Humor and the Abject Podcast

It’s slime time. In 2022, artists Christopher Michlig and Oliver Payne released, respectively, the book File Under: Slime and the film A Brief History of Slime. At the time, each was completely unaware of the other’s slime-related research. On this episode, they join to discuss peak slime culture of the 1980s and 90s, the recent resurgence of slime through YouTube and TikTok, California as a cultural funnel and filter, and the Goop lifestyle. The outro music is “Mind Fulla Slime” by Mean Jeans. /// Purchase Michlig’s book through Hat & Beard Press here: https://hatandbeard.com/products/file-under-slime-by-christopher-michlig /// View Payne’s video here: https://vimeo.com/684376655 ///

Filmmaker and artist Adam Khalil joins the podcast to talk collaboration, nonlinear time, irony’s extant potential, and the aesthetics of Indigenous cinema. Among Khalil’s many film projects are Nosferasta: First Bite (2021), Empty Metal (2018), and INAATE/SE/ (2016). Khalil is a co-founder of the public secret society New Red Order, which you can get involved with by dialing 1 (888) NEW-RED1. If you’re in Michigan, Khalil will be screening films and speaking at a variety of events as part of GVSU’s Arts Celebration this month. See the full calendar here: https://tinyurl.com/khalilgvsu

New York writer Elvia Wilk joins to discuss her recent collection of essays on ecologies, “Death By Landscape” (Soft Skull Press, 2022). Using an accessible approach she calls “fan-nonfiction,” Wilk’s latest book catalouges and considers a diverse group of writers, while ruminating on plant-becoming, slow apocalypses, mysticism, LARPing, trauma, the New Weird, consent, and black holes. The outro music is “Planta” by Soda Stereo. Purchase “Death By Landscape,” as well as Wilk’s 2019 debut novel “Oval,” through Soft Skull Press: https://softskull.com/authors/elvia-wilk/

Humor and the Abject has a special treat for all you screedlers out there: an interview with Japanther co-founder Ian Vanek. He’s about to release “Puppy Dog Ice Cream,” a new book all about Japanther’s 13-year run, published by Outlandish Press. We talked about buzzing, vibing, and dancing; Brooklyn DIY in the mid-00s; one-man motorcycle/sampler tours; the rainy charm of the Pacific Northwest; blissing the fuck out; playing a show in a castle with Penny Rimbaud of Crass (who bit them); how to make your band a sculpture, and a whole lot more. The outro music is Ian’s current band HOWARDIAN, reworking a Genesis classic. Pre-order your copy of “Puppy Dog Ice Cream” today: https://www.outlandish.press/store/p/puppy-dog-ice-cream-the-story-of-japanther

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, babyyyyyyyy. It’s the lucky thirteenth episode of the DSA Podcast, starring your pals Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe. To celebrate, the power trio ripped into some of the most important topics of the day including Jeff Bezos delivering packages to the moon, raccoon roommates, fighting a cat, Alec Baldwin sightings, and more. The outro music is “True Romance” by Tiger Army.

New York writer Charlie Markbreiter (@BerlantBro) has written about contemporary art, humor, and edgelordism for The New Inquiry, Artforum, Baffler, Momus, and Garage, among others. On this week’s episode, we talked about their interest in comedy and humorlessness; a recent interview they conducted with scholar Lauren Berlant; why the NYMPHOWARS podcast subverts right wing and liberal expectations; gimmickry, social justice, and being annoying; and the impotent self-destruction of Jackass. The outro music is “Delete Yourself!” by Atari Teenage Riot. Read Charlie’s interview with Lauren Berlant here: https://thenewinquiry.com/cant-take-a-joke/ Read Charlie’s article on NYMPHOWARS here: https://garage.vice.com/en_us/article/vbaz9d/nymphowars-podcast

Janet40 is the Mexico City-based curatorial and production platform of Patricia Siller and Luis Nava. They’ve been in Austin for the last month as part of the Unlisted Projects residency program at the Museum of Human Achievement. While in town, they’ve been working on prototyping and fabricating objects for artists Canek Zapata (Mexico City) and Hannah Dubbe (Austin). We got the chance to get together in their studio at MoHA and talk about their current projects; the Janet40 origin story; having day jobs; turning URL content into IRL objects; capitalism; love; how to make rice glow in the dark; aliens; the nature of collaboration; and the totally nuts amount of upcoming projects they’ve already got in the works. The outro music is “It’s a Fine Day” by Opus III. View their project archive here: https://janet40.com/

It’s my big birthday week, babies. To celebrate, I caught up with an old friend, artist Beth Campbell from New York. She was visiting Austin this past week to unveil a new public art project as part of the Landmarks collection at the University of Texas. I got to see Beth do a great conversation with philosopher Timothy Morton, who also wrote a nice essay about her work available via the link below. During our own conversation, Beth and I discussed the arc of her practice over the last 20 years, which has won her a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Pollack-Krasner Grant, and has seen her work presented in venues including the Whitney, the Drawing Room in London, MoMA PS1, and tons of other places. We talk mirrors, audience expectations, the difference between installation and sculpture, emotional time travel, and a whole lot more. The outro music is “Mythmaster” by Lightning Bolt. Read Timothy Morton’s essay, and learn more about Beth’s Landmarks project, here: https://landmarks.utexas.edu/artwork/spontaneous-futures-possible-past

Azikiwe is finally back from his travels all around North America, so it’s time for another installment of everybody’s favorite podcast within the podcast, the DSA Podcast (Darcie, Sean, and Azikiwe). With the remake of “Pet Sematary” dropping this week, we thought it only appropriate to do a comprehensive review of the original film that is now 30 years old. We also learn a lot about different types of domestic pet breeds! Fuck it all, baby! The outro music is “Pet Sematary” by Ramones.

New York writer Mike Pepi makes his debut on the Humor and the Abject podcast to talk about the important topics currently ripping up your mind: the smooth jazz rock of Steely Dan; parvenus; the Mueller Report; restaurant lighting design; why museums are failing to confront platform capitalism; how many times one can legally donate to Bernie; that classic libertarian love of street art; the twisted history of Huntington, New York; picks for Vice President; restaurant drama across Manhattan; and, of course, neoliberalism. The outro music is “Black Cow” by Steely Dan.