OVERTHINK

In episode 138, Ellie and David talk to Lindsey Stewart about her book, The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic. They talk about how the concept of ‘conjure’ shifted from its origin in the West African tradition to how it manifests in African American communities today. They discuss the history of the Yoruba religion and how it travelled to the US with slavery and they explore the impact of historical images like the Mammy and the Voodoo Queen. What are the dangers of rhetoric of Black women being magical? How has Christianity influenced the ignorance that many Americans have around conjure?

In episode 137 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the meaning of truth in our contemporary political and social landscape and how post-truth has increased in the recent years. They explore the different types of truth and the differences between misinformation vs disinformation and lying vs bullshitting. How do phenomenons like opinion overload, news fatigue, and information overload contribute to the spread of post truth? Is there a connection between post truth and postmodernism? And if so, how has academic postmodernism, or so called ‘pomo professors’, contributed to the rise of dishonesty and deception?

In episode 136 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk through all things burnout. They look at the history of the term burnout and its connection to social justice, the correlation between achievement culture and burnout, and what Christina Maslach’s Burnout inventory tells us about the different axes of burnout. How does our mindless scrolling and inability to be bored contribute to burnout? Why do academics struggle to recognize their burnout? And is it even possible to escape burnout in a capitalist society?