Seemingly Unrelated Podcast

What if your favourite team mascot has roots in tragedy, racism, and a whole lot of anxiety? In this episode of Seemingly Unrelated , I'm joined by co-host Alicia Britt ( www.aliciabrittpuppetry.co.uk ) and returning guest Dr. Rianna Walcott ( www.riannawalcott.com ) as we pull back the curtain on the surprisingly murky history of sports mascots. We're talking expert analysis delivered with the ir...

A crossover with Dr. Chris Haswell on World Englishes, colonial legacies, and who owns the English language. 🔗 Find Lost in Citations at https://www.lostincitations.com/ What makes someone a "native" English speaker? According to Dr. Chris Haswell of Kyushu University and co-host of Lost in Citations , the answer is: nothing; the distinction doesn't hold up to scrutiny. In this crossover episode,...

In this season finale, Andrew, Alicia, and Naomi sit down to unpack everything Season 3 taught them—and where they stumbled along the way. From questioning whether school uniforms are sexist (spoiler: the Facebook comments section was wild) to admitting mistakes about Abrahamic faiths and gender assumptions, this is a rare podcast moment where the hosts reflect on their own blind spots. What did t...

In this groundbreaking sixth episode, we dismantle the rigid binaries that society tries to force onto human biology including the undeniable reality of intersex existence, proving once and for all that genitals are not determinants of sex or gender.

Dr. Andrew Johnstone and Alicia Britt examine the historical beginnings of separating sports by gender. This episode traces the fragility of men playing golf in the Victorian period, the emergence of Muscular Christianity and the impact that funding and perception have on athletic ability. Guests include journalist Janet Eagleson and Dr. Isaac Hoff from the University of Glasgow. Perilous windmill...

Dr. Andrew Johnstone and Alicia Britt examine men's emotions and emotional suppression through cultural and historical lenses. This episode traces how norms of masculinity shape emotional expression, highlights key research and historical examples, and offers practical takeaways for recognizing and changing emotional habits. From the theological origins of motherhood we now have to look into the p...

Straighten that tie, lower that hemline, and cover your shoulders listeners because this week we're being very strict about what is proper attire and we even asked Queen Elizabeth I to weigh in. Join Andrew and Alicia alongside our special guest Dr. Christia Spears Brown for this medieval adventure through the dangerous dynamics of uniforms and dress codes including questions like: Are school unif...

No. Neither is Gaia.

Welcome back to Seemingly Unrelated the podcast that makes you wonder if World War II is responsible for you having a food processor ( kind of, yeah ) This season we are tackling the topic of 'social constructs' because it seems like a lot of people have heard the phrase but maybe aren't too familiar with why it matters at all. To find out we will plumb the depths of gender traits, stereotypes, an...

If you've ever wondered what 'social construct' means and what mini-golfing Barbie dolls eating fish tacos has to do with gender, this is the season for you. We are rapidly approaching the launch of season 3 for Seemingly Unrelated so it's time we give you a little preview to tantalise the senses. New episodes start June 23rd and they come out weekly after that. But if you subscribe to the premium...

Welcome to the season finale of Seemingly Unrelated! We've managed 46 episodes so far and we'll be returning in March with season 3 (bonus eps continually monthly patreon.com/seeminglyunrelated ) To cap it off this festive season we'll be traveling to Japan where holidays like Christmas should seem to be unrelated already, but it gets even weirder. Why is there a Colonel Sanders dressed in a Santa...

When you look at the back of the box of your favorite ready-to-eat meal, where does the list of macromolecules and daily requirements on the nutrition label come from? That's what we are going to find out this week on Seemingly Unrelated as we explore the unusually recent history of the nutrition label by asking: What did we do before we added these things in 1994? Why don't vitamins and minerals...

!!ALERT ALERT!! GO TO THE KICKSTARTER FOR WHITE CAT ENTERTAINMENT RIGHT NOW THE FUND ENDS FRI 14 NOV !!ALERT ALERT!! The gorilla enclosure seconds the motion to sanction the cave bats for their hoarding of fresh fruit resources. More like the Zoo-nited Nations amirite? I'll stop. On this episode we are diving into the other controversial history behind zoos as explore the ways in which zoos and zo...

It's the Seemingly Unrelated Spoooooktacular! We've got a terrifying and spinetingling episode for you this week as we look deep into the history of Witch iconography: the point hat, the broom, the black cat, not the nose though...the nose thing is just exactly what you think it is. Our guide through this spectre of deeply problematic horrors is in fact Michael Johnstone from Walkie Talky Brewing...

We're talking about the very real and physical place that is Hollywood, CA on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated. Why are the hills around Los Angeles filled with the rich and famous while the valleys are home to much more socio-economic diversity? Did film studios set up shop in Hollywood because of the weather? Has the 9th circuit court of appeals been holding back patent law for 150 years? Wer...

At the time of this episode's release we are in the middle of a 10 day period of reflection and piety for the Jewish people. The window between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is known as the 'High Holidays' to many. So, we at Seemingly Unrelated want to take this confluence of events where the High Holidays overlap with an extra 3rd episode of the show inside of a calendar month to put the spotlight...

If it's 2 am in Denver Colorado and you've been out partying all night, where will you go to fill up on some fast food to tide you over? Well, if it's 1858 the answer is: oyster bars. This week on Seemingly Unrelated we are cracking open the shell that hides the secret history of the oyster asking big questions like: How dangerous were oyster beds to early European colonists? Why does anyone know...

Up front this is just about which Europeans landed on the Americas first and set up shop. The actual answer beyond that is no one and there are many peoples and histories that populate both continents for millenia before any Europeans managed to cross the Atlantic (or vice-versa?). Either way, we are digging into the major competing narratives about which White guys traveled where to get at the he...

How could the Three Little Pigs have stopped the most powerful military of the 1st century BCE? That's what we set out to explore on this episode of Seemingly Unrelated where we dive into the history of steel making, story telling, and how they connect the Battle of Carrhae with learning to code in Python. Our guest co-host this week is puppeteer extoridanaire Alicia Britt ! We'll be asking the bi...

This week on Seemingly Unrelated pod we are getting into the villain's origin story behind the most USA of all snack cakes: Twinkies. Love them, or fear them, the twinkie looms large in the US imagination and in the vision of the US from around the world. It represents all things the USA loves: soft golden hydrogenated fats and corn syrup that is pure and white at its core. We're joined this week...

Protect yourself from invasion get a breeding pair of hamsters, today! This week on Seemingly Unrelated we are deep diving into the history of the cutest widdle guys you have witnessed do unspeakable acts for unknown reasons to find out why exactly did we start keeping these rodents as pets? Our special guest this episode is Dr. Rianna Walcott Assistant Professor of Communication at the University...

There are so many chicken little's these days decrying the downfall of man at the hands of Large Language Models. There are also, a lot of grifters taking advantage of that panic to line their wallets or just feel alive if only for a moment. Which is why we are here to fight that misinformation and identify the Seemingly Unrelated truths behind the myths and fears around artificial intelligence. J...

The 'House of Mouse' is a very litigious one which is why we are super wary about this week's episode of Seemingly Unrelated. We're taking a look at the very origins of both Disney the company and intellectual property rights on a journey to find out if Mickey himself might have had an impact on the cost of some prescription drugs. Along the way we'll take a journey by sea to solve the mystery of...

Must...resist...urge...to do hyper specific...group...choreography...!! On today's episode of Seemingly Unrelated we are the biaswreckers here to say you're not delulu, K-pop is having an all time comeback around the world. But are the Big 3 just the visual for a deeper and more sinister subunit bent on world domination? To find out we're going to have to take a tour back to the first K-pop idols...

Given its association with Homer Simpson, the donut (or doughnut?or do-nut?) is perhaps one of the great icons of American culture filling our minds with corner shops and diners serving piping hot black coffee and delicious fried circles of sweet dough. The donut however, is not just a calorie dense delivery service that keeps you functional on the go, it is also a hero... On today's episode of Se...