For this episode curator and Sonsbeek director Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg brings with her a thirty year old ear-worm. It takes the conversation into the realm of misophonia, or, how our brain deals with the delicate balance between our emotions and our physical fitness. Scratching, creaking, and tapping noises make space for a conversation about our psychological software and neurological hardware, and how these are intricately bound together.

This inherently anthropocentric discussion is then stunningly undermined by feminist poetry on the unique beauty that is marine life, and what we as humans can learn from it. After, this is given a different kind of voice with the sounds of a sperm whale family, yet also takes the conversation back to humanity’s enduring occupation with establishing, classifying and commercializing knowledge and understanding. Often forgetting nature’s own language(s), as an alternative for us all.

Track list:

‘Alabama Song’ by The Doors from the album ‘TheDoors’ (1967)

Excerpts from ‘Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals’ by Alexis Pauline Gumbs (AK Press, 2021)

‘The Sound of Sperm Whales’ by whalezone.tv

‘Eight Hours of Whale Sounds Deep Underwater for Sleep and Relaxation’ by Jason Lewis @MindAmend