Episode
Episode 13: Hypnotized, Mesmerized by What Our Eyes Have Found
- Podcast
- The Persistence
- Published
- Dec 12, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2486
- Processing state
processed
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Summary
The latest episode of The Persistence opens with a very relatable childhood crisis: that first moment when a story you believed your whole life suddenly unravels. Host Angélica Cordero uses this myth-busting moment as a bridge into a larger cultural awakening, tracing how early 20th-century art movements like Dada, Neo-Dada, Judson Dance Theater, and Fluxus began shredding America’s shiny narratives long before the 1960s demanded it. Along the way, she spotlights boundary-pushers such as Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, and Yoko Ono, revealing how their weird, radical, rule-breaking work was not just art but prophecy. These creators exposed cracks in the culture decades before the mainstream could admit the foundations were shifting. This episode invites listeners to rethink the stories they were raised on, reflect on their own moments of disillusionment, and recognize why challenging the status quo has always been a necessary act of resistance. This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT. Our theme song is Don’t Kid Yourself Baby by Fold , used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for The Persistence features Mexican-American activist Jovita Idar and was created by Tamra Collins of Sunroot Studio . Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits Want the full context? Check out the episodes referenced here: Books An Audience of Artists: Dada, Neo-Dada, and the Emergence of Abstract Expressionism by Catherine Craft Autocritique: Essays on Art and Anti-Art, 1963-1987 by Rose, Barbara The Experimenters by Eva Díaz Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain: Its History and Aesthetics in the Context of 1917 by W. A. Camfield Neo-Dada 1951-54: Between the Aesthetics of Persecution and the Politics of Identity by Seth Mccormick Pop Art and the Origins of P…