It's Called Culture

A fun and casual weekend update including tickets to the church supper and an idea for training grounds for Portuguese children.

In this episode we discuss the burning question on everyone's minds regarding the people who came over to test fertility of the lands and be the first to settle the uninhabited Azores in the 1400's... "Who would volunteer for that?!"

We discuss Netflix's documentary John of God: The Crimes of a Spiritual Healer. Idolized medium João Teixeira de Faria rises to international fame before accusations of abuse come from survivors, prosecutors, and the press. Warning: You'll never drink a Hi-C Ecto Cooler again.

By listener request, we cover the Great Vinho Flood of 2023. We've all seen the viral video of the red wine flowing down the road from the Levira Distillery in the village of São Lourenço de Bairro in Anadia, Portugal. Let's talk about wine surplus, similar spills, potential new crops, and firefighter calendars. #neverforget! #newfesta!

We discuss the events leading up to the devastating January 15, 1919 Great Molasses Flood in Boston's North End immigrant community as well as the investigations that followed.

We discuss Netflix's The Legend of Cocaine Island, about a family man with no drug running experience who searches the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico during the Great Recession for a lost stash of cocaine said to be worth at least $2 million... And how "Portuguese dad" financial advice could have prevented this entire scandal.

We discuss a controversial Portuguese Nobel Prize Winner who made lobotomies happen and shared his findings with his colleagues at a World Neurological Convention (a.k.a. he bragged to his booth mates at the science fair).

Up first is the concept of personal hygiene in our parents' villages before they immigrated to the US. Next, we dissect a recent photo we received of gendered porta-potties from São Miguel Island in the Azores, Portugal. We wrongly speculate about a Terceira jewelry mystery and discuss the fate of Mel's mom's confiscated jam.

Stay Tuned-in: Tomorrow's episode details the Portuguese inventor of the lobotomy. Yikes!

This episode tackles the challenge of dealing with automated call-center menus both for ourselves and on our parents' behalf. We also share a story about how cancelling Comcast is similar to a bad breakup with an ex, including being subjected to deceptive tactics and endless loops. Please hold...

In this episode, we discuss the concept of WWAD (What Would Azoreans Do?), our new mantra for mindful living. We explore the Netflix docu-series "Broken," exposing the dark side of consumer products like cosmetics - including the staggering volume of goods, counterfeiting, toxic ingredients, and the role of scarcity marketing. Kel recalls her own experiences in China, where she encountered people selling counterfeit items to tourists. Further exploring the beauty industry, we unveil the historical context behind the removal of body hair in the United States. Ultimately, we find corporate manipulation frustrating and assert our right to embrace our natural selves as our families historically had done in their remote villages.

In this episode, we explore the world of all-white parties, from this year's famous event in the Hamptons to unique experiences in New York City and Ponta Delgada, São Miguel. We discuss the history of white parties and their significance. Lastly, we describe the gastronomic showcase celebration put on by Mel's dad's village which includes representations and re-enactments of the way life used to be...

Woohoo! We're trying out bonus mini-sodes on Mondays to get you through the start of the week! On this inaugural Monday we chat Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, Peacock's Based on a True Story, and Riley Sager's fiction novel Lock Every Door. And we discuss which specific episode of a beloved 90's TV series inspired our love for this genre.

Don't forget to continue to tune in on Tuesdays for regularly scheduled episodes.

For our culture segment, we discuss Portugal's former colony in China, its history, culture, travel logistics, and other unique aspects. Our nostalgia segment covers Mahjong and its connection to retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. We share our memories of playing Mahjong on the computer and the confusion felt when encountering the traditional version. We also touch on the marketing tactics of Abercrombie & Fitch and their controversial hiring practices, which excluded minorities. We discuss the documentary that exposed Abercrombie's discriminatory actions and their subsequent settlement of a class action lawsuit. 

Mel & Kel discuss immigrant parents' zero-waste policy and some real-life quirky examples. Our culture segment delves into the quirks of the underground kitchen life including foil-papering the stovetop. For our nostalgia segment, we take a trip down memory lane to a time when smoking indoors was commonplace (even at Venus de Milo wedding receptions). And our mental health segment explores the psychology behind "saving things for later".

[SPOILERS BEGIN AT MINUTE 36:00]

We react to the Netflix series Turn of the Tide loosely based on the real life event of cocaine washing ashore in the village of Rabo de Peixe, São Miguel in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Our parents are from this island, so we feel inherently connected to the show and its cultural details. The first half of the commentary is relating to vibes not plot lines, so there are no spoilers until minute 36:00. Watch the show, enjoy our commentary, and leave us your own notes!

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As always, we kick things off with a fun social media roundup. Our culture topic is a recap of the true life events of cocaine washing ashore in the village of Rabo De Peixe on the island of Sao Miguel (Azores, Portugal) to complement the newly released Netflix series loosely based on these events. Nostalgia topic is the unhinged plot lines of the cult-classic show 7th Heaven. And Kel gets real with us in a raw mental health segment about recent the loss of her beloved dog.

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Kel was out this week grieving the unexpected loss of her dog so we pulled together some segments from the vault that haven't yet aired as part of any prior episodes. Our social media roundup contrasts the isolation of the U.S. vs. community-centric cultures. Our culture topic is cultural sleep habits, not limited to our very own Portuguese post-meal napping. And we end by recapping a list of Europe's Most Fearful Countries **spoiler alert** Portugal wins.

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First we round up Trip Advisor and Reddit posts about "men standing around doing nothing" and the unrelated surprising source of a Covid-19 outbreak on the island of São Miguel in 2020. Our nostalgia segment takes a stroll down memory lane as Mel recounts recent volunteer work as the recess and lunch duty adult. And our mental health segment is a tale of two reactions to a jetski ride gone bad.

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First, our social media roundup unlocks a new fear of being stuck in a trunk with a distinctive cultural carcass. Our culture topic is May Day, where we discuss both the introduction to an evil-eye-less spring and the dramatic lead-in to International Workers' Day. Our nostalgia topic is prior generations' burial customs in the Azores, including first-hand accounts that we've gathered. And finally, we have a hearty chat about the age of information overload and our attempts to overcome it.

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It's called a microbial culture. Ever heard of it? We cover a broad swath of Big Dairy beginning with the swill milk scandal all the way to a sexist 'Got Milk?' campaign about PMS that was retracted in 2011. And we end with a mental health discussion about the cherry blossom experiment and legacy trauma.

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First we update on the shared cultural experience of having a relative eat your pet bunny. Our culture topic is real life tales about the art of the Portuguese newlywed prank. Our nostalgia topic includes discussion of both a 90s con childhood bedroom replica and a haunted-house style escape room. And Kel updates us on her gratitude journal progress for our mental health segment.

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First we cover the local government-document-leaker that has made global headlines. Our culture topic is British food folklore which we are sad to report includes more than one instance of butts touching food. Our nostalgia topic is the early 2000's era game-show Street Smarts and our mental health segment is about the manipulation of negative emotions in content-creation and media.

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We start by celebrating our podiversary and recounting some special memories from the past year! Our culture topic is The Barcelos Rooster (it did what!?) and we update a few of our favorite clips as our nostalgia topic. For our mental health segment we discuss kava and the art of getting good sleep.

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First we read a note from a Canadian listener. Then we cover driving to Toronto and driving in Toronto. Celebrity neighborhoods. A wedding blackout. We reminisce over my dad's collection of "I know a guy" Canada travel stories. And a mental health segment about badass women.

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First from our social media roundup [01:57] we have Strega Nona, Furnas, São Miguel, and a traumatizing earthquake museum. Our culture topics [16:00] are Spanglish the movie and Spanglish the linguistics phenomenon and our nostalgia topic [36:12] is 90's con 2023 debrief. For our mental health segment [01:04:22] we discuss the concepts of unmasking and gratitude journaling.

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First we update on the phallic pottery of Portugal's Caldas Da Rainha. Our culture topic is [unraveling Saint Patrick's Day] and our nostalgia topic is [leprechauns in 90s-00s media]. For our mental health segment we discuss death by 1,000 paper cuts and balancing chaos with stability. 

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We dig back through marriage history and make some eye-opening discoveries. A bride pie contained WHAT?! A bundling board is for WHAT?! May is bad luck for weddings because of WHAT?! We're with you on this rollercoaster ride, for better or for worse.

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Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday! Shrovetide! Pancake Tuesday! Carnival! Malassada Tuesday! Entrudo!  Of course there are an excess of names for a celebration of *excess*.  We've got the hilarious deets on the not-so-conventional ways that different countries celebrate this day.

We discuss the three most forbidden words in Portuguese households: "I-love-you". Then we journey from the history of Saint Valentine all the way to The Satanic Temple in Salem, Massachusetts. We explore lovers' traditions around the world and end with a mental health segment on consumerism. You know, keeping it light!

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We dig into the history of the Walt Disney World Company and its parks including: little-known incidents, Portugal getting snubbed out of EPCOT representation, and what it was like on Splash Mountain's final day of operation.

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