Cocktails & Capitalism

In this episode, Erika and Christa tackle the infrastructure bill while sipping on a custom cocktail: the Bipartisan Breeze. You’ll hear us discuss key aspects of this huge bill as we play a drinking game that we’ve created especially for this episode topic. Tune in to hear these ladies explain this potentially transformative legislation, including the enormous “human infrastructure” bill that will follow.

You also get to meet the lovely Ms. Christa, who has so much anti-capitalist wisdom to impart! We chat about green transportation, sustainable infrastructure, environmental racism, green gentrification, city planning, resilience, neoliberalism, and more!

Bipartisan Breeze Cocktail

      1.5 oz vodka

      1.5 oz pineapple juice

      3 oz cranberry juice

      1/4 oz Blue Curaçao

      Fill a glass with ice, pour in all ingredients except blue curaçao, stir, then gently add blue Curaçao, so that it floats to the bottom and creates a blue layer under the red/pink layer. Garnish with a strawberry wheel if you’re feeling fancy

Episode Drinking Game Rules:

      Drink every time someone says …
     
          -Mitch McConnell
          -Bipartisan
          -Rob Portman
          -Chuck Schumer
          -Nancy Pelosi
          -Kyrsten Sinema

      Extra rules for serious drinkers:

          -drink every time we drink
          -drink when someone slurs
          -drink when we interrupt each other
          -drink every time we laugh like witches

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🍸 Want to contribute to Cocktail Fund to support the show??  You can do this through the Patreon link below or via Venmo. Cheers, friends! 🥂 

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, Ahyoka Atali tells her personal story as an MMIWG2S survivor. If you've ever wondered about the stories behind the countless photos of missing and murdered Indigenous women, this episode offers a window into the dark reality of this ongoing crisis. 

Because the MMIW epidemic takes many different forms,  Ahyoka's story is quite different from the experiences of other survivors. If you'd like to understand the bigger picture, please check out the last 3 episodes. Erika and Ahyoka delve into the history of genocide on Turtle Island, residential schools, poverty on reservations, the Land Back movement, cultural appropriation, fetishization of Indigenous women, and the connection between the MMIW epidemic and extractive capitalism.

If you are a survivor, a family member, or a loved one of someone who has gone missing, we ask that you be gentle with yourself when deciding if you have the capacity to listen to this episode. Also, please be gentle with Ahyoka, who was very brave to share her story with the world. She did this in the hopes that others will open their eyes to this terrible reality so that we might change it and help protect the lives of other Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit.

MMIW resources :

• StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-7NATIVE) for domestic / dating violence 
• Sovereign Bodies Institute's MMIWG2 & MMIP Organizing Toolkit
• Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
• Lakota People's Law Project's MMIW Resource Guide
• National Indigenous Women's Resource Center’s Safety Guide
• National Indigenous Women's Resource Center’s Tribal Community Response When a Woman Is Missing: A Toolkit for Action

Follow Ahyoka Atali on Instagram: @beadingismedicine

Support the Cocktails & Capitalism Podcast (https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism)

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, we dive into the ways that extractive capitalist industries have fueled the MMIW crisis.  MMIWG2S survivor Ahyoka Atali joins me in discussing sex trafficking, pipelines, man camps, fisheries, and the ways that these profit-driven projects have magnified the violence perpetuated against Indigenous women, children, and 2 Spirit 🌹


Because this is such a heavy topic, we decided we'd drink a mocktail for this episode.

LEMON DROP MOCKTAIL

(from FoodBanjo .com)
1.25 oz lemon juice
¾ oz simple syrup
2.5 oz club soda, chilled
Sugar

Follow the same process with dipping martini glass in sugar, Shake ice cubes, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker 15 seconds or more. Strain into martini glass, top with club soda and garnish with lemon peel



Artwork by Jim Yellowhawk from the following article. 

Follow Ahyoka Atali on Instagram: @beadingismedicine

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, survivor Ahyoka Atali help us connect the dots between the factors that place Indigenous women at risk of abuse, abduction, trafficking, and murder.  Here are some of the main topics we cover: 

Land back
Residential schools
Generational trauma,
Lack of cultural / religious freedom,
Stereotypes,
Cultural appropriation,
Mascots,
Costumes,
Fetishization and sexualization of Native women,
Sage,
Native made vs Native inspired,
Livelihood rights,
History taught in school,
Actual Indigenous history,
Columbus, 
Thanksgiving, 
Indigenous People's Day, 
Treaties


You can follow Ahyoka Atali on IG, @beadingismedicine 🤍

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In the first part of this episode series,  Ahyoka Atali introduces some of the biggest issues that fuel the MMIW epidemic in so-called Canada and America.  Ahyoka is a MMIWG2S survivor -- which stands for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit. We discuss decolonization, blood quantum, poverty in Native communities, epidemics on reservations, and the history of genocide on Turtle Island.  


Episode Cocktail & Mocktail:

LEMON DROP COCKTAIL
2 oz vodka
½ oz triple sec
1 oz simple syrup (or honey)
1 oz lemon juice and zest! 

Zest lemon onto a plate with a couple spoonfuls of sugar and mix, barely wet rim of martini glass and dip into sugar mixture. (Wait a few minutes for sugar to adhere). Add vodka, simple syrup, triple sec, and lemon juice into shaker, shake for at least 15 seconds, strain and enjoy!

LEMON DROP MOCKTAIL
(from FoodBanjo.com)
1.25 oz lemon juice
¾ oz simple syrup
2.5 oz club soda, chilled
Sugar
 
Follow the same process with dipping martini glass in sugar, Shake ice cubes, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker 15 seconds or more. Strain into martini glass, top with club soda and garnish with lemon peel

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In addition to hosting the podcast, Erika works to raise funds for a nonprofit. For years, she's wanted to understand why the wealthy give less than the poor. Throughout her research, she had continuously stumbled upon assertions that the rich tend to give a much smaller portion of their wealth than those with much less. This is deeply concerning because it spells the death of so many important causes that are simply unable to obtain the funding needed to help those in need. Because capitalism causes wealth to accumulate into fewer and fewer hands, the poor are increasingly unable to give while the rich are becoming less willing to offer charity.

Since our friend Abby (IG: @politicalpsychwithabby) has a solid background in political psychology, I asked her to shed some light on the mentality fostered by extreme wealth and how this leads the rich to become less giving. She has composed a YouTube video on this topic, which you can find here. I recommend that you check out her other videos, all of which tackle political issues from a psychological perspective. 

Abby is pursuing her Masters in Political Psychology. She’s been collaborating with me from the UK, though she is originally from the US.  You can find her on Instagram @politicalpsychwithabby, and she also has a YoutTube channel called Political Psych with Abby (https://tinyurl.com/politicalpsychwithabby)

Here are some of the articles we discuss in this episode:

Stern, Ken. “Why the Rich Don’t Give to Charity.” April 2013.

Olen, Helaine. “Why Don’t America’s Rich Give More to Charity?” December 16, 2017.

Useem, Jerry. “Power Causes Brain Damage.” July 2017.

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this episode, we discuss the most shocking revelations from "Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home." This BBC documentary examines the household products and innovations that killed so many people during the Victorian era (1837 to 1901). These products exposed the growing middle class to toxic chemicals, explosions, infections, and other dangers that resulted in bodily harm and death. It's an excellent warning regarding the threats to human life produced by unregulated profit-driven capitalist industries. 

You can watch the documentary here. It was written and narrated by Suzannah Lipscomb -- an historian, author, broadcaster, and teacher at the New College of Humanities.

Other Sources:
- BBC News - 10 dangerous things in Victorian/Edwardian homes
- Five hidden killers of the Victorian home


EPISODE COCKTAIL: VICTORIAN GIN PUNCH

¼ lemon, peeled and juiced

2 tsp sugar

2 oz gin

⅓ oz orange liqueur

3 oz seltzer

For a party (12 servings)

3 lemons, peeled and juiced

½ cup sugar

3 cups gin

½ cup orange liqueur

1 liter (about 4 cups) seltzer

Muddle lemon peel with sugar, let steep 2-3 hours, pour lemon juice over peels, stir till dissolved, transfer to short stemmed punch glass (or a pitcher if your doing party punch). Fill half of class/pitcher with ice, then add gin, liqueur and seltzer. Enjoy!

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism)

Frida Kahlo was one of Mexico's most famous artists. In this episode, we tell the story of her incredible and tragic life. She endured a lot in her short fourty-seven years on earth, beginning with contracting polio at age six, followed by a debilitating bus accident that left her spine in pieces and her womb infertile, and her marriage to Diego Rivera was riddled with infidelity and heart break. But none of it brought her down. She discovered her talent for painting while she was bedridden from her bus accident and created a life for herself through her brush. Frida Kahlo will always be remembered for her vibrant self-portraits and her strength and passion. 

Sources
fridakahlo.org
biography.com
frida-kahlo-foundation.org
smithsonianmag.com

In this episode, we read our very first story from a boozarino! I purchased two beautifully crafted masks from @made.by.lauren.b (IG), and when they arrived I discovered a lengthy hand-written letter from Lauren.  Her letter quickly opened our eyes to the horrors of the textile and fashion industries, and Hillary and I soon found ourselves deep down the rabbit hole of research about fast fashion and its effects on people and the planet. These industries produce so much waste, toxic pollution, and human suffering, so Lauren has made it an act of resistance to produce masks using entirely reclaimed materials.

Tune in to learn more! 


Here is a little bit of information about Lauren's masks, taken from her shop:

https://laurenb-102559.square.site/s/shop


-------+ MASK SPECS +-------

• Made from 100% COTTON fabric
• Comes with sewn-in adjustable padded metal nosepiece
• Each mask has a unique interior (( we always use dark and/or patterned cotton for the main mouth covering. Lipstick exists, we can all get in a hurry, & the last thing we want to do is make your life more difficult. ))
• Stretch jersey tie-back cord
• Double-wall construction includes a filter pocket.
• Each mask is handmade from reclaimed materials (and magic, maybe) in Chicago, Illinois!

-------+ RECLAIMED MATERIALS, you say? +-------

Lauren is ... especially good at sourcing second-hand materials. With years of experience using reclaimed materials & salvaged fabric, Lauren is a textile wizard. We absolutely do source fabric from thrift stores & individual resellers but the more we can avoid venturing into risky public spaces, the better (and SAFER).

Between dye-ing, screen-printing, & other fancy tricks, the finished product looks pretty uniform. We focus on comfort & practicality for the lining fabrics. Varying the lining colors allows us to up-cycle fabric as needed. Changing up the lining colors also makes it infinitely easier for YOU to keep track of clean vs. dirty masks.

...but why? seems like a huge pain.

Lauren is thoroughly committed to using second-hand as much as possible. Down to the thread, machines, needles, etc.. It CAN be difficult & laborious to take these steps. That's why you pay us to take those steps so you don't have to.

This ethos applies to everything Lauren makes! (Lauren has been low key patiently waiting for the barter economy to emerge from the ashes of late-stage capitalism since she was a child. People have the power!)

We are serious about getting masks on as many faces as we can. We can afford to keep selling masks for $10 by using reclaimed materials (& by chaining Lauren to her sewing machine. it's fine.) which we really very much want to continue to do.


-------+ TRADES +------

If you are cash poor but cotton sheet rich, we'd love to trade for masks. Find more info in the mask pdf as well as in this instagram post. If you have materials to spare, do not hesitate to email us !!

-------+ MORE INFO +-------

PLEASE CONTACT US for FUNDRAISING efforts, to supply ORGANIZATIONS with masks, or for WHOLESALE. We'd be pleased as punch to work with you!

We're happy to help! We love you! Be safe!!

Support the show

Cocktails & Capitalism is an anticapitalist labor of love, but we could use your help to make this project sustainable. If you can support with even a dollar a month, that would really help us continue to educate, agitate, and amplify the voices of those who are working to dismantle capitalism and create a better world.

https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter
Some episodes on YouTube. Subscribe & enjoy! Cheers!

In this week's minisode, we discuss the movie Capital in the Twenty-First Century . This film is based on a book by Thomas Piketty -- a French economist who teaches at the London School of Economics. We highly recommend that you go watch this documentary, which can be found on Netflix.  Still, because it was so densely packed with insights into the evolution of our capitalist world, we thought it would be valuable to discuss some of the economic realities that this film illustrates.

Perhaps the central thrust of the film is this: Capitalism emerged in the aftermath of a feudal system characterized by extreme inequality.  While the growth of this system temporarily produced a flourishing middle class, in the 21st Century we've seen a total reversal of this trend towards equal distribution of wealth.  Using an onslaught of  vivid imagery depicting global wealth and poverty as a backdrop for it's informed analyses, Capital in the Twenty-First Century  teaches us that humanity is returning to the degree of inequality that existed in in Europe 300 years ago.

Because we are returning levels of inequality experienced in 18th Century European feudalism -- the era of kings and impoverished peasants -- we chose to drink "The Royal-Tea" as our cocktail for this episode.

The Royal-Tea

1.5 oz gin
2 oz Earl Grey tea
1 splash lemon juice
1 tsp sugar 
Garnish: lemon wheel

Pour over ice, stir and enjoy!

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/cocktailsandcapitalism)