Ferment Radio, a podcast series hosted by artist-scientist and CSSM member Aga Pokrywka, can now also be found on the CSSM website. In each episode, Ferment Radio delves deeper into the world of microbes through different angles, giving space to rarely-heard voices and reimagining relationships between humans and microbes. Since kicking off in 2020, the podcast has featured 38 boundary-pushing conversations on themes as varied as fermentation, antimicrobial resistance, gut microbes, yoghurt, cyanobacteria, and witchcraft.
“Before the pandemic, I was working with fermentation mainly as a social and collaborative practice. In the solitude of 2020, my hands-on experience turned into engaging conversations. This is how Ferment Radio began. Since then, the podcast has kept evolving. This would not be possible without our fantastic guests and listeners, CSSM’s support, and production by Super Eclectic. It is nearly impossible to make a podcast all alone, as it is to live without microbes,” host Aga Pokrywka explains.
In Ferment Radio, Aga interviews practitioners with starkly different perspectives, backgrounds, and areas of expertise, but with a common interest in microbes. Previous episodes of Ferment Radio include guests such as feminist scientist Deboleena Roy, doctor, researcher and activist Miin Chan, sourdough librarian Karl de Smedt, anthropologist and chef Njathi Kabui, and visual artist Terike Haapoja, as well as CSSM members Salla Sariola, Riina Hannula, and Maya Hey. Through the exchange of ideas and perspectives, these discussions provide listeners with tools and inspiration to engage with bacterial and social fermentation, referring to gentle transformational processes inspired by microbes.
Aga is a multidisciplinary artist and scientist working with graphic design, video, sound, text, and collaborative practices to build new kinds of narratives around topics such as bacteria, food, recycling, and colonization. Read more about her work on www.supereclectic.team/pokrywka.
You can find all Ferment Radio episodes on our website. The podcast is available in all major streaming services: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Youtube, and Stitcher. You can also follow Ferment Radio on Instagram.
Picture: Podcast guest David Zilber (left), featured in episode 36, and host Aga Pokrywka.
