{"id":2106,"date":"2026-09-30T22:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/?post_type=showcase&#038;p=2106"},"modified":"2026-09-30T22:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:05:18","slug":"season-6-episode-3-making-kin","status":"publish","type":"showcase","link":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/showcase\/season-6-episode-3-making-kin\/","title":{"rendered":"Season 6, Episode 3: Making KIN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"background-color:#4d4d4e\">In this episode of <em>Reverb Effect<\/em>, we visit <em>KIN: Us and Our Kinds<\/em>, an exhibit of paintings, comics, and sculpture by historian and artist Rafael Neis, and ask what happens when creative practice becomes a way of doing history. Drawing on ancient rabbinic stories, <em>KIN<\/em> explored how kinship, species, and bodies were once imagined as unstable and open to change. We talk with Neis about bringing art and scholarship together, teaching history through hands-on experiments, the medical history of classifying bodies, and how discomfort in front of art can start conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1170\" height=\"1042\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2107\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-300x267.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-767x683.jpeg 767w, https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1024x912.jpeg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rafael Neis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Season 6, Episode 3: Making Kin\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/06vtL0dQWCScrbkN4SHOfm?si=a19f864e389b43e0&amp;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-3e41869c wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div style=\"--wp--block-button--width: 25;\" class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width wp-block-button__width-25\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/season-6-episode-3-making-kin\/id1486434428?i=1000792464744\">Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"--wp--block-button--width: 25;\" class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width wp-block-button__width-25\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/06vtL0dQWCScrbkN4SHOfm?si=34c103cdc93442f1\">Spotify<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this episode of <em>Reverb Effect<\/em>, we visit <em>KIN: Us and Our Kinds<\/em>, an exhibit of paintings, comics, and sculpture by historian and artist Rafael Neis, and ask what happens when creative practice becomes a way of doing history. Drawing on ancient rabbinic stories, <em>KIN<\/em> explored how kinship, species, and bodies were once imagined as unstable and open to change. We talk with Neis about bringing art and scholarship together, teaching history through hands-on experiments, the medical history of classifying bodies, and how discomfort in front of art can start conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rafael Neis<\/strong> is Hermann P. &amp; Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture at the University of California, Berkeley, and previously Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. Neis is the author of <em>When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species<\/em> (University of California Press, 2023). <strong>Cheyenne Pettit<\/strong> received her PhD in History in 2025 and is now Assistant Professor of History at Missouri Southern State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/showcase\/season-6-episode-3-transcript\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>View the full episode transcript<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"production-credits\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Production Credits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Episode Producers:\u00a0<\/strong>Cheyenne Pettit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Season Producer:<\/strong>&nbsp;Cheyenne Pettit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Executive Producer:<\/strong>&nbsp;Joseph W. Ho<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Editorial Board: <\/strong>Joseph W. Ho, Kenneth Mills, Gregory Parker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Music:<\/strong> Eguana, &#8220;Wind In Wheat Fields&#8221; (Endless Quest Media)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Share your thoughts about&nbsp;<em>Reverb Effect<\/em>&nbsp;by messaging&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:reverb.effect@umich.edu\">reverb.effect@umich.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a9 2026 Regents of the University of Michigan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this episode of Reverb Effect, we visit KIN: Us and Our Kinds, an exhibit of paintings, comics, and sculpture by historian and artist Rafael Neis, and ask what happens when creative practice becomes a way of doing history. Drawing on ancient rabbinic stories, KIN explored how kinship, species, and bodies were once imagined as unstable and open to change. We talk with Neis about bringing art and scholarship together, teaching history through hands-on experiments, the medical history of classifying bodies, and how discomfort in front of art can start conversations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2114,"template":"","format":[51],"categories":[98,44,520],"tags":[],"contributor":[522,510,306],"authors":[499,497],"department_or_unit":[5],"funding_sources":[66],"project_date":[527],"support_partners":[],"class_list":["post-2106","showcase","type-showcase","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-homepage-showcase","category-reverb-effect","category-season-6","contributor-cheyenne-pettit","contributor-joseph-w-ho","contributor-talitha-pam","authors-cheyenne-pettit","authors-talitha-pam","department_or_unit-history","format-podcast","funding_sources-department-of-history","project_date-527","entry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1.jpeg",1035,1042,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1-298x300.jpeg",298,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1-768x773.jpeg",768,773,true],"large":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1-1017x1024.jpeg",1000,1007,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1.jpeg",1035,1042,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1.jpeg",1035,1042,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/Neis-Headshot-copy-1.jpeg",1035,1042,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"jwho","author_link":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/author\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In this episode of Reverb Effect, we visit KIN: Us and Our Kinds, an exhibit of paintings, comics, and sculpture by historian and artist Rafael Neis, and ask what happens when creative practice becomes a way of doing history. Drawing on ancient rabbinic stories, KIN explored how kinship, species, and bodies were once imagined as&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showcase\/2106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showcase"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/showcase"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showcase\/2106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2113,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showcase\/2106\/revisions\/2113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"department_or_unit","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department_or_unit?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"funding_sources","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/funding_sources?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"project_date","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_date?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"support_partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalscholarship.umich.edu\/lsa-history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/support_partners?post=2106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}