Croak: Recent Episodes
My Neuro-Corner @ RMHS
The lads (Aryan, Shriyans, Vihaan) have riveting discussions about neurodiversity and how we can create a more inclusive environment for everyone; we represent the Richard Montgomery High School branch of My Neuro-Corner, an youth advocacy organization partnered with the Stanford Neurodiversity Project.
Joined by friends of the program Shuchi Tyagi, Logan "Paul" Tannenbaum, and Liliana Joy Katz-Hollander, we explore a few case studies of representation of neurodivergent people in the media.
note that The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* was published in 1892, not the early 1900s.
The Lads & Co. explore the horrors of ABA and discuss the perennial question: what is to be done?Forgive the (honestly impressive) quack at the end, that was in fact Aryan and not Toad (contact us if you find them, dead or alive).
We're back! (Whether or not we're better than ever is up to your discretion.)This one's a bit unserious (many a cut was made), sit back and bask in the glory of Ginger's magnificent design. Do not bask in Jessica shoving the mic through our esophagi; we will be pressing charges. To clarify, Francis and Aryan are Shriyans+ and Shriyans- respectively.ABA will be next, we decided to split the recording into two episodes to give the topic the gravity it deserves.
Bourgeois democracy meets its match in our divine avatar as Croak takes on the elected bureaucracy. ¡Viva la Revolución!
The lads catch hands at the behest of Liliana Joy Katz-Hollander, the spirit of feminism herself, who then polemicizes against the patriarchal world order through the lens of neurodiversity and shamelessly plugs her club (do check out NOWCAN RM though, they're doing god's work). We then discuss culture and the imperial core & periphery, and Vihaan is ruthlessly silenced by the counterrevolutionary forces of Joy (he recommends that all Croakers read "Divided World, Divided Class" by Zak Cope).
Shriyans legitimizes the purge by getting the episode marked as explicit, and we learn that (among other things) feminism is actually quite talkative; no amount of talking could have resulted in the collective plight of Vihaan & Jessica, however, who must now reckon with the dark future ahead (vice versa with Aryan, perchance?). An absolute legend named Jaheem regales us with stories of Suriname's community & food, and Shriyans channels the spirit of Machiavelli himself to secure some Potbelly.
I (quirky narrative perspective shift, whoever could it be?) don't quite have a fun end to the description this time around, so I'll conclude with a real-time 2:00 AM thought: what culture am I - and I suspect a few others - referring to, and what gives me (does anything need to give me, what qualifies them for this) the authority to claim one as my own?
The lads are graced with the divine presence of guest star Charlotte, who is ruthlessly interrogated about the use of language and its effects on neurodivergent folks (or, perchance, just folks in general!). Her truly glittering mastery of the spoken word should be looked upon as an example to the masses.
I regret to inform you that after Charlotte's beautiful soliloquys, some truly nefarious hijinks took place in the hallowed halls of room 342. Unspeakable as they were, I can assure you that Aryan has made a full recovery and Jessica only suffered mild blows to her Stanford application. Sufficient steps will be taken in the future to prevent Shriyans' shenanigans from further desecrating the sanctity of ourselves and our posterity.
Let us impart upon Samiksha the most benevolent of wishes as we accompany her through what is sure to be a tumultuous fourteen minutes as her monthslong yearning for this production is finally satisfied. She will inexorably be the first to go when the revolution comes (second only to whoever made that announcement in the middle of the recording, we will personally not let this slide).
I leave you, dearest Croaker, with a query: What happens to a dream deferred?
Our lord descends from his holy perch to grace us with his presence! Club sponsor Dr. Karl Kovacs IV bestows upon us his sparkling insights in an interview about neurodiversity in the classroom setting.
The lads meander about on their noble quest to learn and spread awareness, this time finding themselves in the fearsome environment of the high school classroom, and we are joined by beloved club president Jessica Joy Wang, who engages in some laddish fun.
We sincerely apologize for our lateness; to repent, we hereby take an oath (forged in blood!) to try harder. If Hannibal could cross the Alps, the timely continuance of Croak shall fell Rome itself. VENI VIDI VICI, CROAKERS.
An introduction to the concept of neurodiversity and a discussion on terminology associated with it. (This goes along with a lot of what we talked about in the previous MNC meeting)
Guest star Shuchi Tyagi nearly forgets her name (and Dorothea Dix's date of birth) as Shriyans fails to restrain his profane, wanton whims. [This is why there were so many abrupt cuts] Aryan serenades us with croaks from hell and Vihaan supplements them with onomatopoeia reminiscent of Prometheus getting his liver perpetually eaten by vultures. Godspeed to all who make it to the final minute, and God Save the Lads.
Excuse the ambient Rockville Library tomfoolery, perchance our redeemed audio quality counterbalances it?
Welcome to the official RM My Neuro-Corner podcast!
This episode is just a trailer; we'll talk about what MNC is about, our name [Croak], and most importantly, what we should name our mascot!
Shriyans takes some unwarranted disrespect and Aryan struggles with his audio quality as we have a heated debate about the epithet we should bestow upon our godforsaken frog. Vihaan nearly gets sued for defamation [see if you can find where a certain Jessica Wang had to cut out the audio!].
'Twas an artistic choice to make the intro and outro music random and lacking in flow, we're just experimenting with the wonders of modern music and...negative sound? [The mental gymnastics are beyond us at this point we just made up those concepts to cover for our terminal laziness]
On another note, we are compelled to direct our utmost gratitude toward a positively spiffing friend of the program, Gloria Liang, for creating our podcast art. All hail our glorious designer! (And of course credit goes to Aryan for the initial sketches, we love our multitalented king)
Until next time,
The Lads