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The Familiar Strange is a podcast about doing anthropology: that is, about listening, looking, trying out, and being with, in pursuit of uncommon knowledge about humans and culture. Find show notes, plus our blog about anthropology's role in the world, at https://www.thefamiliarstrange.com. Twitter: @tfsTweets. FB: facebook.com/thefamiliarstrange. Instagram: @thefamiliarstrange. Brought to you by your familiar strangers: Ian Pollock, Jodie-Lee Trembath, Julia Brown, Simon Theobald, Kylie Won ...
The team at TFS would like to say thank you to all our listeners this year and to everyone who has listened in to our podcasts and read the blog this year! We are taking a short season break and we will return in February 2021 Let’s keep in touch. Feel free to submit something to the blog, we’re always looking for content, and are keen to hear new …
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This week Carolyn sits down with Jason De León, anthropologist, photographer and author. He is currently the director of the Undocumented Migration Project (UMP) and his research interests revolve around violence, materiality, Latin American migration, photoethnography, forensic science, and archaeology of the contemporary. Throughout this conversa…
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This week the strangers are joined by Kathryn Allan! Kathryn is currently completing her PhD at the school of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University. Her research focuses on stateless persons, refugees, and asylum seekers. She is also regional president of Amnesty international of NSW and ACT. Welcome Kathryn! In this ep…
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Ep #83 Parasocial relationships & Strangers: Dr Ian Pollock on the Origin of The Familiar Strange
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Matt’s back this week with an interview with one of the original Familiar Strangers Dr Ian Pollock. Ian discusses the origins of the Familiar Strange, why it started and whether it helped or hindered his PhD. Matt discusses his involvement in the early days of TFS and what it contributed to his education as a communicator. Ian and Matt then discuss…
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This month we dive into the recent political scandals in Australian politics. Familiar Stranger Alex gives us a brief overview of the current scandal involving former New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian. He asks the strangers to consider what the relationship is between the states and their respective constituents. What do you think? Is pork…
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EP#81 Lifeworlds & Studying Aotearoa: Susanna Trnka on Traversing Multiple Lifeworlds & Publics
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For this episode, Joe sits down with Susanna Trnka from the Anthropology department at the University of Auckland. Susanna is an associate professor in the anthropology department at the University of Auckland. Susanna received her PhD from Princeton before moving to Aotearoa/New Zealand in 2003. Her research has been undertaken in Fiji, the Czech …
This week we’re diving into the world of Reborn dolls and celebrating Social Sciences week! Familiar Stranger Carolyn kicks us off by giving us an introduction into the world of reborn dolls, or dolls that have been “reborn” to mimic human babies. The familiar strangers ask about the uncanny valley, the various uses for treatment and where the judg…
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Ep# 79 A Journey to the West: Nicholas Ng on the Music of the Teochew Diaspora in Western Sydney
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This week is familiar stranger Jarrod’s first interview! For this episode, Jarrod sits down with Dr Nicholas Ng, from the Institute for Australian and Chinese Arts and Culture, and Institute for Culture and Society (Western Sydney University).Jarrod and Nicholas start by defining the term of ethnomusicology and where it sits in relation to anthropo…
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Ep #78 Alternative Healing Practises & The Social Status of Shopping Centres: This Month on TFS
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This week we’d like to introduce you to our newest Familiar Stranger, Ruonan Chen! Ruonan is currently doing her fieldwork around hospitals and healing practises in the Tibet autonomous region. In this episode, the strangers dive into Ruonan’s work and learn more about how “healing” can take on many different forms. Ruonan describes her work and de…
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Special Episode: Caroline Schuster, Sarah Abel & Catherine Frieman on The Archaeology of F*****g
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Before we dive into today’s episode we’d just like to add a content warning for this episode for mentions of slavery and sexual assaultThis week, we’re bringing you an extra special interview/panel.Familiar stranger Alex Zoomed in with Dr Caroline Schuster, Dr Sarah Abel and Dr Catherine Frieman to take a deeper dive into the dark side of genetic t…
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And we’re back! This week we’d like to introduce our newest Familiar Stranger, Joe Clifford. Joe has just completed his Masters in Development Studies from the University of Auckland! To kick off his first panel, Joe discusses his research into the concept of Gotong Royong or mutual assistance in Indonesia. The rest of the Strangers weigh in on the…
The team at TFS would like to say thank you to all our listeners this season and to everyone who has listened in to our podcasts and read the blog! We are taking a short season break and we will return with some new and improved content in July!But keep an ear out for some special content we recorded last year at the AAS! Let’s keep in touch. Feel …
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This week we’d like to introduce a new Familiar Stranger, Jarrod Sim! Jarrod is a PhD student at the school of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University. His current research is an anthropologically-led study of how landscape has shaped the auditory cultures of a Paiwanese community in Taiwan. He investigates and comprehend…
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Special ANSA Collaboration: Hanne Worsoe and Romy Listo on Fieldwork Trauma and Outsider Witnessing
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This week we bring you a special collaboration between The Familiar Strange and the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists or ANSA. In this special collaboration, Familiar Stranger Alex sits down with Hanne Worsoe and Dr Romy Listo to discuss some of the difficulties that arise from working in particularly intense or distressing field sites.…
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Ep #75 The Anthropologists Perspective on Nomadland & Commodified Mothers: This Month of TFS
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This month familiar stranger Tim kicks us off by pondering the ethnographic and anthropological nature of the award winning film Nomadland directed by Chloé Zhao. The strangers discuss the almost anthropological origins of the film and other similar works that deal with the precariat or nomads the movie is based around. The strangers then dive into…
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Ep #74 Colonialism & Monsters: Yasmine Musharbash on Monster Anthropology & Social Transformation
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This week Clair brings you an interview with Dr Yasmine Musharbash! Dr. Yasmine Musharbash is a senior lecturer at the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University. Her fieldwork is based in central Australia, and primarily centred on the Yuendumu, an Aboriginal community about three hours northwest of Alice Springs.…
This week we bring you another panel in our new format! This time, we’re diving into the conflict between Amazon and its workers in Alabama trying to form a union. Clair raises the topic of “corporate sassiness” and how we have started to attribute personalities and personhood to the social media presences of these gigantic companies. What do you t…
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Ep #72 Weaponized Photography & Sex Work: Camille Waring on Online Intimacy & Lens Based Violence
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Before we dive into today’s episode we’d just like to add a content warning for this episode for sexual assault. This week, Familiar Stranger Carolyn sits down with Camille Waring from the University of Westminster. Camille is currently doing her PhD on online representations of sex workers and how photography is being used against marginalized com…
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This week on TFS, the Strangers continue with our new panel format and dive deeper into the topics of entrepreneurism and ethics. They talk about how universities and by extension academia is becoming more and more business-like with academics having to “build their brands” in order to find success. The conversation then shifts to discuss the curre…
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Ep# 70 Familial Ties and Family Debts: Susan Ellison on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Bolivia
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This week we bring you an interview with Dr Susan Ellison from Wellesley College. In this interview, Familiar Stranger Alex asks about her experiences working in the city of El Alto and the neighbouring town of La Paz. Alex and Susan discuss Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and how it exists as a second space for conflict resolution for Bolivia…
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Hello and Welcome back to The Familiar Strange! We are so happy to be back and we can’t wait to keep talking strange with you all! We’re kicking off this new season with a panel with Familiar Strangers, Alex D’aloia, Carolyn West, Timothy Johnston and Simon Theobald. We’re trying out a new format for panels this season, so make sure you reach out a…
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Part 1:Theory as reproduction:reflections on the history of doing feminist anthropology in Australia
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In this very special collaboration, TFS would like to present a two part roundtable we recorded at 2019’s AAS conference! It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to gather again and talk all things anthropology this year, but we hope that this might be enough to whet your appetite for more things to come in 2021! A big thank you to Dr Benjamin Hegat…
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Part 2:Theory as reproduction:reflections on the history of doing feminist anthropology in Australia
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This is part 2 of the wonderful roundtable we recorded at 2019's AAS conference!k4g9t9jy由Your Familiar Strangers
The end of 2020 is in sight! What a year it has been for all of us. The team at TFS would like to say thank you to all our listeners this year and to everyone who has listened in to our podcasts and read the blog this year! We are taking a short season break and we will return with some new and improved content in February 2021! But keep an ear out…
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This week, we bring you an interview with Dr. Ashley Carruthers. Ashley is a lecturer of anthropology at the Australian National University’s School of Archaeology and Anthropology. His research interests include migration, mobilities, rural-urban relationships, networks and infrastructures, farming, organic agriculture, bicycles, and he has conduc…
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Surprise! We are so pleased to show you all a collaborative project we did with our friends and yours at Myanmar Musings! In this very special episode, Familiar Stranger Alex D’Aloia sat down with Luke Corbin, Anthea Snowsill, Michael Dunford and Dinith Adikari to discuss all things Myanmar. Join us as we explore the tea shops of downtown Yangoon a…
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On this week’s panel, we feature the president of the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists, Hanne Worsoe and Dinith Adikari who is a PhD candidate from the Australian National University. Hanne kicks us off [1:37] by discussing a recent article by Judith Butler about the recent US election. She asks us to consider how identity politics has…
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“How much time do you actually need to spend with someone to “accurately” represent their lives?” This week, we bring you an interview with Diana Tung who is currently doing her field work in the city of Iquitos in Peru. This is also executive producer Matt’s first interview! Diana discusses all things fieldwork and how things have changed since we…
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This week we bring you a panel with Anthea Snowsill who is currently doing her research with the Intha people of Myanmar. In this panel We’d also introduce our newest Familiar Stranger, Carolyn West. Welcome to the team Carolyn! Carolyn [1:25] kicks us off by discussing the recent documentary The Social Dilemma. She asks us to consider if social me…
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'The reasons why uniforms exist is for various reasons. Among them is to visually identify a staff member, which is a functional reason - a really practical reason, rather. It's also to take away any outside... personality that can come through on the person's body.'This episode, Caitlin Setnicar, Australian National University anthropology graduat…
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For the panel this week we welcome Luke Corbin from Myanmar Musings and Familiar Strange alumnus Jodie Lee Trembath! Simon starts us off [1:31] by discussing his recent culture shock in moving to Germany from Australia. Simon thought that experiences with fieldwork and working with other cultures would have prepared him better for a rapid transitio…
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This week we bring you a very very special episode! Last year we partnered with the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists, or ANSA for short and recorded their roundtable at the AAS held at the Australian National University! The roundtable discussion featured the likes of Dr Marcus Barber, Dr Sophie Chao, Dr Jayne Curnow, Dr Derek Elias, D…
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This week we bring you another zoom panel! Featuring Mike Dunford who is a Phd candidate in anthropology at the Australian National University and Sophie Chao who you might remember from our last panel and her interview on her work with the Marind People. To kick us off Alex [1:39] reflects on how we have to be performative in some ways to achieve …
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A content warning before this interview. Today’s topic centres around human trafficking activites in the Mekong reagion and our guest does mention some of the physical abuse that does take place in these situations. “I’m still to this day, very supportive of the UN if I’m going to put my policy hat on if you like” This week, we bring you an intervi…
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#60 Adapting Methods, Human Difference, Virtual Dojos And Foggy Field Notes: This Month On TFS
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Welcome back to a new season! With Covid-19 restrictions still in place, we bring you another Zoom panel! For this reason, the audio quality will be a little different to our usual studio sound.This week, we are joined by Sophie Chao, who we interviewed previously about her use of multispecies ethnography during her time with the Marind People and …
Just like that, we have already made it through half of what can only be described as a crazy year. To bring this season to a close, we recorded a short message from our homes (hence the differing audio quality ... we are KEEN to get back to the podcast studio soon) as we are still in the midst of corona virus restrictions. But despite the challeng…
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“Because for a few hours, maybe sometimes a few days, you can shed your human skin and you can take on the body of a creature that will allow you to fly, to swim through the rivers, to glide across the canopy” This week we bring you an interview with Dr Sophie Chao, who won the 2019 Australian Anthropological Society's PhD Thesis Prize with her the…
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#58 Individuals, Whiteness, Gendered Fandoms and Picking Field Stories to Tell: This Month on TFS
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This week we bring you another from home Zoom panel! This week we are joined by Senior lecturer Dr Yasmine Musharbash. Dr Musharbash is currently based in the Northern territory and has research interests in monsters, sleep and death. Alex [1:44] starts us off this week by returning to a topic touched on in the last panel. He dives further into Sab…
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#57 Narratives of Loss: Baptiste Brossard talks Alzheimer’s Disease & Social Dimensions of Ageing
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“I’m giving mundane examples here, but it can be a matter of life or death in a sense. Whether people are believed or not, it changes their destiny” In this episode, we bring you an interview with Dr Baptiste Brossard. Dr Brossard is a sociologist and lecturer currently based at Australian National University. He has an interest in mental health, s…
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Given the recently instigated social distancing rules in Canberra, this week we bring you a special “online” episode! For the safety of everyone, and especially in line with our own efforts to flatten the curve, we recorded this panel from the comfort of our own homes using the increasingly popular online video conferencing tool: Zoom. For this rea…
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"Realistically there's many people - maybe most anthropologists - are caught up in their own world, like many people are, trying to just get ahead. That’s irrelevant. What’s relevant is that I try and do [good]. I try and move forward with it."Content Warning: This interview has mention of addictions and the rehabilitation process.In this episode w…
This month on TFS, we are joined by special guests Sophie Pezzutto and Saidalavi P.C., two PhD candidates from the Australian National University. Sophie's research interests are on social media and the gig economy in relation to the transgender community, while Said is working on caste among Muslim communities in Southern India.Sophie [1:24] start…
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“It was a really difficult dilemma for me, because I felt that I needed to stand by my work, but at the same time what was more important was the social movement, because you know, what am I writing for?” In this episode (which is our first interview of 2020!) we bring you our interview with Dr Amita Baviskar that was recorded at the AAS Conference…
Welcome to our first podcast of 2020! And to kick of the new year season of TFS, we are joined by the lovely Kirsty Wissing, PhD candidate from the School of Culture, History and Language at the Australian National University.Alex [1:16] begins off our discussion with a bit of activism. Referring to the work of Nancy Scheper-Hughes, he asks: when y…
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#51: Newsworthy Stories, Becoming Projects, Ethics Of Danger, Balancing Values: This month on TFS
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Jodie [1:26] begins our panel this month with a recent incident in Canberra, Australia, where a woman was shot by a 'random' gunman. Luckily her wound was not life-threatening. This story was HUGE here, but at the same time the story was released, Australia was (and currently still is in some places) on fire. Jodie asks us whether we should care so…
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This episode, Kylie interviews a very familiar guest ... Dr Jodie-Lee Trembath (aka Jodie from TFS)! Now, Jodie's no stranger to qualifications, but this year she completed her PhD - which is a MAMMOTH achievement - so we thought it was about time to pick her brain to understand more about universities and fieldwork. They start off by discussing Jo…
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Monica Heller est professeure en anthropologie linguistique à l’Université de Toronto (Canada). Émilie Urbain est professeure adjointe de linguistique au département de français de l’Université Carleton. Elles sont bilingues (français/anglais). Elles ont grandi et travaillent dans des zones périphériques des marchés linguistiques dominants de produ…
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#49: Intolerable Ads, Introvert Anthros, Irrevocable Ties & Indigenous Symbols: This Month on TFS
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This month, Kylie [0:50] kicks off our conversation by reflecting on our blog about racism in sport and asks us about the ethics of ad targeting on social media. This comes after we decided to try boosting the blog post through a paid Facebook advertisement, since we felt this was a topic that needed to be discussed in the broader community. “What …
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#48 Nature of Anthropology: Andrew Kipnis on China, Funerals, Conferences & Ethnographic Socialising
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"I think you’d be crazy to go into something like anthropology if you want to learn how to say whatever other people tell you to say - you know, maybe you should become a lawyer!"This week we bring you a special treat – an interview between our good friend Zoe Hatten and her PhD supervisor Professor Andrew Kipnis. Andrew Kipnis, Professor at the Au…
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Firstly, we’d like to introduce you all to Alex D’Aloia, who is managing our Facebook group TFS Chats – you might remember the blog post that he wrote for us at the start of this year: "Anthropologists and Dragons". Make sure to check out the chat group after listening to this episode and let us know what questions you have and what you found most …
