James sits down with Jorgi fresh off submitting her PhD to celebrate the milestone and unpack what four years of research actually looked like. Jorgi's thesis sits at an unusual crossroads — circus practice, disability studies, and philosophy — and she walks us through how those three worlds collide, what she discovered, and where she's taking it next. Along the way we hear about growing up in Pembrokeshire, belly dancing in Cairo at age 11, spinning fire every Wednesday, and why she thinks disability is, ultimately, good for innovation.
"There is no box for me. Can't think inside the box if it isn't there."
Key ideas from this episode
- Capal epistemology — Jorgi's term for how knowledge is shaped by and through the body, particularly bodies that diverge from a perceived norm.
- The Vortex Methodology — a framework for understanding creative (and research) process as multiple inputs swirling together around an axis until they produce a finite, defined output.
- Photo elicitation interviews — a research technique where visual media is used within an interview to elicit responses that words alone can't reach.
- Social circus — using circus skills as a vehicle for community wellbeing and social good, parallel to applied theatre.
- Epistemic injustice — injustice that operates at the level of knowledge itself: how we share, receive, and value information, and whose knowledge counts.
Mentioned in this episode
- Petra Kuppers — artist-scholar working at the intersection of disability and performance
- Pina Bausch — German contemporary dance choreographer, themes of tragedy, love, and memory
- Katrina Carter — circus scholar and aerialist; disability and circus accessibility; Paralympic opening ceremony choreography
- Organised Chaos (KAOS) — social circus organisation in the Swansea/Cardiff area, Wales
- Philip Astley — 18th-century British trick rider, credited with founding the modern circus
Find Jorgi
Instagram
@flofficial (modelling & performance)
TikTok
Fire spinning videos
Find the podcast
Website granary.digital
Email: podcast@granary.digital
Instagram: @Granary_Digital
