The Common Room Couch

By: Essence Perry and Maddie Wessell
  • Summary

  • Essence and Maddie, on the surface, are unlikely best friends. However, the “common room” brought them together and until the pandemic they have been inseparable. Listen to them continue their engaging “croom” conversations ranging from their personal lives, social justice, art, politics, global events, and the latest pop culture drama. 

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Episodes
  • Episode 10: Big Banks and the Big Short
    Nov 5 2021

    Maddie asks Essence to define “big banks,” how banks contributed to the 2008 Recession, and some of the long-term effects of the Recession. Essence asks Maddie to talk about her favorite movie– The Big Short, and how movies about historical events can be useful for understanding difficult topics like the Recession.

    Visit us at our website: https://thecommonroomcouch.com/

    Find us on instagram or twitter @thecommonroomcouch 

    Email us at thecommonroomcouch@gmail.com your comments/corrections/ideas/questions 

    Support us and access bonus content through our patreon https://www.patreon.com/thecommonroomcouch

    Episode’s resources and bonus material:

    Big Banks

    • https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/black-recession-housing-race/396725/
    • https://www.businessinsider.com/what-caused-the-great-recession
    • https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IN10853.pdf
    • https://irle.berkeley.edu/files/2018/09/IRLE-What-Really-Caused-the-Great-Recession.pdf
    • https://ftp.iza.org/dp4934.pdf

    The Big Short: 

    • https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jan/27/the-big-short-financially-accurate-adam-mckay-subprime-money-bale-gosling-pitt
    • https://www.thirdway.org/memo/your-cheat-sheet-for-the-big-short
    • https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/movies/review-in-the-big-short-economic-collapse-for-fun-and-profit.html
    • https://www.vox.com/culture/2015/12/12/9947796/the-big-short-review-movie-ryan-gosling
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932011_Icelandic_financial_crisis
    • https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35485876
    • ttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/17/the-miraculous-story-of-iceland/


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-common-room-couch/donations
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    57 mins
  • Episode 9: Dystopias and Defund the Police
    Oct 15 2021

    Essence asks Maddie all about her favorite dystopian novels and movies, the evolution of dystopia over time, and why there has been a revival of dystopian literature among teens. Maddie asks Essence about #DefundthePolice, the goals of criminal justice reform, and why privileging marginalized experiences is essential for social movements!

    Visit us at our website: https://thecommonroomcouch.com/

    Find us on instagram or twitter @thecommonroomcouch 

    Email us at thecommonroomcouch@gmail.com your comments/corrections/ideas/questions 

    Support us and access bonus content through our patreon https://www.patreon.com/thecommonroomcouch 


    Episode’s resources and bonus material:

    Dystopias:

    • https://www.mindymcginnis.com/blog/why-do-people-find-dystopian-novels-so-appealing#:~:text=Dystopian%20novels%20are%20incredibly%20popular,people%20can't%20understand%20why 
    • https://electricliterature.com/the-rise-of-dystopian-fiction-from-soviet-dissidents-to-70s-paranoia-to-murakami/
    • https://www.abebooks.com/books/best-dystopia-books/
    • https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dystopian-movies/best-dystopian-movies-of-all-time-1/
    • https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/oct/23/dystopian-fiction
    • https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/a-golden-age-for-dystopian-fiction


    Defund the Police:

    • https://defundthepolice.org/
    • https://civilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf
    • https://m4bl.org/defund-the-police/
    • https://www.mpd150.com/
    • https://www.nonewjails.nyc/
    • https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
    • https://open.spotify.com/episode/2QlieFSgKl1zzdqrjNloUK
    • https://open.spotify.com/episode/3rlXRvKMInY6siTVAKXmJ5?si=PM-aMcpwQzKS2i5NvrExEQ
    • https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/14/democrats-suburbs-lets-fund-the-police-515966
    • https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/10/us/dallas-police-defund.html
    • https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/19/what-does-defund-the-police-mean-and-does-it-have-merit/
    • 13th (Netflix Documentary)


    Theory books to nerd out on abolition:

    • Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punishment
    • Angela Davis’s Are Prisons Obsolete?
    • Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
    • Alex Vitale’s The End of Policing As We Know It?


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-common-room-couch/donations
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • Episode 8: The VP and RomComs
    Oct 8 2021

    Maddie asks Essence to discuss the role of Vice President and Kamala Harris, our Vice President. Essence asks Maddie to explain why RomComs are so popular. This episode was recorded while VP Harris was still the president-elect.


    Visit us at our website: https://thecommonroomcouch.com/

    Find us on instagram or twitter @thecommonroomcouch 

    Email us at thecommonroomcouch@gmail.com your comments/corrections/ideas/questions 

    Support us and access bonus content through our patreon https://www.patreon.com/thecommonroomcouch 


    Episode’s resources and bonus material:


    The VP:

    • https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xii/interps/171
    • https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/07/07/picking-the-vice-president/
    • https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/11/kamala-harris-vp-background-bio-biden-running-mate-2020-393885
    • https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/us/politics/kamala-harris.html
    • https://www.npr.org/2020/10/13/923369723/lets-talk-about-kamala-harris
    • https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/23/18184192/kamala-harris-president-campaign-criminal-justice-record
    • https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a28571249/kamala-harris-attorney-general-controversy/
    • https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53770654 


    Rom Coms:

    • https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-romantic-comedies-of-all-time/
    • https://www.glamour.com/story/why-is-it-so-wrong-to-love-romantic-comedies


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-common-room-couch/donations
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    50 mins

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