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Refrangible is a podcast from the Center for Design and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In each episode, we explore the stuff of everyday life and what it tells us about ourselves, our world, and our values. From keepsakes to clutter, from tools to trash, the things we make, use, and save carry stories within them. Tune in for a closer look at the material traces of our past and what they might inspire for our shared future.
Episodes
Friday Jun 10, 2022
Childhood Toys and Our Connections to the Past
Friday Jun 10, 2022
Friday Jun 10, 2022
Whether it’s an alien-fighting space robot or a cherished family heirloom, we all have a special place in our heart for our favorite childhood toys. In this episode of Refrangible, we take a closer look at that connection, and how it shapes us as adults.
Thanks to our guests for this episode: Mark Chester, Karla Chester and Nikki Hollander (a.k.a. Grandma Kitschy).
Friday May 27, 2022
Domestic Classrooms: The Intersection of Home and School
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
From a practice cottage to a home management house, UW-Madison has a long history of live-in learning experiences. In this episode of Refrangible, we examine the university’s history of domestic education, and the lessons 21st century educators can pull from those experiments.
Thanks to our guests for this episode (in order of appearance): Barbara Tensfeldt, retired and professional volunteer; and Dr. Elizabeth Hooper-Lane, senior lecturer of art history at UW-Madison and an academic staff member at UW-Oshkosh.
Friday May 13, 2022
Troubling Objects and the Illusion of Luxury
Friday May 13, 2022
Friday May 13, 2022
In this episode, we examine how luxury home goods in southern plantation houses obscured the true ugliness running just under the surface.
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Home Sweet Home
Friday Apr 29, 2022
Friday Apr 29, 2022
In this episode, we examine what defines a “home” — and what happens when it’s taken away.
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Uncomfortable Objects: Art and Death
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Think about an object that makes you uncomfortable. Now, ask yourself: Why do you tend to side-eye that particular thing?
In this episode of Refrangible, we’re talking about objects that may send shivers down our spines.
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Commodifying Culture
Friday Mar 04, 2022
Friday Mar 04, 2022
In episode one of this season, we touched briefly on the idea of appropriating – or perhaps, more accurately, commodifying – culture. Who really gets to reap the rewards, financial and otherwise, of a specific culture’s iconography, spirituality and history? In this episode, we’re reexamining the commodification of culture: and what happens when appreciation turns into appropriation.
Friday Feb 11, 2022
Clothing and Identity: Revisiting our past, one stitch at a time
Friday Feb 11, 2022
Friday Feb 11, 2022
In our first episode of season two, we posed a question: Who wears what, and why? We wanted to explore why folks dress the way they do, and what happens when a third party uses clothing to either impose an identity or steal someone else’s. As we were planning out that episode, we realized there was more to this discussion than we could possibly fit in a single episode.
So we decided to break the topic into two segments. So, today, we’re looking at the roots of American clothing and how those roots impact our modern-day relationship with clothes.
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Clothing and Identity: Who wears what, and why?
Friday Jan 28, 2022
Friday Jan 28, 2022
How do you choose what to wear each day? Is it a matter of practicality, social expectations, or cultural identity? Or have you just been putting off doing the laundry, and this just happens to be your last clean shirt?
In episode one of season two of Refrangible, a podcast from the Center for Design and Material Culture, we’re exploring the intersection of clothing, culture and politics. Or, put more simply: Who wears what, and why?
Wednesday Jul 07, 2021
Our Bodies and the Lessons They Teach Us
Wednesday Jul 07, 2021
Wednesday Jul 07, 2021
Over the past three episodes, we’ve explored the idea of material culture through a series of inanimate objects. For our final episode of season one, we wanted to take a look at something we all use and have a very personal connection with: our bodies.
The fear and uncertainty of the current pandemic forced us to think about our bodies in new ways. Self-care took on a new meaning and personal choices about what to do with your body had an impact on your entire community.
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Sewing and the Art of Necessity
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Textile creation has long been an art of necessity, as makers mended and created clothing and often used remnants of fabric to make quilts. But gradually, the creation of these textiles has grown from necessity to high art.
This month on Refrangible, the object at the center of our discussion is the sewing machine.