gender

Two segments this week:

First, Chris gives a shout out to Sociological Images for their post on Push Up Bikini Tops at Abercrombie Kids, which inspires a discussion about gender and childhood culture.

Second, a discussion about Ebooks, Amazon, DRM, and the fate of public knowledge.

Links:

• J Crew Pink Toenails
• Push Up Bikini Tops at Abecrombie Kids
• Disney Princess Grapes
• Peggy Orenstein
• Amazon Library Lending
• HarperCollins Puts 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Circulations
• Siva Vaidhyanathan on Media Matters

Download Improv 25.

Three topics this week*:

• Arturo talks about his journey into the world of online discussion forums and blog comments
• Phil Davison, who has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, a bachelor’s degree in History, a master’s degree in Public Administration…and a master’s degree in Communication.
• We discuss Urban Legends: Why suburbs, not cities, are the answer.

Download Lucky #13.

* Well, actually last week: this was recorded on September 16.

This week we talk about two articles:

• What Is It About 20-Somethings?
• Stop Admitting Ph.D. Students

Download and Enjoy!

Jon, Arturo, and Chris are joined by Jose Marichal (of ThickCulture) and Alexandre Enkerli. A wide-ranging discussion ensues, and we tackle questions such as:

• Why haven’t we had any women on this podcast?
• Is there anything wrong with Berkeley taking DNA samples from incoming undergraduates?
• And when Eric Schmidt makes the distinction between privacy and anonymity, is he making any sense?

We also manage to start a discussion about pornography on the internet and end up talking about the failure of consensus in the Senate. Try to guess how we get from point A to point B on that one.

Various links referenced in the episode:

• Paula Priesse on Facebook (“Conservative comedy spoofing a well-meaning, young, progressive, and utterly hapless American woman”)
• Is Facebook bigger than porn?
• Facebook Privacy Settings: Who Cares?
• WEIRD biased Psychology studies
• Where People Position the Parties
• Class and location-based web services

Improv Number Ten!