ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What can Spider-Man teach us about infrastructure? How do superhero narratives open up urgent questions around crime, justice, and the city in the context of racial capitalism? What do we gain from an abolitionist reading of popular culture? And what does an abolitionist perspective bring to our understanding of infrastructure?
In this episode, Dom sat down with Reed Puc, a researcher and curator at the British Library and a member of the steering group for the Thinking Through Infrastructure Network. They discussed Reed’s recently completed PhD thesis, Spider-Sensibilities: Policing, Race, and Urban Spatial Imaginaries in Spider-Man Narratives, which is available to download from the library at City St George’s, University of London. The conversation covered the cultural politics of infrastructure in superhero comics, the contest between white and black spatial imaginaries in cities like New York, and the importance of thinking through retributive justice as an infrastructure that must be abolished.
Pictures from Reed’s research are available on the @TTinfraNetwork Instagram page. Please like, subscribe, and review the podcast to help us reach more listeners.
In this episode, Dom sat down with Reed Puc, a researcher and curator at the British Library and a member of the steering group for the Thinking Through Infrastructure Network. They discussed Reed’s recently completed PhD thesis, Spider-Sensibilities: Policing, Race, and Urban Spatial Imaginaries in Spider-Man Narratives, which is available to download from the library at City St George’s, University of London. The conversation covered the cultural politics of infrastructure in superhero comics, the contest between white and black spatial imaginaries in cities like New York, and the importance of thinking through retributive justice as an infrastructure that must be abolished.
Pictures from Reed’s research are available on the @TTinfraNetwork Instagram page. Please like, subscribe, and review the podcast to help us reach more listeners.
English
United Kingdom
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
Are you the producer of this podcast?
Add a podcast transcript
Need Audio-to-Text?
Transcribe with Listen411 in Just 60 Seconds
SEARCH PAST EPISODES
Search past episodes of Thinking Through Infrastructure.
OTHER EPISODES IN THIS PODCAST
Logistics describes the just-in-time supply chains that make consumer capitalism possible in the twenty-first century. It has seeped into every corner of our imaginations and behaviours, transforming us into logistical subjects who must manage our lives through the systems and schedules of late mod…
How does rain impact how and when people get around, whether on foot, on public transport, or in private vehicles? How does it affect how we use outdoor and public spaces, from parks to streets and shopping centres? How does it influences our moods, and mental and physical health? How does it affec…
Concrete underpins modern construction and allows for building processes that are mostly taken for granted. But where does the cement that comprises concrete actually come from? What natural resources, state territories, power relations, and political ecologies does cement bring into view? And how …
In this short review episode of the Thinking Through Infrastructure podcast, network convenor Dom Davies looks back at some of TTiN's activities in 2025, including our event with Zack Polanski, our book launches with scholars from the Foundational Economy Collective, and our new podcast series of i…
What makes an American road novel? What are the material conditions that caused it to emerge in the mid-twentieth century? Why does it persist, what does it tell us about infrastructure, and why has it travelled so widely – but also unevenly – through literary cultures across the globe?
In this e…
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Thinking Through Infrastructure, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
EDIT
Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date.
