Romanistan
The authors of Secrets of Romani Fortune Telling present: Romanistan! Do you love rebels? Do you want to live in a place where outcasts shine their brightest? Welcome to Romanistan! We're your friendly neighborhood Gypsies, celebrating Romani identity and outcast culture, and practicing good diplomatic relations with other marginalized communities.
We love the rebels who are living their truth, even if it clashes with tradition. We also love tradition and honoring our roots. This podcast is for everyone who loves and supports Roma & related groups, and anyone who feels like a misfit and wants to uplift others to create a beautiful community.
We feature pioneers in culture, fashion, art, literature, music, activism, cuisine, and everything good. We adore the intersections of gender, sexuality, spirituality, ability, and identity. We cover all topics, from the difficult to the glorious. Let's sit crooked and talk straight.
Hosted by Paulina Stevens and Jezmina Von Thiele. We reclaim the slur Gypsy, but if you aren’t Romani, we prefer you don't use it. xoxo.
P.S. The Romani people are a diasporic ethnic group originally from northwest India, circa the 10th century. Now, Roma live all over the globe, and due to centuries of oppression, slavery, genocide, and other atrocities, Roma are still fighting for basic human rights. We seek to raise awareness of who Roma are, and highlight Romani resilience, creativity, & culture.
Romanistan
Robin Badaire, The Scarlet Witch, and Romani comic book characters
Welcome to season 4, our 4 year anniversary, and Valentine's Day! We're celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Scarlet Witch by talking with Robin Badaire about Romani comic book character representation in Marvel and DC!
Robin Badaire is a writer and an artist of Cale Romani descent from Boston, Massachusetts. As an avid reader of comic books and graphic novels, Robin has spent the better part of a decade writing, researching, and speaking out about the representation of Romani people and history in American superhero comics. In addition to consulting and editorial work, Robin runs a webpage where they pen critical essays and answer questions about Romani subjects in comics and other pop culture, which gained notoriety amongst the Marvel fandom during the release of Marvel Studios' WandaVision, which featured whitewashed depictions of prominent Romani characters. Drawing on their background in both fine arts and digital illustration, Robin also uses tarot illustrations, cosplay photography, and fanart to perpetuate more authentic and inclusive images of Romani characters.
- BDS reference links: https://bdsmovement.net/boycott-captain-america; https://bdsmovement.net/Act-Now-Against-These-Companies-Profiting-From-Genocide
- Robin's Writing at Scarlet Wiccan
- Art & cosplay Instagram and Twitter
- Video essay on WandaVision, whitewashing, and the history of the Scarlet Witch, on which Robin served as a consultant and script editor
- Robin's Medium essay about the 60th anniversary of the Scarlet Witch
Thank you for listening to Romanistan podcast.
You can find us on Instagram and Facebook @romanistanpodcast, and on Twitter @romanistanpod. To support us, Join our Patreon for extra content or donate to Ko-fi.com/romanistan, and please rate, review, and subscribe. It helps us so much.
Follow Jez on Instagram @jezmina.vonthiele & Paulina @romaniholistic.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming book on Romani fortune telling published by Weiser Books available October 2024.
Email us at romanistanpodcast@gmail.com for inquiries.
Romanistan is hosted by Jezmina Von Thiele and Paulina Stevens
Conceived of by Paulina Stevens
Edited by Cherub
With Music by Viktor Pachas
And Artwork by Elijah Vardo