The Geography of Madness
The Geography of Madness is an investigation of “culture-bound” syndromes, which are far stranger than they sound. Why is it, for example, that some men believe, against all reason, that vandals stole their penises, even though they’re in good physical shape? In The Geography of Madness, acclaimed magazine writer Frank Bures travels around the world to trace culture-bound syndromes to their sources–and in the process, tells a remarkable story about the strange things all of us believe.
Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Science Festival.
Frank Bures
Former Madison writer Frank Bures is the author of The Geography of Madness: Penis Thieves, Voodoo Death and the Search for the Meaning of the World’s Strangest Syndromes. His stories for Madison Magazine won six Milwaukee Press Club awards. Elsewhere his work has been included in the Best American Travel Writing, selected as “Notable” in the Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing. It has also appeared in Harper’s, Aeon, Lapham’s Quarterly, The Washington Post Magazine, and other places.