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Episode 3.6: Labyrinth Lost

Happy Hunter Moon and Samhain/ Day of the Dead/ harvest season! This month we’re discussing Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova.

Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Little Drum.

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Welcome/ Pant Chat/ Introduction (0:00 – 8:53)

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (8:53 – 39:27)

“Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (39:27 – 55:33)

“Treguna, Mekoides, Trecorum, Satis, Dee!” (55:33 – 1:19:45)

Final Spells (1:19:45 – 1:23:00)

 

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Episode 3.2: The Wee Free Men

Happy belated supermoon/ Ostara/ spring equinox! It was the closest coincidence of a full moon with the equinox since 2000, so we hope you did something magical to celebrate! (Katie and Jenny went to see the superbloom poppy fields in Southern California.)

We apologize for the delay getting this posted. Katie’s been going through some major life events, which got in the way of editing, but it’s never too late to enjoy our VERY fun discussion about The Wee Free Men, the first Tiffany Aching book in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Plus we have a gorgeously updated theme song from the talented Sarah Little Drum! (Listen to more of her music on her website.)

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Welcome/ Pant Chant/ Introduction (0:00 – 10:15)

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (10:20 – 35:20)

“‘Round About the Cauldron Go” (35:25 – 55:00)

“Treguna, Mekoides, Trecorum, Satis, Dee!” (55:05 – 1:11:45)

Final Spells (1:11:50 – 1:19:00)

Sign Off and Bloopers (1:19:10 – 1:23:00)

Important Links

SNL H&M Sketch

Childish Gambino’s Live Performance of Redbone

Wee Free Men Heading to Cinemas!

Next month will be a minisode. You can find our schedule for the season here.

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Episode 2.2 A Wrinkle in Time

Happy full moon, warriors! And happy Ostara, Passover, and Easter to those who celebrate. It’s the last blue moon of 2018, so we hope you’re doing something magical tonight!

In this episode we discuss Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved children’s classic A Wrinkle in Time as well as the recent (2018) film adaptation directed by Ava DuVernay.

Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Littledrum.

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Introduction (0:00 – 4:11)

Which Craft? (4:16 – 30:50)

  • L’Engle’s publication journey and inspiration for the book
  • Setting for the story: New England vs. L.A.
  • “It was a dark and stormy night”
  • Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which as witches (+ references to Shakespeare)
  • A Wrinkle in Time as a contemporary dream vision
  • Process of adaptation and changes made for the film:
    • Focus on Meg’s journey: learning to love herself
    • Sequence on Camazotz
    • Final showdown with the IT
    • Meg’s relationship with her father
    • Mrs. Who’s quotes
    • Changes to Mrs. Whatsit’s character
    • Changes to the Happy Medium
  • Visuals/ CGI and music

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” + “Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (30:55 – 55:37)

  • Casting Storm Reid and centering women of color
  • Meg’s journey to embrace her body and natural hair
  • The witches’ appearance and bodies
  • Importance of representation in film and how movies like Black Panther and A Wrinkle in Time are changing the industry
  • Calvin as sidekick/ love interest/ supporting character
  • Meg’s parents, biracial couple
  • Dr. Kate Murry: beauty, scientist, mother
  • Mae Jemison
  • Charles Wallace

Related Links

Vulture: Ava DuVernay on Meg’s Natural Hair

Code Switch: In Search of Black-on-Black Love

“‘Round About the Cauldron Go” (55:43 – 1:06:02)

Gather ’round while Jenny drops some of her boundless wisdom about gardens and flowers and the portrayal of the natural world in the film!

  • Meg’s backyard garden
  • Mrs. Who’s house
  • “Tessering is almost nearly perfectly natural”: finding your frequency
  • Magic of wild nights
  • Uriel: natural beauty, color-speaking flowers, Mrs. Whatsit’s transformation
  • Orion: finding balance
  • Camazotz: looking inwards

“Treguna, Mekoides, Trecorum, Satis, Dee!” (1:06:05 – 1:16:44)

  • Spiritual truths beyond Christianity
  • Nature of evil (book version vs. film version)
  • Tesseracts powered by love
  • Fantasy as a vehicle for conveying complex ideas to children

Final Spells (1:16:48 – 1:19:46)

  • Math and making learning fun
  • Flatland (Correction: the main character is a square, not a triangle)
  • Meg holding Calvin’s hand in the book vs. in the film

Blooper Reel (1:20:42 – 1:23:52)

Claire’s Recommendations

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Episode 1.4: Equal Rites

Happy full moon–and lunar eclipse! For our fourth episode, we’re throwing it back to a classic: Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett.

Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Littledrum.

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Introduction (0:00 – 3:20)

Which Craft? (3:20 – 29:35)

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (29:35 – 47:46)

  • Reading magic through gender identity
  • Reading magic as socially assigned labor

Related Links

Traditional Gender Hierarchy*

Male as Norm

Gender Master List: A Glossary of Gender Identities

“Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (47:47 – 1:00:15)

  • Decoding bodies through visual cues, especially clothing (#robegate)
  • Racebending and the benefits and drawbacks of foregoing racial signals

“Round About the Cauldron Go” (1:00:15 – 1:18:00)

  • Connection between magic and the natural world (bees!)
  • Real world magic (headology and the power of will)
  • More bees!

Final Spells (1:18:10 – 1:24:00)

Blooper Reel (1:25:00 – 1:26:50)

*Relevant quote from source above: “Women have traditionally been associated with the senses in Western culture, and in particular, with the ‘lower’ senses. Women are the forbidden taste, the mysterious smell, the dangerous touch. Men, by contrast, have been associated with reason, as opposed to the senses, or else with sight and hearing as the most ‘rational’ of the senses” (Constance Classen, The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender, and the Aesthetic Imagination, 1-2).

Next month (Sep. 6) we’ll be discussing Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. See you then!