In this episode I discuss the book Understanding Social Images: Essays on Visual Methods and Teaching Anthropology (Berghahn, 2025) with co-editors David Zeitlyn and Chihab El Khachab, a posthumous collection of writings by the late anthropologist Marcus Banks. Banks was a key the figures in development of visual anthropology, but his work remains ... Show More
Jul 19
Anja Foerschner, "Female Art and Agency in Yugoslavia, 1971–2001" (Bloomsbury, 2024)
In Female Art and Agency in Yugoslavia, 1971–2001 (Bloomsbury, 2024), Anja Foerschner offers a compelling exploration of the women artists, curators, scholars, and activists who shaped the cultural landscape of Yugoslavia and its successor states. Drawing on both original resear ... Show More
45m 35s
Jul 15
Mike F. Alvarez, Warren J. Bareiss, and Jolane Flanigan eds., "Suicide in Popular Media and Culture: Studies in Framing a Social Catastrophe" (Bristol University Press, 2026)
NB: This episode contains a discussion of suicide and may not be appropriate for all listeners. If you are thinking about hurting yourself, help is always available at 988 in the United States. Suicide in Popular Media and Culture: Studies in Framing a Social Catastrophe (Bristol ... Show More
1h 17m
Jul 15
Adam Geczy, "Glasses" (Bloomsbury, 2026)
Glasses are among the oldest and most commonplace prosthetics we have invented. But what does it mean to wear glasses? There is more to the answer than correcting vision. Glasses alter, enhance, and shield the way that we view the world, and the way the world sees us. Everyone ha ... Show More
34m 9s
Feb 2024
Burning For Something with Celine Song & Sofia Coppola
Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Oce ... Show More
1h 11m
Dec 2020
Waleed F. Mahdi, "Arab Americans in Film: From Hollywood and Egyptian Stereotypes to Self-Representation" (Syracuse UP, 2020)
It comes as little surprise that Hollywood films have traditionally stereotyped Arab Americans, but how are Arab Americans portrayed in Arab films, and just as importantly, how are they portrayed in the works of Arab American filmmakers themselves?
In Arab Americans in Film: Fro ... Show More
1h 6m
Mar 2021
The Best Movie of 2021 So Far, and a Chuck Klosterman Theory of Film
Sean and Amanda welcome author Chuck Klosterman to dive deep into two fascinating topics. The first is Adam Curtis' sprawling six-part documentary series 'Can't Get You Out of My Head,' which explores the absurdity of modern life and the intersections of power, drugs, culture, an ... Show More
1h 29m
Oct 2021
Practical Magic with David Lowery & Elijah Wood
<p>Topics covered include: the importance of letting your movie breath, hate-cutting <em>The Green Knight</em>, the fall of Troy, Grail mythology, a mom’s helpful nudge, old-fashioned movie magic, the epic oner from <em>Eternal Sunshine</em>, concentric circles of production and ... Show More
50m 52s
Dec 2021
True Form with Paul Mescal & Honor Swinton Byrne
<p>Topics covered include: the thrill and terror of acting without a script, the meta nature of <em>The Souvenir </em>movies, Joanna Hogg as genius puppet master, the return of real film, Paul’s “chill and kind” rugby-playing brother, Irish gatekeeping, drama school memories, slo ... Show More
45m 3s