The Avocado Social Club Natalia Albin and Fraser Bell

This week, following the death of Sarah Everard, women across the UK have been speaking out about the constant fear they live in. We are taking this opportunity to talk about the situation in the UK and Mexico, where the killing of women is an everyday occurrence, and what women do to feel as safe as they can. Natalia, having lived in both countries, talks about the differences as a woman and how - no matter how safe you want to feel, you never are. Because yes, all women are afraid. 

HIGHLIGHTS

The Flight Attendant (HBO Max show)

Moxie! (Netflix film)

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things (Amazon Prime film)

The Burnt Orange Heresy (film)

Spinning by Charli XCX, The 1975, No Rome (single)

Only Child - Sasha Sloan (album)

The White Album by Joan Didion (book)

The Art of Living Now (podcast)

Over the last year of lockdown, many have been lucky enough to find a new passion, project or even a new business - even in a time where doing so has been incredibly challenging (possibly even more than usual). We talked to Rushab Shah, the founder of Portobello Vintage Market, who took his father's market business and built it into an ecommerce venture for high quality vintage shopping. He talked to us about the challenges and mistakes when starting, the importance of a business partner and lockdown being the push he needed to build his own business. 



Highlights:

FILM AND TV

Years and Years (TV Show on iPlayer)

The Great (TV Show on All4 / Hulu)

It’s A Sin (TV Show on All4 / HBO)

The Farewell (Film on Amazon Prime)

BOOKS AND PODCASTS

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (Book)

Grounded with Louis Theroux: FKA Twigs (Podcast)

MUSIC

Vintage - Blu DeTiger (song)

Taylor Swift new releases

OTHERS

Poker Now

Baking Cinnamon Buns

Clubhouse (app)

Why do we like memes so much? We have a chat around individual and collective stories of memes and the phenomenon that comes with them. We all share and laugh at pictures of strangers with funny captions on them, but who are these strangers and how has this strange new form of fame affected them? 

HIGHLIGHTS

TV & FILM

The Serpent (BBC Show) 

Schitt’s Creek (Netflix Show) 

Grand Designs (Channel 4 Show) 

Lupin (Netflix Show)

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Film - available for streaming)

MUSIC & PODCASTS 

Who Am I? by Pale Waves (Album)

The Media Show. Episode: How ITV News Reported First-Hand on the Storming of Congress (BBC Radio 4 & Podcast)

BOOKS & ARTICLES

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet (book)

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (book)

Paul Mccartney for The Sunday Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/culture/paul-mccartney-interview-on-recording-mccartney-iii-and-his-friendship-with-john-lennon-q8s5n0b58

A big catch up on everything we've been watching, reading and enjoying over the last month of lockdown. Then diving into The Paris Agreement, the implications of international climate change efforts, how it might shape the future and what it means if America re-joins. 

WHAT WE'VE BEEN ENJOYING

TV AND FILM

FUNNY AND UPLIFTING


On the Rocks (Apple+)
Happiest Season (Amazon or Hulu)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Grand Designs (All 4) 
Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Session (Disney+)


POLITICAL DRAMA


Roadkill (BBC)
Bombshell (Amazon)
Dark Waters (Amazon)
The Crown (Netflix)


OTHER DRAMA


The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
First Man (Netflix)


BOOKS


The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Spring by Ali Smith
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
Whites: On Race and Other Falsehoods by Otegha Uwagba


ARTICLES AND PODCASTS


The Crown Podcast
Postscript magazine: https://www.postscript.london/
Meghan Markle, The Losses we Share: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/opinion/meghan-markle-miscarriage.html

Let's chat about televised debates! Do we actually need them? Do they make a difference to people's voting tendencies? Or is it all there just because it's good for businesses? From their history to the current status of political debates, Fraser and Natalia discuss debates, analytical thoughts on them and their own opinions and experiences. 

WHAT WE'VE BEEN ENJOYING:

TV AND FILM


Enola Holmes (Netflix Film)
The Morning Show (AppleTV+  Show)
The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix Show)
Gilmore Girls (Show on Netflix)
Wild Rose (Film on Amazon Prime)


BOOKS


Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

MUSIC


Mama’s Boy by LANY
Fake It Flowers by Beabadoobee
Didn’t Make It by Charli Adams

ARTICLES AND PODCASTS


David Tennant does a podcast with… Neil Gaiman.
He Married a Sociopath: Me by Patric Gagne on Modern Love https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/style/modern-love-he-married-a-sociopath-me.html
My Year in San Francisco’s $2 Million Secret Society Startup - The rise and fall of Latitude - Lydia Laurenson https://www.vice.com/en/article/xygykj/my-year-in-san-franciscos-2-million-secret-society-startup

OTHER


Her Hustle: https://www.herhustle.co.uk/

Is there such a thing as too much wellness? In this episode Fraser and Natalia delve into the good, the bad and the ugly in the wellness industry, inspired by Netflix's (Un)Well and researching some of the biggest trends in the world of consumerist wellness. 

WHAT WE'VE BEEN ENJOYING:

Film & TV

-Tenet
-Lost in Translation
-Erin Brockovich
-Queen & Slim
-I’m Thinking of Ending Things

Books

-Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis
-Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino


Articles & Podcasts

-Conspiracy theories and coronavirus - QAnon https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-53997203

-Buying Myself Back When does a model own her own image? by Emily Ratajkowski https://www.thecut.com/article/emily-ratajkowski-owning-my-image-essay.html