Our writers recommend... (01/09/20)

PODCAST: 'The Worldwide Tribe'

Available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts

I came across this podcast as a part of my research for my next article and I am so thankful for it. I am appalled to say that I was, and still am to an extent, ignorant to the actual events which lead up to a person risking their lives to leave their home country and seek a new, better life elsewhere. Created by Jaz O’Hara following her trip to the Jungle in Calais in 2015, and her family’s fostering of four refugee children, the organisation aims ‘to amplify the voices that often go unheard - the humans behind the statistics and the headlines - the real heroes of today.’ The podcast tells the stories of those working alongside refugees, and all those who have left everything behind due to war, dictatorship and religious extremism, sometimes alone and as children. With the current refugee crisis we are witnessing across the English Channel, I urge everyone to listen to this series so as to realise the extremities that people will go to in order to live and be free.

Abby Gilchrist

MUSIC: In A Dream by Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan has released a new EP which is centered around the theme of his most recent break up. The music is bold and the lyrics are incredibly intimate. Written during lockdown, it is easy to hear the forced isolation and the emotional isolation and heartbreak interacting with each other to produce a uniquely queer collection of songs. As a gay person, the song STUD especially sticks out for me. It describes the transactional, objectifying nature of being gay, and the void of emotion in which sexual acts can take place. For anyone who is interested in hearing the gay experience articulated, I would strongly recommend this EP. 

Ed Holtom

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: @harliebriggsart_

I have used my time during lockdown to start following Instagram accounts which have a positive effect on my endless scrolling. One such account is artist Harlie Briggs, an abstract nude and nature artist who describes her craft as ‘working to celebrate the female form’. Working across various mediums, from oil to canvas to pottery, her art encompasses all body types, shapes and colours. Her art focuses on the female silhouette and I love the empowering confidence I feel myself from her art. She has also been using her skill for good (and not just by normalising all body types through her art) - she donated one of her pieces of art as a raffle prize in order to raise money for the NHS Charities Together Campaign. So inspiring is her art that my next paycheck is going towards a sketchbook. Mum, if you’re reading this, I would very much like one of her vases for my birthday! 

Abby Gilchrist

PODCAST: 'Millennial Love - Diversity in love stories', with Bolu Babalola

This half hour podcast is concise, interesting and brings to the surface ideas that perhaps we never stop to think about enough, but just accept as the norm. Olivia interviews author and writer Bolu Babalola, who discusses her new book Love in Colour, which is a collection of ancient love myths she has re-written in order to make them diverse and modern. The two women discuss the lack of diversity in fairytales or Disney films, and how these stories exclude those who don’t fit societal beauty standards from the narrative of love. The two women explore how even though Disney have started to include princesses of colour, their story lines are not the same. They explore the idea of colourism within films and media, and how dark skinned Black women are often excluded from story lines which don’t focus on race.

One part of the podcast I found particularly engaging was when they discussed the subject of love and romance being inherently feminine, despite love explicitly being universal to all genders. They discuss how if a man says he enjoys a rom-com he is seen as soft and in turn weak, yet romance should not be seen as exclusively female. 

Amy Knowles