The Thinkingest Episode 5: The Fluidity of Freaks

[audio:http://lascheratlarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Episode-5.mp3]

What's behind the term "overthinking?" What's behind this urge to have a podcast of the things we over-analyze and dissect to exhaustion? In some sense there's an anxiety about being thought a freak, about doing things "wrong" by some sense. So I thought I'd spend some time having a conversation with an old friend of mine who devotes most of her overthinking to studying freaks and their portrayal in literature. Stevi Costa, a PhD student in English Literature at the University of Washington talked with me over Skype about her investigation into bodies, performance, the concept of the "freak" and how the sideshow, vaudeville, circuses, fairs and the like become frames in post-war American literature for understanding these subjects. In our talk, we address the concept of what it means to be a freak, how the term freak has been repurposed by those once denigrated as freaks, the meaning and fluidity of disability and related identities (and perhaps the fluidity of identity itself). All of this provides lots of ripe ground for over-thinking. I'm probably not doing the nature of Stevi's research justice, so you'd better listen to hear it from Stevi in her own words.Bodies and performance.

One note: this podcast was originally recorded on Nov. 6, 2012, so there's some semi-out-of-date discussion toward the end of Superstorm Sandy, but the overthinking surrounding it remains relevant. There are a few technical difficulties in this episode related to my Skype connection. My apologies to Stevi and my listeners for those.

Thanks for listening!