The Dayroom

By: Ashton, Clare, Lucia, Kofi, Ian & Aigner

In today’s podcast we talk about the author Ken Kesey and his inspiration for his first novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest”. We dive into the narrator Chief Bromden’s unique circumstances and his role in the institution. Having been the longest patient in the ward Bromden introduces the many patients, both Chronic and Acute, telling their stories, and their roles in the ward. Were also introduced to the Head Nurse, Miss Ratched as well as the rebellious newcomer McMurphy. McMurphy is shaking things up, will he uphold his streak? Will he win the bet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx7p9S6KR1w

The Talk Of The Cuckoo's Nest

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1999491999

Book: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest By Ken Kesey

Hannah, Nile, Kavina, Gabe, and Mawusse

In our first podcast, we discussed how power dynamics relates to societal structures in psychiatric wards, and what is considered acceptable/not acceptable. who has the right to have power and not have power? We get a chance to explore one of the main characters: Nurse Ratched, who runs the Psychiatric ward through a system of conformity and roles. the narrator, Chief Bromden, pretends to be deaf and dumb as a role in the ward, but when Mcmurphy, a rebellious newcomer enters the conversation of order and roles, things take an unexpected turn. Join us, as we do an in-depth exploration of the struggle with power/power dynamics, conformity, and freedom within the book.

Introduction - Experiments in the ’60s/ Psychiatric Ward

Page 30 - Breakdown of how Nurse Ratched chooses staff

Books To Sink Your Teeth Into

Written by Bram Stoker who wrote seventeen novels, Dracula is his most popular work and tells the story of a solicitor Jonathan Harker who travels to Transylvanian noble Count Dracula to finalize the sale of an estate he purchases. He does not realize that Dracula is a vampire feasting on the blood of his victims, sleeps by day and stalks by night.

In the first episode of Books To Sink Your Teeth Into, your host Ethan, Abel, Jon, and Hayden will discuss the literal and figurative meaning of this book.

Tiger Talk: Slaying the White Tiger

The debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga, the White Tiger is a Picaresque novel imbued with a dark humorous tone that helps in the telling of the story of Balram Halwai, a village boy who navigates India’s class struggle in a globalized world.

In the first episode of Tiger Talk, we discuss the literal and figurative meaning of the prominent theme of lightness vs darkness present in the novel, alongside other narrative symbols that we’ve encountered throughout reading. An unexpected winner and loser of the section we’ve read comes in the form of not characters, but ideologies. The group presents corrpuption as its winner while justice and good morals being the losers.

Tune in to our dynamic group taking down the White Tiger one section at a time, with renowned English students Peter Keo, Michal Czapla, Indiya Johnson, Miranda Sosa and Jacob Prunes serving as the hosts.

The Bluest Podcast

Book: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Jasir Chavis, Jueni Austin, Phoenix Satterfield, Lyss Williams

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison is a story about a young black girl who is mocked by other children for her dark skin. She prays every day for blonde hair and blue eyes because she thinks that’s what would make people love her. In our podcast, you will hear us discuss themes such as culture, colorism, racism, and beauty standards and how they appear in the book. Enjoy!