All episodes

The Mysterious Hedwig Kallmeyer -- Episode #2

Hewdig (Hade) Kallmeyer (1881-1976) was important for many reasons. She was one of the people who brought physical culture work to Germany in the early 20th century. She also taught Elsa Gindler, Hedwig von Rohden and other influential figures of the time. We also have to think about people who

Plans for The Work, January through April, 2026

In the coming year, and probably beyond, we will talk about practitioners (past and present) who believe(d) anyone can learn to make music, draw, dance act, or write. As always, we'll look into the politics and economics of the matter, and meet some strange and wonderful characters.

Eugenics in Ontario and Beyond with Dr. Evadne Kelly

When they hear the term 'Eugenics' a lot of people immediately think of a terrible phase in the history of Nazi Germany, but it was all over the world, and it has never gone away. This month, Dr. Evadne Kelly helped us navigate the complex landscape of eugenics,

The Mysterious Hedwig Kallmeyer -- Episode #1

Hewdig (Hade) Kallmeyer (1881-1976) was important for many reasons. She was one of the people who brought physical culture work to Germany in the early 20th century. She also taught Elsa Gindler, Hedwig von Rohden and other influential figures of the time. We also have to think about people who

Dr. Carrie Streeter on Reconstruction-Era Embodied Politics (1870s-1990s)

If you think psychophysical culture activities only took place among well-to-do white women, think again! Dr. Carrie Streeter's research explores how elocution and dance curricula redefined citizenship during the Reconstruction Era in the United States (1870s-1990s). In this conversation, she shares her discoveries about the range of people

Summer 2025 -- An Interview with Magdalena Kraler

It's my pleasure to share with you today's interview with Dr. Magdalena (Lena) Kraler, author of Yoga Breath: Prāṇa and Prāṇāyāma in Early Modern Yoga. The book discusses the yogic breathing practices (prāṇāyāma) between 1850 and 1945, and includes an analysis of the influence of Euro-American

Hunger for Practice: A Conversation with Multidisciplinary Artist Rami Schandall

As part of The Work, I like to raise my head from the history books once in a while and talk to contemporary artists of all kinds about their personal approach to craft and method. My guest this week: Rami Schandall, an artist who works in a wide range of

Elsa Gindler in context # 2: Writing and Resistance

One of the stories you may hear about Elsa Gindler is that she didn't write much, and/or that her writings were all destroyed in a fire at the end of the Second World War. This is not true. She wrote a lot, she got her students to

Short works #2: Leo Kofler and the Legacy of Tuberculosis.

Have you ever heard of Leo Kofler? He was an Austrian-born singing teacher (1837-1908), who spent most of his career in the United States. His ideas were later taken up in Germany. You may hear the story that he cured himself of tuberculosis by singing. Spoiler alert: he didn'

Short works #1: On the face of it: Kate Gies's It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished (2025) and Louis Kuhne's The Science of Facial Expression (1917)

Kate Gies's wonderful (and devastating) memoir, It Must Be Beautiful To Be Finished shows that the mainstream medical profession has a lot to answer for when it comes to deciding which bodies are "attractive," which ones need "fixing," and how all that should take

Elsa Gindler in Context Part 1

The work, life and legacy of Weimar movement teacher Elsa Gindler (1885-1961) will form the uniting thread for our conversations in Spring 2025. To head up this section, I deliberately chose a grainy picture of Gindler, reproduced many times and appearing as part of someone else's story. To

@Work with Jade Wallace

This week, I scaled technology-mountain and published my first podcast: @Work. It's the here-and-now version of my exploration of craft and method, where I invite artists of all kinds to reflect on their practice. Technically it's, well, a Work in progress, but the guest makes up

TWO IDEAS PROGRAMS