The Simple Stuff

Amelia Chu

The Simple Stuff is a fortnightly podcast covering culture, current affairs and politics, and hosted by Millie Chu. It is aimed at young women from all walks of life, interested in issues of international importance and how they directly impact them. Each episode, Millie will be joined by two brilliant guests who will discuss and explore a singular topic. It’s going to demystify and destigmatise issues and questions floating around in the media, and ask why these things are relevant to young women today. If you’ve ever asked, ‘But how is this relevant to me?’, this is the show for you.

Episodes

  1. 11/01/2019

    Mental Health and University (Interview with Liv Sharron, founder of 'Chilly Dippers'

    Hello Simpletons, and welcome to Episode 5 of ‘The Simple Stuff’! For this episode, I interviewed Liv Sharron about her campaign, ‘Chilly Dippers’ (@chilly.dippers). Chilly Dippers is a social-media based platform and campaign founded in early 2019, where students and young people can discover natural coping mechanisms for stress, depression and anxiety. The discussion covered topics like loneliness at university, influencers and the pitfalls of social media, and the millennial burnout theory. With prescriptions for antidepressants on the rise worldwide, and a troubling lack of support for young people, Liv’s hashtag and dictum, ‘freezing the body to free the mind’, seems an important one, now more than ever. Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. SHOW NOTES - Book ‘Taking the Plunge’ by Anna Deacon and Vicky Allan (which features an interview on Liv) about the healing power of wild swimming for Mind, Body and Soul - Quarter Life – online publication - ‘Jog-On: How Running Saved my Life’ – Bella Mackie - Deliciously Ella’s podcast, ‘How Exercise Impacts on The Brain & Our Mental Health’ (from 2 October, 2018) - Matt Haig’s utterly brilliant books ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ and ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ – dealing with the idea of living in the present moment - The Power of Now - Samaritans – 116 123 (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) - SANEline – 0300 304 7000 (4:30pm-10:30pm every day) - CALM (for those who identify as male) – 0800 58 58 58 (5:00pm-midnight every day)

    58 min
  2. 10/08/2019

    The Mixed Race Experience

    Hi Simpletons! Happy Monday (better late than never) and welcome to another episode of ‘The Simple Stuff’. This week’s episode, in which I spoke to Ellie Gomes and Jess Macdonald, tackles the mixed race experience for young women today, from fetishization, to cultural appropriation, to Love Island’s race problem. Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment/review if you're feeling extra nice. FURTHER READING: My article from last year on how racism is endemic at university: https://cherwell.org/2018/06/03/casual-racism-is-endemic-in-oxford/ Reni Eddo Lodge’s original blog post, ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/30/why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race Oxford Mixed Heritage Society is the first society of its kind in the UK, and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Homecoming Queen (zine based in Oxford): https://www.facebook.com/homecomingqueenzine/ Mixed Race Faces – London based photo campaign: https://mixedracefaces.com/ Cuntry Living Zine’s Podcast on ‘Fetishisation & Dating as a Womxn of Colour’: https://soundcloud.com/user-394605298/fetishisation-dating-as-a?fbclid=IwAR0DcfPsjuSONS6a18Ca8Pqs81VwI7MWARgoKhfLfmyfJdQCO-o8zq7IdBA Guardian short film, ‘Black Sheep’ BBC’s adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel ‘The Long Song’ BBC radio programme, ‘My Mixed-Up World’ BBC 4’s ‘Soon Good: A Windrush Chronicle’

    1 hr
  3. 09/06/2019

    Female Anger & Fear of the Emotional Woman

    Hello Simpletons, and welcome to the first show of The Simple Stuff, where we try and navigate our way through the concepts of female anger, expression, and the cultural fear of the emotional woman. How do we reckon with our expressions of emotion and their cultural impact, and why is female anger still such a contentious topic? We covered topics like anger and relationships, Nike's recent 'Dream Crazier' advertising campaign, and Serena Williams.  Follow us on Instagram (@thesimplestuff) to keep up to date with the latest news, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment if you're feeling extra nice.  --- FURTHER READING: Andre Lorde’s 1981 essay ‘The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism’ Soraya Chemaly’s Ted Talk ‘The Power of Women’s Anger’ Hotter – after a wildly popular run in Edinburgh, the play’s run at Soho Theatre comes to an end this Saturday (7thSeptember) so snap up tickets as soon as you can. (https://sohotheatre.com/shows/hotter/) ‘The Female Price of Male Pleasure’, an article by Lili Loofbourow published in The Week (https://theweek.com/articles/749978/female-price-male-pleasure) The Art of Loving: Story of Michalina Wislocka (Film) – Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJRdeC2aqKk Rebecca Traister’s 2018 novel, ‘Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger’ (https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/anger-persists-on-rebecca-traisters-good-and-mad-the-revolutionary-power-of-womens-anger/) Bitch Media series on female anger – ‘The Future is Furious’ (https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/its-time-embrace-feminisms-anger)

    1 hr

About

The Simple Stuff is a fortnightly podcast covering culture, current affairs and politics, and hosted by Millie Chu. It is aimed at young women from all walks of life, interested in issues of international importance and how they directly impact them. Each episode, Millie will be joined by two brilliant guests who will discuss and explore a singular topic. It’s going to demystify and destigmatise issues and questions floating around in the media, and ask why these things are relevant to young women today. If you’ve ever asked, ‘But how is this relevant to me?’, this is the show for you.