Poor Lass Podcast

This is part one of our new series where we chat to people about their experiences of the pandemic. What have people's set ups been like, how has it affected them, what are they most looking forward to doing once it's over and the big question - if Boris knocked on your door, what would you say to him?

2 mins in... Kaz (Em's mum)- NHS Worker

18 mins 30 in... Georgie - Business Owner

38 mins in... Faith - Long Term Shielder

1hr 1 min in... Maria - Vaccine Rollout Volunteer

In this episode, we talk about that awkward subject - money! Who makes the rules on who gets paid what? The more you graft doesn't necessarily mean the more you get paid but why? We chat through how typically working class folks don't like to talk about money, how we're never sure if we're well paid or not compared to others, how getting paid by the hour differs to salaries, how you learn about pensions and insurance, the guilt if you earn good money, billionaires and 'philanthropy,' the concept of financial literacy, tipping and lots more!

It's been a shit year hasn't it? You can't polish a turd so here we are, a year in review - telling it like it is with some real talk but as always some laughs for you as well. We talk through the madness of quarantine, people needing to stop being such dickheads, the legend that is Marcus Rashford, working in retail during covid-19 and then the double whammy of xmas, having the heating on, christmas traditions and what people and things got us through the year

Welcome to a bumper BIG BOY TWO HOUR episode of Poor Lass. This episode features special guest Kathleen who is a LEGIT middle class person. Wild eh, who'd a thought?! Kathleen is a friend of ours who we feel 'gets it' and she's always been good to chat through class stuff with. We thought it would be cool to chat through some things for an episode to highlight how chatting to family, friends, colleagues etc about class can be done respectfully and honestly and how important it is to not just stay in our own bubbles. Not gonna lie, it gets intense, it's crazy honest and shows us all how vital conversations like these are. We talk about buying houses, inheritance tax, covering up privilege for punk points, smoke and mirrors on class chats despite being politically bang on in other areas, talking about money on both sides, inter-class relationships and also parenting, posh school vs state school and SO MUCH MORE. This is a long one so get that tea brewed, get some biscuits on the go and get stuck in!

It's that time of year, you're either absolutely buzzin to get back to school with your new shoes & stationery or you're devvo'd. In this episode we chat through our own education journeys, our qualifications and where they led us. We discuss how being working class affects your education, catchment area politics, period poverty, EMA (we're in our 30s OK!), the impact teachers have, free school dinners / uniforms and how having positive working class professional role models or seeing people like you succeed works wonders for aspiration

We're back for another chat, this time on speech. We talk about the ways working class people speak, regional accents, how accents and dialect are a big part of our culture and also carrying on traditions and stories, code switching, we tackle the use of academic language especially in political spaces and how alienating it can be, we discuss the concept of ebonics and appropriation and as always chuck in a bunch of daft stories!

We finally did it - we made a food episode! We've been asked for probably the whole 8yrs we've been doing Poor Lass to do a print zine issue or a podcast episode on food and we just never got round to it. We were clearly making a big mistake though as instagram went legit mad when we posted it would be the next episode. So get ready for some serious talk of Billy Bear meat, Fray Bentos pies, condiments as meal staples, how Jack uses his cutlery in Titanic, what you had in your packed lunch at school and family traditions for meal times. We also talk about what foods you and others thought of as posh - which also crosses into a discussion on the ignorance of the white working class lens eg. eating a limited palette and thinking everything is 'foreign' to what it's like to grow up in the UK when your parents aren't and the foods you eat being described as weird or posh when they really aren't!

To join in the discussion on social, head to instagram.com/poorlasszine

For this episode we welcome our special guest Melissa who along with Seleena is part of Over Here Zine Fest which is a not-for-profit event showcasing the work of Black / Asian / BAME / POC zine makers, artists, writers and activists. We talk about feelings over the last few weeks, how it feels to be black in a world where suddenly everyone is talking on behalf of you as if you're not in the room, how racism hasn't suddenly just been discovered and is not new, the current state of social media platforms, how working class and middle class people approach things differently, what the future could look like and where to find joy in such a difficult and intense time

Episode 8 is us avin a chat about what feels like it isn't for you as a working class person. How you navigate that stuff and the idea of taking up space. We cover fitting into the art world; being present in galleries and openings and what you need to do to be a 'proper artist.' We chat about the hobbies and interests we like in our own way whether we have a degree in in or not (and hypothetical dinner party awkwardness with subject matter 'experts'). We talk about architecture, certain types of music, restaurants and hotels, the theatre / opera / ballet, using a knife and fork the right or wrong way, own brands vs brand purchases and....electric toothbrushes!

Episode 7 is a special collaborative episode in conjunction with Tenants Union UK. Our special guest is Rachael who you'll remember joined us to talk about Reclaim and also appeared on Em's panel at Poor Lass LIVE! Find out more about rental unions, how to join and what they can offer. We talk all things housing intersecting with class and identity. How that bloody coronavirus is affecting housing at the moment, rent freezes, power dynamics between landlords and tenants and more. Plus the usual avin a good chat and a laugh