Overview of Free Reign — Tooth & Claw (Snap Judgment / PRX)
This episode of Snap Judgment’s Free Reign installment (part of the Tooth & Claw series) presents two short, vivid stories about human-animal bonds—and how those bonds shape identity, freedom, and folklore. The first is a personal, political memoir-style piece about Pardis Mahdavi’s relationship with Caspian horses in Iran, family legacy, exile, and eventual reconnection. The second is a lighter, strange-true tale from Fruita, Colorado, about “Miracle Mike,” the famous headless chicken and the family who turned it into a sideshow sensation.
Main stories
Pardis Mahdavi — Horses, heritage, and exile
- Setting: Tehran and rural Iran (early 2000s) and later the U.S./Arizona.
- Premise: Pardis, born in the U.S. just before her family left Iran, grows up with a small wooden horse from her grandmother. At 21 she returns to Iran to research women’s and youth movements and becomes deeply drawn to horseback riders near Tehran—women who, to her, embody freedom.
- Experience: She learns to ride at an all-women stable, practices cantering and communicating with horses (notably a spirited black Caspian named Thunder), and spends seven years doing fieldwork while riding seasonally.
- Conflict and fallout: Pardis hides her research because of the regime’s oppression; during a university lecture the morality police raid the hall. She is expelled, stripped of Iranian citizenship, and told never to return.
- Return to riding: After a decade-long hiatus following a fall in California, Pardis rediscovers a boxed notebook from Iran containing a letter and images. A FaceTime with elderly relatives reveals her grandmother was a horsewoman who helped abused women escape on horseback—making horse-riding a literal family legacy and a symbol of freedom she cannot ignore.
- Current scene: Pardis now trains Caspian horses in the American Southwest (north of Scottsdale), rides again (Adonis is a featured stallion), and has written Book of Queens (linked on snapjudgment.org).
- Themes: horses as guardians and portals to ancestral memory; bodily and political freedom; how personal and national history intersect.
Troy Waters — Miracle Mike, the Headless Chicken
- Setting: Fruita, Colorado; story dates to 1945 onward.
- Premise: Troy recounts family lore about his great-grandfather Lloyd, who accidentally beheaded a rooster but left enough brainstem/ear that the bird survived—feeding by tube and living for about 18 months as a curiosity.
- Sideshow career: A promoter, Hope Wade, turns the bird into “Miracle Mike,” submits it to scientists, arranges Life magazine coverage (the head in photos was from another chicken), and tours Mike at state fairs and sideshows.
- Fame and demise: Mike attracted crowds and made money; the bird eventually died choking in a motel because the bulb syringe used to clear its throat was left behind at the sideshow. Lloyd later admitted he felt responsible.
- Aftermath: Earnings were largely taxed and split; Lloyd returned to farming. The story mixes dark humor, rural practicality, ethical questions, and Americana folklore.
- Notes: The segment explores memory, family storytelling, and how oddities become part of local legend.
Key themes & takeaways
- Animals as embodiments of freedom, memory, and cultural legacy (Pardis’s horses).
- How personal history and national politics intertwine—intimate practices (riding, parties) can be acts of resistance under repression.
- The transmission of courage and care across generations: Pardis’s grandmother used horses to rescue women; Pardis inherits that legacy.
- Folklore and commodification: Miracle Mike shows how an extraordinary animal story becomes commercialized—raising questions about exploitation and human attachment.
- Contrast in tone: Mahdavi’s story is poignant, political, and reflective; the Mike story is folksy, odd, and humorous—both illuminate human relationships with animals.
Notable quotes / vivid moments
- Opening metaphor (from host): the Patronus as a joining of who you are and an animal spirit—used to frame both stories.
- Pardis on learning horses: “I realized it was because I lacked the confidence… and when I did, he walked, and then he trotted, and then he had the most beautiful canter.”
- The reveal about Pardis’s grandmother: she “put these women on horseback and then hopped on her own horse and led them to freedom.”
- Troy on Mike’s afterlife of fame: “That chicken had the best life of any chicken. Got to see more of the country than any other chicken ever got to see.”
Content warnings
- References to state violence and imprisonment (Evin Prison, morality police).
- Sexual situations and descriptions of underground parties.
- Descriptions of animal injury/death (beheading incident).
Practical info / where to follow up
- Pardis Mahdavi’s book: Book of Queens (linked on snapjudgment.org).
- Episode resources and production credits: original scores by Dirk Schwartzov and Renzo Gorio; produced by Anna Sussman and others; full credits and links on snapjudgment.org.
- If you want the full narrative nuance and sound design, listen to the episode on Snap Judgment (podcast platforms) or visit snapjudgment.org.
Production notes (brief)
- Show: Snap Judgment (PRX).
- Segment producers and contributors noted in episode: Anna Sussman (producer), Dirk Schwartzov and Renzo Gorio (music), and others.
- Reminder from episode: survey call for listener feedback at KQED.org/SNAPsurvey.
If you want a one-line takeaway: the episode uses two animal-centered stories—one political and ancestral, one folkloric and bizarre—to show how creatures become vessels of freedom, memory, and meaning in human lives.