Monstrous Body; On - Our Grotesque Differences (A Swan Song)
This week, we are engaging in something a bit different. For those of you keeping up with me on the socials, you might be informed that I have survived something very intense and frightening lately. It caused me to realize a lot about how I was navigating the world versus how I imagined myself able to sail through. In the end, every part of me had to die. The person who moved from New Orleans to Houston sits on my ancestor altar now, a ghost of someone I had to sacrifice in order to still be here talking to you. Such a big death means the death of SaturnVox, too, but I am not one for traditionality. If death must occur, as a witch and artist, I have the power to metamorphose what is happening into whatever shape I dream it to be. Let SaturnVox now be known as the multimedia platform from which the artist and priestess who channels her generative creations be named. Metamorphosis means transformation, and SaturnVox, a mother, will now give birth to many children. Only one of which being a podcast. So this may be the last episode that bears the weight of Saturn’s voice, but it is not the last podcast that carries the rumble of my own. Starting sometime around the winter solstice, a new podcast will be born. Chimera, her name. But this happening in this moment is still the SaturnVox Podcast. That will be then, and this is now. Though this swan song is a bridge of sorts, as there is no cup of tea here. Instead, it’s the coffee shared with comr//ades before a protest. It’s the soup made to feed those displaced. Chimera will be that too—but only as one of its many parts. For now, in this moment, soup is all I have the energy to stew for you. Therefore, instead of one interview, I offer you four, followed by a final monologue by me, alone. Something different, yet similar, still somehow new. Across these conversations, a central theme of otherness will emerge as each guest reflects on what it means to live at the edges of societal norms. Through their unique journeys—whether shaped by gender, race, sexuality, or spirituality—they confront what it means to be labeled as outcasts and the strength that comes with embracing that difference. We also explore transformation, the shifting of the self that happens when one becomes the monster. From Cody’s deeply personal explorations to Miranda’s intuitively artistic expressions, to David’s insightful reflections on spirituality, we see how embracing the monstrous allows for profound metamorphosis—a path to a more authentic self. As the conversations unfold, there’s a reflection on power—how the monstrous can offer a different perspective on empathy, not as a universal mandate, but as a choice we navigate in a world that often demands detachment. Ending on Vincent’s insights, we are confronted with the challenge of traditional boundaries, and of what it means to care and connect, while still recognizing the humanity in those labeled monstrous, for whatever means. This episode ultimately reveals the generative power of monstrosity. In creating outside of the lines society draws, there is a deep well of potential. Whether through artistic practice, spiritual engagement, or simply existing as one's true self, these conversations remind us that to be monstrous is not only to be feared or cast out, but to harness the creative force that reshapes the world from the margins. So put on your cave-raiding gear, and let's dive inside together to explore this great abyss that separates us and gives us the ability to transform each moment beyond the limits of humans or monsters into the imaginative space of Chimera, where everything is old and yet somehow new. All this and more, on today’s episode of SaturnVox.
