Fascists and Fasciae: Dissecting Medical History

The Origins of Orthopaedics: What Is a ‘Normal’ Body?

Why do we “straighten” the human body? And who decides what “normal” should be? Hosted by Brendan James Clark and Svet Mangarakov. A medical history and anatomy podcast exploring the human body, its politics, philosophy, and role in society. 🎥Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FascistsandFasciae 📸 Follow us: https://instagram.com/fascistsandfasciae 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/fascistsandfasciae In this episode of Fascists and Fasciae: Dissecting Medical History, we explore the origins of orthopaedics and the idea of the “normal” body. From ancient prosthetics and early fracture treatment to Hippocrates and the work of Nicolas Andry, we trace how “deformity” came to be understood and corrected. Yet orthopaedics is not just technical; it is philosophical. With Marcus Aurelius and Michel Foucault, we ask whether “deformity” is something inherent or something defined. That question takes on a darker weight in the twentieth century, where ideas of bodily normalcy became entangled with ideology in Nazi Germany. Fascists and Fasciae explores the strange and fascinating history of the human body, where anatomy, medicine, philosophy, religion, politics, and culture intersect. In future episodes, we will dive into topics such as Galenic anatomy and why it dominated medicine for centuries, the spectacle of anatomy theatres, the darkest chapters of medical science, and the curious ways medicine has intersected with art, religion, and politics throughout history. What begins as an attempt to correct the body inherently becomes an attempt to define it. Hopefully this episode tickled your brain. - Brendan and Svet Chapters 00:00 Introduction 04:50 Ancient Egypt 15:10 Defining orthopaedics 21:07 Hippocrates 23:25 Defining the 'normal' body 35:48 Wrapping up

The Most Illogical Nerve in the Body (and Why It Exists)

Why does a nerve travel from the brain, down into the chest, and back up again? Would you design it like that? Hosted by Brendan James Clark and Svet Mangarakov. A medical history and anatomy podcast exploring the human body, its origins, and the hidden logic behind it. 🎥Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FascistsandFasciae 📸 Follow us: https://instagram.com/fascistsandfasciae 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/fascistsandfasciae In this episode of Fascists and Fasciae: Dissecting Medical History, we explore one of the most peculiar structures in the human body: the recurrent laryngeal nerve. A nerve whose course appears inefficient, indirect, and entirely illogical- until you take a closer look. We trace its anatomy from the brainstem to the thorax and back to the larynx, where it governs voice, breathing, and the delicate coordination required for speech and protection of the airway. From Galen’s early experiments to modern thyroid surgery, this small structure carries enormous clinical significance. To understand this nerve’s strange path, we have to take a step back- far beyond modern anatomy and even our own species. At first glance, it seems like a mistake. An unnecessary detour. A structure that defies efficiency. But the body rarely follows the logic we expect of it. Fascists and Fasciae explores the strange and fascinating history of the human body, where anatomy, medicine, philosophy, religion, politics, and culture intersect. In future episodes, we will dive into topics such as Galenic anatomy and why it dominated medicine for centuries, the spectacle of anatomy theatres, the darkest chapters of medical science, and the curious ways medicine has intersected with art, religion, and politics throughout history. What appears illogical in the body is often a testament to its long history. Hopefully this episode tickled your brain. - Brendan and Svet Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:24 Anatomy and functions 09:31 Embryological origins 14:08 Evolutionary and comparative anatomy 25:40 Clinical relevance 31:05 Closing remarks

The Meaning of the Body After Death: Funerary Rituals Across Cultures

What is the meaning of the human body after death? What happens to it? Hosted by Brendan James Clark and Svet Mangarakov. A medical history and anatomy podcast exploring the human body, death, culture, and how different societies understand and value it. 🎥Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FascistsandFasciae 📸 Follow us: https://instagram.com/fascistsandfasciae 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/fascistsandfasciae Is it sacred? A vessel once inhabited by a soul? A fading memory of the person who once occupied it? Or simply matter dissolving back into the world from which it came? Every civilisation has answered this question differently, and the answers could not be more fascinating. In this first episode of Fascists and Fasciae: Dissecting Medical History, we focus on funerary rituals in Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, examining Japanese cremation and bone-picking (kotsuage) ceremonies, as well as Tibetan sky burials. We also briefly discuss Christian and Islamic burial traditions to place these practices within a broader cultural context and understand how a variety of cultures perceive the body after death. While medicine tends to treat the body as a biological structure, societies throughout history have understood it as something far more symbolic: a vessel, a memory, a sacred object, or even a final gift to nature. Fascists and Fasciae explores the strange and fascinating history of the human body, where anatomy, medicine, philosophy, religion, politics, and culture intersect. In future episodes, we will dive into topics such as Galenic anatomy and why it dominated medicine for centuries, the spectacle of anatomy theatres, the darkest chapters of medical science, and the curious ways medicine has intersected with art, religion, and politics throughout history. This episode marks the beginning of the project, and we’re very excited to share it. It won’t be perfect, but it will always be honest, curious, and perhaps a little too obsessed with the absurd and wonderful history and meaning of the human body. Hopefully this episode tickled your brain.  - Brendan and Svet Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:33 Japanese cleansing and cremation rituals 14:53 Tibetan sky burials 27:29 Burial in Christianity 35:05 Burial in Islam 43:03 Outro