I’ve listened to Episode 7: ‘The Unspeakable Mystery at the Heart of Boxing’ of the Weird Studies podcast several times since it was first published, but having listened to it again this afternoon I thought I should post about it to give it the credit I think it deserves. This episode played a big role in how myself and Lizzy went about putting together The Spit Bucket fanzine, and having listened again today it probably informed the links I made in the recent posts about Homer’s Odyssey and Irvine Welsh’s The Two Philosophers. I highly recommend listening to the episode and Ford and Martel’s thoughts about the sublime nature of boxing and the beauty of its inherent violence.
Since they’ve already produced a suitable episode description I’ll just copy it here:
For as long as they’ve been pounding the crap out of each other for good reasons, humans have also been pounding the crap out of each other for fun. Everywhere, in ever age, elaborate systems, rituals, and traditions have arisen to ring in the practice of violence and thereby offer the rough beast that lurks in every soul a chance to come out for a stretch in the sun. In this episode, Phil and JF delve into one of the most scandalous affairs of all: the illicit dalliance of Aphrodite and Ares, beauty and violence.
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