The Seasoned Migrant Podcast

Punk: The Global Voice of Resistance

In our first-ever triple-bill episode, we chat with Kevin Dunn, Raymond Patton, and Theresa Steward and take a deep dive into the punk movement, investigating the impact it had on world culture. First, we look at what punk stood for and how it was able to connect with people in many different and personal ways. Then, we look at the spread of punk around the world. Despite originating in the UK and the US, punk was just as successful on the other side of the Cold War. We look at the reasons why punk appealed across such different and divided political landscapes and what features of the movement made the spread possible. Finally, we look at the underground scene beyond this Cold War divide. We discuss the emergence of the underground scene in Iran following the 1979 Revolution and look at the motivations of the musicians involved - and how, often, these motivations have differed from how they have been portrayed as by Western media. A special thanks goes to our guests, and to Kevin’s band, the Sriracha-chas, for allowing us to use their music for the episode.

 

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Bollywood and the Diaspora: Portrayals and Receptions of the Homeland

In this episode, we sit down with Rini Bhattacharya Mehta and look at how Bollywood, and Indian Cinema as a whole, has shaped and been shaped by the Indian identities portrayed in film. The cultural output of Indian cinema produced in Mumbai was itself a unifying force for a nation that was otherwise split into various linguistic and cultural regions. The movies produced in Mumbai were watched on screens across the country and so Mumbai had an influential stake in shaping the messages that would contribute to a shared Indian identity. This identity has changed over time along with India’s position in the global context: from colonial subject, to an East-West binary during the Cold War, to now a nation intimately involved with globalisation. All of these narratives extended onto the portrayal of the Indian diaspora abroad, which had a special and contested status in narratives of the Indian homeland.

 

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National Heroes: Teaching Symbols of Identity, Legitimacy and Oppression Through School Curriculums

In this episode, we explore the ways in which national heroes have been used in school history curriculums to create a sense of nationhood, to confer legitimacy to the state, and to contribute towards systems of oppression. We first look at the way Hong Kong created a separate school subject, Chinese History, which emphasised the character traits of important historical figures and the dynastic history of the country to protect and retain a sense of Chinese identity in the Islands. We then interview Musty Kamal on Muhammad Ali Jinnah and how his place as a national hero and the way Pakistan remembers him changes from person to person, particularly among those in power, to fit a certain narrative of the day. And finally, we delve into how the national story of the Voortrekkers and The Great Trek was taught in South African schools to uphold oppressive value systems in the era of apartheid.

 

For more exciting content and ideas, please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram (@seasoned.migrant). New episodes out every Wednesday!

Telenovelas: The Cultural Power of Melodrama

In this episode, we explore the origins and impact of the telenovela. We first look at how these shows were inspired by workers in Cuban cigar factories reading stories out loud to one another, before spreading throughout Latin America following Cuba’s 1959 Revolution. We then dive into the Brazilian telenovelas industry with Taina Silva, who shares her research on how telenovelas have incorporated social issues of the day into their scripts and how stirring subjects like abortion, sex, and cloning have been received by viewers. From there, we look at the popularity of telenovelas beyond Latin America. We explore how they made their way to Eastern Europe and beyond, dominating screens and becoming part and parcel of people’s lives across the world. Now, countries in Latin America are not just exporting their shows, they are themselves importing shows from around the globe as production companies outside the region take the unique storytelling of telenovelas and adapt them to their own, local stories.

 

For more exciting content and ideas, please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram (@seasoned.migrant). New episodes out every Wednesday!

Elvis Presley: The Complex Origins of Stardom

In this episode, we follow the trajectory of Elvis’s life, untangling the complex factors that contributed to his success and the impact he had on American culture. First, we look at how Elvis redefined stardom — prim and proper movie stars went out, and the American, counter-culture rebel replaced them. However, Elvis's life wasn’t just about redefining what it meant to be an American icon. His career became the first successful bridge between white and black culture in 20th century America — as such, his life was deeply intertwined with race relations in the country. We discuss these important conversations about Elvis and race, as well as Elvis and changing gender norms in mid-20th century America. Elvis really was cause and consequence of social change in the country.

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Chocolate: A Complex Story of Status, Empire and Big Business

We’re looking at the global story of chocolate. First, we discuss how the idea of chocolate changed through the centuries — what it meant for Aztecs, how the Europeans intentionally moved away from these origins, and how this story draws parallels to the introduction of chocolate in China in 1978. Then, we discuss the two titans of America’s chocolate industry: Hershey’s and Mars. We follow their origins, their joint projects, and the better missteps that led to one of the fiercest rivalries in the business world.

For more exciting content and ideas, please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram (@seasoned.migrant). New episodes out every Wednesday!

The Politics of National Museums: How Countries Choose to Remember Their History

Welcome to the Seasoned Migrant Podcast! In this episode, we’re diving deep into the politics of national museums. We often visit museums without realizing the intentions of those standing behind the scenes. These buildings aim to capture the most important moments in a nation’s history, but who gets to decide what these moments and how to portray them? Perhaps most importantly, why do we accept the fact that the nation needs to have a single voice and a single national story? We discuss the origins of the national museum, its original class tensions, and we look at the ideological challenges of museums in China, Iran, and Peru.

For more exciting content and ideas, please subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram (@seasoned.migrant). New episodes out every Wednesday!

Trailer

Welcome to The Seasoned Migrant Podcast! Over the next ten weeks, we’ll be exploring the intersections between culture, history and society. We want to unpack the big ideas that influenced the way we think and the moments which set our world on new trajectories. Every Wednesday we’ll be releasing a new episode and you can expect to hear about: the bittersweet story of chocolate, the politics of national museums, the soap opera as an icon in the developing world, school history curriculums and national heroes, and so much more. To hear about these exciting perspectives, subscribe to our podcast and follow us on Instagram (@seasoned.migrant).