Valentine's Day, Lupercalia, and Spiritual Symbolism
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Release Date: 02/16/2024
Will Ireland Ever Reunite? Part Two
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
We continue our story of the history of Ireland, exploring the Easter Rising, the Irish Free State, the Troubles, and finally, independence. But the story doesn't end with independence... is reunification possible by the end of the decade?
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Will Ireland Ever Reunite? Part One
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Ireland is a place that's full of lore, culture, and history, and many Americans can trace their roots back to the island. However, the island is also known for enduring centuries of political turmoil, most (or all?) of which came from their neighbors, the English. After suffering through colonization efforts, cultural erasure, exploitation, and even (debatably, but not really) an attempted genocide, the Irish lost a portion of their island to the United Kingdom. Now, Northern Ireland has, for the first time, shown signs of possibly wanting to leave the UK and reunite with the Republic of...
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The Duniverse, Storytelling, and The Meaning of Life
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
I've been reading Dune lately, and while the capitalistic undertones of the story are hardly subtle, it got me thinking about the ways stories and mythologies inform culture and society. In this episode, we'll explore the meaning of life and the way fiction can help us unravel the mysteries of our own existence.
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Valentine's Day, Lupercalia, and Spiritual Symbolism
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Many people believe the modern holiday of Valentine's Day originated in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia. That may or may not be true, but as religion, governments, and other power systems evolved across Europe and the Middle East, we also saw the roots of a few other modern phenomena emerge.
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Ecuador: A Paradise Lost to Cartel Violence
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Ecuador was once the most peaceful country in South America even though it was bordered by two of the world's largest cocaine producers. However, despite political and economic instability throughout the years, things took a violent turn in Ecuador once a Colombian ceasefire between the government and the cocaine-peddling guerrillas left a power vacuum in the region. Suddenly, warring cartels were fighting for control of valuable trade routes and ports in Ecuador, plunging the country into chaos. Will Ecuador's newly-elected, young, and inexperienced president be able to wrangle his...
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A Look Back at Ten Episodes
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Happy New Year, everyone. To kick off 2024, I thought it'd be a good idea to look back at the first ten episodes of the Modern Context podcast and get some updates on the stories we covered. Before we can move forward, we have to understand where we came from. And so, onward into the future!
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I Believe All Will Be Forgiven
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Welcome to the Christmas season, to the nights of Hanukkah, and the days of Yule. It's officially the Winter Solstice and with that comes a litany of winter-related celebrations. Regardless of what you choose to celebrate or how you celebrate, there's one thing that underlies each holiday -- belief. In this episode, we explore the incessant and unceasing influences our beliefs wield over our lives, and the ways in which we see the world and the people in it.
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Henry Kissinger: The Man, The Legacy, The Reckoning
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Henry Kissinger is dead. A servant of these United States until his quiet, well-earned death, Kissinger leaves behind a legacy that is either reprehensible and unforgivable or respectable and ingenious -- depends on who you ask. In this episode, we'll look back on the illustrious and horrifying career of a man who's been credited with protecting democracy and ensuring American dominance around the world. Again, depends on who you ask.
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Black Friday and The Undeniable Suburbia of It All
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
Black Friday is upon us once again. On this, an unapologetically consumerist holiday, if you want to call it that, we celebrate shopping. Commerce. Retail. Profit for the sake of... Christmas. But how did Black Friday come to be, why does it have such a chokehold on the suburbs, and how is its societal impacts and influences changing with the times?
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Thanksgiving: Gratitude and Guilt in Trying Times
MODERN CONTEXT with Yasmin Aliya Khan
It's hard to get through a holiday season these days without hearing about the problematic histories behind some of our most cherished American traditions. With Thanksgiving just around the corner and the word "genocide" already all over the news and social media, we can expect this holiday season to be especially fraught with complex and difficult-to-process emotions. But does a historical origin story necessarily take away from a modern interpretation of a holiday, or can traditions become separated from their roots to take on a different meaning entirely?
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