Episode 217 – Books, Spirits, and Hysteria, with Asti Hustvedt
Summary
Hosts Phil Ford and J.F. Martell interview researcher Asti Hustvet about her work on 19th-century spirit mediums and hysteria. They explore how reading functions as a form of mediumship, where readers think thoughts that are not their own, drawing parallels to hysterical automatism and spirit possession. The discussion covers the medical history of hysteria, the influence of Jean-Martin Charcot, and the porous boundary between the self and external ideas.
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