By Hand Podcast

We recorded this episode in March, 2026 with Dr. Em Merrin Armstrong. We talk about active dormancy, botany through a disabled lens, and the politics of knowledge production.

Dr. Em Merrin Armstrong is a plant-focused interdisciplinary researcher, an educator, a workshop runner, an artist, a sound artist, a grower, a shower, and many of the things in-between. You can find more of their work HERE

Their Instagram is @emayarmstrong, where you will find the most up-to-date information.

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Mentioned in the podcast:

* Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

* Botany of Empire by Banu Subramaniam

* The work of A Alevtin, specifically ‘active dormancy’.

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You can find more episodes of By Hand on our website http://www.podcastbyhand.com/, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can purchase Lydia’s knitting patterns at https://whatlydiamade.com/ and on Ravelry

By Hand is produced & edited by Rose Dagul, who also wrote the music. You can visit her website here.

Get full access to By Hand Podcast at https://www.podcastbyhand.com/subscribe

We recorded this episode in March 2026 with Declan Wiffen. We talk about queer history, gossip, mistakes, misremembering, and get a little hot under the collar for our subjects of research.

Declan Wiffen is a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Kent in Canterbury and periodically hosts other writing workshops. More information and excerpts of his writing can be found here.

Mentioned in the podcast:

Margery Kempe (1994) by Robert Glück

Lote (2020) by Shola von Reinhold

The Wounded Researcher: Research with Soul in Mind (2007) by Robert D Romanyshyn

Bad Gays podcast

Morgan Bassichis’ ‘10 bad ideas’ - 26’55” onwards from this clip (from Dean Spade’s Love in a F*cked Up World EP08)

Maria Sledgemere’s work

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You can find more episodes of By Hand on our website http://www.podcastbyhand.com/, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can purchase Lydia’s knitting patterns at https://whatlydiamade.com/ and on Ravelry

By Hand is produced & edited by Rose Dagul, who also wrote the music. You can visit her website here.

Get full access to By Hand Podcast at https://www.podcastbyhand.com/subscribe

We recorded this episode in March 2026 with Gabrielle De La Puente. We talk about the surrealism of disability, writing as a desirous act, and academic gatekeeping. It ended up being way too long because we got carried away. This is roughly the second half of what we recorded, because it’s got the most juice in it. Sorry if it has references to earlier conversations you haven’t heard yet. I don’t know if you can tell, but we are very new to making a podcast. Maybe in the future we’ll release the earlier bits as a bonus episode, who knows!

Links and Resources Mentioned

The White Pube: The collaborative platform by Gabrielle De La Puente and Zarina Muhammad. Support their work via Patreon.

Poor Artists: The book by Gabrielle De La Puente and Zarina Muhammad, published by Penguin (2024).

Oliver Burkman: “What if you never sort your life out”

Groove Warmers by Kait (minigru.studios)

Laerke Bagger’s Instagram

Glasgow Disability Alliance

Ravelry: ”a whole entire social media / British Library of every knitting pattern that has ever been created”

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You can find more episodes of By Hand on our website http://www.podcastbyhand.com/, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can purchase Lydia’s knitting patterns at https://whatlydiamade.com/ and on Ravelry

By Hand is produced & edited by Rose Dagul, who also wrote the music. You can visit her website here.

Get full access to By Hand Podcast at https://www.podcastbyhand.com/subscribe

We recorded this episode in February 2026 with James N Watts- our first ever guest! We talk about Designing for weirdos, being a product, as well as touching on some of James’s many other passions, including ass.

Links and Resources Mentioned

James N. Watts Official Website: http://jamesandwatts.com

James’s Substack: http://jamesandwatts.substack.com (Read his weekly blog, Sorry, I’m Good at Everything)

James’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jamesnwatts

Featured Designers: Jesse Mae Martensen (@jessssiemae) and Park Williams (@parknknit)

All the Pictures in the World: https://www.instagram.com/allthepicturesintheworld (Support Lydia’s kid’s artwork on Instagram)

You can find more episodes of By Hand on our website http://www.podcastbyhand.com, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can purchase Lydia’s knitting patterns at https://whatlydiamade.com/ and on Ravelry

By Hand is produced & edited by Rose Dagul, who also wrote the music. You can visit her website here.

Get full access to By Hand Podcast at https://www.podcastbyhand.com/subscribe

Introducing… By Hand Podcast. COMING SOON!

Get full access to By Hand Podcast at https://www.podcastbyhand.com/subscribe