We Might Be Tables Dewansh Matharoo & Shrish Sudharsan

An unfortunately longevous legacy of feminism--particularly its liberal brand from the 1970s--is a willful disregard for and violent erasure of ecological politics, specifically species justice. In her 2011 essay "Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Replacing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism", Greta Gaard surveys the rise and fall of ecofeminist scholarship and activism, noting its frequent clashes with the mainstream. Inspired both by her work and its references, as well as our own academic pursuits into the ecological critique of gender liberation, this is a conversation that has been long in the making. We hope that this serves as the first of many necessary entries for a series on "eco-social critique" (we just made that up).



Ecofeminism is not dead!



We would like to thank ZHRØ for their song,
chill background music #2.wav.



References in the episode:

1) Ecofeminism and Climate Justice. Interview with Greta Gaard.

2) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.

3) Mind your Buffalo by Buffalo Intellectual.

4) #OilYouNeed on Nutrition and Flavour with Swetha Sivakumar.



Note: Please send us a message if you would like to read the paper!


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We're back! It has been a while (here's hoping we stop saying this as often as we do) since we released an episode, and this is one we've wanted to record for so long now. We started this podcast in 2020 after completing our first year in university. Unsettled and fatigued as we were, the world of academia enticed and captivated us in unimaginable ways. Chasing belongingness in an unfamiliar academic world meant adapting to it and becoming 'academics' without ever truly knowing what that meant, a process augmented by an unfiltered (perhaps naive) desire for knowledge. However, a lot has happened in the years that have passed - for one, we have graduated. The charm and glamour long gone, it only feels right to turn our eyes to academia as an institution and examine it for what it is, and what it promises it be. In this episode, we talk about where we started and where we're going, expectations and reality, academic jargon and "canonism", privilege, power, postcoloniality, hermeneutical injustice and self-reflexive negations.



Here is a list of references made in the discussion (feel free to point out anything we have missed!):

1) Like a Savarna, by Ravikant Kisana

2) Hermeneutical Injustice, by Miranda Fricker

3) Paolo Freire - Pedagogy of the Oppressed

4) Walter Benjamin - Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

5) Chat Deni Maar Deli (for funsies)



We Might Be Tables now has a voice note feature! We'd love it if you left us a comment with your thoughts on the episode; click the link below to record a message.


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Deep within a dilapidated building hidden away in a dark alley, one Saul Tenser lies in his LifeFormWare bed anticipating the growth of something new in his body. This growth, a new organ, does not come as a surprise to Tenser or his performance partner Caprice. Mutations and transformations of this kind have been around for a while in this seemingly drab world. But are these "inner beauties" anomalies, or an evolutionary gift? 

In this episode, we talk about Crimes of the Future, a body horror film directed by one of the principal originators of the genre. We present our critiques of the film, ask questions about human evolution and sexual desire, draw comparisons with the original Crimes of Future, and dive deeper into the social commentary of the film. Watch this film and share your thoughts about it with us! 

Mentioned in this episode:

Crimes of the Future - David Cronenberg

Not mentioned in this episode but worth checking out:

Why The Human Body Sucks, and How To Fix It (AsapSCIENCE)




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Hello! A lot has changed since we recorded our previous episode a year ago, but our desire to be here voicing our thoughts has remained.

In this episode, we talk about where we've been, our thoughts on the podcast, changing attitudes and more, all while going on a few characteristic WMBT Tangents™.

We're glad to be here and to you have you here with us. Thank you and we'll see you around.

P.S. The audio in this episode is from a YouTube video with the same title, which is why it might not be of the best quality. You can click here to watch the video, or find it directly on our YouTube channel.


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This episode contains heavy and lengthy discussions about death, suicide, ageing, euthanasia, and disease. Please listen at your own discretion.

"Death before dishonour" - an idea that has consistently cropped up for centuries, in cultures the world over: from the samurai in ancient Japan to soldiers in present-day militaries.  Seemingly, the notion of "laying down" one's morals is so aversive that one would much rather choose death. Today, said "dishonour" often equates to a loss of control over one's life upon getting older. With age comes illness and disease, and the necessary dependence on friends and family, or even institutional care systems, such as old-age homes or hospitals. The question is: why do we equate ageing (or a loss of control) with a loss of dignity?

In a fantastic paper titled  "Dying, But Not Alone", Dr Joshua Briscoe writes, "We can’t support  those who say that their lives have become undignified by the logic taught to them by a culture that makes autonomy the basis for dignity."

We must remember here that there are nuances to consider (more on those in the episode), but the point is that absolute autonomy is nothing more than an illusion. We lack both the biological and social ability to have complete control over our lives and bodies. Dr Briscoe uses such an idea as the basis for their argument for dependence in old-age being dignified, even desirable. Primarily, Briscoe responds to a New York  Times article that speaks in support of physician-assisted suicide and highlights the importance of tackling the taboo surrounding ageing rather than (or at the very least, in conjunction with) laws that allow for physician-assisted suicide.


In this episode, we explore the idea of dignity in death and sharing the burden of pain as we grow older.

Links:
Dying, But Not Alone by Joshua Briscoe
When Patients Choose to End Their Lives in The New York Times
Watch Euthanasia on Reddit


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Welcome, my child. 

In our last episode, we began to traverse the deep waters of The Talos Principle. Today, we scuba dive in and explore the many terminal messages scattered across the land. From a dad’s message for #@3##@ to questions about liberty and quality of life, these messages tug at your heartstrings as well as your brain-strings (?).

Here’s a taste of some of the questions that emerge in our discussion: would a true AI deserve citizenship? What about rights? If you had to, how would you make someone believe you were a real person? If these questions make you scratch your chin, we think you will enjoy this episode. 

Also, we cannot say this enough: play the game and show support for games and media like The Talos Principle!

Have fun!

And remember, don’t climb the tower.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Watch the trailer for the game here.

If you're not big into gaming, you can check out a walkthrough of The Talos Principle here.

Thank you Migfus20 on freesound.org for the music in this episode!




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