Monsters and their makers - Many Minds
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- Title
- Monsters and their makers
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- <p class="p1">It seems we've always had monsters among us. We've long been enthralled by dragons and giants, by the likes of Frankenstein and Godzilla and Dracula, by witches and werewolves and countless others. They roam our maps and creation myths; they crop up in our dreams, in our children's books, in our political rhetoric. Where do these beings spring from? What do they do for us? How have they changed over time? And, ultimately, what do our monsters say about their makers?</p> <p class="p1">My guests today are <a href= "https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Natalie-Lawrence/228550012"> <span class="s1">Dr. Natalie Lawrence</span></a> and <a href= "https://www.surekhadavies.org/"><span class="s1">Dr. Surekha Davies</span></a>. Both are historians of science and authors of recent books on monsters: Natalie's book is <a href= "https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Enchanted-Creatures/Natalie-Lawrence/9781639368655"> <span class="s1"><em>Enchanted creatures: Our monsters and their meanings</em></span></a>. Surekha's book is <a href= "https://www.surekhadavies.org/humans-a-monstrous-history"><span class="s1"> <em>Humans: A monstrous history</em></span></a>.</p> <p class="p1">Here, Surekha, Natalie, and I talk about monsters as category breakers and boundary walkers—and about how monstrosity is in the eye of the beholder. We walk through a menagerie of monsters—from the apocryphal blemmyes of old travelogues, to a hairy-faced girl in 16th century France, to the figure of Caliban in <em>The Tempest</em>. We discuss the psychological and cultural forces that generate monsters. And we talk about whether anyone would want to live in a world without them.</p> <p class="p1">Along the way, we touch on the "monstrification" of social groups; psychoanalysis; our primal fear of snakes; curiosity cabinets; therianthropes and the Cave of the Three Brothers; the relationship between monstrosity and geography; our long fascination with so-called monstrous births; the Muppet Show; dinosaurs and sea creatures; and the question of what monsters might do for children in particular.</p> <p class="p1">Alright friends, it's the monstrous season and this is a fun one to help you celebrate. Enjoy!</p> <p class="p3"> </p> <p class="p4"><span class="s2"><em>Notes</em></span></p> <p class="p4">3:00 – Grendel's mother has often been a subject of critical discussion and adaptation. See, for instance, the 2018 novel, <a href= "https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780374208431"><span class= "s1"><em>The Mere Wife</em></span></a>.</p> <p class="p4">12:30 – For a classic history-of-science treatment of “wonders” (including monsters) and our conceptions of nature, see <a href= "https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780942299915/wonders-and-the-order-of-nature-1150-1750?srsltid=AfmBOor5WYPJlJ_7xpUIfGXKuzDGOPZnUlhDjKXRP0eCLORBCXNTurMx"> <span class="s1">here</span></a>.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p4">18:30 – For those unfamiliar with muppets, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUIyANP9avo"><span class= "s1">an episode</span></a> of the Muppet Show, which premiered in 1976.</p> <p class="p4">24:00 – The blemmyes were often the subjects of illustration—for examples, see <a href= "https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/blemmyes/"><span class= "s1">here</span></a>.</p> <p class="p4">26:00 – For more on Sir Walter Raleigh and the blemmyes, see Dr. Davies’ recent <a href= "https://buttondown.com/surekhadavies/archive/walter-raleghs-headless-monsters-and-annotation/"> <span class="s1">newsletter post</span></a>.</p> <p class="p4">29:00 <span class="s3">– One</span> example of monsters at the margins of maps can be seen in the <a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_be_dragons#/media/File:Psalter_World_Map,_c.1265.jpg"> <span class="s1">Psalter World Map</span></a>.</p> <p class="p4">32:00 – For more on Cave of the Trois-Frères and the Sorcerer, see <a href= "https://www.donsmaps.com/troisfreres.html"><span class= "s1">here</span></a>.<span class= "Apple-converted-space"> </
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-23T00:14:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://sites.libsyn.com/248363/monsters-and-their-makers
- Length
- 66:05
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1761178440-5171.mp3
- Size
- 90.77 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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