Jo gets really into true crime and starts writing cool horror stories. Professor Bhaer, the Ana Mardoll of the 19th century, accuses her of Causing Harm through her writing and suggests she take up a new career as a street sweeper.
This episode could have been an hour-long anti-Bhaer hate rant, but our special guest, Andrew Leland, instead leads us into a wide-ranging discussion about the history of #OwnVoices, the morality of Murderinos, and blindness as metaphor.
Andrew is the author of the memoir The Country of the Blind, published July 18 and available now from Penguin. He’s been an editor at the Believer since 2003, and he’s taught at Smith College, UMass-Amherst, and the University of Missouri. You can visit him online at andrewleland.org.