Mini Garlic Naan & Communicating Diabetes and Devices w/ Dr. Carrie Rentschler

"Is that a pager?"

We are talking miniature garlic naan and how Diabetes treatment devices such as insulin pens, insulin pumps, and blood glucose meters train us to think and act as we use them. Our guest is Dr. Carrie Rentschler, Associate Professor in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies and Associate Member of the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, who talks through her experiences with these devices in the 49 years since her diagnosis.

The designs of these technologies have changed over the past 30 years, but why do they all look like pens, pagers, or cell phones? What drives us to conceal (and, at certain times, reveal) illness or disability? And can Diabetes be the basis for building relationships?

During the discussion we reference an article Dr. Rentschler co-authored with Benjamin Nothwehr titled "Transmitting Insulin: The Design and Look of Insulin Delivery Devices as Technologies of Communication," published in 2021 in Catalyst: Theory, Feminism, Technoscience -- it is an open-access journal, and the full text can be found here: https://doi.org/10.28968/cftt.v7i1.34567

We based our our tiny, fluffy, bready pillows (thanks for that one, Melissa) on Chef John's recipe for Garlic Naan. John Mitzewich is a treasure, as is this recipe (find it here: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2019/02/garlic-naan-now-100-tandoor-free.html)

Melissa talks about her experiences with how medical devices have made her (and Diabetes) visible, and sparks an exploration of how we do/don't build trust in technologies.

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Music: September Rain by Yme Fresh https://bit.ly/yme-fresh

Creative Commons Attribution licence

Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/3FfoBtA

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/kVCTa0-bDkQ