Sacred texts. Eddie Murphy, The West Wing, and Phil Collins. (Ep.22)
In Episode 21, Kori and Laura discuss reasons why they might want to spend time living abroad with their kids - and how their partners might feel about it. Oh and don’t mind a well-placed Big Fat Greek Wedding quote. ;) Listen, consider their reasons, and let the gals know what you think! #thisis40 #podcast #podcasting #pushingpastpolite #millennials #friendship #friendshipgoals #dialogue #goodlife #capitalism #eldermillennials #millennialparents #millennialparenting #workingmama #workingmom #expats
Show notes and sneak peek
Episode 22 starts out with Laura getting a little picked on for quirks she didn’t know she had - ha! Today, the three musketeers (yes, Keith too) talk about their “sacred texts” - art that they come back to over and over again - movies, TV shows, quotes, books, music. You name it! We use this conversation as a way to better understand each other as friends - and reflect on the power of art to connect, communicate, and inspire. The soul of art speaks to us and changes us - no wonder censorship is a thing. Art can change the world!
Here are some highlights. Can you guess who liked what?
Eddie Murphy’s stand up and movies, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Sex in the City, Father of the Bride, Princess Bride, Lost, A Different World, the whole TGIF lineup (Family Matters, Dinosaurs), Golden Girls, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, House of Card (we all agree - ick), Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Friere, Rainer Maria Rilke’s quote about questions, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, vampire books by Melissa de la Cruz, The Last Airbender, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Don Henley, Mumford and Sons, Sia, Fiona Apple, Alanis, Nirvana, Counting Crows, Sublime, Dave Matthews, The Cosby Show, Prince, the Eagles, Michael Jackson and more.
Laura introduces the term “Facebook know,” Keith shares a disturbing prediction from tech giants on the future of AI in publishing, Kori can’t help but nerd out with a conversation on Optimus Prime, and then guess who brings up Love is Blind Season 6 chatter? Clay’s mom is a shero, but also let that woman not have to work so hard to fix the men in her life.
Y’all - we wrap things up by saying art helps us connect with our own humanity - and lord knows we need to connect with our humanity now more than ever! So share this pod with your folks, ask about what texts are sacred to them, and share yours back!
Visit our new home on the web: www.pushingpastpolitepodcast.com. Follow us on social media, as we want to hear from YOU! @pushingpastpolite on Instagram,Facebook,TikTok, andYouTube.What are YOUR sacred texts? Let us know!
Resources
“We got a dollar” - The Little Rascals
Hot dogs/hot dog buns scene and Vasnik sleeping pill scene from Father of the Bride
“We have to go back, Kate!” from LOST
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Rainer Maria Rilke quote from Letters to a Young Poet
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
Vampire books by Melissa de la Crus
Avatar: The Last Airbender original cartoon and official trailer of live action remake
Clay’s parents’ conversation from Love is Blind 6 about generational trauma that daddy needs to fix!
Sublime’s Santeria
Dave Matthew’s Crash Into Me and a drum solo by Carter Beauford
Purple Rain - Prince performing IN THE RAIN at Super Bowl XLI
Don Henley’s New York Minute
Transcript
Episode 22 Full Episode
[00:00:00] Laura: Are we ending or are we starting? What are we doing? We're ending. Now you're ending.
[00:00:05] Keith: Tie a bow on this bad boy.
[00:00:08] Laura: We'll do our best. Um, please check out our website for, uh, prompts to spur your thinking around these
[00:00:16] Kori: What? What? Why are you giving me the face? What are you doing? I just, why are you being all weird and like, what is happening?
[00:00:22] I know. Do you see your body language? Are you feeling your weirdness? You're like, thank you for listening. I, we said Stevie
[00:00:30] Laura: Wonder. He was doing a little
[00:00:31] Kori: Keith. Did you see what I was seeing?
[00:00:33] Keith: I know. I'm not a big fan of calling it out. I think that , that's, I'm just a little self-conscious. I'm just, don't be self-conscious, Laura, and stop looking weird.
[00:00:41] Why are you afraid? But just ,
[00:00:44] Laura: why? Why are you so?
[00:00:58] Kori: Welcome to Pushing Past Polite, where we talk about what matters and make the world more just. I'm Kori. I'm Laura.
[00:01:05] Little Man: Keith. Hey, everybody.
[00:01:07] Kori: He's in the building today.
[00:01:10] Laura: And we're so glad you're here. We got Keith, we got Keith, we got Keith. Oh, oh, Little Rascals, I got a dollar, I got a dollar, I got a pickle, I got a pickle.
[00:01:17] Yes, yes, yes, that's what that's from, that song.
Kori: Is it?
Oh, okay, good. I got a dollar, I got a dollar, I got a dollar, hey, hey, hey, hey. Little Buckwheat and the Little Rascals? Sure. Another cultural reference I need to send to.. .
[00:01:32] Kori: It's like I kind of know that one, but not like that.
[00:01:35] Laura: I loved it. Mm hmm. I loved it.
[00:01:37] All right. So let's talk sacred texts. Yeah. So this term came from another podcast that I listened to, and I wasn't quite sure what that segment was going to be about, but it was this idea of, um, you know, whether or not you have other literal holy or sacred texts in your lives, what are quotes that have meant a lot to you in your life, or a TV show or a movie or something that was very influential and something you keep coming back to because you love it, but also because it really, there's something about it that resonates with you in a special way. Um, so Sacred Texts, what do you think?
[00:02:12] Kori: For me, I'm a total nerd. And I know that people probably don't know that or think that about me, but I am like a complete nerd about these things.
[00:02:19] And so I have like movies, I have shows, I have books for pleasure, and then like books, like texts for learning. That I go back to, and then music, of course. Mm hmm. Tell me something. So, like, movies, I'm just gonna go with 1980 to 1995 Eddie Murphy. If you did it in that era. Right. His standup was amazing. I could watch Delirious and Raw over and over again.
[00:02:57] His movies for a 48 hour, Beverly Hills Cop, um, the Trading Places, Boomerang, uh, Coming to America, like I could go and quote those things over and over and over again. He was like a symbol of Black excellence, right? Like he was making movies. About Black people with Black people who were thriving in life, right?
[00:03:27] Like,
[00:03:28] Laura: yeah, it wasn't just a biopic or a story about struggle and pain. It was fun.
[00:03:32] Kori: It was like, it was just regular people. They just happened to be Black. Right. So, and, or they were royalty and that sort of thing. So I, Eddie Murphy is like definitely very high up there. Yeah. In kind of like forming perception of self humor of just like this is just how it is like he presented a way of being for black folks that resonated with me.
[00:04:09] And his versatility, like, he was like eight characters in Coming to America. He was so many people in that movie. Well, I don't think I realized that, and see, again,
[00:04:19] Laura: I was in a bubble of weird conservative stuff, so I don't have a lot of references for the same era, um, but I remember later in the, what was the movie where he dressed up as the, Madea movies.
[00:04:32] There was something in between.
[00:04:34] Keith: Oh, the Nutty Professor? Nutty, well, no, no, no. The Nutty Professor.
[00:04:37] Kori: Was it Nutty Professor?
[00:04:38] Laura: It must have been. There was something else. And he was a whole bunch of characters in that, too. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. Yeah. No, definite versatility, for sure. Yeah,
[00:04:46] Kori: like, I mean, unreal.
[00:04:48] Keith: I really liked, um, Trading Places was one of my favorite movies, and like, he's really good at playing, like, a street level thug, and then coming up as a, as a wealthy businessman, Yeah.
[00:05:01] Can play so many different characters. Yes. Who will.
[00:05:03] Laura: Yeah. Okay, I'm adding that to my must see list. Is that something I can watch with my family?
[00:05:08] Kori: How are you feeling, Billy Ray? Um Trading places? Probably not. Trading places, I would say no. Boomerang, I would probably say no. I probably should have been watching them when I was watching them.
[00:05:19] So actually, I was going to ask
[00:05:21] Laura: you that. Did your parents introduce him because he was a role model of sorts and super talented? Or was this you being like, don't tell mom and dad we're going to watch this show?
[00:05:29] Kori: No, no. Like, I was at the movie theater with my parents watching Boomerang. I don't think that they always knew, kind of like You know, they're like covering my eyes.
[00:05:37] Yes. Well, there was no Googling and reading the review ahead of time. Yeah. So it was like, we were at the movie theater in 92 or 93 or whatever that was. And then I, Harry Potter, like I was that person who read all the books and then every time a movie would come out, I would read all the books that led up to that movie, including the movie, the book for that movie.
[00:05:59] And then I would go see the movie and then I would do like a whole critique session with my friends. About like what parts of this were like the movie and they weren't like the book and which parts, you know, like I still Watch all the Harry Potter movies in like the winter months
[00:06:14] Laura: feels right
[00:06:16] Kori: And then, like, we had a tradition in my family where we would go to see the Lord of the Rings at Christmas when they were first coming out and we would go They're so long.
[00:06:23] They're so long. And this was, like, before all those movie theaters with, like, food and beverages were, like, popular. So there was, like, this one theater in LA that we would go to in Hollywood. And like, you had to buy your seats, like, reserve your seats. So like, those movies we would go and see, and I even re watched those movies.
[00:06:45] Little Man: Wow. Wow. Yeah. I'll never. I finished them.
[00:06:48] Laura: I can say I've checked that box. I'll never do it again. I literally busted my ass. I don't, I was fucking, I slipped down a set of brick, icy. Wait, what? No, I slipped down a set of brick, icy steps one winter, and I literally just sat in a donut for the longest time because everything hurt.
[00:07:03] I couldn't sit on the couch, like, I busted my ass so bad. Like. Yeah. And I watched all the Lord of the Rings movies and was like, never again. I mean, thank you and I get it and Mordor and Gollum and all the things. No more. No more. Have mercy on me.
[00:07:22] Kori: Sex in the city. I remember being a, in college, working for the resident housing office.
[00:07:30] Um, I worked there during the school year, but I was there for the summer. And so during the summer, there's like one RHO that's like on call, and someone has to be there basically all night. I had a portable DVD player, and uh, I don't think it was mine, but I was watching it. And I watched all of Sex and the City.
[00:07:53] And then when they rebooted it with the, um, The movies
[00:07:56] Laura: first, right?
[00:07:57] Kori: Just like, well, I didn't watch the movies. I didn't care about them that much. And just like that, I've been watching, I've been watching that too. I have them all recorded. And I used to like, totally have style influence from that.
[00:08:08] Laura: Sarah Jessica Parker or someone else?
[00:08:11] Or all of them?
[00:08:13] Kori: All of them, really. Right? Like, it's like, every one of those could be a part of your personality, and depending on how you're feeling, you could be A Charlotte, a Samantha. More a Charlotte, more a Carrie, more a Samantha, yeah. So. Those are a few of mine. I still need to, I still need to watch them.
[00:08:29] Laura: I, I, when all, when the reboot, reboot came out, I was interested, and I said, I need the backstory. So I have them recorded on my DVR, and every once in a while, I'll, I'll go through a couple. They're so fast, when you take, when you have them on, uh, DVR with no commercials, it's like 20, 22 minutes. And get through a couple of them in a night.
[00:08:46] Keith, were you into sex in the city?
[00:08:48] Keith: Uh, no,
[00:08:49] sorry.
[00:08:49] Laura: You were not the target demographic.
[00:08:51] Keith: I'm a big HBO fan, but no, I'm not. Lord of the Rings? I love Lord of the Rings. Mmm. Yeah. Um, I was a big fan. We went and saw it midnight when they came out. We were those guys.
[00:09:02] Kori: That was me for Harry Potter.
[00:09:02] Laura: Mm hmm. I was sitting home with my busted ass and a donut.
[00:09:06] Keith: Even as a fan, I wouldn't recommend watching all of them in succession. You gotta space those dudes out. You have to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. For sure. It's a lot. It's a lot of elves and golems.
[00:09:18] Laura: Yeah. Uh, okay, big formative movie for me, two of them in particular, two, or a movie and a show come to mind. The movie was Father of the Bride.
[00:09:28] Oh, for sure. Definitely. Steve Martin and Martin Short are just a good combo. Any way you can get them. All the time. All the time. All the time. And then there was a second one, of course, when they, not, the daughter's not getting married, now daughter's having a baby and Steve Martin is now having a baby with his wife.
[00:09:42] And they are, I could quote most of the movie to you when I, if I listen to a line and I'm not in the room, I could tell you what the visual is on the screen. Yeah. I've watched them so many times. And I think it really comes down to probably the dynamics in my house and that my dad and I were kind of a team.
[00:09:58] My mom and my sister were kind of a team. My dad and I were kind of a team. Not that this was super, not that that's wise. But, um, I had all of these hopes and dreams around A Wedding Day, I think because of that movie and that connection with Daddy and all. Oh, so sweet. Now, when the actual wedding day came, my wedding day was beautiful, but my dad was so focused on, Okay, step to the right, like, you know, controlling everything to make sure it looked perfect.
[00:10:22] There was nothing sweet and romantic about it from that angle, but
[00:10:24] Kori: Like, I'm drawn to the hot dog buns scene. Hot dog buns? Oh, oh, the past the Vasnic? No, but when he's at the grocery store, he's like, Why is there eight hot dogs in a package? But there's only, or whatever, six hot dogs and eight buns. And he's like going
[00:10:44] Laura: That's funny, that's a minor scene, and that's so funny that's stuck with you.
[00:10:46] Kori: That's like Huh. Because I have felt that kind of You know, me and capitalism and commercialism, like, this is just, they're just trying to get you. It is a racket. And I feel like I rewatched it, like, within the last five or six years. And that scene was like, Yes!
[00:11:07] Laura: Thank you, Steve!
[00:11:09] Kori: I feel this! Steve! I feel this in my bone!
[00:11:13] Laura: I love in the second one when he has been, uh, he needs to sleep, he's been so awake trying to, the women going in labor and taking care of them and he's so worried he's gonna miss something so he's zonked and he needs a good night's sleep. And Martin Short offers him a Vosnik, which is only, it's only legal in his country for help him sleep.
[00:11:31] So he pops a couple. And he comes to the table and he goes, Would you please pass the rules? And he, like, falls into the breath. Oh, yes. And Martin Schwartz says, George, did you take a Vosnik? And he goes, something like, indicates he took multiple. And he goes, George, you take two? That's like, bye, George. See you next Thursday.
[00:11:49] Right. But I had so many good feelings about those movies. I still watch them. My kids like them. I made them like them. They have no choice. If you live with me, you have to. Princess Bride was another one. Oh, God, yes. I've watched so many as a kid, so many times. The, uh, Mawage is what brings us together today.
[00:12:06] Yeah. You killed my father. Prepared to die. All of that. Yes. All of that. And the TV show that sticks with me, not because it was written well all the way through, but my God, did it start off with a bang, was Lost.
[00:12:17] Kori: Did you ever watch Lost? Ugh. I hated that show. You're too good at sci fi. Like, literally. You like
[00:12:21] Laura: real sci fi, and so this was not written well all the way through.
[00:12:24] Eh. Eh. Did you hate it? It was garbage. Did you hate
[00:12:26] Kori: it day one? Yeah, because it was a dumb premise. The whole premise of the show was dumb. So then it just got dumber. It, for sure sies. For me. But, yep. Right? It's like, how are we still, how are we finding more lost people?
[00:12:43] Laura: Yeah, the black smoke monster, and the numbers, and we're going to push the wheel to move the island.
[00:12:49] I know. Now, in retrospect, not good writing, but it was so immersive, and every, this was back in the time of simultaneous TV. People are actually watching it and then talking about it at work the next day. Right, right, right, right. And I still think about those characters. I do. I think about Locke and Jack and Saeed and
[00:13:07] Kori:That's unfortunate.I'm sorry. A Different World was one of those shows. Oh, I used to watch a little bit of that. Again, Black college experience. Yeah.
[00:13:14] Keith: I was never like a, I was always really into premium. I, we didn't have HBO until I got into like high school, late high school. No, we never, and then when we did, I was like, whoa, I don't think The Sopranos and those kind of shows.
[00:13:27] So I didn't, I never watched a lot of network tv. I always thought it was like the Big Bang theory and like crappy sitcoms and stuff.
[00:13:35] Kori: Not, not in our era. We were in an era of really good TV shows. Yeah. Like, we had Mr. Belvedere. Mm hmm. Um, remember that? Like, Different strokes, family ties.
[00:13:47] Laura: Family ties. What's the one with, uh, Mrs.
[00:13:49] Garrett and all the girls? Facts of Life? Facts of Life. Of course, the Golden Girls. Yes, and then all of the Friday Night TV. Um, Murder,
[00:13:57] Kori: She Wrote. Then TGIF. TGIF. We had TGIF. Oh, right. Family Matters. Pulling out the dinner trays and eating pizza in front of the TV, which you thought it was because Yeah, it's Friday night.
[00:14:06] Yeah. And the mood is right. I thought it was because my Gonna have some fun, show you how it's done. TGIF. I didn't
[00:14:11] Laura: catch on to the end. Yeah. Yes. That came back. Not the mama and the dinosaurs was a loser, but everything else was really good. Oh, I liked
[00:14:18] Keith: the dinosaurs. Not the mama? Mm hmm. I was young. I don't know.
[00:14:22] They would do like topical, like serious episodes, but framed as dinosaurs. So like, it was about steroids. I'm like one of the older kids. Kids don't do drugs.
[00:14:33] Laura: Look what happens to the dinosaurs. That's why the T Rex don't have arms. T Rex. T Rex.
[00:14:41] Keith: Yeah, it was really good. They had these like, little furry creatures that if you ate them, you started to get really strong and muscly.
[00:14:47] I do remember that. Um, yeah. The side effect was like, you had spikes all over your body and became angry and started punching people. It was fun. Oh my gosh. I like that show.
[00:14:56] Laura: I love, I remember thinking though, my parents were so cool to like, let us have pizza on Friday night and watch all this TV. They were just exhausted.
[00:15:02] Now I know, right? Mm, yeah. End of the week of work, you just want to do nothing. And that TV seer, uh, sequence of those. Family friendly shows was just awesome. Mm hmm. Yeah,
[00:15:12] Keith: no, they were good. They, a lot of them went on too long, but Family Matters was good, and then it started, like, Jump the Shark, and
[00:15:19] Laura: Mm hmm.
[00:15:20] I do love Urkel and I do, my name was Laura in the 80s, you know, Laura, Laura, my pet. It was, uh, the gift that kept on giving for sure. That's awesome. How about you for shows or movies from, that were formative for you or ones you keep coming back to?
[00:15:35] Keith: So, yeah, I mean, I was really big into when I first saw The Sopranos and then Deadwood came out like right after it.
[00:15:41] I absolutely. I loved those shows. I was a huge fan of those hour long, well written, I'm a big literature guy. I have, I really like reading and I appreciate quality writing. So I really dug that whole era of, um, even shows like Six Feet Under, there were, were interesting and new and different, and I've, I've always loved those, so a lot of that, I'm like a big Aaron Sorkin fan, um, I know some people don't like him, but I'm a, I'm a huge Aaron Sorkin guy, so I've The West Wing, and the newsroom, multiple times.
[00:16:15] Laura: Kori is gesticulating like crazy right now. You love that too?
[00:16:19] Kori: Absolutely. I was re watching the West Wing on maternity leave with uh, with Jay. Like I was just re watching the West Wing because it is so fucking good. The writing is absolutely incredible
[00:16:33] Laura:. But it still holds over time too.
[00:16:37] Kori: It still holds over time. The pacing is really good. And it's like, it's not too Formulaic, right? Like they interrupt the story enough that it's not like I was watching Madam Secretary and it's like every single week the episode is the same, right? There's going to be a scene with her walking with the president and his chief of staff fast down some corridor somewhere.
[00:17:00] Quick, new urgent problem. Yes, exactly. Some sort of disaster. It's like the, the, there was a formula to the story where in um, Aaron Sorkin's shows, it's like a long arc.
[00:17:14] Laura: And not every 60 minutes something happening.
[00:17:16] Kori: And so it's like there's more, there's more fluidity. It feels more real.
[00:17:19] Keith:Yeah, it really does.
[00:17:21] That makes it sound like it might be dull, but then out of nowhere, there will be like a shooting and you don't know if a major character just died. That kind of thing. Yeah. I think it's close to a perfect show. In my opinion. It's a
[00:17:33] Kori: really excellent, excellent, excellent show. And then when you go back and watch the actors who were in it, you're like.
[00:17:41] You know all of these people, but this is like early in their career. Before they were big. That they, before they were these huge, huge people, and you're like, the quality of just all of it. The dynamics, the writing, the pace, the intellectual level of the discourse within it, the topics that they're talking about.
[00:18:03] Very, very well done show.
[00:18:04] Keith: I'd say the one thing that doesn't hold up is the actual portrayal of those people. It makes you very optimistic and you're like, man, I really hope our government is like this. And then you look at it now and you're like, Oh my God.
[00:18:17] Kori: What's that show House of Cards is what it's like.
[00:18:20] Laura: That I turned off. I was not, and it was, it made, it was too cynical. The thought of these transactions happening this way, I feel like that's much more accurate. It probably is, and I don't want to know. I think
[00:18:30] Keith: it's, it's not even that calculated though. I think it's just a lot of idiots who are making decisions for the absolute most selfish reasons possible.
[00:18:39] They're not, nobody's sitting around debating the ethics and the long term ramifications of if we do this or if we do that.
[00:18:47] Kori: But I mean, like, just the ickiness of the House of Cards, like, the, that is what I feel like it really is like, that kind of, like, slimy. Self serving, you've seen that like meme that's going around where someone reads off all these crimes and it's like NBA or NFL and it's actually Congress.
[00:19:06] I have not seen that. I'll share it with you.
[00:19:09] Little Man: Yeah, no.
[00:19:10] Kori: Yeah, it's, it's like, nope, it's not the Black folks over there doing the sports things that are the criminals. It's the, our elected officials that are the criminals
[00:19:19] Laura: over here, buddies. And that's just what we know about. Think of all the times they didn't get caught.
[00:19:25] Kori: Or that they just didn't, it just didn't get written down, that they got caught, but they got let go or they got, you know, just never made it, it never made it onto the books. Absolutely. Absolutely. And
[00:19:37] Keith: now we've reached a point where you can be convicted and people will still choose not to believe that it happened.
[00:19:42] I wonder who they're thinking of. It's
[00:19:44] Kori: like it don't even matter. Doesn't even matter. Whatever. Okay. So then. This is a good segue for one of my texts that I go back to, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Mm hmm. Right? This, uh, Paulo Freire, his work around, you know, we have to be really conscientious of the way in which we do things because, you know, The oppressor is teaching you their way, and in your fight for liberation, if you're not careful, you can become the oppressor, right?
[00:20:17] But you are operating thinking that it's about liberation, but really you're recreating the oppression that you are living through. You're just recreating it for other people. So that's one for sure of my, like, intellectual journey. books that I go back to like theoretical foundation kind of. Mm hmm.
[00:20:39] Keith: Do you apply that to your, your work at all or do you use that to sort of guide your, your professional life or just your,
[00:20:46] Kori: That's some of it.
[00:20:47] Yeah. Cause it's like if I do anti racism, anti oppression work, it's like, how do we, Create liberated spaces that are dismantling the system that we're operating within, right? And not just, uh, accommodating it to a new group. Not just leaning it over to better fit this other group. It's like we really have to dismantle and here's why.
[00:21:12] Because you know, what, what, what often will happen is that, um, that shift will just lead to oppression with a different name.
[00:21:21] Laura: That feels kind of relevant at the moment, doesn't it? Uh huh. Thinking two state solutions and how are we, yeah, aid and right to defend yourself and holocausts and how this is getting, how this evil is being done to another group all over again.
[00:21:38] I hear a sweet little voice. I'm
[00:21:39] going to sit by your back. You're going
[00:21:45] Kori: to sit by her back. Are you feeling lonely? Yeah.
[00:21:50] Little Man: Come sit with us. This is my glasses. Hi buddy. You want to come
[00:21:52] Laura: sit? We'll adjust as we talk about hands. How are you, G? Good. Are you feeling better now that you have that medicine for your ear infection?
[00:22:05] Oh, I'm so glad. It can really hurt, can't it?
[00:22:08] Kori: Aw. They were champions, though. They each said one time, like, my face hurts right here, and I was like, ooh, maybe that's an ear infection. But then it was like, that was it. It never, they never said it again. I'm gonna tumble now. See ya. Yeah, exactly. Like, literally. Here, hold this, paci.
[00:22:25] Laura:. I'm gonna go do some flips. It's amazing. That's amazing. I love it. I don't know. Tough dude. Okay, so we got, uh,
[00:22:35] Kori: We barely even tapped into this. We have so many more. Keep going, Laura. We have barely heard from you. We haven't heard from you. Oh,
[00:22:40] Laura: that's okay. Um, there's a quote that I, um, stumbled upon at some point in time and it's a real key quote.
[00:22:48] It was a philosopher, a German philosopher, and it's this, it was so pivotal in my life when I was figuring out what to do with my family. What does this mean, like, how do I get engaged and marry someone and my family's not a part of my wedding and like, oh my gosh, and do I move with, do I live with him?
[00:23:04] He's, you know, at the time, faith was a huge part of my life and he, at the time, uh, was agnostic. And so it was this, every time I kept thinking, you know, thinking I could move forward with life, I kept hitting these roadblocks. And the quote is, um, Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart, and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, and like books, which are now written in a foreign language.
[00:23:26] Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given to you, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, live everything. Live the questions now, perhaps then gradually, without noticing, living along to some distant day into the answer. And that's something I've always held on to. And I always, whenever I'm talking with someone going through a hard time of like, how is this going to work out?
[00:23:44] It's this idea of love the questions. You'll live your way into the answer. It'll, you'll figure it out, you know. Um, and that's something that I come back to often. What do I do with that? Isn't it? What do I do with my kids? How do I make sure? Well, you know, all these things that can really be stressful or disorienting.
[00:24:02] And, um, that's something that has been almost scripture-like for me in terms of, uh, learning and, and meditating on what that means for, for me in a given circumstance. It's awesome. Who's up next?
[00:24:18] Keith: Oh, I will say, to talk about books, um, cause books are a very huge part of my life. TV has kind of fallen away, but actually coming back to books is a big part of my life.
[00:24:29] I read books again and again and again, because You catch different things, or you, they have different impressions on you depending on where you're at. Yeah. But then you also have all these memories tied up of like where you were when you read this before. Um, sort of like your, your own personal story is tied up into these paperback books that I've had on my shelf for, you know, 20 years.
[00:24:52] So, um, I, I'm reading The Corrections again by Jonathan Franzen for like the 20th time. Because it's just He's really, really, really good at writing characters, um, and just interesting stories. But, um, yeah, there's, there's a few books that sort of are in regular rotation that I come back to. I, I need to actually try and start making space for new books.
[00:25:16] Um, cause it's so easy to just go to the shelf and take one down and not go out and try and get a new one. I need to work on that.
[00:25:22] Laura: I'm the exact opposite. This is so interesting because both of you talk about returning to books over and over again, and I don't. I, in my mind, it's a check the box and that, like, there's more out there for me to learn and grow and know.
[00:25:33] Most of what I read, I will say, is nonfiction too. So I don't read a ton of fiction or a ton of, you know, these, uh, of story. It's more of to learn and so I always have this, okay, what else can I glean? And I've never, I don't know that I've ever come back and reread a book, but I might, that might be a good practice too.
[00:25:51] Like you're saying how the text kind of interweaves with your story and being able to, to connect with your past self through reading a book again. I never thought about that. Today years old.
[00:26:02] Keith: But there's a, there's actual like, you know, stains from if I was eating something. 10 years ago, I was reading this book like, Oh, what is that pizza?
[00:26:11] Ravioli. Ravioli.
[00:26:13] Kori: Also, like noticing things that you didn't notice before because you've had different experiences, you know, like you start like, Oh wow, I didn't think about that. This could mean this,
[00:26:26] Laura: or I didn't relate to that character cause I was never at that point in life.
[00:26:29] Kori: Exactly. Mm hmm. Those sort of things.
[00:26:33] Yeah, y'all are gonna go back to
[00:26:34] Laura: my bookshelf.
[00:26:37] Kori: Yeah, I cuz I do I read fiction and nonfiction Like I I had a vampire book series that I loved by Melissa de la Cruz and it was like a blue blood series Well, when Twilight was all the rage, I was reading her. And it was like a really great story about, you know, good and evil.
[00:26:56] So much of what we see is just good and evil rewritten in a variety of ways, right? And then re portrayed to us over and over and over again. That's Laura. It's like most fiction. Yeah, man versus self,
[00:27:08] Laura: man versus world, all of that. Yeah. Those same themes carried through. I'm not the literature major. I will not take this conversation much further.
[00:27:16] Yeah.
[00:27:17] Keith: Oh, it's good.
[00:27:18] Kori: I told you about the Avatar, The Last Airbender. We started watching
[00:27:22] Laura: the newer versions on Netflix. I finished it. I just couldn't not. I finished it. We just started it last night because Ellie was at that slumber party and I said, What can we watch that she would hate? Let's take advantage of it right now.
[00:27:33] And that would definitely fall on that list. And I watched some of it. Um, I can, I, it has you all over it with the, the sci fi and the symbolism and the, in the same way you could rewatch Lord of the Rings, I can see how this would be among your sacred texts. And you can also see why I left early and went and watched Love is Blind in the other room.
[00:27:52] Yes. I did love the clip you sent me of Love is Blind though, of the mom and dad talking. Do you have context for that clip? Do you know the deal with that?
[00:28:01] Kori: I don't. I mean, I, I saw another clip, I think, of their son basically telling the woman that, like, he didn't know if he could be.
[00:28:11] Laura: Committed to her.
[00:28:12] Committed to her
[00:28:13] Kori: because like he didn't know what that meant and he went off with his father and he did, saw things and did things like, I saw that clip and then I saw this other The two parents
[00:28:23] Laura: talking to each other in this beautiful restorative. Talking to each other. Way, but also holding the father responsible.
[00:28:31] Kori: But that's just like, so exhausting for black women all the fucking time. Like they're divorced and she's still trying to make him be better. Still trying to help him be honorable. Still trying to help him own his own bullshit so that that stuff doesn't seep into the marriage of their son.
[00:28:53] Laura: Because she loves her boy.
[00:28:53] She did that for sure.
[00:28:56] Kori: It's just like. You know, and he's over here like, yeah, I just tell him to find a wife like you. She's like, yeah, but you weren't even good to me. I'm so glad she left it with that. Yeah, but you found me and look at where we're at. And you weren't good to me. You weren't good to me.
[00:29:13] Because you didn't handle
[00:29:13] Laura: your shit. Right. Season six, let me know if anybody else wants to talk about it. Kori, that's about her contribution. Thank you, ma'am. I'll take that clip and run with it. You're welcome. Something else. Okay, so we've got books, we've got movies, how about music? Michael Jackson. Like,
[00:29:31] Kori: we, I, I can't do anything without Michael Jackson in my life.
[00:29:36] Stevie Wonder. Yes. Come on. Like, now we have a record player in my house. Ooh. You know.
[00:29:43] Laura: Pull out some old vinyl.
[00:29:45] Kori: We've, we went to Daniel's mom's house and she gave us a whole bunch of records. Awesome. Nice. Like, it's amazing, and we've been buying them, uh, you know, Billy Joel has a special place in my heart.
[00:29:57] Bruce Springsteen's been creepin up in there.
[00:29:59] Laura: Thank you. Phil Collins, too. He's a fave for me. Oh yeah, Phil Collins. Oh yeah. Somehow it came on, Alexa was playing some playlist, and something happened on the way to heaven, played, and I, it was, it's just like you're saying with books, right? Transported to being a young person and learning that song and playing it over and over, probably rewind, trying to find the beginning point of that song on the cassette.
[00:30:22] It was awesome. And I've been listening to it several times this week since because it was just such a cool time machine moment, you know?
[00:30:29] Keith: Oh, yeah. Music's really good at that. And I absolutely love Phil Collins. I was a drummer and I, uh, idolized drummers who sang. Yes. I like Phil Collins and Don Henley was big for me growing up too.
[00:30:43] Love Don Henley too. Love those guys.
[00:30:44] Kori: You were a drummer? Yeah. Mm hmm.
[00:30:48] Laura: I've done a deep dive on the socials. I knew this.
[00:30:51] Kori: Oh, I'm not a weird stalker. I am. I'm weird. I'm weird. Ask questions. I like to get So, the reason I'm not on Facebook is that
[00:31:02] Laura: You don't want people to have the deep dive?
[00:31:04] Kori: It wasn't even that for me.
[00:31:06] I felt like I had more relationships with people that I didn't actually have relationships with.
[00:31:10] Laura: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. It gave you this false sense of knowing people? This false sense
[00:31:13] Kori: of knowing people. Mm hmm. I get that. And I just was like, eh, I don't like that. Like my parents, my parents would have interactions with people who I went to high school with because A lot of people stayed in the area and, oh yeah, I know that she did blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[00:31:28] Yeah, I know that she was doing blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but I didn't know because she told me. I knew because it was posted on Facebook. And so, and they're also not on Facebook, so they don't have like a good sense of like what that information stream is like. So then they would start asking me all these questions about them.
[00:31:48] You'd probably be a little confused and just kind of roll with it in conversation. And I'm just like, I don't know them like that. And, but I kept saying that out loud, like, but I don't really know them like that. I don't really know them. And I was like, right. I don't really know them.
[00:32:00] Laura: I do use that phrase sometimes.
[00:32:01] I Facebook know them. Like, you know, like I'll see somebody and I'm like, he doesn't know me at all, but that's the girl I went to high school. That's her husband or that's an ex of this one's, you know, and I'm, so I Facebook know them. I just Facebook know them.
[00:32:14] Kori: Yeah. That's, that's just real stalkery feelin to me.
[00:32:18] Laura: I, listen, I won't deny. Oh, you should've seen me before the internet! I was Creeper! Creeper!
[00:32:24] Creeper! Creeper! Uh,
[00:32:26] Laura: yeah, I mean you have such limited sources, man. You gotta work what you can. Peepin Lola! Peepin Lola! And now, it's an embarrassment of riches. I can find all these things. Oh yeah, I get real curious.
[00:32:36] Kori: But you know what? Everyone needs that friend. Everybody needs that friend. You want to know? Come to me. The friend who's like, right. I'll do the deep dive. Who's like the FBI, CIA agent. Yeah, I don't see a ring on that hand anymore. What I saw a
[00:32:47] Laura: ring? Something's going south in paradise. Like, Laura, here's what I need to know.
[00:32:50] Keepin up. Because I care about you. Because I care. And I don't want to say anything stupid if I ever see you. So I need to know, you know? We all, we all need those friends. Yeah. I'm trying to think music wise, too. Again, a lot of my cultural bubble at that point in time was, you know, no secular music, heaven forbid.
[00:33:07] So I don't have a lot that would be widely known here, but I will say in my transition from and kind of deconstructing a bit, a group that I love, uh, is Mumford and Sons. Cause I feel like so much of their music is a prayer. Like it's just beautiful. And even if it's not particularly religious specifically, there's lots of allegory and it's.
[00:33:26] Kind of feels like a nice bridge for me. Um, so I do love that. I love Sia. Mm hmm. You know Sia? She's an odd one. She's amazing. I peeped her Facebook. Fiona Apple? Just kidding. Fiona Apple. Yes. Yes. Alanis was so cool at the time when we were young. Alanis. She still is cool. She is cool. What are you talking about?
[00:33:44] No, you're right. But I'm saying it was just so formative for me. Yeah, Jagged Little Pill album was amazing.
[00:33:50] Kori: Oh yeah, Nirvana.
[00:33:53] Laura: The like, uh, Smells Like Teen Spirit. I don't have any reference for that. No? I mean, I know it, I just don't, it wasn't, that was not it for me. Counting Crows was about as edgy as I got.
[00:34:02] Kori: Okay.
[00:34:03] Keith: I like Counting Crows.
[00:34:04] Kori: I do too. Yeah, sublime. That was, that is mine. We don't practice
[00:34:08] Laura: Santeria. Got no crystal ball.
[00:34:12] Kori: That is my
[00:34:14] stuff.
[00:34:14] Keith: Every car that you got into to go somewhere in the suburbs, back in high school, everybody was playing Sublime. How about some Dave Matthews,
[00:34:22] Laura: the Crash Into Me song?
[00:34:23] Yeah,
[00:34:23] Keith: I mean that too. I liked them as a live band. They're really, really good live. I got to see them when I was younger a couple times. They have like arguably the best drummer on the planet. His name is Carter Beaufort. So yeah.
[00:34:37] Kori: I think I'm running out of time. So noted. Appreciate it. No, but he's alright.
[00:34:40] Go ahead. No, no, no.
[00:34:41] Laura: I was just gonna say, I like having these pieces of, these touchpoints on each of you helps me to understand you each a little bit better.
[00:34:49] Kori: It's like, it's not even enough. No, I know. I could like, go on for two years about this. I know. I know. Well, we can. Good news. There's so many things.
[00:34:58] It's like the Cosby Show. Yes. Oh, the hands and the face. All the different, every season they had a new opening. Rudy coming down the stairs and doing the lip sync. Everyone thought I was Rudy when I was a little girl.
[00:35:10] Laura: Well, I'd love to see a baby picture. I bet you did. I bet you were cute as can be. I'll find one.
[00:35:14] Kori: I wanted to be in that family so badly. But it's also like one of those things where there's not a lot of representation, so who else do you have me to compare me to, right?
[00:35:22] Laura: Yeah, that's true. Yeah, that's true. This little Black girl looks like another little Black girl because that's all I see on TV. No, I love that show and his fall from grace really upsets me deeply because I felt such a connection to him.
[00:35:35] You know, as a kid, just looking up to him and Well, maybe he slipped you something. No, no, this is my own thinking, I promise, but I Did they
[00:35:43] Keith: ever have sleepovers on The Cosby Show? Right. Did you go back and find out? You guys, it's too soon, it's
[00:35:50] Kori: too soon, I can't laugh. But still, I'm just saying, like, that was definitely one of those shows that was, like, formative.
[00:35:57] Yes. The Cosby Show. You know, seeing like black professionals, same, same kind of thing with Eddie Murphy movies. Mm. It's like that, those two things reinforcing each other, like on the big screen, on the small screen, those two things reinforcing each other. Well,
[00:36:12] Laura: and you know, now that I think about it, it's not just the act, and maybe you're already saying this, maybe I'm just slow, which is entirely possible.
[00:36:18] But the, the Huxtables, it wasn't just that they were actors on a big screen, but they were also portraying professional, you had a doctor and a lawyer, right, so doubly influential in terms of representation. Yeah. that's totally what I was saying, Katie. And they were
[00:36:33] Kori: also, exactly. That's it. The kind of thing that you might expect to see in a white family on TV and not blink an eye at.
[00:36:41] Laura: Well, but as, even as a little white girl thinking about a Black doctor and a Black lawyer. Was, you know, perspective opening for me, for sure, for sure. I related to, who's the other sister, not Rudy, not the one who's, not Bonet, not Bonet, not Sondra. Sondra. Vanessa. Vanessa. Which one? We're in the order. The middle one, the middle girl.
[00:37:02] That was more me. Vanessa. Kind of bossy and like whiny and I don't know why, but for whatever reason I saw myself as that in the family and I'm sorry for that, but it's just true. I do love a Rudy. Vanessa. You were the baby of your family too, I can see that.
[00:37:14] Kori: I was. That's fun.
[00:37:16] Mm.
[00:37:17] Kori: And there's like totally episodes I go back to.
[00:37:19] Also Prince, when it comes to music really quick. Prince, can we just like, he was a genius man.
[00:37:26] Laura: Innovating and pushing envelopes away. Like,
[00:37:28] Kori: come on. Listening to the words of his songs again now as an adult, just like going back to the books, right? Like, if I gave you diamonds and pearls. Would you be a happy boy or girl?
[00:37:40] If I could, I would give you the world. But all I can do is just offer you my love. Come on, that shit is deep!
[00:37:49] Laura: Beautiful.
[00:37:50] Did
[00:37:50] Keith: you ever see the Super Bowl performance where he played Purple Rain in the rain? In the rain, that was fire! It's one of the best performances I've ever seen.
[00:37:59] Kori: Oh my! Gosh, that was fire.
[00:38:05] And his vocal range was insane. Yes, because he's sang so high. False falsetto is incredible. Like he had a very deep voice. And then even his portfolio, that was why seeing him perform live. So he actually got to see him sing songs that are his songs that other artists sing. Right? Mm-Hmm. , like his portfolio was crazy.
[00:38:28] He was all about, um, supporting. Artists and owning their own music and not like, you know, that's the whole former known, known as and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. Like he was an advocate, like he was just a really incredible human and like gift
[00:38:49] Laura: and also very pushing the envelope in terms of what was attractive and what masculinity even looked like.
[00:38:56] Yeah. Like
[00:38:56] Kori: he was just himself. Yes. Right. Yeah, he's one. The Eagles too, you know, I can't be mad at the Eagles and their music. That's like, just feels, I don't know, something about the Eagles music, the Hotel California, that and then, but just like the, it has like a home feeling. There's like a, I don't know, there's like some folkiness to it a little bit, some like bluesy in it a little bit.
[00:39:24] You get that like islandy beach vibe in some of their music, you know, I don't know. It just has like. Keith is picking up what I'm putting down. He's smiling every time I talk about the elements, like, there's I talk about my love
[00:39:36] Keith: for, for Don, Don Henley, and yeah, it brought me I, I actually heard Don Henley first, and then went back and listened to the Eagles.
[00:39:45] Laura: Who sings, this is, End of the Innocence, is that Don Henley? Yep. Okay. I love that song.
[00:39:51] Keith: He's got an album called End of the Innocence that has that and a few other, like New York Minute is an incredible song. I love that one so much. I'm giving myself
[00:39:59] Laura: homework, you guys. I have a lot of culture to catch up on.
[00:40:01] And I need to
[00:40:01] Kori: go read. Yeah. Music is like my home, I think. Like if I, if I need any kind of mood shifting or lift or, you know, I feel like music is my first stop.
[00:40:16] Laura: I was thinking in my parenting, uh, not that long ago, I remember thinking that my kids only. We're coming to me for music if they wanted to listen to music, it was through my phone or through my, you know, the car.
[00:40:27] And so, um, we got against my better judgment for other reasons. We got Alexa devices in each of their rooms with an Amazon music subscription kind of deal. And that way they can initiate and they can listen to you and they each have their own playlists. Um, It's brought a lot more music into our home, uh, in ways that I think were a good decision.
[00:40:48] They, I love listening to what they gravitate towards and what they, the things that will be really formative for them and their experiences too.
[00:40:55] Kori: Yeah. It's like my dudes are singing Meatloaf and Bob Seger. You're doing good. You're doing good. That's awesome. And Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars. That's a good mix.
[00:41:04] Right, like listening to Jay singing, Don't believe me, just watch. Don't believe me, just watch. Hey, hey, hey,
[00:41:13] hey.
[00:41:13] Laura: That's a song he can sing right before he does something really daring and terrifying. Uptown Funk. Don't believe me, just watch.
[00:41:19] Kori: Just watch. Uptown Funk is like his jams. And he And he'll sing it, I'll have to record it.
[00:41:26] Oh my gosh, I would love to hear him sing. Yeah, he's like, Uptown Funk gon give it to
[00:41:30] ya! Uptown Funk!
[00:41:32] Laura: You
[00:41:36] know, I'm not somebody I would really classify as being terribly artsy. And yet, I think about all the ways that these different forms of art enrich our lives and make it better. The music, the literature, the performance art, the All of it, the movies, the storytelling, it's, um, a reminder to me to make sure that that's a balanced part, you know, you hear a lot about the emphasis on STEM and all of that's great too, but this, this ability to, to understand yourself and, uh, and communicate your story in that way, I think is, um, is really cool, wishing, it was something I wish I had leaned into a little bit more when I was younger.
[00:42:11] Mm. Mm
[00:42:12] Kori: hmm. Yeah, I got to teach it, which was awesome. Mm. Mm hmm. You know, I was a performing arts minor, an English major. I taught English, acting, um, drama, whatever, right? And we integrated. We were in the Star Academy at the school I taught at. And so it was all visual and performing arts was integrated into every subject.
[00:42:30] Mm. So, and I had students from UCLA in my class who were in the art and architecture school who were supporting the learning. And so I feel like that was one of the best gifts for our students. Absolutely. That opportunity to like. Storytell in a different way, like my 10th grade class rewrote Macbeth, and they had to re contextualize it, put it in a different setting, put it in a different time period, and each group wrote a different act.
[00:43:00] Oh, that's an awesome assignment. And then we recorded it. And did it cohesively
[00:43:07] Laura: make sense, even though the setting was shifting? Yeah, it made sense. Yeah. I love it. Yeah.
[00:43:11] Kori: Yeah. It was so cool. But it was The arts I'm with you is just like a, I feel like one of the reasons there is an attack on the arts is because it helps people to think critically, right?
[00:43:23] Because you, it's forms of expression, it's forms of releasing parts of your being that are often suppressed on purpose. And so in doing that, there's like a freedom in your thought, in your movement, in your behavior, in your speech, and. That, for people who want to control other people, that's scary.
[00:43:48] Keith: And it's, it's a form of connection too, right?
[00:43:51] It's a form of
[00:43:51] Kori: connection, yeah.
[00:43:52] Keith: It helps sort of get past this isolationist feeling that we can have sometimes, where I'm weird, I'm crazy, I'm going through this completely alone. And then, boom, you find a book or a TV show or Prince is singing about it. And all of a sudden, like, Oh, no, wait, this is a lot more, Universal.
[00:44:10] Laura: Which is why representation is so important in books and we should not be banning them even if they don't jive with what you think. Oh my gosh. Sorry. Little soapbox moment.
[00:44:18] Keith: A hundred percent. That's what, my soapbox is the AI stuff, which really bothers me. There's a lot of people who, some of like the AI pioneers, these guys who are running open AI and even Elon Musk, they're giving these talks and they're saying, predicting that books written by people, it's going to be like a niche product.
[00:44:37] In the future they honestly see it as like if you wanted to get a book that's written by somebody you could but it's going To be at some special vintage store where you pay a lot of money and they really think that robots are going to be writing And creating all of these things and they're missing the entire point of it.
[00:44:53] It's not the human experience that's it's comes
[00:44:57] Laura: from you. Yes. Yeah. When you lose the
[00:44:59] Keith: fact that like this was written or performed or created by somebody else out there. It's not going to have the same impact. What was
[00:45:07] Kori: that movie is wasn't there a movie called her? Yes. Scarlett Johansson. Ten years ago
[00:45:13] Keith: ish.
[00:45:14] Kori: But it was like, they were writing greeting cards? Right. Handwritten greeting cards. Handwritten. That's made me think of this, right? It was like, the stories on the greeting cards were made up, but they were writing handwritten greeting cards to build that connection, because he's in a full relationship with this AI device in his house and in his ear, right?
[00:45:36] Keith: It's, it worries me. Yeah. Aside from just the personal aspect, you look at some of the things that we talked about today. They've had an impact on the broader world. They've changed culture. Yeah. When we talk about The Cosby Show, The Cosby Show changed a lot of white people's opinions on their Black neighbors and that stuff is real.
[00:45:56] It's not overblown. A lot of the biggest strides that we've seen in this country, look at Jackie Robinson, did so much for white people's understanding and their changing viewpoints on black people. And he was a baseball player, right? He wasn't politician. He wasn't. Some some great historical figure he played baseball and he ended up helping to change the world So I think we need to respect that that just because it's a show or a podcast or a book Doesn't mean it can't change the world, because they do it all the time.
[00:46:27] Laura: Yeah. Yeah, it, you know, that, you mentioned earlier about connection, and that's one component, but then also that inspiration level, right? Where not only is it, oh yes, I connect with this, but now this has informed who I am, the way I see the world, and the way that I'm going to take action moving forward is That's a really powerful dimension.
[00:46:45] Another reason why folks would want to control or censor.
[00:46:49] Kori: It's also connection across difference, right? It's like you look around at a Dave Matthews concert or a Eagles concert or a Stevie Wonder concert, and you look around and see people from all different backgrounds and walks of life, and we're all there connecting.
[00:47:15] across these differences for the music.
[00:47:18] Laura: Common synchronous experience that touches your soul.
[00:47:21] Kori: Yeah. Or the movie that would, movie theater we're all sitting in or, you know, whatever it is, whatever the, the art piece is, the gallery that the Louvre we're all strolling through and admiring the stolen art and such, like wherever the art gallery or the display is, people are drawn to it and they're not like, Oh, well, this isn't for me because it's like your body feels it, your heart feels it, you have a soul, and you're pulled to it, and you're, the differences of those people who are sitting next to you really just disappear because you guys are all in that moment together, in that song, in those chords, in that reading, or whatever, together.
[00:48:04] And
[00:48:06] Laura: this is why A. I. will never be able to do that.
[00:48:10] Kori: Yeah. Yeah. Because there isn't, there, the soul part matters. Absolutely. We were watching some Transformer movie and, uh, Optimus Prime, he's amazing. He just continues to live forever. And he was fighting somebody and he stabbed the other robot and he was like, Oh, you don't have a soul.
[00:48:28] Right? Like. So, if you don't have a soul, then you don't have that, like, heartbeat of compass, that thing that connects, the thing, the thing that propels the connection. It's the soul that is connecting with other souls through the art. And so, if there's no soul behind it, then there, that point of connection, it doesn't exist.
[00:48:51] And so, the fact that people think it's just words on paper. It means that they really don't understand how this kind of connection works.
[00:49:00] Keith: They're just reducing these things to products. Right.
[00:49:02] Laura: Commodification. Commodification. And that's how
[00:49:05] Keith: they see it. They see a book as like a product that's going to sell this many copies and if you can reduce your costs and, but that's how they think.
[00:49:12] And it sucks that most of these big tech billionaires aren't the kind of people that would sit around and talk for an hour about a book or a TV show. The leaders of this world at the moment, there's a fundamental lack of appreciation for humanity. And it bothers me.
[00:49:29] Laura: We'll see that in politics. See that everywhere.
[00:49:31] Absolutely. Absolutely. You'd see it everywhere. Absolutely. And I, I do wonder, again, assuming. The world holds long enough for this to happen, you know, as, as generations are coming up, ours and those behind us. You know, the recognition of that, the way we've, we've taught this, these generations about social emotional learning and connection and empathy.
[00:49:54] Will that change? Um, is it, is, is that, is it, have we done enough? Is there, is it not too little too late, um, to change the course of these things, to run businesses equitably and, and humanely, to, to think about things beyond just the bottom line and the products.
[00:50:10] Kori: It's never too late. It might be too little.
[00:50:13] Laura: That's right. That's
[00:50:14] right.
[00:50:14] Kori: You know, it's like to, to shift to a space of being more humane and kind and in touch with your humanity, in touch with your humanity, it's never too late for that. But like that effort may be in vain when, whenever that time comes, right? It may be too little of an impact at that point because we've allowed too much time to pass and we've seen too much atrocity and we've damaged the earth so much, you know, Constant bombing can't be good for the earth.
[00:50:47] You know what I'm saying? Like all these plastics everywhere aren't good for the earth. And
[00:50:52] Laura: all these broken people that are in the crosshairs of these conflicts. Broken people
[00:50:55] Kori: yeah, broken people aren't good for the heart of the earth. Like this, you know, so it may happen and that would be wonderful, but it might be too little of, there's not, there wouldn't be enough room left to kind of make the shift that is required really right now.
[00:51:15] Keith: I wish I had something optimistic.
[00:51:20] Well,
[00:51:20] Kori: I would say that this is why we keep talking. We keep reflecting. We keep reading to help us to better investigate ourselves and see the experiences of others. We keep like, that's why we have these texts, these sacred texts. That's to me, right? It's like to keep growing, to keep reassessing ourselves, to keep seeing other examples, to keep pushing.
[00:51:42] and challenging ourselves and those around us, broadening our own toolboxes so that the conversation that I wouldn't have with somebody on Tuesday, I feel more equipped to have with them on Thursday. Because like, we need to be talking about this. We need to be making these connections. We need to be pushing.
[00:51:58] And so having these sacred texts are how we take care of ourselves because the work is hard, it doesn't end. And so being able to go back to stuff you can laugh to and cry with and feel, like, really feel your humanity is necessary if we want to achieve, if we This place where people are moving more within their humanity and less in greed and selfishness.
[00:52:23] Laura:And the windows and doors, or the windows and mirrors idea, right? That we can see, it's a, it's a, they give us perspective on the world and different perspectives than we normally hold. And it's also the mirror aspect of holding up a mirror and reflecting on who we are. How do we measure against? What do we want to be more like?
[00:52:40] What do we want to be less like? How do we want to distance ourselves from things that don't serve us? And so engaging with the arts. It helps us to do that. I
[00:52:49] Kori: think there's also copying access to these texts. Like you made a list, right? You made a list of things you want to check out. Why did you make that list, Laura?
[00:52:57] Laura: Because I want to be, be growing and learning and expanding my perspective. Yeah.
[00:53:02] Kori: And connect with your friends, and then if we talk about this in the broadcast, I want to get the joke. I want to get the
[00:53:09] joke.
[00:53:10] Kori: But that's part of it, right? It's like, you're hearing, you want to be, be able to connect, literally, like you wrote a list of things so that we can connect.
[00:53:22] And
[00:53:22] Laura: so I understand you better. Not just so I get the joke.
[00:53:25] Kori: Right. But that's what, that's what art can be. It's like a tool. It's a catalyst. It's an entry point. It's an opportunity. It's an invitation. You know, you can take 20 minutes to watch The Sex and the City and decide, like, oh, yeah, I could see how she's into this.
[00:53:40] Like, I see pieces of Kori in here. Or even the story, you keep
[00:53:44] Laura: coming back to the, you know, we do our Big Fat Greek wedding connections all the time, but you did the one about Gloria and Cam cooking in the kitchen together. Yeah. And I watched that scene with new eyes and then picturing, now I, I understand what you were seeing.
[00:53:58] I'm seeing through your mind's eye because of you sharing that as an analogy for me to, to understand.
[00:54:05] Kori: Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So I love this for us. Me
[00:54:09] Laura: too. Well, thanks for chatting today. I know your, your friend is looking to play with you with Thanos or something in the other room.
[00:54:16] Kori: I know. He is. My sweet baby.
[00:54:20] Well, you know what? This has been fun. Okay. We've had a good time. Through the decades. Talking through the, uh. And getting to know each other a little bit.
[00:54:28] Laura: Yes. In a better way. So
[00:54:30] Kori: I really, I enjoyed this conversation. Hopefully other people will be able to have similar conversations. Use this as inspiration to have similar conversations.
[00:54:39] With their friends in their trusted spaces. Spaceships. In your trusted spaceships.
[00:54:44] Laura: In your trusted spaces. Cause maybe the earth is burned. And all the more reason to talk about humanity. Um, no.
[00:54:51] Keith: Check the website for a lot of the things that we referenced today. Yes. Maybe we can get Prince playing in the rain up there.
[00:54:58] I don't know. Oh yeah, I don't know. all for joining
[00:55:02] us
[00:55:02] Kori: on Pushing Past Polite. I'm Kori. I'm Kori. And I'm Laura. Take care. Bye.
Kori: Thanks for listening to Pushing Past Polite. We encourage you to go deeper in your trusted spaces and find new space for good conversation.
Laura: You'll find episodes, transcripts, and lots of other goodies at our website, pushingpastpolitepodcast.com. You can also connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at Pushing Past Polite.
Kori: Pushing Past Polite is an independent podcast with Kori and Laura from Just Educators. Our cover
Laura: art was designed by Rachel Welsh De Iga of De Iga Design, and our audio is produced by Keith at Headset Media. Until next time, don't get stuck talking about the weather. Push past polite.
Kori: See you next time.
Little Dude: Bye bye.
Laura: Jay, you did perfect!
