Spider-Sensibilities: Policing, Race, and Urban Spatial Imaginaries in Spider-Man Narratives, with Reed Puc

What can Spider-Man teach us about infrastructure? How do superhero narratives open up urgent questions around crime, justice, and the city in the context of racial capitalism? What do we gain from an abolitionist reading of popular culture? And what does an abolitionist perspective bring to our understanding of infrastructure?

In this episode, Dom sat down with Reed Puc, a researcher and curator at the British Library and a member of the steering group for the Thinking Through Infrastructure Network. They discussed Reed’s recently completed PhD thesis, Spider-Sensibilities: Policing, Race, and Urban Spatial Imaginaries in Spider-Man Narratives, which is available to download from the library at City St George’s, University of London. The conversation covered the cultural politics of infrastructure in superhero comics, the contest between white and black spatial imaginaries in cities like New York, and the importance of thinking through retributive justice as an infrastructure that must be abolished.

Pictures from Reed’s research are available on the @TTinfraNetwork Instagram page. Please like, subscribe, and review the podcast to help us reach more listeners.