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Direct from the Broski Nation headquarters in Los Angeles, California, this is the Broski Report with your host, Brittany Broski. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Pumpkin. Dumb a pumpkin. Pumpkin. Hey, guys. Welcome back to Zebrowski Report, starring me, your host, Brittany Broski. Now, that was supposed to be French. So if I have any French listeners, hello and goodbye. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry, guys. Long time no chat because I have been going, going, going, going, going, going, gone. And I pre recorded a bunch of episodes and now I'm so freaking back. A lot to talk about. A lot to talk about. Okay, first and foremost, I got a redneck situation going on in my mouth, y'. All. Something real, real hick is going on in my mouth. My neck is red and my cot is blue. What is it? My. My cottage blue and my neck is red. My teeth are cracked and falling out my head. That's literally me. Okay, Something happened and I. I would be remiss if I leave out the very important detail here of why my tooth is cracked. Okay? My back molar back here. For some reason, I don't know, am I a fucking military veteran? I have a silver filling. Like, am I a Vietnam veteran? And they just like, did it in the fucking med tent. I don't know. Why do I have a silver filling? I don't remember getting that. Don't. I don't know why I have it. I don't know who gave it to me. However, I have a silver filling in my back right molar. I was recently in Nashville and I was laying up in my hotel room bed reading my book that we will get into, by the way, in the next 10 to 15 minutes. Reading my book, having Just a grand old time sucking on a chomp. I was eating a chomp. One moment. The sweet, salty taste of beef. Actually, I get the turkey ones that sometimes after a while, tastes like dirty armpit. Okay, I don't. That's a separate conversation. Sometimes when you're halfway through a chomp, it's like licking a dirty armpit, which is gonna make me kind of gag. Like, it just becomes really. At some point in the journey of eating a chomp, it becomes the nastiest bullshit you've ever put in your mouth. But I'll always grab one. You know what I mean? If there's a chomp for free somewhere on a table or like in someone's pantry. My own pantry. My own snack bag. I'm gonna grab it and do. Am I gonna enjoy it? No, it's that shit with that TikTok trend that went around about protein bars, and I was like, literally. Yeah. And for anyone that just saw that piece of spit fly out of my mouth. No, you did not. Please don't. Please don't bring that up around me. If I've ever spit on you or you've ever seen any liquids excrete from my body, please don't bring that up around me. I saw it. I was there. Okay, I'm aware. Just. Just. Guys, keep it to yourself. What the was I talking about? Oh, yeah, I'll eat a chomp. Oh, that protein bar where it was like, the first few bites of a protein bar, I feel so healthy. And then, like, three fourths the way through, it's like, you're gagging. You're like, he's over the trash can eating it. Like, that's literally me with a chomp. Anyway, I'm laying in bed, chomp halfway down my throat. I bite into it with my back. Right molar. Some of my tooth comes off. What? What? But that's. But I hear you on the other side of the screen saying, brittany, that's a soft food. Yeah. You think I don't know that? I guess I just have the most brittle enamel known to man. Okay. My teeth need to be studied by Scientologists. Hold on. My teeth. Hold on. My teeth need to be studied by scientists. Dental Scientologists. Okay. Anyway, yeah, so I'm flying to Florida today to go back to my family dentist to get this motherfucker looked at, because. What do you mean taken out by a chomp? And it. Hey, they'll get you. He'll get you. My color blue. My teeth are red. Neck. Okay, guys, can I just be Can I just be totally honest with you? All right, now I feel greasy. I feel ugly. I'm about to start my period. I had violent mood swings yesterday. Violent. I mean, within five minutes, I would be sobbing and then, like, elated, laughing. Wow, what a joy and privilege it is to be alive five minutes later. All of this and my stupid Chungus life. I'm so serious. I was having the most violent mood swings yesterday, and today I woke up with, like, this kind of anger, just a general anger. And then I started hearing the birds chirp outside my window, and the sun was streaming in, and I was, like, fighting the urge to be happy. You know what I mean? Sometimes I don't know what it is. Like, if I've made it up in my head that I'm going to be angry, I'm. I'm pissed. And by all means, it was a beautiful morning, but I just. I'm in a mood. I don't know. So just know that, like, I'm ugly, I'm bald, greasy, I'm Uncle Fester. I just don't even want to look at myself in the viewfinder. Okay, this morning, I woke up, tooth rotted out my head. I'm flying to Florida. I'm seeing my family dentist. He's gonna fix me up real good. Okay? So I just wanted to get that out of the way, that if you smell something through the smell o vision of this podcast, it's my rotting tooth, because I. My shit's just falling apart. I don't know. Okay, number one. Number two, I went to acl. Here's just a quick recap, and then I'm going to get into the meat of the episode. Okay? You guys have to bear with me really quick because my brain's still heating up. I made this joke to Drew the other day. Sometimes we were talking about, like, having to turn it on sometimes, you know, like, if you're in an interview or if you're hosting or if you're, you know, whatever, you have to be able to turn it on, especially if you're working a carpet. And I said, it's like an Igor. Now, do y' all remember Igor, the animated film? Igor, which is a rip on. Well, not a rip, but it's from Frankenstein's assistant, Igor. Igor, whatever. You guys know. You guys know what I'm saying? Little Frankenstein, right? Was that the 80s movie with Gene. What's his name? Willy Wonka? Young Frankenstein. Young. Young Frankenstein. The dude plays Igor, right? Yeah. Marty Feldman, my guy. Twin. That's twin. And Gene Wilder. Yeah. Gene Wilder plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, by the fucking way, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. Okay, we'll get to that in a second. I just choked. So excited. I had choked. Okay. Igor in the movie Igor. First of all, that movie is so funny, and it's one of me and my family's, like, cult classics that we watch. And there's a scene where he's trying to do his thing, whatever, you know, Frankenstein is, like, evil in this movie. And there he flips on a switch, and he has Igor do it. It's, like, huge. And he goes. And it's like those big industrial noises of, like, stadium lights being turned on. That's what it feels like to. To turn it on. Anyway, I don't know. I don't know. One thing about me and Drew. We love a visual description, an auditory description of visual comedy. Does that make sense? We love that bullshit. One of Drew's favorite bits is the Bart Simpson choking. Yeah, we're comedians. Ever heard of one? Like, anyway, and if any of you bitches are like, who's Marty Feldman? You look him up and you say, oh, they do kind of look alike. You're blocked. You're blocked. Because I made that joke because someone else made that joke two years ago, and I think about it about once a week. So, okay, go back. I went to acl. Another great year at acl. I love that damn festival. It is so much damn fun. I went with bestie Tato and my friends Camille and Steph, and we just had a damn blast. Oh, my God. I really wanted to tell you guys, I know I'm late to this, okay? But in the realm of pop culture and in the realm of who's relevant in music and who. Who can fucking keep up, girl, I'm exhausted at this point. I like what I like, and I want to tell you guys about what I like. It's the point of the podcast. McGee. I saw McGee. I was very excited for McGee's set. Now, McGee did the, like, production on Justin Bieber's new album and all that. I didn't know that until recently. About two years ago, I started to get videos of McGee gigs like him at gigs, just, you know, all backlit and playing the guitar and being moody and whatever. And I'm like, who the fuck is it? Scroll. Don't care. Then I started to get more, and I was like, oh, it's kind of great. Then Rockman came out, and I was like, song's fucking amazing. Oh, I love this freaking song. Then I dived in, dove in to his older discography. Fucking bangers candy. I want Alessis, Alesis, whatever, that song. I love his shit. And I was very excited for ACL because he had the. He was on a stage around 6:45, so the sun was setting. But by the time his set ended, it was night and it had cooled down a little bit. His entire set is backlit, so you can't really see his face. And it's just this, like, it was giving me very 2013, 1975. And if you get it, you get it. Okay. It was giving me very. That backlit. He's kind of stumbling around. It's like ambient guitar music and his voice is nuts. I was getting my fucking life. It was my favorite set. I. Other than Dochi. Other than Dochi. Dochi, shut that shit down. She had ripped her pants open. She was going so hard. She ripped her pants open. Get your tits up. Get your purple C. I love her. And at certain times, you know, when a set is so good, like, yeah, me and the girls are dancing. We're having a good time. Whatever. There were certain moments during Dochi set where I like, stopped moving because I was just in awe. I was just watching, like, slack jawed, staring at the stage like, she is. She's got it. Some of these bitches do not have it. Dochi has it. Okay, I digress. Loved, McGee. Also. Oh, wow. Olivia Dean. Duh, duh. Olivia Dean. Olivia Dean is kind of Princess Diana to me. They have a similar vibe. Okay. They have a similar thing. Olivia Dean. So just like an effortless talent. By the way, watching her on stage, she has a blast at every show. She does. Like, truly someone who's just there for the music. Her stylist eats. Her stylist needs to be given an award. Like, it just captures this. It, you know, because clothes speak the same way that music speaks. Beauty speaks. Like, all of these styling choices and matching the aesthetic to the music and to the personality is not an easy thing to do. Especially when it's not the artists themselves doing it. Not to say that. You know what I mean? Like, styling is a thing in this industry because it helps you elevate to the next level. Her stylist is amazing. Like, whatever creative collaboration partnership they have together, I'm just, I'm in awe. And honestly, it's really inspiring because it captures her playfulness with some of the textures and some of the, like, you know, ostrich feathers and beads and whatever that they incorporate. It's fun and youthful, but it's very gorgeous. Classic silhouettes. The way that it drapes on her body is so stunning. The movement as she's singing, it's just like, I'm in awe. So loved Olivia Deen and all of her merch was sold out. I want Olivia Deen merch bad. I got hozier merch instead. Yeah, I'll take it. And I got that bitch in a triple xl so I can wear it to bed. Anyway, speaking of styling and fashion, mint is still $15 a month for premium wireless. And if you haven't made the switch yet, here are 15 reasons why you should. One, it's $15 a month. Two, seriously, it's $15 a month. Three, no big contracts. Four, I use it. Five, my mom used to say, are you. Are you playing me off? That's what's happening, right? Okay, give it a try. @mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of 45 for three month plan. $15 per month equivalent request required. New customer offer first three months only. Then full price plan, options available, taxes and fees extra. C mintmobile.com I told you I have a lot of updates to get through, and then I'll get into the bulk of this episode. Okay, I finished Project Runway now. Now, Law Roach, y' all heard me talk about him however many weeks ago, and I was raving about Project Runway because I just watched the first episode or maybe the first and second episodes where I was gagged because Utica, Utica Queen Ethan is on this season. A way to my heart or something that my heart really opens to is this idea of a Renaissance person, like a Renaissance man, a Renaissance woman, a Renaissance person, where you don't allow yourself to be pigeonholed, you don't allow yourself to be monikered or given a role. You know, that's like, this is your role and this is what you do, and that's what you're always gonna do. So try not to color outside the lines too much. I resent that. And in fact, it's antithetical to my being right. Like, the whole mission statement of what it is that I do here and what it is that I hope you take away from this podcast is that you are not one dimensional, you're not even two dimensional, and you're not even three dimensional. There are so many gray area complexities to being a human, to being a person, and all of the decisions that come into that and the interests and passions and talents and creativity and intelligence, all of these Things can be channeled into so many different avenues, and they don't always have to be creative, but it's what makes you you. And I think that the purpose of life, not to get too deep, is to never stop exploring all those different avenues of yourself. Okay? It is a as much fun as it is in life to share your life with friends and family and people that you love doing things you love, I think there's an equal, equally important journey that you go on with yourself where you keep meeting yourself, you keep discovering things about yourself, you keep finding new ways to be yourself, okay? And that definition is ever expanding, it's ever growing, and it's never lateral, okay? It's never unilateral, it's never plateau, always up and down, always changing, okay? With that being said, shows like RuPaul's Drag Race shows, like Project Runway, any of these talent based competition shows, even like Bake off shows, the monster SFX or Monster special effects makeup Bitch, here are people with a talent that is hard to be replicated. And I love watching these shows because as fun as it is to be given a task, be given a challenge, and have to do it within a time constraint, maybe it's for, you know, it's honoring something. Like they did an episode on Wicked for good, which was amazing. Like, they had to make Wicked inspired avant garde Runway pieces gag, by the way. Everyone's was fantastic. If that's not a challenge, then it's like an actual client. You know, they did a whole episode, and I'm like, why didn't they contact me? They did a whole episode on Bitches with Eczema. Hey, I was right here. They had people with eczema come on the show. And the challenge, which is honestly a great challenge because it's realistic, is they had the designers make clothes that would not irritate the clients with eczema on their skin. What made them feel beautiful, what maybe hid problem areas if that was something that they wanted or if they just wanted to feel sexy and put it all out. The point being, in real life, as a designer, sometimes it's not all about you and what you want. It's about what your client wants. And how do you inject your DNA as a designer into the design that your client wants? So, like, duh, that's the point of Project Runway, right? Is like your own flair and your own spin on all of these design challenges. I really enjoyed all of those because it's it. I love a show that helps the contestants, you know, like, it's not all about, oh, look at them flop around and suffer and then go home. It's fun to judge their pieces. It's fun to, you know, act like you're a judge. But at the same time, I have such a deep reverence for anyone who goes on Drag Race, who goes on Project Runway specifically, because I'm like, this is a talent that, as an artistic voyeur, I can appreciate, and it's fun to give my subjective opinion on, but I could never do what they do. Like, it is. So I'm in awe. Even the designers that I don't like their shit, I'm like, but look how well made it is. Like, look how I never would have thought of something like that. So what I love about. Back to what I was saying about being one dimensional or the opposite, actually. Ethan Utica Queen. Love, love, love, love, love. Big fan. What I enjoyed, I enjoyed on this season, watching him refine, refine and edit and elevate because the ideas are there, the talent's there. We know that. Okay. Ethan makes it to the top three. Duh. I knew that was gonna happen. And if it didn't, I was gonna. You were gonna hear about it on this fucking podcast. Cause I was gonna bitch. He makes it to the top three. From the very first episode, I was like, oh, Oh, I had no idea. And what a. This is what I'm trying. I'm. I'm not articulating it very well, but here is a drag icon or, you know, someone that we know from a past version of re a reality competition where, you know, a very famous viral, funny moment. Like, we know that Ithan has a great personality. We know that he's a little off the beaten path, which is great because there's so much to explore there. And what I loved about this is watching him turn that the drag sensibilities and the drag inclinations and the drag maybe, like, creative habits making that avant garde Runway ready fashion. It was so much fun. I was in awe. And so I just. I have such a deep reverence for people who can do that. You have to be so multifaceted to go on a show like Project Runway. You have to have references you have to be aware of. You know, I mean, it's even shit. Like, one of the designers did an all pink. One of the challenges was you have to make five Runway looks like a collection in five days. They have to be cohesive, they have to fit multiple body types, and it has to be well made. You know, like, at the end of it, they're Looking for was their vision executed, and was it executed well, as in, can you make a properly constructed garment? So one of the designers does an all pink look line. Yay. Okay. Fun. Not my taste, but fun. And I get it. And one of them, I don't know if it was another contestant or if it was Christian Siriano, who was like, now, you know, Valentino did the all pink thing, and La Ro is going to come at you for that. So let's try to have some variation in here. Like, let's try to have some more textural elements. Let's try to incorporate maybe one other color or, like, a shine or a whatever, because this has been done. And I'm thinking, oh, my fucking God, there is so much you have to know. So that's one side of the coin is, like, educating yourself on what everyone else is doing in the fashion space, which is an impossible task. It's an impossible task to know. Oh, well, Valentino did that. Like, duh. Okay. If you're in the position of going on Project Runway, I'm sure you're culturally aware. You're aware of the space you're entering into, you know, things that have inspired you as a designer, whatever, but those things really matter at the end of it, like copying someone else's designs or not being original. Like, originality above all else is kind of originality and construction are honored on a show like Project Runway. Anyway, all that to say I really, really, really enjoyed this season. I loved Christian Siriano as the Tim Gunn character. And, you know, I'm addicted to La Roach. You know, I'm addicted to Law Roach. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos last night after I finished the season on some of his iconic looks. And like, that bitch. That bitch has done so many things for pop culture that I just. I had no idea. And you want to talk about a reference bitch? And any good stylist is very well referenced and very well versed and well cultured and, you know, the landscape of fashion. And not only that, but how do you take all of that knowledge and tailor it and refine it to suit the needs of your client? Like, it really is such a skill. I'm in awe of stylists. And there are some bad stylists. Hey, there's some really bad stylists, and then there's great stylists. I'm very honored to work with Kat Tapaldos, who's my stylist, and she's done all my Runway or not my Runway, all of my red carpet looks, pretty much any event that you see where I'm not wearing a graphic T shirt and Lulu and Lulu leggings is kind of that. It's a collaboration between me and Kat. And it is so much fun because she just gets me and she gets the kind of British flair, but it's preppy and it's Texan a little bit. It's like Americana meets equestrian meets. Like, Sherlock Holmes. Like, she just gets me. She gets my vibe and how to incorporate all this bullshit on the table into, like, my looks in a way that isn't costumey or cheesy. She just nails it. I mean, from like the Mickey 17 carpet when I had my little Sherlock Holmes pocket watch, to the Dune carpet to any Star wars carpet, I've done Wicked. What did we do recently? Oh, my look for Brandcast. I did some stuff for GQ and Allure and like, that was, you know, with the white button up with the vest on top. It's snatched, it's cunty, it's masculine, but at the same time, it's me. Like, it's just. She's incredible. It was. My point being there are so many ample opportunities for styling to go wrong and to just have bad taste. You know, bad taste is everywhere. It really is. And I love shows like Project Runway because it's like, I don't think any of those people have bad taste. Sometimes it's just. It's just executed poorly. But I don't think that speaks to their taste level that much. I think it speaks to. It's a one day challenge. You know, you had eight hours to invent, shop for, and finish this garment. That's crazy. So all that being said, loved this season of Project Runway. Love La Roach. I think bring back mean judges because. And Law says this in one of the episodes. He says, if I didn't care, I would let your ugly clothes go up and down this Runway. And I wouldn't say anything if I didn't care. But I do care, because I want you to be better, because I know you can be. That's a great judge. Someone who is like, this is what you did well. And this was bad. This was bad. And of course, the elements of, like, lack of bedside manner is great for tv. And I'm sure it's harsh to hear, but at the core of it, pick apart. Why like, like, why do you think this was said to you? And sometimes people need to hear it, girl. He said on one episode. Did I say this a few weeks ago? On one episode? He goes, I didn't. Come on this show to see a bunch of ugly fucking clothes. He said that to a whole room of designers. I laughed. I laughed. Ugly fucking clothes say that because sometimes it's like, what I like about the judges panel is it's a whole. It's a wide range of opinions and a wide range of perspective. You know, like, a lot of people are looking for, can this actually be Runway ready? Can this actually be worn by celebrities? Like, I think that it's fun to watch Laroche or whoever come on and say, I could definitely see one of my clients wearing this. One of the challenges they had to design for Sofia Vergara. That's cool. Like, that's really cool. Because what is fa. Fashion is art. And fashion is something to kind of put in a time capsule of where we are right now, what matters to us, how do we dress, what do we put on our bodies, how do we express ourselves? Like, that's all indicative of the time period we live in, the materials available to us, what's trendy, all these things. And then there are elements of fashion that are timeless. But my point being, you have to look at fashion not as. Which I think some designers do on this show, as just an art piece. It has to be wearable, functional, and also desirable. Like, if you go up there and make a bunch of crazy, every single Runway is some crazy, unwearable, avant garde art piece. Great. We know you have the talent, but, like, is Ariana Grande gonna wear that fucking dress? Is La Roche gonna put Zendaya in that dress? Like, there has to be an element of sellability and wearability, even if it's weird. So I appreciate that because the judges are there to tell these contestants that, you know, make it your own. Put your own flair on it. But if it's not wearable, then, girl, what are we doing? So loved it. Love. I also didn't know Laroche used to style Celine Dion. Like one of his kind of muses. Celine Dion had no idea. This episode is sponsored by Galatea. You know the feeling when you finish an incredible love story. Your heart's racing, you have butterflies in your tummy, and all you want is more. 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Banking services provided by Cash App's Bank Partners Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank Member FDIC Discounts provided by Cash App A Block Inc. Brand Visit Cash App LegalPodcast for free. Full disclosures okay, here is what I actually wanted to talk about this episode. Sorry for the 30 minute rant on Project Runway. I love that show. I love Project Runway. And when next season happens here, I'm gonna be set right here. Okay, here's what I wanted to discuss. I finished this, this 550 page book. I flew through it. This is Babel by R.F. quang. Babel, Babel, whatever you just want to say. Even she. Because you know, you know when I love a book immediately as soon as I Finish that page. YouTube. Jarvis, show me this guy's balls, please. Jarvis, show me R.F. queen's interviews, please. Like, when I really, really love a book, I have to see what the author's doing. I have to figure out who the author is. So I went on a deep dive of Rebecca Kwang and New Favorite author alert. New Favorite Author alert. And I would say, because I've talked about this before, probably my other two favorite authors, three. Dan Brown, just from my childhood. I love Dan Brown books. Really got me kickstarted on art history and like historical fiction. Donna Tartt, duh, because the secret history changed my lies. And George Orwell, because, duh, I speak about George Orwell ad nauseam. That JD Vance video. We've gone on about this. Ad nauseam. Ad nauseam. Ad nauseam. One of the top comments said, you can tell he just learned what that phrase means. You could tell he just figured out what that means. Anyway, I've got a bunch of George Orwell on this table because, I mean, that's. We're living through an Orwellian dystopia right now. So that's really awesome. And he kind of predicted all of it. So. By the way, remember when I read why I Write by Orwell, I read it like six months ago. Yeah. I started it around the time of the inauguration. Okay, wow, it's October. Nevermind. I started it earlier this year and I went through it and I was, you know, I highlighted the fuck out of it and I underlined it and I was like, the parallels with what's happening today is, you know, I don't even like, want to talk about it. It's just scary. It's scary and it's disheartening and it's frightening that we've known this is coming. And it was completely preventable. It was completely preventable because history repeats itself when you have a large percentage of people in this country who do not vote, who Think politics do not affect them, who don't want to understand, who want to bury their head in the sand. This is the result when you're not an informed voter. Anyway, Orwell, obviously, his perspective was a bit different because. Well, a bit different only because of the governmental system that he had in his lifetime, which is the British Empire, essentially, you know, a monarchy that's imperial. I'm still. I need to read Burmese Days. I've been talking about that for forever. That's about his experience being military police in Burma and then returning to the UK to be treated like shit after he's done his time serving the Empire. And, you know, the fact that they don't care. He was damn near living in poverty. He was living in poverty. And it's like, this is what loyalty and service to the Empire gets you. Perfect. Awesome. Like, what would incentivize me to be. Anyway, that book kind of changed me. And I finally bought that book, How Fascism Works, because it's sold out every time I go to the bookstore. I finally got it. And to be honest, I'm kind of. I've been putting off reading it because I'm gonna be like, yeah, check, check, check. Like, we're watching it happen in real time. But my hope. And honestly, back to Babel. My hope with books like that is that they will provide an alternative. They will provide hope. Core via literature. Yes, I'm aware of how brutal the reality we live in right now is, and how the rise of fascism isn't just in the United States. It's global. It's happening everywhere. And that's kind of this interlinking thing that, you know, we talk a lot of shit on the Internet, but it's a beautiful thing when it comes to organizing protests. Like this concept of not unionizing in the traditional sense of what a union is, but finding common ground with people that you never thought you would across the world. You know, like, just resisting fascism at all corners of the globe. So all of this is obviously heavy on my mind every fucking day. And reading a book like Babel that, honestly, it was a great time to read it. And this is a. It is a timeless narrative because the concept of empire will always be present. The ego of man, the hubris of man knows no bounds. We will never learn our lesson. Maybe this is me being a bit of a nihilist. I don't give a fuck. Men will always be prideful. Men will always need power. There will always be a power vacuum when the last despot is removed. And then there's A power vacuum. I mean, we know these cycles of government happen. Babel is a very fun narrative that really dissects some heavy topics. And I want to talk about this highlighting the fact that I'm a straight white woman. Okay. Oh, shocker. Oh, my God. I didn't know if you guys knew I'm a straight whitey. Okay. There is a journey to allyship always that I am dedicated for the rest of my life to learning how to be a better ally. And I will stumble along the way. And I have, but I'm dedicated and reading books like this where this is a diverse group of friends and there's one whitey and it was gag because some of the reasoning that the whitey, her name is Leti, some of the reasoning that she gives for why her worldview is the way that it is is how my family talks. And I really want to applaud Rebecca Kwang for this isn't some gimmicky, you know, trying to fit into the dark academia trope and trying to like shoehorn in anti colonialism. This book approaches it in a way that is so deeply empathetic. That is eye opening, that is truth telling. It's honest. It's historically pretty fucking accurate for a historical fiction. I mean, it's a fantasy. There's a magic system in this book. The way that she articulates both sides of the pro colonialism and anti colonialism argument and is indicative of someone who really understands the issue. And she is an Asian American author who has her PhD. Like, is so wickedly intelligent. And some of the footnotes in this book are really, really good. I like the fact that the story is told through our main character, Robin Swift, who is a young Chinese boy who is brilliant, brought over to the United Kingdom, to London by this white British professor. And he essentially grooms this young boy into being a weapon, a tool for empire. And not to give too much away, but the whole functioning of this society, which is Oxford in the 1830s, the whole reason that the world works is these silver bars that are imbued with magic. And the magic, get this gag. Comes from language, comes from the power of translation. And by the way, any of you bitches that told me to read this two years ago and I told you to fuck off. Sorry. I'd like to apologize to everyone right now because this book is amazing and it's totally up my alley. And it's everything I love about reading, it's everything I love about learning. It combines so many of my. My interests into this book. So the magic system relies on the power of translation and how words are power. Intelligence is power. And of course, there's so many underlying meanings. I'm so excited to talk about this fucking book. There's so many underlying meanings and kind of subliminal messaging. Subliminal messages that is in that plot point. The power that these bars have, that power, you know, electrical grids and it makes carriages go faster and steam engines and all this. It's the power of connectivity through language. And I forget where this quote comes from, but it's so true that learning another language, speaking someone else's mother tongue gives you a level of empathy and understanding that. That most people in this life. Hear me. Never achieve until you speak someone else's language. That is as close as you can get to walking in someone else's shoes, seeing the world through their lens, speaking about the world in their tongue. It is something that is like, unless you speak another language, it's very hard to describe. There is a magic in it and there's a connectivity. Like, so what really is gag about this book is because it's the fucking British Empire. She has this great quote in here that of course, I highlighted and underlined the fuck out of this book, too. There's a great quote that says something to the effect of the Empire seeks to destroy that which it covets the most. So in this book, the way the magic system works is the rarer and more quote unquote exotic the language is, the more powerful the translation bond is. Therefore the silver bars are more powerful and they last longer, you know, whatever spell has been imbued into the silver. So Romance languages or translations from, say, English to French are not as strong as a translation from English to Cantonese or English to Sanskrit. So that's also, you know, this is her subliminal messaging, which I'm like, I get you, girl. I get you, girl. I get you. This idea of the exotic, this idea of, you know, at this time, India was still a colony, and pretty much the damn. The whole damn world was a colony of the British Empire. How the thing that when these British gentlemen would go on their grand tours around the world and they would go to all these different countries and experience the culture and the language and the music and the dance and the women and fucking whatever, they would take artifacts with them along the way. And so, for example, Professor Lovell, who is Robin Swift's guardian, the guy that, like, pretty much stole him from his homeland and groomed him, his house was filled with Chinese artifacts because it's like this fetishization. And of course, you know, this is. This isn't me being gagged at the idea of that. Like, of course I know that this exists. But it's like the way that she fits that into the narrative is very reflective of how people really are. Like, there's people in my family whose homes. White. White people whose homes are filled with Native American artifacts, filled to the brim. Their entire decoration, the decor in their home is Native American. What? And then you don't want to talk ever about, like, what happened to the Native Americans and maybe who did that. You know, like, there's no interest in the bloody history of it, but there is an interest in the aesthetic beauty of it. And that's another main point that she's making. Which we know about colonialism, which we know about cultural appropriation. We know all these things that you cherry pick the things you like about the cultures and you leave the rest of it. You know, you don't really acknowledge the rest of it. And, like, that's not. That is not a sustainable system. And so you find that out in a very literal sense in the end of this book. Okay? And I'm not gonna ruin it because I was gagged. This episode is sponsored by SeatGeek. I'm seeing sleep Token later this year and I already got my tickets, which is why I want to give the sponsor of today's episode, SeatGeek, a huge shout out. 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She manages to fit in so many relevant topics that will always be relevant because like I said, empire is timeless. And if it's not this person in this country, then it's going to be this person. And the next, you know, that is spearheading this concept of expansion and colonialism and exploitation and racism and sexism. And she explores all of that in this book. So like I was saying, there is a cohort, okay, at Oxford, a cohort of four students. Robin Swift is one of them. Victoire is another, and she is Haitian. Haitian, French, English. She speaks three, I believe, three languages. Rami, who is from Calcutta, and I believe he speaks four languages. And then Leti, who's the white girl, Leticia, who speaks, I believe, German. Fuck, I think she speaks German and English. And together they form their little class. And, you know, at first it's this really rosy, like they have so much in common. More than they have, you know, not in common, more than they are different. They are all outcasts. You know, Robin and Remy are brown men. We have Victoire and Leti, who are women at an all male institution, but because of their skill level and because of what they bring to the table, they're allowed in because the empire needs them at the end of the day, okay, yeah, we are racist and sexist, but you got something we need. Y' all speak some crazy languages. Get in here, girl. We need you. Okay, now, there's really no protection for them. They still experience. It's not even microaggressions. They experience hyper racism at the hands of other Oxford students because of how they look and because of. You know what I mean? So. And Rebecca, at the beginning of this book puts a really interesting disclaimer that is, she's done her damn research. Essentially it was a Don't come for me, bitch. It was. I've done so much research on what Oxford was in the 1830s that this is about as historically accurate as I can get it and in the realm and context of a fantasy novel, okay? And she says that. And she really incorporates, you know, some of the laws at the time and the history, you know, like the abolitionists and when slavery was abolished and the harsh truths of that. You think just because slavery was abolished, it went away. That's something that Leti gets encountered with. Leti encounters towards the end of the book where she's like, but guys, slavery was abolished. It's not allowed. Hello. And then Victoire, a black woman, looks at her and says, you think because it was abolished, people just said, ah, you're Right. It's done. No, girl. And at the time, slavery was at its height in America. So we're just talking about the British Empire, not other empires, you know? And so it's this weird. I'm reading it and I'm like, of course, my exposure to higher education, like, in college, in the books that I read, in the friends that I keep, I am hyper aware of racism and sexism as it exists and colonialism and all of the things that accompany empire that accompany bigotry. Okay. I am acutely aware, and I'm still learning. Okay. That's not to say, like, I understand it. Of course, I will never be able to understand truly, truly, truly what it feels like to be on the receiving end of that. And yes, I'm a woman, but that's not the same thing. Okay. Like, true intersectional oppression I will never be able to understand. I can empathize, and I do, but, like, there is a barrier there. And reading a book like this where, you know, in the spectrum of, like, how we were raised and ideological bigotry. I'm reading this and, like, there are certain arguments between the friend group where sometimes they realize, like, there's no getting through to Leti. She will never get it. So they just stop trying. You know, there's three people of color and then there's one white girl. And Leti starts to feel left out. And now I'm getting annoyed. I'm reading the book and I'm like, it's not about you. They start to leave her out because she won't understand. How could she? And towards the end of the book, Leti starts spewing some, you know, albeit really hateful opinions. The way that Rebecca writes this, there is still. She's just incredible. There's still. Through all that, the other three members of this cohort still feel empathy for Leti. They still are like, girl, we used to be such a tight knit friend group, and I love you. At one point, I would have died for you. But you won't get it. You don't get it. And that's why we kept this from you, because you just. It's impossible. And come to find out, I'm not gonna ruin the book. Leti is disappointing. Shocker. Oh, no. The white girl disappointed them. Yeah. So it's that where she let her. And the way that Rebecca Kwang articulates Leti's argument, okay, which is kind of. It's not necessarily pro Empire in, like, I believe what they're doing is correct. Like, she has a heart and she's able to admit this is wrong. You know, like exploiting people for what they have to offer, not their humanity, not thinking of them as humans, because that was step number one for the British Empire is dehumanize this third party, this other, as something that is less than human. So you don't feel that bad taking from them. Leti, I think, was able to, like, understand that, that that was a tactic. But at the core of it, the issue Leti has is nihilism, is the inevitability of empire. That's what she falls for. Well, guys, we're okay. Is that not enough? And here are the other three members of this cohort. Like, no, that's not enough, Leti. Because if my people are not free, then I can never truly be free. Because this guilt hanging on me, this albatross around my neck, I will never truly be able to be free. And Leti can't understand that. She can't look outside of her own fucking fishbowl. Well, everything in here is great, yeah. But across the world, where I'm from, my family, the people I love, do you not give a shit about the. I thought we were friends, Leti, you know, it's that sort of thing where she kind of throws her hands up in the air and it's like, well, as long as me and my girls are okay. If only it were that simple, Leti, you know, and so this is. It's a real harsh point of contention for them. It gets really devastating towards the end of the book. And, yeah, this book made me fucking sob. And there is just some harsh things that the author approaches with such care, and she is so smart. And I want to read Poppy War next. Then I want to read Yellowface. Then I want to read Katabasis. Katabasis. This is another one where she's like, academically, it's up for discussion how you pronounce this word. And katabas. That book is about going to hell, and it's a fantasy. Katabasis. A descent into the underworld. Katabasis. Katabasis. It's a descent into the underworld. And I'm excited to. I think it just came out, so I kind of want to look at some reviews and then dive into it because I'm obsessed. This is like. This is a five star read for me. Like, immediately I went to Goodreads and I was like, one of the best ever. I cannot believe that it took me this long to read it. I cannot believe what she manages to cram into this book. And it didn't feel forced. It didn't. It didn't feel performative. It didn't feel tropey. This is a masterpiece. This is a masterpiece. If you haven't read this, I would highly, highly, highly recommend it. Next up, I'm going to read. Well, actually, this kind of has inspired me to go down the whole rabbit hole of, you know, anti colonial, anti fascist literature. And I have a bunch of books that I bought that I haven't jumped into yet. But at the same time, that's one where, like, when I read a book like this, it inspires me to read a bunch of other books that are similar, that are more like educational nonfiction. Like, I did that for when I read Circe and Song of Achilles and what's that other one? It was another kind of like Greek mythology retelling. And then I bought the fucking Iliad and the Odyssey and. Have I read it yet? No. But will I before Christopher Nolan's comes out? Yeah, I will. So also, I need to make sure that I got the right translation because I know that really affects it. The. I got this one. Yeah. The Odyssey by translated by Emily Wilson. That's really highly recommended. The girl. The girl at Barnes and Noble told me that. So. So I'm going to jump into that eventually before the Odyssey comes out. But next up on my list, other than my kind of ancillary reading to accompany Babel, is the Silent Patient. That's everywhere. And sometimes I give in to the like, you know, number one bestseller, like that shit. Like, book talks. Can't stop raving about, like, that shit. Because I read the back and I was like, what? What? Basically, the synopsis of Silent Patient, which I haven't read yet. I don't know what happens is this woman kills her husband or kills somebody and then is silent for years. Like, refuses to talk about it, won't talk to police officers, won't say what happened, won't talk to it. Kind of. I'm envisioning it's kind of like a Silence of the Lambs type thing. Hello, Clarice. Like that sort of thing. I don't know. So I'm gonna read it. I've heard it's thrilling. I also have Wuthering Heights. Duh. Wuthering Heights is in my carry on right now. I'm gonna start it. I can't believe I've never read it. Because especially I read Rebecca, which is that gothic, if you can even call it Gothic. It was set in the 1930s. It was a gothic mystery and it was crazy. It was Crazy. I really enjoyed it. I liked Rebecca. And then I read. Oh, well, of course I've read Dracula. And then of course, I was addicted to Nosferatu. What other gothic did I read recently? Let me call my goodreads. Oh, Dorian Gray. And then I read this was more Regency era. It doesn't really count. But I read. Remember that book that I talked about forever ago called Half a Soul? It was a Regency fairy tale. I love that fucking book. And there was a second one, so I read that one. It was so good. It was called 10,000 stitches. And Lord Blackthorn in that book, I really, really still fantasize about. So anyway, guys, I think that will do it for me this week. Thanks for listening to me rant. Babel changed my life. RF Kwang is my favorite author. When I dive into poppy war, you guys will know because I've heard it's devastating. I've also heard it's YA don't care. I'm gonna read it anyway. What else do I have in my bag right now? Wuthering Heights. Oh, one of my friends got me this 10 poems from Ireland. I'm gonna read that. And then I have one more. I try not to travel with too many books because inevitably I end up playing games on my iPad. But I do like, if I'm balls deep into a book like I was Babel, I. I read that for four hours on the plane. So, yeah. Thank you guys for listening. Loving you. And here's my song of the week. Are youe looking up by McGee and how many miles by McGee? And I'll see you guys next time. Oh, my God. One more thing. Major announcement, by the way. Broski Report is now on Patreon ad free. Free. Okay. It's monthly. You pay monthly for an ad free Broski Report experience. I know some of you bitches complain. I get it, okay? I've listened to your complaints and I've offered a solution. Completely ad free. Now I'm going to be totally up front. There are no bonus episodes. There's no, you know, live stream, nothing like that. This is purely ad free. And maybe in the future, we. We will do submissions. Okay? So people who subscribe to the Patreon, when it comes time to do submissions, which is coming, okay, we're organizing how best we want to do it. Submit your video, you know, submit your ghost story. We will put it up on the green screen, okay? And that's going to be Patreon only. So if you have not subscribed, go do that for an ad free experience and potentially to be included an episode of the Brosi Report. Go get merch if you want it. Broski shop. Okay, don't comment on my hair because I don't really know what's going on, and I've been staring at myself for the last hour, and it's pissing me off. Love you guys. And spooky Halloween is coming next week. You guys are going to love my costume. And also, me and Drew have something coming out, so go check on that. That'll come out the 29th, I believe. All right, Loving you guys. Bye.