Episode 18. Party in the USA!: Miley Cyrus, Cultural Appropriation, and Ten-Year Reunions

Summary: We need to talk about something important: Brie and Joe's upcoming ten-year college reunion. The SWOTI hosts discuss what we're looking forward to, what we're dreading, and the deep satisfaction of baring one's midriff to bypass some of those awkward reunion interactions. Next, we turn to Miley Cyrus and the ire she's drawn from the Internet due to her recent comments about hip hop: her complicated relationship with the genre and the parts of it she views as misogynistic. Is this outrage warranted? Has Miley used hip hop as a prop to further her career only to discard it when it's convenient? Why is she being read for cultural appropriation when some of her other pop counterparts aren't? Brie and Joe then do another deep dive into cultural appropriation. What are the connotations when minorities appropriate from other minority cultures? Can Joe wear a sombrero? Can Brie wear a qipao? And, moving back to Miley, who is "allowed" to borrow from black culture and black music? One of our takeaways? All music is black music. Except #polka. And #Beethoven. Finally, we read some of our fans' iTunes comments because...it makes us feel good.