OVERTHINK

In episode 140 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss masculinity. What does it mean to be a man, and how has the concept of masculinity changed over time? They look at the connection between the male loneliness epidemic and the crisis of masculinity, the current influx of male influencers spreading right-wing rhetoric, and some of the features of masculinity. Is masculinity rooted in violence and homophobia? Is it possible to have a healthy model of masculinity?

In episode 139 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about neighbors. They think through the parasocial relationships that exist between neighbors, how the values of our neighbors affect us, and how neighborly relations blur the public/private distinction. They look to Levinas’s understanding of the neighbor as the other and think about how this understanding can help us in day-to-day interactions. How do our relationships with neighbors differ from our other kinds of relationships? To what extent do we choose our neighbors, and how does this change according to people’s amount of wealth? And what actually makes a neighbor a neighbor?

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?