S01e05 Susana Caló and Godofredo Pereira: “Institution” Is A Verb episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 10, 2026 · 1H 8M

S01e05 Susana Caló and Godofredo Pereira: “Institution” Is A Verb

from Lifepod · host Adam Greenfield

On this week’s Lifepod, researchers Susana Caló and Godofredo Pereira join me to discuss their new book “CERFI Analysis Everywhere,” and the history of that organization’s experiments in collective psychotherapy in the France of the 1960s and ‘70s. Starting from CERFI’s advocacy for a dynamic understanding of "institutions" as processes rather than static structures, we cover everything from the transformative power of desire to the meaning of “transversality” to the radical potential of swimming in a river — pausing along the way to consider what the young Félix Guattari might have learned from his time in youth hostels.Terms and topics mentioned in this episode:- CERFI Analysis Everywhere book page- Wikipedia’s not bad on Félix Guattari - The Algerian struggle for independence - The Events of May '68 (note that “Events,” les événements, is itself a politically loaded, widely-despised rubric) - Deinstitutionalization movement (US) - Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies - Suicidal Tendencies, "Institutionalized" - La Borde clinic and "the grid" - “Transversality” - Paulo Freire - The Sanrizuka struggle and Ogawa Pro films- Recherches- Colin Ward and more on adventure playgrounds  - Nomadology: The War Machine - Radio Alice, Bologna - semiotext(e) and the Foreign Agents series - Other Ways to Care- The “international network of free clinics” Susana mentions- Alma-Gare, Roubaix- Minor Compositions- More on Anne Querrien, Ginette Michaud, Jean Oury, François Pain, Gaëtane Lamarche-Vadel and Michel Rostain. Very little seems to be available on Florence Pétry and Lion Murard. More ways to stay connected:- You can follow Lifepod on Instagram, or Adam’s personal account on Mastodon. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

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S01e05 Susana Caló and Godofredo Pereira: “Institution” Is A Verb

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