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Tackling themes of colonialism, NAFTA, Catholic religious imagery, time, and tension between small-scale artisanship and industrial capitalism, we dive deep with Dr. Lydia CdeBaca into Guillermo Del Toro's debut film Cronos (1992), a Mexican dark fantasy horror reimagining of the vampire.

Works Discussed:

Cronos (Guillermo Del Toro, 1992)

Get comfortable! Because in this week’s episode, we’re talking about romance and the 8,000 layers of In-yun that bring lovers together… and what happens when, in the face of destiny, you wonder: Is this person written into my destiny to stay? Or are they fated to leave? Are we meant for each other, or are we destined to walk away?

We talk with Dr. Jennifer Smith about the patterns of Romance and the openings they create to ask questions about ourselves, our relationships, and our culture.

Works Discussed:

Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023)

An asteroid has struck Earth, unleashing a catastrophic flood that sweeps away everything in its path. As the waters rise, you race toward higher ground. But, along the way, you encounter people looting abandoned apartments, a woman in labor, a child trapped in an elevator. And then you realize, your own child is missing. What do you do?

Kim Byung-woo’s The Great Flood asks, how do we respond to overwhelming challenges? What are the forces that move us?

In this episode, we explore these questions with engineers Greg Rulifson and Ana Maria Macias Parra, asking what engineering can teach us about responding to disasters. Their work grounds them in action, not helplessness.  What do we do with the relatively short time before the flood arrives? We make a difference in other people's lives.

Works Discussed:
The Great Flood (Byung-woo Kim, 2025)

Programs Discussed:
Humanitarian Engineering - Cockrell School of Engineering - University of Texas at Austin.

In Mati Diop’s documentary Dahomey, we hear the voice of the past—literally. Diop gives a voice to one of the 26 royal treasures returned to Benin as we follow its journey home. In just under 70 minutes, Dahomey turns a story about the return of stolen objects into a debate on what happens when pieces of a country’s history, memories, and identity have been taken away. This week, we’re talking with historian Dr. Jimena Perry about museums… a lot. Because sure, museums can sometimes feel boring, but they can also be messy, political, and transformative spaces where we negotiate memory, identity, and the stories we carry forward. By the end of this conversation, you might see museums a little differently. And we have a list of places below to get you started!

Works Discussed:

Dahomey (Mati Diop, 2024)

The Birth of the Museum (Tony Benett, 1994)

Museums Discussed:

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève ("Geneva Ethnography Museum") Dialogue Objects- Geneva, Switzerland

National Center for Human and Civil Rights Atlanta, USA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)- The Temple of Dendur NYC, USA

Museum of the City of New York NYC, USA

Museo Casa de la Memoria (Memory House Museum) Medellin, Colombia

International Museum of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Geneva, Switzerland

El museo del barrio NYC USA

Tenement Museum NYC USA

Hispanic Society Museum and Library NYC USA

Museo Nacional de Colombia (National Museum of Colombia) Bogota, Colombia

Martin Luther King Jr’s Birth Home Atlanta, USA

Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage Grasmere, England

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Washington DC, USA

Episode 8. Stories We Tell with Leanna Petronella

Welcome back to Season 2! And we’re starting with a banger. Truths are revealed, and crafted, in Sarah Polley’s documentary Stories We Tell, as her search to learn more about her recently deceased mother turns into a search to uncover the identity of her biological father. With poet Leanna Petronella, we talk about family secrets, the craft of writing, and ask the question: “To whom does a story belong?”

Join us as we explore family drama, memory, storytelling, and the complicated question of what is the truth behind the stories we tell.

Works Discussed:

Stories we tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)

The Imaginary Age (Leanna Petronella, 2016)

The Tampon

Skype Date