AUDIO: ‘Numb’ podcast #3

This fall, Goat in the Road Productions (GRP), a local theatre company, is presenting its new original play, “Numb,” which recently premiered and will run through December 6. “Numb,” presented in association with the Cachet Art and Culture Program and the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum (NOPM), explores the complicated history of anesthesiology and 19th century medicine. “Numb” looks at the ecstasy and intoxication of drugs that alter human consciousness in a quest for pain-free surgery, and the often forgotten human stories that accompany advancement.

Besides just a theatre work, “Numb” has also been a collaboration with local pain experts and public health thinkers with the aim to create a conversation about the changing understanding of pain and its relief. One of the ways GRP is doing this is by creating four podcasts that explore this theme. Check back next week for the final audio installment in the series, and for more information about the making of “Numb,” you can find a compilation of writer/director Chris Kaminstein’s and sound designer Kyle Sheehan’s influences for their work on the production here.

In podcast #3, Peter Bowling, an instructor and administrator with Tulane University’s interdisciplinary neuroscience program, examines the relationship between pain and language.