Ruthie - Me And My Dad

Ruthie is dragged back to the mic for another lockdown session in which she stresses the importance of mattress toppers, and worries she's not committed enough to anything. 'What am I going to do for the rest of my life when I don't care about anything?' she asks. 'Well, there's always journalism,' replies dad.  Musically, the Kinks take on Mahalia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the latest lockdown session, an increasingly demotivated Ruth - with student life suspended - tackles Black Lives Matter, explains Tik Tok, and learns some new words from Dad and Suzie Dent, although Dad gives a totally misleading definition of the word 'anomie.' Also Ella Fitzgerald, mundane celebrity sightings, and the efforts of the French to keep their language pure.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'When we establish the matriarchy,' says Ruth, 'The two men we'll save are Bill Gates and Richard Osman. And maybe Leonardo DiCaprio and Harry Styles.' This week Ruth and Dad talk Eurovision, and Iceland's superb entry. Also Ruth looks at Coronavirus as a class issue, and gets some support for her views on colonialism. She also bizarrely takes issue with Dad's pronunciation of the word 'California.'  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruthie and Dad remain locked down, and added to the hell of being stranded with aging parents, Ruth is also frustrated by the lack of progress in her Uni work. Online tuition is just not working, she says, and no-one seems to be thinking about a solution for Britain's students. Also, the 'New Normal' everybody's talking about - although Ruth was quite happy with the old Normal - should include a rebalancing of the nation's resources away from London to the North. Ruth also has a 400-year-old swipe at the Mayflower pilgrims of 1620. Popular culture references include Love Island, Grays Anatomy, Friends, Frazier, and Tootsie.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the first of a new series, 19-year-old Ruthie is feeling the generation gap particularly keenly, reluctantly furloughed from the Universtiy of York and trapped in lockdown with her ma and pa. In this first episode she delves into cinema history, explaining to her dad the 'cool girl' trope in modern movies, and luxuriating in 'comfort TV,' Gilmore Girls and How I Met Your Mother. Meanwhile, as Ruthie and dad swap music suggestions, there's a taste of Bob Dylan, Jeremy Zucker, and Kanye West.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We edited together some clips of Ruthie, Uni, Dad, and Me as our entry for the British Podcast Awards, but as it seems those awards will not happen we thought we'd share them anyway. The clips are from the podcasts we made around the time Ruth was starting at the University of York, and settling in  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The very last Ruthie - Uni, Dad & Me, for the time being at least, as University shuts & Ruth is isolated with parents. In the swansong podcast, we look at the economics of Coronavirus, the death of expectation, whether you want to be on the wagon or off, what Dame Harriett Walter would do if a lecherous male put his hand on her knee, and musically Isaac Hayes faces off against Childish Gambino. Thank you all for your support during all three seasons.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

...in which dad questions whether some young people view Coronavirus in some bizarre way as a payback for Brexit, and Ruthie laments losing what might have been the best summer of her life. She also offers free French lessons just to fill the yawning time chasm in front of her, and to keep in practice. And why it's not right to compare the current crisis to wartime - and Wakefield's dance of death, the Gas Mask disco in the city. Musically, Sly and the Family Stone take on British singer Emily Burns  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

...in which dad is confused when a leopardskin bowtie and comedy leopardskin ears arrive for him. AlsoRuthie and dad discuss what the effects of Coronavirus are likely to be on University life. Ruth, meanwhile, has discovered the American TV show Love Is Blind, which it turns out not to be, She explains the patriarchy to dad, and musically country singer Iris DeMent faces off against Tegan and Sara.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Family relationships are a major thread in the latest father-and-daughter podcast. With dad being a 'spooky' middle child, and Ruthie the baby of the family, birth order is discussed, as well as the parent-child dynamic with the calculation that once your child leaves for university, you have already spent 95 per cent of the time you will ever spend with them. One listener sends his sad story of losing touch with his daughter who is a student at York University, and other subjects covered include; no-platforming, Nandos, Selfridges, and Jeremy Thorpe. There are also a couple of 'mildly interesting' dad stories.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruth says she'd definitely kiss a Tory, if necessary, and drink Yorkshire Tea. She reveals that students at the rival York St. John's University think Uni Students are all 'posh and up ourselves - which we sort of are,' and this week discusses students doing sex work to keep their heads above water, and, in the light of the Weinstein conviction returns to the subject of sexual consent. She also asks 'if you're a 30-something male and you're not doing a podcast with your mate, what are you doing?' Musically, Sarah Vaughan takes on Spanish singer Rosalia.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Serious Uni issues such as lecturers' strikes, Uni elections, and the future of the Erasmus programme after Brexit come to the fore, but Ruth also explains her urgent need for a sombrero, and defines what constitutes rock bottom after a night out. Also dad explains to Ruth the essential difference between Rod Stewart and Cliff Richard, and father and daughter have different views on the role of the media in the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack. Musically, Emmylou Harris takes on Australian dj duo, The Avalanches.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the latest generation gap podcast, Ruth and dad discuss extreme porn freely available on the Internet, Ruth reports on reactions in York to the early Coronavirus victims, and dad misinterprets 'Netflix and chill' to Ruth's huge amusement. Ruth fails to be outraged by a musical of Pretty Woman, and is unsure about the idea of boarding schools for eight year-olds. Musically, Duke Ellington takes on Declan McKenna  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, the story of the drunken/high student who wakes Ruth at 3am, goes into the shower and emerges with two cartons of chips that weren't there when he went in. Also Ruth reveals what frightens here, and what comforts her, dad and Ruth argue (again) about whether this is a racist country, and musically Johnny Cash takes on young Leicester group Easylife.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

...in which Ruth has low moments back at Uni, rejects pole dancing as a fitness regime - 'still feels a bit demeaning' - considers the problems of being posh in light of the Laurence Fox row, and musically Paul McCartney takes on Lorde.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruthie and Dad have a heated debate on whether Britain is a racist country, discuss campus sexual assault, youth slang, and how Ruth unwinds after a long day ('Just thinking about Leeds, because it gives her a calming pleasure.' And they play The Rutles, which Ruth says is 'more Penny Lane than Penny Lane.'  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a New Year/End of Decade special, father and daughter discuss how life has changed in the past ten years, chiefly through the prism of dating, given that Twitter didn't exist before 2012. Also why teenagers don't want to go to the movies any more - unlike Ruth who was brought up on Clifford The Big Red Dog - The Movie and Spirited Away. And why Viking Studies and comedy writing and performing are considered 'Mickey Mouse' degrees by some students.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ruthie has finished her first term studying French and Spanish at the University of York, and is settling back in at home, enjoying the choice of crisps, but lamenting the death of Labour, and disagreeing quite strongly with dad about the uselessness or otherwise of Jeremy Corbyn. Also ungrammatical dating, the overuse of emojis, the withdrawal of trays from students at St Andrews, and the 'good, clean pop' of Harry Styles.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

....in which Ruth lists ten things she has learnt in her first term at the University of York, tries to decide whether she's a post-colonial feminist or not, discusses snobbery towards the North of England, and laments the scandal of students' rented accommodation.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From various phases of the Ruthie - Uni, Dad, and Me generation gap podcast, Martin forces a teenager to watch Fawlty Towers, while Ruthie gives her feminist angle on strip clubs, cheerleading, and darts walk-on girls, and expresses doubts about Chernobyl and Auschwitz tourism  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.