Episode 73: What We Talk about When We Talk about Two Bears High-Fiving

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In 1921, the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach, after years of experimenting with different ways to use his artistic interests to expand the potential of psychoanalysis, created a series of inkblot drawings that reveal the unconscious mechanisms of a patient’s brain. Six months later, he died, just before the inkblot test became an international phenomenon. Since then, Rorschach’s inkblot test has become pop-cultural shorthand for both Freudian psychology and the depths of the human mind. It has become an inescapable reference in art, film and journalism. Damion Searls, author of the first-ever biography of Rorschach, explains how our application and understanding of the test diverge from Rorschach’s intentions.

In this episode, you’ll also find Organist fan fiction from author Elizabeth McKenzie, a “verbal selfie” from Casey Jane Ellison, and the winner of the Sarah Awards’ Very Very Short Short Audio Fiction contest.

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Hermann holding daughter Lisa, 1918.

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Hermann in his office in the Herisau apartment, cigarette in hand, 1920.


Hermann, Lisa, Wadim, summer 1921.

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Rorschach age 6, in Swiss folk costume, 1819.

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Rorschach early inkblot.

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Rorschach notes on printers proof.

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Rorschach on a hiking trip in the Santis, September 1918.

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Rorschach rowing on Lake Constance, CA. 1920.

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Roschach dressed in wizard costume.

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Soldiers looking at inkblot.

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Wedding Photo, May 1, 1910.

Pictures credit: Archiv und Sammlung Hermann Rorschach, University Library of Bern.

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