A series of conversations with arts and culture professionals about their work and unique perspective on contemporary life. Hosted by Kevin Moore, the talks are held at twilight overlooking New York City's West Side.

Recent Posts Across the Commons

Mehribon Asadova (she/her) wrote a new post on the site asadova 17 minutes ago

Chapter 10 discusses group […] “”

Mehribon Asadova (she/her) wrote a new post on the site asadova 1 hour, 26 minutes ago

This editorial cartoon does […] “”

Mirabella Pesin wrote a new post on the site Mirabella's Weekly Posts 4 hours, 19 minutes ago

Toxic Vibes In […] “Toxic Vibes”

Anthony Picciano wrote a new post on the site Tony's Thoughts 7 hours, 55 minutes ago

Zohran Mamdani declares victory in NYC's Democratic mayoral primary as Andrew Cuomo concedes. Zohran Mamdani. Courtesy of AP. Dear Commons Community, Zohran Mamdani declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral pri […]

Anthony Picciano wrote a new post on the site Tony's Thoughts 8 hours, 29 minutes ago

English Version of “The Education-Industrial Complex Going Global” Dear Colleagues, An English translation of a chapter I wrote which was published last year in German (Bildung und Digitaler […]

Mirabella Pesin wrote a new post on the site Mirabella's Weekly Posts 17 hours, 53 minutes ago

Permission to speak In […] “Permission to speak”

Mirabella Pesin wrote a new post on the site Mirabella's Weekly Posts 18 hours, 53 minutes ago

"Let me explain" In chapter 13, we are introduced to the term gender communication. Gender communication relates to how we as individuals talk to each other and about each other. The cartoon above is the perfect ironic example of what mansplaining is. You can see how the couple is engaging in a conversation about mansplaining. The woman clearly does not know what it is and who better to explain than a man. I think it’s pretty funny because this cartoon depicts the exact behavior that it’s defining. Clearly the man has no idea that he’s mansplaining which leads us to think how unconscious bias affects communication between men and women. I remember a time where I was at work and I was tasked to clean up with a couple other of my coworkers. One of my coworkers never vacuumed before which blew my mind so I had to show and explain it to her. One minute later my male coworker did the exact same thing to her and corrected her on how to vacuum when she was doing it perfectly fine. When I explained it to her he was standing right in the room. I don’t think he realized that he was mansplaining but it really opened up my eyes to how uncons […] ““Let me explain””

Karim Elmenshawy (He/Him) wrote a new post on the site chapter1 21 hours, 26 minutes ago

When "Explaining" Becomes Part of the Problem The cartoon—”Maybe it would help if I explained ‘mansplaining’ to you”—perfectly encapsulates Chapter 13’s exploration of how communication reinforces gendered power dynamics. This single punchline visualizes the textbook’s concept of patronizing talk, where explanations meant to clarify often condescend instead. I witnessed this during a engineering lab last semester when a male classmate interrupted my presentation to “clarify” a concept I’d intentionally simplified for our non-stem major audience members. His interjection—delivered with the cartoon’s same faux-helpful tone—demonstrated the social construction of gender in action: my expertise required validation, while his was assumed. The chapter’s research on masculine speaking styles also explains why such interruptions disproportionately target women and nonbinary peers—what linguists call conversational floor hijacking. Yet the cartoon also hints at solutions. When our professor later facilitated a discussion about communication climates, we created guidelines ensuring equal airtime. This aligned with the textbook’s feminist communication strategies, proving that naming problematic patterns (like mansplaining) can dismantle them. My classmate’s subsequent apology—”I didn’t realize I was doing that”—mirrored the chapter’s finding that 68% of men underestimate their interruptive speech habits. Both this cartoon and chapter remind us: true communication equity isn’t about silencing voices, but recognizing how language itself has been gendered. As the symbolic nature of gender section notes , even “helpful” explanations carry historical baggage—like the cartoon’s jab exposing h […] “When “Explaining” Becomes Part of the Problem”

Karim Elmenshawy (He/Him) wrote a new post on the site chapter1 21 hours, 47 minutes ago

Cutting Through Corporate Complexity The cartoon’s bold declaration—”What we’ve done is make it dramatically easier to navigate the corporate hierarchy”—hangs ironically over what appears to be an even more convoluted organizational chart. This visual gag perfectly encapsulates Chapter 11’s examination of how organizations often complicate communication while claiming to simplify it. During my internship at a mid-sized marketing firm, leadership proudly announced a “flattened structure” to improve transparency. Yet within weeks, we discovered this simply meant each employee now reported to three “peer managers” instead of one supervisor—tripling approval layers for basic requests. The textbook’s network analysis section explains why this failed: when information pathways multiply without clear protocols, decision paralysis sets in. Our team’s workaround? An underground “shadow hierarchy” of instant messages between frustrated colleagues. This aligns with the chapter’s political perspective on how power structures resist true change. The cartoon’s smug proclamation mirrors my company’s all-hands meeting where executives celebrated eliminating bureaucratic “red tape” while quietly implementing 14 new compliance forms. Research cited in the communication climate section confirms this pattern—70% of employees in restructured organizations report increased confusion about chain of command. Yet the cultural perspective offers solutions. When an adjacent department scrapped formal hierarchies entirely, they adopted a “advice process” where any employee could make decisions after consulting affected colleagues. Within months, their project completion rate soared—proving that real simplification comes from empowering people, not rearranging org charts. As both this cartoon and chapter reveal, the most effective hierarchies aren’t those that claim to be simple, but those that acknowledge their complexity while creating spaces for genuin […] “Cutting Through Corporate Complexity”

Karim Elmenshawy (He/Him) wrote a new post on the site chapter1 22 hours, 2 minutes ago

The Power of Simple Communication in Groups This week’s cartoon—with its hesitant leader suggesting “we communicated with the employees” as if it’s a radical idea—perfectly captures Chapter 10’s core lesson about group dynamics. The exaggerated “kooky” label on basic dialogue mirrors how often we overcomplicate group communication, forgetting foundational principles like shared norms and democratic leadership. During my internship, our team spent weeks planning an employee survey to “increase engagement,” only to realize—like the cartoon’s punchline—that casual lunch chats revealed more than any formal tool. The chapter’s interdependence principle explains why: our fancy methods failed because they ignored the textbook’s advice that “purposeful interaction” starts with listening, not processes. The Shutterstock watermark ironically underscores this. Just as stock images simplify complex ideas, we often default to generic solutions (endless Slack threads, rigid hierarchies) instead of adapting to our group’s unique needs. Last semester, my study group replicated this: we used a complex shared notebook, but our best work happened during impromptu library debates—synergy in action. Both cartoon and chapter remind us that effective groups aren’t about flashy systems, but willingness to say, “ […] “The Power of Simple Communication in Groups”