The Brain Dump The Brain Dump

Today we talk about how productivity culture created from US capitalism (not the economic theory) influences our creativity and self care. Is productivity culture doing more harm than good? We talk about how the culture today treats life in a linear fashion when in reality, life has ups and downs. It takes many failures to be successful. And in this culture, what is creativity? Self care? We encourage everyone listening to recharge and take some time for yourself because that is the first step in becoming observant, creative, and genuine.

Today's episode is a little different because it's just me, Caroline and this episode is more personal. But this topic has been on my mind for a while. Seeing the success of kpop has allowed me to reconnect with my other half of my identity, being Korean. I talk about how when I was younger, all my conversations about Korea was never about South Korean culture itself but North Korea/Korean war, but now, seeing non-Koreans being interested in Korea has opened my eyes that I have an advantage of having multiple cultures and that I should learn more about it. I address despite kpop's success, I don't like the fetishization of Korea and talk about the types of hate kpop has gotten. I end off talking about how kpop's popularity has coincided with me growing up from elementary to high school now and how these factors have allowed me to become more confident. 

Just take one thing away: you don't have to be a kpop stan to respect Korea. You don't even have to like kpop to respect Korea. But please, however you do it, just respect Korea.

After months in lockdown because of COVID-19, our world is beginning to reopen. We discuss the relationship between the haste to reopen and the need to rebuild, our own privilege in being able to stay at home, and the difficulty in understanding what hasn't affected you personally. We close off with some convincing arguments about why social media is productive and chuckle at the future generations who will wonder what on earth was going on with us. 

Remember, wear masks, wash your hands, and stand six feet apart so you don't go six feet under. And to all future history students who will have to explain 2020 one day: good luck.

With the whole world stepping up in solidarity for Black lives, we need to talk about the role race plays in the US. With our friend, a Black woman living in the US, we talk about the benefits of protests and the effects of looters, the duty of Asian-Americans in this movement, and the role of media and history in the lives of Black people today. The #BlackLivesMatter movement is asking for Black lives to be valued, to be free, and to be equal, because all lives won’t matter until Black lives do.

We talk about how we're not the biggest fans of small talk which includes the question "what's your favorite color?" but are big advocates of silently thinking and being comfortable alone in our own thoughts. We talk about the benefits of watching videos on the internet and how it has helped us get in touch with our emotions. Maybe it's because we perceive life as an only child, and so we talk about our life contextualization and how everything we have experienced so far affects how we react to certain situations.

Welcome! We decided to make this podcast to talk and learn from each other since the high schoolers in our community have a lot to say. We'll talk about any topic, whether social issues, politics, media, or plain old facetime chats with ourselves and with friends. We hope you enjoy!