Say What

Say What

By Jo VracaSociety & Culture
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Say What episodes

  • Our roots - what is our childless story? Maree is adopted and Childless.

    How did our family influence our childlessness? This week's special guest, Maree, is one of four adopted siblings. We chat about her family, her mother's trauma over her own infertility, and how that influenced Maree's choices around family, relationships and children.

    Statistics: What are the stats relating to the backgrounds of childless women, are there common threads?

    Shit that comes up on my feed: The online Tupperware party! Icebreakers can be heart breakers. Be warned. We also ask, are we being too sensitive?

    Question of the Week: Did the family you grew up in impact your decision to have children, not have them, or delay having them? 

    Sign up to our newsletter over on our website: http://www.unripecommunity.com.au
    Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/unripecommunity
    Private Group: @unripecommunitygroup - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unripecommunitygroup
    Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/unripecommunity

    List of resources and articles we referenced in the episode
    ABS - Family Formation Trends in childlessness - https://bit.ly/3hg1JNu
    Deakin University Study - Why are childless women childless? Findings from an exploratory study in Victoria, Australia: https://bit.ly/3jObEeK
    Why are childless women childless? by Melissa Graham: https://bit.ly/3h8Irtf
    Family background, schooling and childlessness in Australia by Nicholas J. Parr: https://bit.ly/3hd6Yxc

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

    48 min
  • What happens after we've lost hope? Gateway Women's Jody Day tells us!

    Known as the Patron Saint of the childless community, Jody Day is a force to be reckoned with. With one book under her belt, a massive, global community of childless women in Gateway Women, a TED Talk, and a nature that is both energising and soothing, Jody is entering, as she calls it, her elderhood. In this episode, I talk to Jody about her experiences as a childless woman, and her plans for her future and the future of advocating for childless women.

    Sign up to our newsletter over on our website: http://www.unripecommunity.com.au
    Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/unripecommunity
    Private Group: @unripecommunitygroup - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unripecommunitygroup
    Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/unripecommunity
    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including: iTunes and Spotify

    Join the Gateway Women Community: http://www.gateway-women.com/

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

    52 min
  • The birth of the (un)Ripe Community. Why do we need to talk about childlessness anyway?

    This week's episode is all about the birth of UnRipe. Who is Unripe, who is Jo? What is the (un)Ripe mission and our focus on Women in Australia and New Zealand who do not have children?

    Statistics: An intro to childless and childfree stats for women n Australia and New Zealand. 

    Shit that comes up on my feed: A weekly round-up of stories that we've encountered. This week is all about an article published on Mamamia, "Parents in Lockdown", once again pitting parents against the childfree.

    Question of the Week: Have you spoken to a counsellor or psychologist (or even your GP) about the grief you've experienced from childlessness?

    Website: http://www.unripecommunity.com.au
    Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/unripecommunity
    Private Group: @unripecommunitygroup - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unripecommunitygroup
    Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/unripecommunity

    List of resources and articles we referenced in the episode.
    Stats:
    Australian Bureau of Statistics: https://bit.ly/3lDWESz
    NZ Census: https://bit.ly/3lDWESz
    Daily Mail: http://dailym.ai/3lrTwZT

    Mamamia article: https://bit.ly/2QDz4XG

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

    37 min
  • Coping with family events when you don't have kids

    Let's talk about our families. We’re going to talk about families and the relationships we have with them as childless adults. What are those family occasions that hurt because we're childless at events that focus on families and children?

    (Please excuse the sound in parts of this episode. We had a few tech issues!)

    Statistics: We talk about household sizes over time.

    Our guest this week shares her childless story that includes chronic illness, IVF, marrying into a large family and her healing career.

    In Shit that comes in our Feed we bring good news about magazines that are publishing articles about women who are living childfree and childless lives.

    And don't forget our question of the week! 

    Sign up to our newsletter over on our website: http://www.unripecommunity.com.au

    Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/unripecommunity
    Private Group: @unripecommunitygroup - https://www.facebook.com/groups/unripecommunitygroup
    Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/unripecommunity

    List of resources and articles we referenced in the episode
    Sally Liston - Omni Wellness: https://omniwellness.com.au/about/


    NZ household sizes: https://bit.ly/32sW5mX
    NZ fertility rates: https://bit.ly/33oipgQ
    Australian household sizes: https://bit.ly/2Fv7oSG
    Australian fertility rates: https://bit.ly/3mlLMbZ
    Childless couples: https://bit.ly/3k7VL2W
    The Ancient Greeks! YES!: https://bit.ly/2Fkbz41
    And in Ancient Rome: https://bit.ly/33vAOZ6
    Not having kids is nothing new: https://wapo.st/3iDmeVS
    China's baby policy  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy
    Australia's baby bonus: https://bit.ly/2RpOYFx
    The Guardian Childfree series: https://bit.ly/3c1giU8
    SheDefined childfree series: https://bit.ly/3mmseo3

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

    56 min
  • Are we just hysterical? Say What!?

    I'm back from semi-retirement to bring you one of my favourite episodes of the other podcast I produce! 

    When was the last time you celebrated a milestone? So many of us childless women simply don't. On the other hand, when you’re a parent, there are so many milestones that everyone celebrates – new baby, first step, first word, first day at school, first girl or boyfriend, graduation, first marriage, first grandchild… You get my drift.

    But I feel like when I do it, I’m bragging and showing off. How about you? You can actually leave me a voice message here: https://anchor.fm/saywhatthepodcast

    Today, I’m sharing an episode of my other podcast, Say What, which is all about the words we say, and why we say them. And this is one of my favourite Episodes. It’s about the history of the word Hysteria. With everything that is happening around the world that affects us women, I can’t think of a better episode to share with you.

    If you like the sound of this, subscribe to Say What.

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for others to find the show.

    Or find your favourite listening app HERE

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

    Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

    23 min
  • Troll - What do Ogres, George Michael & Chrissy Teigen Have in Common?

    If you think a Troll is an ogre from northern European mythology, a beast under the bridge, you'd be missing half the story. It's about so much more. It's also about big boulders that litter the Scandinavian countryside, Chrissy Teigen, eBay, Reddit and those cute little plastic toys we collected in the 80s that will make someone rich one day.

    Mainly we'll talk about internet trolls because they're all around us.

    Plus Creative Cursing from Around The World takes us to Serbia.

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for others to find the show.

    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes

    Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

    21 min
  • Propaganda - War, Pandemics, Soap & Cigarettes, oh and the Pope

    War, pandemics, politics, soap, cigarettes – it’s all propaganda. Whether it’s coming from the left or the right, your party or the opposition, coke or pepsi, propaganda rules our lives.

    The father of public relations, Edward Bernays, tells us as early as 1928 that we are governed and molded, our tastes formed, by nameless people. He also tells us that we need a greater power, whether a government or business, to tell us how to live our lives. And he should know as he created the infamous “Torches of Freedom” cigarette ad aimed at convincing women to take up smoking as a feminist act of defiance at a time when smoking, for women, was improper. And the feminists ate it up. Why my sisters!

    Propaganda, from Themistocles in 480BCE to pamphlet bombs, we have farmers and Catholic Cardenals to thank for the world’s origins, but Edward Bernays, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump for what it means today.

    Plus Creative Cursing from Around The World takes us to South Africa.

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite   podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for   others to find the show.

    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
    Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

    24 min
  • Hoax - Real Mermaids, Magicians and Balloon Boy does Metal

    To investigate the word "Hoax", we need to talk about magicians and the Catholic liturgy.

    This episode is about a fake word, in a way. A made up word. But what is true, is that people have been hoaxing the public for centuries. Whether is the story of a woman who gave birth to rabbits, the Fiji Mermaid, or Balloon Boy, why are people so gullible or is it just our psychology that makes us want to believe? Well I've consulted the media, history books and dictionaries to find out.

    In this episode:

    Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34375/34375-h/34375-h.htm

    Museum of Hoaxes: http://hoaxes.org/
    Cottingly Fairies: https://bit.ly/3thNtM7
    Feejee Mermaid: https://bit.ly/3IuWAzc
    The Heene Boyz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbV_Sis99o&t=15s

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite   podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for   others to find the show.

    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
    Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

    25 min
  • Niiiice - Drug Smugglers, Purity Balls and the Complicated History of Nice

    How did such a nice word that we use to mean sweet and polite, also come to be an insult for some? Well, today's word, nice, started out as a pretty mean word, actually.

    Depending on your circle of influence, you might want someone to call you nice, because it’s a compliment. Like, you know those 16 year old girls who attend Purity Balls with their dads where they commit to remaining a virgin until marriage?

    But if you’re a satanist, or even an artist, you might be outraged if someone uses it to refer to you or your work.

    And really, Nice was a real downer in Old English. To be called nice wasn't nice.

    Because Nice is one of the most poly-semus words I’ve come across – and that’s just a fancy way of saying a word that has multiple meanings.

    So from drug smugglers, nun's hens, the first English dictionary with a ridiculously long title and Sex and the City, let's have a look at the rather complicated history of a tiny word.

    PS. I'm launching a new segment today - Naught Words from Around the World.

    Show notes:

    Do Nice Guys Finish Last? https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/meet-catch-and-keep/201405/do-nice-guys-really-finish-last
    UnCommon Ground Magazine What Was Happening Before ‘Just Be Nice Feminism’? https://uncommongroundmedia.com/just-be-nice-feminism-part-i/

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite  podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for  others to find the show.

    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
    Additional music thanks to https://uppbeat.io

    19 min
  • ASMR - Head Orgasms, Triggers & Bob Ross

    Many years ago, I found a series of videos on YouTube of people making miniature food. Actual food like a burger, the size of a coin, sushi no bigger than a pebble. To make this food, faceless people use working miniature kitchens and utensils to prepare and cook the meals. It’s food for Barbie and Ken. And this food is edible.

    Many years ago, I found a series of videos on youtube of people making miniature food. Actual food like a burger, the size of a coin, sushi no bigger than a pebble. To make this food, faceless people use working miniature kitchens and utensils to prepare and cook the meals. It’s food for Barbie and Ken. And this food is edible.

    Chances are, even if you haven’t gone out of your way to watch or listen to ASMR, you have experienced it without even realising.

    It’s the whispering by Amelie in the classic French movie, and when she plunges her hands into sacks of dry beans at the market. It’s Diane Weiss applying makeup to Edward Scissorhands, gentle brushing and stroking. It’s the silent rustle of linen and silk fabric and of charcoal pencil against canvas in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. And it’s Bob Ross in The Joy of Painting – everything - the brush strokes, his soothing voice, his concentration.

    ASMR can be defined as a combination of positive feelings, relaxation and a distinct, static-like tingling sensation on the skin.

    Let's see if you feel it!

    Show notes:

    Miniature food videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDOzBO85qKQ
    “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR): a flow-like mental state”: https://peerj.com/articles/851/
    Is ASMR Real - Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-asmr-real-or-just-a-pseudoscience/
    SAS ASMR: https://www.youtube.com/c/SASASMR
    Reddit ASMR Poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/asmr/comments/sbd6mt/question_do_you_prefer_asmr_audio_video_or_both/

    Join me on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/saywhatthepodcast

    Please share and leave us a review on your favourite podcast app including Apple and Spotify - it makes it easier for others to find the show.

    Or find your favourite listening app HERE

    Sound engineering and original music by Jeff Willis. You can find his tunes on Spotify and iTunes
    Produced by Jo Vraca. You can find my books on Amazon


    23 min

About Say What

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Say What - Language, True Crime, History, Pop Culture & Feminism