Overton Sisters is a social and cultural commentary podcast with post-Soviet and immigrant twist. Hosted by Anne, a Latvian living in London, and Maria, a Russian living in Italy.
We strive to be a platform and a community that introduces immigrant, post-Soviet and Eastern European perspectives into the international discourse.
Follow and message us on ig: @overtonsisters
We are also happy to read your emails: overtonsisters@gmail.com
7. Keeping up with the Diaspora: Armenian identity and life with Asmik Kazaryan
This week’s episode Asmik, a close friend of Maria’s, joins us to talk about Armenian identity and geopolitics.
Asmik was born in Yerevan and moved to Moscow in early childhood. Currently she is studying medicine in Russia, but keeps strong ties with Armenia through family and visits. Asmik also does film photography and creative writing (see our instagram for her beautiful pictures)
The three ladies talk about topics such as:
🌼 the definition of home for first generation immigrant
🌼 the Armenian diaspora: are the Kardashians good Armenians?
🌼 the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh war
🌼 book recommendations for those curious to understand Armenia
🌼the impact of war trauma on young Armenians and the lack of pshychological support
🌼 the phase that post-Soviet teenagers often go through: Russia (or other post-Soviet country) sucks, USA rules
// the Armenian author mentioned: Narine Abgaryan. She is the author of bestsellers «Manyunya», «People Who Are Always With Me», «Three Apples Fell from the Sky», «Simon» and others. In 2020 The Guardian named her among the brightest authors of Europe. We highly suggest you check her out!
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Our Instagram: @overtonsisters https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
Music: Dance of Garin (traditional dancing music, author unknown)
https://youtu.be/Pi8Bo2ssY7U
23 Apr 2021
6. A chatty return episode: vaccines, hijabs and small talk
Anne and Maria are back from an unplanned hiatus!
In this episode the ladies chat about all sorts of things that have been on their minds lately:
✧Vaccines and their safety
✧Small talk (spoiler: Eastern Europeans hate it!)
✧ Hijab ban in France, social media’s effect on our perception of news and ideology
✧ Haiti and their bizzare debt for independence
Tune in for a casual talk about serious things and to hear Maria struggle with her English:)
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Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
Music: Cik Mēs Viens Par Otru zinām by Via Santa
https://youtu.be/BzRW8DISqpU
26 Jan 2021
5. The nuclear mental health unit: commodified minds
It's end of January and there is still barely any sunlight - Anne and Maria have a conversation about mental health. Some topics they discuss:
✧ The medicalisation and the commodification of human life
✧ CBT as a solution to the mental health crisis (as proposed by WHO)
✧ the perceived individual responsibility for disability and mental health struggles
✧ have we approached some of the (mentally) hardest times in history? why?
✧ Soviet psychiatry and slow progressive schizophrenia (also keep an open ear for the endless variations of Anne pronouncing the word schizophrenia)
✧ the Bernie Sanders meme
This episode the ladies also experiment with a new-age bimbo outro.
We hope this conversation makes our listeners feel less alone in their peripeties!
Our Instagram: @overtonsisters https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
Transition and outro sounds: Paxil television commercial , 2001
13 Jan 2021
4. Slow Release Holiday Special
With a big delay, the holiday special is finally here! It is as chill as it can get - with corny music and light-hearted chatting.
The main topic of the episode - Russian and Latvian holiday traditions, and how they were affected by paganism and Soviet secularism. We also talk about online education, the good side of 2020 and our expectations for 2021. For the first time on this pod, we are actually hopeful and optimistic!
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Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/ (https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/)
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message (https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message)
Music: Please Don't Wish Me A Merry Christmas by Kara Square (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mindmapthat/34678
12 Dec 2020
3. The divided nation, secularism and ‘Ethos’ with Derin Koçer
First guest appearance on Overton Sisters! In this episode Anne and Maria interview Derin Koçer - a war studies and international relations major, a charming Istanbulite and a columnist for various magazines in English and Turkish.
Together they talk about Erdogan-era politics, political opposition, secularity and identity in Turkey. All of these topics are tied together with the recent Turkish TV show that is now available on Netflix. “Ethos” (or “Bir Baskadir” in Turkish) has sparked many conversations in Turkey and its diaspora . The show dissects the dichotomy of the progressive secular and conservative religious worlds within the contex of modern Istanbul. We highly recommend you watch it!
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Derin works with House of Impact, T24 news , daktilo1984 portal. He also writes for Impakter and Affinity Magazines, discussing Turkey and the Middle East.
Follow him in instagram and twitter:
https://www.instagram.com/derinkocer/
https://twitter.com/KocerDerin
Read Derin’s articles for Impakter and Affinity magazines:
https://impakter.com/author/derin-kocer/
http://affinitymagazine.us/author/derinkocer/
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Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message
Music: Bir Demet Yasemen by Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road (c) Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 0.4 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
(http://www.turkumusic.com)
1 Dec 2020
2. The immigrant dilemma and Late Stage Social Media
Anne and Maria have a conversation about the recent Instagram update and how the monopoly of social media platforms is making our online experience worse. They then talk about whether Gen Z is a more radical generation and what if Jeff Bezos decided to go cottagecore...
In this episode they also discuss:
the absurd schemes of becoming an Amazon seller
romanticization of the monarchy in contemporary Russia
the dilemmas of immigrants and how much is one willing to do for their community
(lack of) therapy opportunities for neurodiverse individuals in Russia
and more!
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Stuff we mention:
Read more on ABA therapy and experiences of autistic individuals on instagram @the.autisticats https://instagram.com/the.autisticats?igshid=19y3r1s493ptd (https://instagram.com/the.autisticats?igshid=19y3r1s493ptd)
The interview of Alexei Navalny, main Russian oppositionist, after Novichok poisoning by Russian journalist Yury Dud (english subtitles available): https://youtu.be/vps43rXgaZc (https://youtu.be/vps43rXgaZc)
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Our Instagram: @overtonsisters
https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/ (https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/)
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com (mailto:overtonsisters@gmail.com)
Send us a voice message: https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message (https://anchor.fm/overtonsisters/message)
Music: School Days by Robbero (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Robbero/58429
19 Nov 2020
1. Intro: This is your new mom
In this episode Anne and Maria talk about Overton Window theory and how it inspired the ironic name of the podcast. The ladies also discuss homophobia and feminism in post-Soviet countries, Latvian politics, being Russian in Italy and shared Soviet heritage.
Some questions they answer:
Why Soviet symbolism is similar to symbols of Nazi Germany for Latvia ?
What do post-Soviets think of Western youth becoming more socialist?
What is the trauma and glory of Latvia and Russia?
Is imagery of Soviet Woman a feminist ideal?
Instagram: @overtonsisters
https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/ (https://www.instagram.com/overtonsisters/)
Email: overtonsisters@gmail.com (mailto:overtonsisters@gmail.com)
Music: School Days by Robbero (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Robbero/58429
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