Hello Everyone, We will no longer be updating Loud Murmurs. Due to some very personal changes that happened recently, we decided to pull the plug on Loud Murmurs and sincerely hope that everyone can respect our decision.  Given the sudden nature of this announcement, we will keep our RSS feed up for another week. If you like a certain episode, feel free to download it onto your own devices within this timeframe. We ask that you respect our decision to shut down the podcast and not repost...

In our annual holiday special, our four hosts (minus Diaodiao) and our editor Joshua look back on our favorite LMM episodes, as well as TV shows and movies that made us laugh, made us think, and got us through the year.  2:47 Afra’s favorite: time travel trilogy (part I, II, III)4:07 Ina’s favorite: ‘Sound of Metal’ (part I and II) and a window into the deaf and hard of hearing community (and their representation in pop culture, e.g. The Bachelor) 8:20 Joshua’s favorite: ’Shang Chi’ (episode...

[Episode theme] Loud Murmurs is finally boarding the Dune train. We invited interpreter William White and our listener and ecology PhD Luojun Yang to join the four hosts.  We dive into a couple of themes, like the significance of imagining a feudalistic society in the far far future, the technological developments of a post-Butlerian Jihad world, the socio-historical background of Frank Hubert’s novel, spice harvesting and our relationship with natural resources, the white savior complex...

[Episode theme] Who's the real bad art friend? Well, it depends on who you ask. Our hosts each share their own perspectives on the hottest Internet discourse and dive into a myriad of related topics.  [Timecode] 2:57 what is the NYT Magazine’s “Who is the Bad Art Friend” really about 6:30 Diaodiao’s perspective: it’s about the power dynamics behind an act of kindness 11:00 Afra’s perspective: the story highlights the gap between the societal impact and the literary nature of a work of...

This episode is brought to you by 7or9 heels — an innovative brand that’s dedicated to making more comfortable high heels for women. Our podcast was invited to participate in their brand campaign with the theme “from pain to joy.” In this episode, we discuss the feminist awakening of female protagonists — specifically Harley Quinn and Black Widow. In the context of Hollywood’s movie-making industrial complex, paired with the awakening of the female consciousness, these two have evolved and...

[Episode theme] In this episode, we talk about the latest Marvel blockbuster, “Shang-Chi: legend of the ten rings.” At the time of publishing, Shang-Chi has become the first pandemic film to gross over $200M at the box office. We dive deep into what we love and appreciate about this film — the various styles of fight scenes, Tony Leung, care paid to language and dialect. And where we find the movie to be falling short — the ambiguity of Taluo, the tired narratives when it comes to womanhood,...

In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules. Time Code 1:45 Our second category of time travel...

In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules. Time Code 2:07 A cool anecdote about Chien-Shiung Wu,...

In this ambitious three-part series, we want to talk about time travel through some of our favorites ---- Tenet, Loki, and Interstellar. As viewers, we experience movies frame by frame; as human beings, we experience time through the relentless one-way time arrow. Through subverting our familiar narrative structures and disrupting causality, time travel can raise important questions about the universe we live in and its physical rules. Time Code 1:43 So what is “philosophy of physics”?4:35...

[Episode theme] We talk about Netflix’s “The Chair” with two female professors, about the show’s portrayal of female allyship, discrimination against faculty of color, the debate over free speech on the American campus, and why we think the show missed the mark.  [Timecode] 2:00 Our first impression of the show 3:40 What is it like to be a mother and a college professor in the show vs IRL 6:20 In just six episodes, this show attempts to capture the complexity of contemporary U.S. campus...

[Episode theme] RGB has left us for a year. At this moment, when the Texas abortion law diminishes her political legacy, we re-upload this episode we recorded the second day she passed away.  In this episode, we looked back at Ginsberg’s life, as well as the many landmark cases she participated in. We know history is composed of light and shade, the future is blur and fragile. But people like Ginsburg paddled through the countercurrent. And we want to make her struggle more...

[Episode theme] This episode is a part of “RM conquers the podcast universe series”, a series by ten Chinese podcasts, each taking one episode from the latest season of Rick and Morty.  In this episode, we discussed the 8th episode of Season 5 of “Rick and Morty.” This episode reveals the history between Rick and his dear friend Birdperson. In this “Inception” parody, Rick dives into Birdperson’s memory to rescue his consciousness. We talked about the epitome of the characters, and why we are...

On August 13, 2021, Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, announced that he is stepping aside as Britney Spears’ conservator. This news comes after a social media movement known under the hashtag #FreeBritney.  According to her testimony to a Los Angeles judge, Britney Spears has been drugged, compelled to work against her will, and prevented from removing her birth control device under the conservatorship. In the meantime, she was able to release four albums, hold a global tour, and run a...

In this episode, our hosts Izzy, Diaodiao and Ina, joined by our guest Alex Lawyer, dive into HBO’s new limited series, “Mare of Easttown.” We dissect character arcs and plot points to dig deeper into the real story: the story of a blue-collar mostly-white community that’s plagued by the opioid crisis.    What we discussed 2:27 First impressions, potential spoiler warning 05:30 What makes this show a good thriller? Entertaining plot points, can spur in-depth discussions around social issues,...

In this episode, we talk about film "In the Heights" — a film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Tony Award-winning musical — with our friends from podcast 城市罐头. We mused on a few galactic questions: What exactly is gentrification? Why should we care, and how do we understand it in a Chinese context? Is commercializing the culture of a community the way to protect it? Why does this film feel lacking in 2021?  02:53 Introduction to the film 07:21 What is gentrification, and why should we...

Chinese pop star Kris Wu is facing a #MeToo storm, after 18-year-old Du Meizhu accused him of pressuring young women into having sex. Wu has denied the accusations but he the accusations have triggered widespread public outcry. In light of this news, we want to re-share our earlier episode about the 2019 movie “Bombshell” and two books that started the “MeToo movement” around the world. The week we recorded this episode, the verdict of the Weinstein trial had just come out and some say it is...

[Episode theme] This is a special episode. Afra went to the two-week-long Shanghai International Film Festival and talks to our friends Xiaoran and Yaqin about their experiences. In 2021, the success of this event alone feels like a rare victory for Chinese cinephiles. [Timecode] 2:28 Why did we go to the Shanghai International Film Festival?  7:50 The cinephile community in Shanghai  16:10 How do hardcore movie lovers make the most out of these festivals?  27:25 Why do we still need film...

In light of the recent re-screening of Lord of the Rings, we chatted with physicist Cheng Yangyang and LOTR superfan Wenjin about this classic work that we had the privilege to grow up with. We talked about the exiled human king, re-examined the orcs, and mused on the revenge of the ents. We also talked about how the work inspired us, and how we, as diasporas, see ourselves in the wandering steps of Aragorn’s self-inflicted exile -- the act of “dying just a little”. 2:44 Our first experience...

[Episode theme] This episode is the edited version of Afra and Izzy’s interview with Xiaochu, screenwriter of the popular Chinese wuxia fantasy “Word of Honor.” We talked about why the show is well-received outside China, her experience studying and trying to make it as a producer in the movie industry in LA, and her understanding of the characters Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing. There’s also a Q&A with three fans of the show at the end and Xiaochu’s special English message to fans overseas....

“Cruella” is Disney’s latest live-action release where a beloved old movie gets a brand new life, starring two crowd-favorite Emmas: Emma Stone and Emma Thompson. Izzy and Diaodiao saw the movie together in the theater, and they dive into the themes of the movie, the complicated history of Disney villains, and the problematic elements in the movie that made us cringe (queerbaiting alert!) 【Timecodes】 3:52 “Cruella” is way more awesome when watched in theaters and with friends 7:39 Disney...

In this episode, we continue our conversation on ‘Sound of Metal’, a movie about a drummer whose sudden loss of hearing puts him on an unlikely journey of growth and self-discovery. We also discuss how little we know about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.  The conversation is so good and so long that we split it into two parts.  See full transcript in Chinese for part 2 here.  【Timecodes】 3:37 Xinke share her thoughts on the errors in ‘Sound of Metal’ 8:33 the overly complicated U.S....

This week, we talk about the movie ‘Sound of Metal,’ a story about a drummer (played by Riz Ahmed) whose sudden loss of hearing puts him on an unlikely journey of growth and self-discovery. We also discuss how little we know about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, about sign language and Deaf culture.  The conversation is so good and so long that we split it into two parts. See full transcript in Chinese for part 1 here. 【Timecodes】 3:15 Brief introduction to Sound of Metal8:56 Our...

“WandaVision” takes place after Thanos snapped his fingers and eliminated half of the people in the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. The show departs from the usual superhero Marvel movies in a number of significant ways: it’s a TV show, the main character is a woman, the heart of the story is about grieving, trauma and intimacy.  Like people in the Marvel universe, we all collectively lived through a traumatic event on a global scale and are still far from being completely free from the...

This episode, we unpacked our reactions to the 93rd Academy Awards that honored films created in 2020 with our dear friend Eileen Chow. Despite being a particularly underwhelming viewing experience, the Oscars created cultural moments that sparked heated discussion across China, the US, and all diaspora in between. We talked about: 1:20 The “Diet Oscars” of 20217:50 Chole Zhao’s Nomadland acceptance speech is a phenomenal cross-cultural pop-culture moment15:00 The controversy of quoting...