“Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!” 

[This episode contains the brief sound of gun shots at 1:36] 

Sandy and educator, technologist and activist Jonah Bossewitch ring in spooky season with a discussion of the cult classic film Donnie Darko. They talk about the portrayal of psychiatry (which includes hypnosis for some reason?) and whether all the movie's talk of time travel could be seen as a meditation on suicide.

SANDY’S NOTES: 

🎃🎃🎃 We’re still soliciting your spooky stories about mental health and Halloween. Have you encountered psychiatric patients/treatments used at haunted houses/as costumes/decorations etc.? Tell us your stories — send a minute-or-under voicemail to madchatshow at gmail. 

Buy and read We’ve Been Too Patient. Of course read our guest Jonah Bossewitch’s essay in it, an ethnography of the radical mental health movement called “Dangerous Gifts” (adapted from his dissertation). WBTP be the third Mad Chat Book Club pick so I encourage you to pick it up and check it out. We’ll have that conversation at some point in early 2020. 

Other resources / organizations Jonah mentioned during our chat: 

The Icarus Project 

The Institute for the Development of Human Arts or IDHA  

NYC Respite Centers 

Piece up at Mad in America by Leah Harris on “The Rise of the Digital Asylum” 

I mentioned our episode about Six Feet Under with Hearing Voices movement activist Caroline Mazel-Carlton. I also mentioned our latest episode, with Yassir Lester, about Batman: The Animated Series. 

We briefly mention asylums; check out my new piece for 99 Percent Invisible, about asylums historically in America. 

Listen to my breb, which is frequently what’s helping me today. Tell us #whatshelpingtoday and Chris Ritter may illustrate your suggestion. 

Our final episode of Season 1 will be our Halloween Special on Halloween — with a very special guest. Chat with you again in *two* weeks.