The Mad and Crip Theology Podcast

Season 4 Episode 11: Micah Perez and iowyth ulthiin on artistic expression & neurodiversity

• Amy Panton and Miriam Spies • Season 4 • Episode 11

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🎙️ Mad & Crip Theology Podcast – Micah Perez & iowyth ulthiin 

In this episode, Amy Panton and Miriam Spies sit down with two remarkable contributors to the Fall 2024 issue of the Canadian Journal of Theology, Mental Health and Disability: Micah and io. Together, they explore the complexities of embodiment, spirituality, artistic expression, and the deep work of healing.

Io shares reflections on their piece, Before and After Gravity, a series of intimate drawings born out of a need for sacred focus. Yhese works explore the sublime as a site of queer spiritual connection. Through processing intimacy, desire, and the deep ache for alignment, io evokes the fragile power of touch and the repair of closeness as both vital and dangerous: “It is the spice… our vital interdependencies where our life resides.”

Micah offers a powerful narrative of identity and resistance, shaped by her experiences as a neurodivergent, Christian, Filipino-Australian woman living with multiple invisible chronic health conditions. In her work, she traces the long arc of coming into clarity and self-description despite persistent societal and institutional discrimination. 

The conversation ranges from vulnerability in creative and scholarly spaces to the embodied politics of belonging. As always, listeners are invited to contribute to the journal—through poetry, essays, art, teaching reflections, and more.

Read Michah's piece here: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cjtmhd/article/view/44509

Read io's piece here: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/cjtmhd/article/view/44515

Watch with captions on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/KH0Q2RlPxy4

People on this episode