Overton Sisters

Overton Sisters

By Overton SistersSociety & Culture
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Overton Sisters episodes

  • 7. Keeping up with the Diaspora: Armenian identity and life with Asmik Kazaryan

    This week’s episode Asmik, a close friend of Maria’s, joins us to talk about Armenian identity and geopolitics.

     Asmik was born in Yerevan and moved to Moscow in early childhood. Currently she is studying medicine in Russia, but keeps strong ties with Armenia through family and visits. Asmik also does film photography and creative writing (see our instagram for her beautiful pictures)

     The three ladies talk about topics such as: 

    🌼 the definition of home for first generation immigrant 

    🌼 the Armenian diaspora: are the Kardashians good Armenians?

    🌼 the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh war 

    🌼 book recommendations for those curious to understand Armenia 

    🌼the impact of war trauma on young Armenians and the lack of pshychological support

    🌼 the phase that post-Soviet teenagers often go through: Russia (or other post-Soviet country) sucks, USA rules


     // the Armenian author mentioned: Narine Abgaryan. She is the author of bestsellers «Manyunya», «People Who Are Always With Me», «Three Apples Fell from the Sky», «Simon» and others. In 2020 The Guardian named her among the brightest authors of Europe. We highly suggest you check her out!

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    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/ 

    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message

     Music: Dance of Garin (traditional dancing music, author unknown) 

    https://youtu.be/Pi8Bo2ssY7U

    1 hr 13 min
  • 6. A chatty return episode: vaccines, hijabs and small talk
    Anne and Maria are back from an unplanned hiatus!
    In this episode the ladies chat about all sorts of things that have been on their minds lately: 
    ✧Vaccines and their safety
    ✧Small talk (spoiler: Eastern Europeans hate it!)
    ✧ Hijab ban in France, social media’s effect on our perception of news and ideology
    ✧ Haiti and their bizzare debt for independence
    Tune in for a casual talk about serious things and to hear Maria struggle with her English:)
    ----------------
    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
    https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
    Music: Cik Mēs Viens Par Otru zinām by Via Santa
    https://youtu.be/BzRW8DISqpU
    58 min
  • 5. The nuclear mental health unit: commodified minds
    It's end of January and there is still barely any sunlight - Anne and Maria have a conversation about mental health.  Some topics they discuss: 
    ✧ The medicalisation and the commodification of human life 
     ✧ CBT as a solution to the mental health crisis (as proposed by WHO)
     ✧ the perceived individual responsibility for disability and mental health struggles 
     ✧ have we approached some of the (mentally) hardest times in history? why?
     ✧ Soviet psychiatry and slow progressive schizophrenia (also keep an open ear for the endless variations of Anne pronouncing the word schizophrenia) 
     ✧ the Bernie Sanders meme 
    This episode the ladies also experiment with a new-age bimbo outro.  
    We hope this conversation makes our listeners feel less alone in their peripeties! 
    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/ 
    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message 
    Transition and outro sounds: Paxil television commercial , 2001
    1 hr 5 min
  • 4. Slow Release Holiday Special

    With a big delay, the holiday special is finally here! It is as chill as it can get - with corny music and light-hearted chatting.

    The main topic of the episode - Russian and Latvian holiday traditions, and how they were affected by paganism and Soviet secularism. We also talk about online education, the good side of 2020 and our expectations for 2021. For the first time on this pod, we are actually hopeful and optimistic!


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    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters

    https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/

    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message

    Music: Please Don't Wish Me A Merry Christmas by Kara Square (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mindmapthat/34678




    1 hr 6 min
  • 3. The divided nation, secularism and ‘Ethos’ with Derin Koçer
    First guest appearance on Overton Sisters! In this episode Anne and Maria interview Derin Koçer - a war studies and international relations major, a charming Istanbulite and a columnist for various magazines in English and Turkish.
    Together they talk about Erdogan-era politics, political opposition, secularity and identity in Turkey. All of these topics are tied together with the recent Turkish TV show that is now available on Netflix. “Ethos” (or “Bir Baskadir” in Turkish) has sparked many conversations in Turkey and its diaspora . The show dissects the dichotomy of the progressive secular and conservative religious worlds within the contex of modern Istanbul. We highly recommend you watch it!
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    Derin works with House of Impact, T24 news , daktilo1984 portal. He also writes for Impakter and Affinity Magazines, discussing Turkey and the Middle East.
    Follow  him in instagram  and twitter: 
    https://www.instagram.com/derinkocer/
    https://twitter.com/KocerDerin
    Read Derin’s articles for Impakter and Affinity magazines:
    https://impakter.com/author/derin-kocer/
    http://affinitymagazine.us/author/derinkocer/
    ——
    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
    https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
    Music: Bir Demet Yasemen by Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road (c) Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.4 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    (http://www.turkumusic.com)
    1 hr 16 min
  • 2. The immigrant dilemma and Late Stage Social Media

    Anne and Maria have a conversation about the recent Instagram update and how the monopoly of social media platforms is making our online experience worse. They then talk about whether Gen Z is a more radical generation and what if Jeff Bezos decided to go cottagecore...

    In this episode they also discuss:

    the absurd schemes of becoming an Amazon seller

    romanticization of the monarchy in contemporary Russia

    the dilemmas of immigrants and how much is one willing to do for their community

    (lack of) therapy opportunities for neurodiverse individuals in Russia

    and more!

    ________

    Stuff we mention:

    Read more on ABA therapy and experiences of autistic individuals on instagram @the.autisticats https://instagram.com/the.autisticats?igshid=19y3r1s493ptd

    The interview of Alexei Navalny, main Russian oppositionist, after Novichok poisoning by Russian journalist Yury Dud (english subtitles available): https://youtu.be/vps43rXgaZc

    ________

    Our Instagram: @overtonsisters

    https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/

    Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message

    Music: School Days by Robbero (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Robbero/58429



    1 hr 13 min
  • 1. Intro: This is your new mom

    In this episode Anne and Maria talk about Overton Window theory and how it inspired the ironic name of the podcast. The ladies also discuss homophobia and feminism in post-Soviet countries, Latvian politics, being Russian in Italy and shared Soviet heritage.

    Some questions they answer:

    Why Soviet symbolism is similar to symbols of Nazi Germany for Latvia ?

    What do post-Soviets think of Western youth becoming more socialist?

    What is the trauma and glory of Latvia and Russia?

    Is imagery of Soviet Woman a feminist ideal?



    Instagram: @overtonsisters 

    https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/

    Music: School Days by Robbero (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Robbero/58429

    59 min

About Overton Sisters

From the publisher's feed

Overton Sisters is a social and cultural commentary podcast with post-Soviet and immigrant twist. Hosted by Anne, a Latvian living in London, and Maria, a Russian living in Italy.