DeepSummary
In this episode of Short Wave, host Emily Kwong interviews Kyne Santos, a drag queen and former math student who explores the connections between math and drag in her new book "Math in Drag." Kyne discusses how she used to lead a "double life" as a math student by day and a drag performer by night, and how she now uses TikTok to make educational videos about math, science, history, and drag for her 1.5 million followers.
Kyne explains how concepts like infinity, represented by the transfinite number "aleph null," can be understood through the lens of drag, with infinite drag queens needing to be matched with infinite wigs. She also discusses how both math and drag involve creativity within constraints and breaking rules, and how probability and calculated risks play a role in her career as a drag queen in the current political climate.
Kyne emphasizes that drag is about having fun and not taking gender expectations too seriously, and she wishes people who are afraid of drag would understand that it's not about pushing any agenda, but rather about embracing differences and finding common ground.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Kyne Santos, a former math student and current drag queen, explores the connections between math and drag in her new book "Math in Drag."
- Both math and drag involve creativity within constraints and breaking rules, which can lead to new discoveries and artistic expressions.
- Concepts like infinity, represented by the transfinite number "aleph null," can be understood through the lens of drag, with infinite drag queens needing to be matched with infinite wigs.
- Kyne uses TikTok to make educational videos about math, science, history, and drag for her 1.5 million followers, showing the intersections between these fields.
- Drag is about having fun, embracing differences, and not taking gender expectations too seriously, rather than pushing any agenda.
- Kyne discusses the importance of taking calculated risks in her career as a drag queen, especially in the current political climate where anti-drag bills are being introduced.
- Both math and drag involve breaking rules and questioning assumptions, which can lead to new discoveries and creative expressions.
- Kyne wishes people who are afraid of drag would understand that it's not about pushing any agenda, but rather about self-expression and finding common ground.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “And I was like Hannah Montana at the time, living a double life, you know, doing my math equations by day and doing the splits and some gay bar by night.“ by Kyne Santos
- “You know, people think that we have this agenda and that we're all, like, getting in meetings, talking about how we can, you know, make this next generation of kids transition. It's really not about that. You know, I could care less if people want to be lgbt. I want people to be themselves. I want people to to embrace the things that we have in common instead of being scared of the things that make us different.“ by Kyne Santos
- “You know, math has constraints, and constraints don't necessarily have to have to be restrictive, and sometimes the constraints are meant to be broken.“ by Kyne Santos
- “And every time that a mathematician changes the rules and questions what we thought to be true, math becomes all the more larger, all the more beautiful, all the more powerful.“ by Kyne Santos
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Episode Information
Short Wave
NPR
6/7/24
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