PODCAST · fiction
The Laughing Satirist
by Fred McGavran
Welcome to The Laughing Satirist, Our first episode is “The Butterfly Collector.” On the surface it is the familiar story of a miraculous healing followed by a terrifying relapse. A butterfly follows an elderly man possibly suffering from Alzheimer's disease or some other dementia out of a butterfly exhibit and shares its dreams with him. Beneath the surface, this is a gentle satiric exposé of our desire to avoid other people’s visions by labeling them with a diagnosis. I will not comment on the author’s descriptions of a long term marriage.
Episodes
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Episode 22 - Memories of a Family Vacation
“Memories of a Family Vacation” is a satire of a disappointing inheritance, family values, resort shopping, time travel, and influence shopping with the Department of Defense. It raises the important but largely unexplored question of how family memories are passed from one generation to another,...
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Episode 21 - Part 2 - My Life in Genealogy
This episode concludes episode 21- Part 1.
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Episode 21 - Part 1 - My Life in Genealogy
“My Life in Genealogy” is a satire of applied genealogy and the greed that underlies so much genealogical research. “Applied genealogy” is the study of an elderly person’s family fortune in order to transfer it to the researcher. For novices this is a “how to” manual; for long time practitioners…
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Episode 20 - Statistical Abuse
"Statistical Abuse" is a delightful satire of scented soap balls, forensic epidemiology, and sudden death syndrome in middle aged white males.
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Episode 19 - Part 2 - The Flipper Guy
This is the conclusion to "The Flipper Guy," a delightful tale of house flipping, immigration enforcement, and Freudian psychology. Or maybe it’s about something you may be able to identify better than I.
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Episode 19 - Part 1 - The Flipper Guy
“The Flipper Guy” is a satire of house flipping, immigration enforcement, and Freudian psychology. Or maybe it’s about something else we have difficulty naming. This episode concludes in Episode 19 - Part 2
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Episode 18 - The Resurrection of Nelson Campbell
“The Resurrection of Nelson Campbell” is a satire of family values and the family dynamics that occur after a deceased businessman returns to life.
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Episode 17 - Displaying Dreams
“Displaying Dreams” is a satire of higher mathematics, psychological research, graduate student life, and human aspirations. A doctor of psychology and a PhD in math combine to create a program that will display a person’s dreams. There is only one hitch.
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Episode 16 - Acting Out
“Acting Out” is a satire of psychiatry and psychiatrists told by a patient who has endured much at their hands. As his recovery progressed, however, he gained the self-confidence to insulate himself from unpleasant stimuli that threatened to cause a relapse.
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Episode 15 - Beethoven's 10th
“Beethoven’s 10th” is a satire of gene therapy, modern medicine, and family dynamics, where a man discovers he has Beethoven’s 10th Symphony embedded in his genome. His wife finds a unique way to capitalize upon this unexpected but for her welcome development.
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Episode 14 - The Beautician
“The Beautician” is the story of a makeup artist called to a hospital to remove the ravages of impending death from a patient. The story explores the odd relationship between a cosmetologist and her client, and what is revealed beneath her handiwork.
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Episode 13 - Suffering Little Children
“Suffering Little Children” is a satire of the drug driven alliance of overstressed mothers, psychologists, and drug companies that has reduced two generations of little boys to a zombie like state of passivity and weakness. A warning to listeners: like Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” the...
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Episode 12 - Gone
In “Gone” all the students in a failing high school suddenly disappear, leaving the faculty and the administration to fight it out alone.
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Episode 11 - Mother's Recipe for Happiness
"Mother’s Recipe for Happiness” is the inspiring story of an entrepreneur who went from health supplements for animals to health supplements for people, capitalizing on the “all natural” products movement and providing all species experiences they had never known they needed.
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Episode 10 - Lillian
"Lillian" is a story about the dissipating memories of a resident in a long term care facility, where the real and the imagined often collide. Can you guess which prevails?
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Episode 9 - Embracing the Inner Child
This is a story about how a plunge into depth psychology and kinesthesia alters relationships and leads to personal empowerment until it doesn’t. Apparently he author has been in treatment himself or has picked up the essentials of these disciplines from the personal experiences of others. Or…
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Episode 8 - Lawyer Assisted Suicide: A Brief for the Bar
“Lawyer Assisted Suicide: A Brief for the Bar” is a "how to" manual for lawyers to facilitate the passing of wealth from one generation to another in jurisdictions where the right to die is still frowned upon.
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Episode 6 - Part 2 - The Dinner Bell
This is the conclusion to "The Dinner Bell," where Melissa negotiates with the agent of an Arab prince who wants to buy "The Dinner Bell." He doesn't understand with whom he is dealing.
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Episode 7 - The Pillow
“The Pillow is” a delightful story of old age and family values, where an elderly man and his wife compete about which one can put the other into assisted living first, leaving the victor to enjoy their golden years alone.
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Episode 5 - A Killer App
"A Killer App is a satire of where apps can take us when backed by unlimited venture capital and unsuspecting users. A man develops a killer app to ring your phone when your scrambled eggs are done and parlays it into an app to predict the weather and then the end of the world. Venture capital is...
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Episode 6 - The Dinner Bell
“The Dinner Bell" is a satire of the New York art world, a grasping family, a lawyer, art appraisers and manipulators, and a buyer for an Arab prince, all ready to pounce upon an old woman to relieve her of a valuable painting.
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Episode 4 - Crobson's Syndrome
“Crobson’s Syndrome” is an autobiographical sketch by Anthony Crobson, M.D., the greatest pharmaceutical inventor and marketer of all time. Dr. Crobson invented “Crobson’s Syndrome” to have a disease to treat with Crobson’s Elixir, a combination of stimulants he created that became the most…
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Episode 3 - The Landfill
“The Landfill”is a satire of waste management, crater dynamics, construction economics, and technological progress. Butch Siegel, the contractor from “Recycled Glass” in Episode 2, makes a cameo appearance as the contractor for an enormous plastic dome set over the landfill to channel methane gas...
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Episode 2 - Recycled Glass
“Recycled Glass” is a satire of kitchen remodeling, orthopedic surgery, marriage, and Russian gangsters. Months into remodeling their kitchen, the recycled glass countertop has still not arrived, and narrator Walter's wife Joyce demands action from contractor Butch Siegel. Both Joyce and Walter…
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Episode 1 - The Butterfly Collector
Episode 1 is “The Butterfly Collector.” On the surface it is the familiar story of a miraculous healing followed by a terrifying relapse. A butterfly follows an elderly man out of a butterfly exhibit and shares its dreams with him. Beneath the surface, it is a gentle satiric exposé of our desire…
more
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to The Laughing Satirist, Our first episode is “The Butterfly Collector.” On the surface it is the familiar story of a miraculous healing followed by a terrifying relapse. A butterfly follows an elderly man possibly suffering from Alzheimer's disease or some other dementia out of a butterfly exhibit and shares its dreams with him. Beneath the surface, this is a gentle satiric exposé of our desire to avoid other people’s visions by labeling them with a diagnosis. I will not comment on the author’s descriptions of a long term marriage.
HOSTED BY
Fred McGavran
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Laughing Satirist have?
The Laughing Satirist currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Laughing Satirist about?
Welcome to The Laughing Satirist, Our first episode is “The Butterfly Collector.” On the surface it is the familiar story of a miraculous healing followed by a terrifying relapse. A butterfly follows an elderly man possibly suffering from Alzheimer's disease or some other dementia out of a...
How often does The Laughing Satirist release new episodes?
The Laughing Satirist has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Laughing Satirist?
You can listen to The Laughing Satirist on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Laughing Satirist?
The Laughing Satirist is created and hosted by Fred McGavran.
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