Cursed Objects

Postcode paraphernalia – check! Neighbourhood nationalism – check! Commodified cities? All here. We are very excited to be joined by iconic sociologist Les Back as he reflects on his much beloved, but equally cursed, House of Catford bottle opener. When did we start wearing I Love *insert misc. borough* branded t-shirts? How do we tell the difference between grassroots projects, and the property developers that try to sell us profitable images of gentrified districts? Dan, Kasia and Les go on a journey through Slewisham, The Cronx, and Pecknarm to find out.

For more info: follow us on twitter and instagram @CursedObjectsUK, email us at [email protected], or join our Patreon: patreon.com/cursedobjects 

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

Nectar selectors and club card members: where do your loyalty cards lie? This week, Dan and Kasia are discussing how supermarkets became so all-powerful that they can "campaign" on political and environmental issues (slash greenwash cynically) and the state can only follow their lead.

Also, why are full shelves in the supermarket oddly soothing when you have a hangover, and why empty shelves tell a story of social collapse? Do loyalty fobs promise a Fully Automated Luxury Future? What exactly are they doing with all our grocery data? Would Gordon Brown back the introduction of ID fobs?

If you're enjoying Cursed Objects, please support our Patreon for £4 a month - and get access to regular bonus episodes: patreon.com/cursedobjects. You can also follow us on twitter and instagram @CursedObjectsUK.

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

This week, we're asking what Gen Z kids mean when they say "My aesthetic is looking like a terrible 90s market stall in Camden Town!"? (NB this may not be a direct quotation, but close enough.) Kasia and Dan take us on a wild journey through 'cybergoth internationalism', fluokids, retro culture, futurism and modernity, chaotic teenage ideas of cool and the death (or not!) of youth subcultures.

Full episode available on Patreon.com/cursedobjects

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

FROM PATREON TO MAIN FEED: Are we heading for a 'summer of discontent'? Are we going 'back to the 1970s'? Three day week and a four-day bender? What really happened when the lights went out? Why do we cast particular eras as 'dark ages' or periods of decline, and who does it serve when we do so? Why were the 70s such an excellent time for white utility candles?

This week, Kasia and Dan try and unpick the myths and moral panics from the realities: that the 70s were a decade of decline, social breakdown and perpetual unrest -- rubbish in the streets, blackouts, shortages and strikes. Has that decade shaped everything to do with work and politics ever since?

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

Celebrating Walter Benjamin's 130th birthday with a truly cursed journey into the darkest end of the experience economy... from yuppie ballpit bars in Shoreditch to the commodification of the Holocaust, it's a wild ride with the spiritual godfather of Cursed Objects.

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

Health warning!!! Kasia and Dan are cracking through the radioactive, ever-expanding global energy drinks market LIVE ON AIR... From patriotic energy drinks brought to you by Albion's sovereign bulldog, to middle-class FBPE Euroshopper cans... what unites jocks, bros/bruhs, ravers, skaters, bungee jumpers, construction workers who actually have to get up early and work really hard, coders, gamers and goths? A big dose of sugar and a big dose of caffeine, that's what. How did a love of energy drinks come to stand for an entire (male, young, online) sub-culture? Why is their catchphrase "heart attack on blokes"? And which Japanese philosopher is the sharpest energy drink guru?

If you're enjoying Cursed Objects, you can get regular bonus episodes on our Patreon: patreon.com/cursedobjects. You can also follow us on twitter and instagram @CursedObjectsUK.

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

Are we heading for a 'summer of discontent'? Are we going 'back to the 1970s'? Three day week and a four-day bender? What really happened when the lights went out? Why do we cast particular eras as 'dark ages' or periods of decline, and who does it serve when we do so? Why were the 70s such an excellent time for white utility candles?

This week, Kasia and Dan try and unpick the myths and moral panics from the realities: that the 70s were a decade of decline, social breakdown and perpetual unrest -- rubbish in the streets, blackouts, shortages and strikes. Has that decade shaped everything to do with work and politics ever since?

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

We’re BACK following two Patreon-only episodes – and we are celebrating! Bunting? Check. Tables? Check. Unelected head of state who costs the British taxpayer £67 million a year? CHECK. That’s right – this week we are discussing HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The resources for which the Government have spent big money for you to download. All this fuss has got us wondering - is coronation chicken a good thing? Does bunting have a latent revolutionary potential? And, is the monarchy an important question for the left?

If you've enjoyed Cursed Objects so far, please support our Patreon - regular bonus episodes coming after S2 finishes: patreon.com/cursedobjects. You can also follow us on twitter and instagram @CursedObjectsUK.

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

Crayons out for universal health care! Stay home, protect the NHS, make a sign to put in your window, clap for your doctors and nurses, give them all a badge - but don't bother with a pay rise. This week, Kasia and Dan delve into the deep passions, protective instincts, personal pathos and politics swirling around every British resident's relationship with the National Health Service, the only acceptable face of the state - but one increasingly covered in bandages?

FULL EPISODE is available exclusively to Patreon subscribers here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-of-66778799

Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford