Groundhags

Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams
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What does Garfield have in common with medieval manuscripts? Why are pigeons the ultimate underdogs? What do children’s books teach us about authoritarianism? Welcome to Groundhags. We’re Lydia and Zoë, two self-appointed Zeitgeistologists archiving the collective unconscious. Over a b*stardised Greek coffee reading, we speak to artists and culture-makers about how they make and imagine. Weaving together cultural criticism and pop culture, each episode follows a theme in our guests’ work and what it reveals about the anxieties and desires bubbling beneath the surface of the zeitgeist.

Episodes

  1. Jul 10

    Subversive Silliness: with Isabel Minhós Martins

    How heavy is the moon? Where do we go when we disappear? And can a children's book explain anti-authoritarianism? Children's books are one of the first tools many of us use to understand the world. Because of that, their subject matter is often heavily contested. In this episode, we speak to our favorite kids' book author Isabel Minhós Martins about who, and what, children's books are really for, and what they can teach us. Guest: Isabel Minhós Martins: ⁠Planeta Tangerina⁠ Mentioned in this episode: Isabel Minhós Martins, ill. Bernardo P. Carvalho, Don’t Cross the Line (2016)Isabel Minhós Martins, ill. Madalena Matoso, Where Do We Go When We Disappear? (2011)Isabel Minhós Martins, ill. Bernardo P. Carvalho, The Point We’re At (2023)Peter Parnell & Justin Richardson, ill. Henry Cole, And Tango Makes Three (2005)Duncan Tonatiuh, Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (2014) Sources and further reading: Janet Manley, 'Let the Kids Get Weird: The Adult Problem With Children’s Books', via Literary Hub (2023)Ursula K. LeGuin, 'The Child and the Shadow', inThe Quarterly Journal of the Library of Congress (1975)David Wiesner, 'Louder than Words: A History of Wordless Storytelling' (2021)Maria Popova, 'A Brief History of Children's Picture Books and the Art of Visual Storytelling', in The Atlantic (2012)Maria Popova, 'Tales for Little Rebels: Radical Politics in Famous Children’s Books', via The MarginalianBettina Kümmerling-Meibauer, 'A New Wind Blowing from the Left: The Surge of Anti-Authoritarian Picturebooks in Germany after 1968' (2017)fine arts museum of san francisco, 'Making the Modern Picture Book: Children’s Books from the Victorian Era' (2012)Claire Quigley, 'On the Importance of Creepy Kids’ Books' via BookRiot (2016)HarperKids, 'Why do kids need dark, scary, and sad books? Because this is often a dark, scary, sad world — and kids hunger for them', via Medium (2018)'Why Are Fairy Tales So Violent?', via The Monday Heretic (2018)Scott Meslow, 'Fairy Tales Started Dark, Got Cute, and Are Now Getting Dark Again', in The Atlantic (2012)PEN America, 'Nearly 200 Percent Surge in School Book Bans During 2023-2024 School Year' (2024)Jenny Gold, 'As children's book bans soar, sales are down and librarians are afraid. Even in California', in Los Angeles Times (2024).Laurie Hertzel, 'Censoring Kids' Worlds: Laurie Hertzel on the Danger of Banning Books for Children', via Literary Hub (2023)Simon Gottschalk, 'The infantilization of Western culture', in The Conversation (2018)Mina Le, 'everything you need to know about japan's kawaii industry' (2021)Emily Gould, 'Why Do So Many Celebs Write Children's Books?', in The Cut (2024) This episode was recorded in 2024. ⁠Groundhags Archive of the Collective Unconscious⁠ Groundhags is hosted, written and edited by Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams. All rights reserved.

    Subversive Silliness: with Isabel Minhós Martins

  2. Jul 10

    Feral Care: with James Powell (Feral Partnerships) & Eliot Haworth

    Should the Corona Virus have rights? And why did the pigeon have a generational fall from grace? In this episode, we speak to James Powell of Feral Partnerships and Eliot Haworth about their work in and around multispecies collaboration, what chimes with us about the pigeon's dive in reputation, and whether our care for others relies on their usefulness. Guests: Feral Partnerships: Website / InstagramEliot Haworth: Instagram Mentioned in this episode: Feral Partnerships, Animal House: Domestic Space as an Ecological Project (2024), via Burning FarmDon Vaughan, 'Nikola Tesla’s Weird Obsession with Pigeons', via Britannica (2025)George Monbiot, Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding (2013)Donna Haraway, Staying with the Trouble (2016)Berenice Fisher and Joan C. Tronto, Toward a Feminist Theory of Caring (1990)Vinciane Despret, What Would Animals Say If We Asked the Right Questions? (2012)⁠Feral Partnerships at Spreepark Art Space⁠ JW Anderson Pigeon ClutchLorde, HAMMERPigeons in Zohran Mamdani's CampaignHeidi Reichinek on PigeonsOrganisms Democracy Sources and further reading: Colin Jerolmack, 'How Pigeons Became Rats: The Cultural-Spatial Logic of Problem Animals', in Social Problems (2008)Fahim Amir, Being and Swine (2018)Karin Schneider, Pigeons: A Portrait (2021)Carl Zimmer, 'Pigeons Get a New Look', New York Times (2013) This episode was recorded in 2024. ⁠⁠Groundhags Archive of the Collective Unconscious⁠⁠ Groundhags is hosted, written and edited by Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams. All rights reserved.

    Feral Care: with James Powell (Feral Partnerships) & Eliot Haworth

  3. Jul 10

    Medieval Memes: with Olivia Swarthout (Weird Medieval Guys)

    Cats with human faces, snails jousting, and babies who look like old men: medieval manuscripts often include strange little creatures that seem laughable to us now. But is it actually us, not medieval artists, who aren't in on the joke? In this episode, we speak to Olivia Swarthout, the mind behind the viral Weird Medieval Guys Twitter account and author of the book of the same name, about humor on the margins. She takes us on a trip through jokes through the ages: those that change, and those that stay the same. Guests: Olivia Swarthout (Weird Medieval Guys): Twitter / Podcast / Substack / Book Mentioned in this episode: Weird Medieval Guys PodcastLauren Michele Jackson, 'A Unified Theory of Meme Death', in The Atlantic (2017)Paul Spencer, 'Trump’s Occult Online Supporters Believe ‘Meme Magic’ Got Him Elected' in Vice (2016)Elle Hunt, 'Pepe the Frog creator kills off internet meme co-opted by white supremacists' in The Guardian (2017) "Memetic Warfare" Wikipedia pageJeff Giesea, 'It's Time to Embrace Memetic Warfare' in Defence Strategic Communications, Volume 1 (2016)Justin Caffier, 'Meme Historians Are an Inevitability' in Vice (2017)"Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer" MemeBritish Library ArchiveBodleian Library ArchiveYale Beinecke Library ArchiveRichard de Fournival, Le Bestiaire D'Amour (ca. 1252)Rutland Psalter Manuscript (ca. 1260)Alexander Pope, The Dunciad (1728-1743)Marina Dunbar, 'Scientists baffled as orcas seem to revive an 80s trend: dead salmon hats', in The Guardian (2024) Sources and further reading: Olivia Swarthout, The Wordspotter's Guide: A Jaunt Through Our Etymological Past (2026)Steven Kurutz, 'Meet Your Meme Lords: The Library of Congress is archiving internet culture. What digital content would you preserve for posterity?' in New York Times (2020) Ian Horner, 'Memes Are the Quintessential Postmodern Art Form' in Medium (2020) '4chan: Collaboration Out of Chaos', in cultural history of the internetTanner Higgin, 'FCJ-159 /b/lack up: What Trolls Can Teach Us About Race', in The Fibreculture Journal, Issue 22 (2013)Samantha Cole, 'Researchers Studied 160 Million Memes and Found Most of Them Come From Two Websites', in Vice (2018) Richard Dolan, 'Myanmar: memes and mantras of a new generation of democracy protesters', in The Political Anthropologist (2021) Ben Schreckinger, 'World War Meme: How a group of anonymous keyboard commandos conquered the internet for Donald Trump—and plans to deliver Europe to the far right.', in Politico Magazine (2017) Alva Noë, 'How Memes Harken Back To Pre-Internet Times', in npr (2017)Matthew Gault, 'China Using AI to Create Anti-American Memes Capitalizing on Israel-Palestine, Researchers Find', in Vice (2023) This episode was recorded in 2024. ⁠⁠Groundhags Archive of the Collective Unconscious⁠⁠ Groundhags is hosted, written and edited by Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams. All rights reserved.

    Medieval Memes: with Olivia Swarthout (Weird Medieval Guys)

  4. Jul 10

    Microdosing Rage: with Amabelle Khan (Bella and the Bizarre)

    What do the phrases "letting off steam", "recharging", and "social battery" reveal about how we think about our bodies? And what role do rage rooms play in the wellness industry? In this episode, we speak to Amabelle Khan, frontwoman and songwriter of the band Bella and the Bizarre, about punk music, the mosh pit, and "friendly freakouts". We touch on the political and social potentials of anger, and what it means to give up control. Guests: Amabelle Khan (Bella and the Bizarre): Bandcamp / Instagram / Spotify Mentioned in this episode: Bella and the Bizarre: ⁠Inky Waters⁠Hiro Muramoto, 'Dishing out anti-stress therapy in Tokyo', in Reuters (2008)Sam Bradpiece and Paloma Soria, 'How ‘anger rooms’ are capitalising on female fury', in huck (2019)Rebecca Adams , 'People Reward Angry Men But Punish Angry Women, Study Suggests' (2015) Saba Lou Further reading Vanessa Ague, 'Weird Classical: The History of Black Death Music Parties', in WQXR (2017)MJ Brown, 'Music, Witchcraft, and the Art of Feminine Rage' in Lithium Magazine (2020)Sara Ahmed, The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2004)Sara Ahmed, The Feminist Killjoy Handbook: The Radical Potential of Getting in the Way (2023)Jude Rogers, 'What happened to angry female music stars?', in The Guardian (2010)Hannah Devlin, 'Science of anger: how gender, age and personality shape this emotion', in The Guardian (2019)Jay Keister, '"The Long Freak Out”: Unfinished Music and Countercultural Madness in 1960s and 1970s Avant-Garde Rock', in Contre-cultures 9:2 (2012)Tom Connick, 'The anthropology of heavy metal – meet the academic challenging the metalhead stereotype with actual hard research' in NME (2018)Ryan Christopher Jones, 'Metal’s Circle Dance', in Anthropology News (2022)'Why do People Mosh', in Alt Press (2015) Nicholas Mott, 'New Study Analyzes Heavy Metal Dancing: Heavy metal dancing follows predictable patterns of particle physics, study says', in National Geographic (2013)  This episode was recorded in 2024. ⁠⁠Groundhags Archive of the Collective Unconscious⁠⁠ Groundhags is hosted, written and edited by Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams. All rights reserved.

    Microdosing Rage: with Amabelle Khan (Bella and the Bizarre)

  5. Jul 10

    Internal Landscapes: with Esther Samuels-Davis (Dirty like the Weeds)

    Why do fairytales no longer take place in forests? What does it mean to dissect our emotions under overhead lights? Why has it become human nature to no longer leave things in the dark? In this episode, we speak to illustrator and author Esther Samuels-Davis about the way the landscapes around us reflect our emotional worlds and let us build modern myths. Guests: Esther Samuels-Davis: Website / Instagram Mentioned in this episode Esther Samuels-Davis, Tumbo in the Shadows (2022)Esther Samuels-Davis, Togetherverse (2022)Adam Gidwitz, 'In Defense of Real Fairytales', via Adam GidwitzBruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1976)Niko McCarthy, 'Mosquitoes See Red (Literally) when They Smell Human Breath', in Scientific American (2022) Sources and further reading: Jaime Lorite Chinchón, ‘The Problem with ‘Inside Out 2:’ Are our emotions at the service of productivity?’, in EL PAÍS (2024)Colm O’Shea, How Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’ explains modern therapy culture’, for America Magazine (2024)James Douglas, ‘The Pixar Theory of Labor’, in The Awl (2015)Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass (2013)Sonia Witak, '(un)natural landscapes: the myth of wilderness' (2025)This episode was recorded in 2024. ⁠⁠Groundhags Archive of the Collective Unconscious⁠⁠ Groundhags is hosted, recorded and edited by Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams. All rights reserved.

    Internal Landscapes: with Esther Samuels-Davis (Dirty like the Weeds)

  6. Season 1 Trailer

    Teaser

    What does Garfield have to do with medieval manuscripts? Why are pigeons the ultimate underdogs? What do children’s books teach us about authoritarianism? Welcome to Groundhags. We’re Lydia and Zoë, two self-appointed Zeitgeistologists archiving the collective unconscious. Over a b*stardised Greek coffee reading, we speak to artists and culture-makers about how they make and imagine. Weaving together cultural criticism and pop culture, each episode follows a theme in our guests’ work and what it reveals about the anxieties and desires bubbling beneath the surface of the zeitgeist.

    Teaser
  • 1 Trailer
    5 Episodes

Trailer

About

What does Garfield have in common with medieval manuscripts? Why are pigeons the ultimate underdogs? What do children’s books teach us about authoritarianism? Welcome to Groundhags. We’re Lydia and Zoë, two self-appointed Zeitgeistologists archiving the collective unconscious. Over a b*stardised Greek coffee reading, we speak to artists and culture-makers about how they make and imagine. Weaving together cultural criticism and pop culture, each episode follows a theme in our guests’ work and what it reveals about the anxieties and desires bubbling beneath the surface of the zeitgeist.

Information

  • Creator
    Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lydia Maria Makrides and Zoë Matt-Williams
  • Show Website
    Groundhags