended, and Sparkle doesn't want to kill Emma in a Zombie apocalypse, but says she will if she has to.(PSAPSA PINEAPPLES ARE SOUR, and the first three minutes of this episode were recorded while the equipment was being set up so not everyone is heard clearly Emma just thought it was funny and decided to leave it in)

This week Spemma sat down with their former faculty fellow Professor Jeffrey McCune. Professor McCune lives in Umrath House on the South 40 and taught Sparkle last semester in his class focusing on Sparkle's favorite topic, Kanye West. Professor McCune recounts growing up in the South side of Chicago, being a "big fish in a small pond" throughout his college years, and joining a queer affinity group which he can't remember the name of. He offers just a few of his thoughts on Kanye West, corporal punishment, cancel culture, the "46-1" President of the United States, and why all homo sapiens need to do away with the concept of "the human". In summary, Sparkle still loves Kanye, Professor McCune hates grades, and Emma idolizes Puff the Magic Dragon. Let the record show Professor McCune was the first one to swear on the air and that he takes the crown as Emma's favorite guest she has ever had the privilege of interviewing.Spemma: The Homo Sapien Podcast is proudly supported by RIZE Media WashU's premiere independent Black magazine run by Efua Osei. Their latest issue is available at https://issuu.com/rizenews/docs/rizerize 

Sparkle and Emma recap their summers off, tease some of their upcoming guests, play an exciting round of "Unpopular Opinions", and offer their two cents on how to make new years resolutions (or new school year resolutions) that you can actually keep. 

It's a bittersweet day for Team Spemma as we round out the end of Season 1 with this special reminiscent finale. Sparkle, Emma and Madi Mikay rehash their favorite moments from the season while running their own Q&A and teasing their plans for Season 2. As they look back on the amazing start they've had to this insane chapter of their lives, they listen back on past episodes including Eudora Anyagafu, Demetri Kavadas, Porscha Hayes, City Wars, Fox Week and more. Thank you for the incredible ride Spemmantics, you are the reason we exist and you gave us the best few months we could have asked for. Until next year!!-Team Spemma

Max Xu is a junior classics major on the Pre-Med track from Cleveland, Ohio. Max is a first-year RA on Beaumont 2 and is well known on the South 40 for his tradition of making pancakes for his residents. Max sat down with SPEMMA this week to discuss his leadership role on campus and the balancing act of being an enforcer of the rules while simultaneously acting as a support system and friend to your residents. The three play a riveting round of “relationship dealbreakers” where we very quickly learn that Emma and Max would not have a successful marriage, and the Sparkle self-identifies as high maintenance. Halfway through, the episode gets hijacked by Spemmantic Amanda Hua who reveals her favorite shows on Netflix, her love for the West Coast, and her disappointment in the lack of engineering representation on the show. Spemma: The Homo Sapien Podcast is supported by RIZE Media, WashU’s independent Black magazine run by Sophomore Efua Osei. If you would also like to partner with us email us at highonknowledgepodcast@gmail.com and ALL SPEMMANTICS be sure to order a limited edition SPEMMA PODCAST STICKER!! The link is in our instagram bio @spemmapodcast

It's FOX WEEK this week on Spemma! Join local Wash U Art students as they unpack the best and worst things about being in the Sam Fox school. Felix Moreno is a first year Architecture major from Houston Texas, and Gabriella Cooperman is a first year double major in Communications Design (Sam Fox), Marketing (Olin) and Minor in Drama (ArtSci). Most importantly the two of them were in Emma's Designing Creativity class last fall. The two discuss why they got into art, how hard it is to be in studio all the time, how much they love Etta's and why they need the circulator to change schedule. They play a game called "Fox or Smocks" as well as a lightning round of "What does the Fox (student) say??". Gabriella describes her experience joining the Screen Actor's Guild when she was 4 and a half, starting a charity when she was 5, starting another charity when she was 14, and Felix talks about how he's never created art before in his life but one day wants to be a set designer...maybe. It's a big day for art students, design lovers and Fox's on Spemma! (Shoutout to RobertMarkMorgan and also no one swears in this episode!)Spemma: The Homo Sapien Podcast is supported by RIZE media, Washington University's independent Black magazine, run by Sophomore Efua Osei. Their April issue is out now and we look forward to this partnership growing in the future!

It's Gosha Guppy week on Spemma! For this super special Gosha Guppy spotlight episode Emma and Sparkle finally ask all the questions they've been wondering about Gosha's creative process, why/how he got into music, where he see's his future going, and how he created his first full project dropping next Friday. Die hard Spemmantic Amya (last name omitted as she is running from the law) sits down for our first Fashion Forecast Friday segment to predict where the world of fashion is moving in the future. They play a fairly unsuccessful round of "guess the artist" and Sparkle and Emma learn there is no good way to ask people about weird things that they find attractive. Gosha in his endless generosity allowed us to use parts of his UNRELEASED album throughout the episode so tune in for special sneak previews of his first full project!! 

Ella Holman and Madison Williamson are Wash U first year students who became fast friends through a mutual love of food, dancing, and practicing random acts of kindness. The two sit down with Spemma this week to discuss their experiences growing up as dancers and the body shaming they experienced at a very young age causing Madison to quit before high school. Emma describes her issues growing up as a performer leading to body dysmorphia and years of disordered eating and they recount how Madison knew she had a problem within weeks of knowing her. She tells her emotional journey through wearing revealing clothing in the Rocky Horror show last semester, which initially broke her down, and ultimately saved her life. Ella defends St. Louis to the death including slicing bagels like bread and forcing yourself to down an Imo's pizza out of city pride. Ella tells the harrowing tale of a sleep deprived Emma eating frozen pancakes out of a box in the middle of a Schnuck's, and Emma tells the story of when Ella kicked her out of her car on the way to a drag show. Finally the four talk about how they avoid being apertures of the buttocks on Wash U campus and unpack the importance of self care. All in all Emma loves bagels, Madison loves her youtube channel, Ella loves her boyfriend, and Sparkle LOVES when people clean their shoes. ALSO Spemma wishes the happiest of birthdays to an OG Spemmantic and amazing friend Milky Yassin!!! 

It's Chicago vs New York this week on CITY WARS! Join Spemma as they embark on the first part of their much anticipated City Wars series featuring Therese Miantsoko and Karinton Triplett as representatives of their notable hometowns. After the very heated battle, they each face off in new debates submitted by the Spemmantics such as Pancakes vs Waffles, Dogs vs Cats, and which Girl Scout cookie truly reigns supreme. The four also try their hand at eradicating "life's unanswerable questions" and end on a brand new Freestyle Friday segment over a delivery of Chick-Fil-A. Spemma encourages all listeners to vote on the Spemma Instagram for who won the main event and ALSO to spread kindness and positivity across the negative and hateful world we face. ALSO--Submit a drawing of a bird to the link in our page for National Draw A Bird Day!! Deadline April 5

IT'S SPRING BREAK!For this special episode of the Homo Sapien Podcast Spemma turned to the Spemmantics to conduct a special interview and they delivered! Spemma sits down this week with the lovely Gosha Guppy to unpack the questions sent in by the fans. Tune in as Emma discusses her gap year and her terrifying introduction to the art of trapeze, Sparkle reveals that she's never actually seen the movie she was named after, and Gosha officially announces the drop date of his next album. The three dive into a more vulnerable topic and discuss mental health on campus and the issues surrounding the overcrowding of SHS and Uncle Joe's. Emma talks about her experiences as a Wash U student battling severe Anxiety and Depression and she and Sparkle compare their experiences in Sam Fox and the Performing Arts Department feeling like their assignments aren't viewed as being as valid as STEM majors. Gosha talks about his recent visit to Howard University and what it felt like to see so many students who looked like him, Sparkle talks about investing over 30 hours to make a six foot scorpion, and Emma reveals the worst thing she has ever said and apologizes to her 2nd grade teacher Mrs Del Gaizo. 

SPEMMA is back! And this time they are sitting down with one of their favorite Homo Sapiens and closest friends (and Emma's cherished roommate) Porscha Hayes! The group took a more casual approach to this episode and recorded while some of their friends did their homework in the room so be warned for some unwarranted interjections from the peanut gallery on occasion. Porscha discusses her introduction to Wash U through the College Prep program and FSAP, the group recounts their emotional rides finding out they were admitted to their dream school and they explore some ASMR techniques with an unsuspecting bag of pretzels. Porscha and Emma explore their dynamic as First-Year roommates and they argue over Emma's spot on impression of her. The conversation turns to the CW as they discuss Porscha's love of Riverdale (Betty's dad is the black hood), Sparkle's love of Black Lightning, and Emma's disappointment with the new season of Supergirl. They play an exciting game of "Whore or Holy" after Emma recounts the truly harrowing experience she had getting a taco salad from DeliciOSO the other day and also their friend Kiara admits to putting mayonnaise on her pizza so the whole group needs to take a break. Sparkle addresses that virginity is a social construct that causes people to get burned by seemingly harmless romantic candles and the group discusses what it means to really be a great friend. Tune in to hear the group give countless amounts of praise for Lori White our lord and savior, Porscha finally disclose the origins of her favorite color, and Emma talk endlessly about her father's DNA documentary with former President Bill Clinton...*BONUS* By popular demand at the end of the episode Gosha Guppy himself makes his first ever live appearance!! Be sure to tune in for a sneak preview of what could be coming in the future!

SPEMMA sat down today to have a super relaxed discussion with the man behind the backpack, Demetri! Demetri recounts his love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, his journey with practicing empathy, seeing himself on the Datamatch survey, and his introduction to the political scene following the 2016 election. Sparkle invents a game called SPLURGE! and the group gets unsure of how to play it. Demetri answers your fan questions as well as Emma’s brain teasers and your favorite podcast hosts give a heartfelt thank you for the lovely handmade Valentines they received. Tune in FRIDAY to find out Demetri’s favorite ninja turtle, Emma’s love for picking up trash, and Sparkle’s hardships as a vertically challenged citizen. ..ALSO the Queen's affinity group sleepover will be held on March 2nd from 8pm-12am come out and have fun-more details to come!

SPEMMA gets high on one of their FAVORITE Homo Sapiens on campus, Eudora Anyagafu, for their pilot episode of the Homo Sapien Podcast! Tune in as they discuss Eudora’s introduction to theater, her decision to drop the pre-med track, and her heart warming reaction as she got the phone call telling her she became an RA in the middle of the Bear’s Den. Eudora helps SPEMMA unpack sexual harassment on campus, offering up her own experiences which culminated in the run in she and Emma had with dining services during last semester. Sparkle mentions toxicity in celebrity culture as Emma obsesses over the Ted Bundy docuseries on Netflix and profoundly apologizes for misspelling Sparkle's name on Spotify last week. The three of them play an exciting game of F***, Marry, Kill in honor of Valentines Day and Sparkle prays for all of the Kardashian sisters. All in all Eudora loves cursing, Sparkle loves Kanye West and Emma hates Eudora having other friends.

Sparkle and Emma sit down for the first time to discuss their future of getting high on knowledge together. Tune in for this special sneak peek into the Homo Sapien life at Washington University and be sure to return next week for their first official guest interview Eudora Anyagafu!!

It is TIMEEEEE to stop running from the uncomfortable and learn from it!! Listen up to how you can go about that risk that you're afraid of taking. So happy to continue the SOS Sessions with you beautiful people.