The Pill Pod is hosted by a group of PhDs offering their irreverent (and unsolicited) takes on critical theory, philosophy, culture, and politics.
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Pill Pod 177 - Society as Magic, Society as Religion: Emile Durkheim
1:19:22
1:19:22
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Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, slowly came to the discovery by the end of his career that consciousness, langauge and thought itself were of religious origin. We tried to retrace a few of his steps from The Elementary Forms of Religious Life and try to come up with some examples to illustrate his radical hypothesis. All public episodes…
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The full episode (Pill Pod 176) and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 175 - The Straussian Plot Against America
1:25:36
1:25:36
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Conspiracy theory or actual conspiracy? Today we investigate how a small cabal of philosophers managed to take over America and caused the invasion of Iraq based on the writings of eminent political philosopher Leo Strauss. Listen ad-free, for free, and get the source readings at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills…
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We hear this is a big deal and the end of American democracy (or whatever), but we don't all know why. Lucky for us, Victor happens to read Supreme Court decisions on his spare time for fun. Has the sky fallen? The full episode (Pill Pod 174) and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills…
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Pill Pod 173 - Biden v. Trump & The Economy of Fear
1:23:22
1:23:22
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We recap the Trump-Biden debate and then discuss the politics and economy of fear. Sources include Armageddon, Strauss, Hegel, and Durkheim. Get all our episodes for free, ad-free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Some simulationist material analysis in the economy of signs from Pill Pod episode #172. The full episode and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills The "Look" of Dark Academia: https://www.pinterest.com/kathrynaesthetics/dark-academia-aesthetic/By Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 171 - Zizek Goes Monarchist
1:02:11
1:02:11
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We discuss Zizek's Hegelian defense of a monarchy to solve the problem of democracy. https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/in-defense-of-hegels-notion-of-monarchy/ Get all our episodes for free, ad-free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 96 - The Malaise of Modernity (Taylor's Version) *UNLOCKED*
1:28:41
1:28:41
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Get the book (it's easy and small:https://amzn.to/3KxgjB3) or listen to the lectures by Charles Taylor starting here: https://youtu.be/j_losVdiARc?si=DCHifoFktqHQDJuw. Find our second episode and all the others at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 170 - The Ethical Dilemma of Killing Nazi Children (Preview)
9:16
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We continue reading Simone DeBeauvoir's Ethics of Ambiguity, and try to sus out its particular ethical dilemmas. The full episode and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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We read Simone DeBeauvoir's defense of Existentialism as an ethic that is not hyper-individualistic, nihilistic or absurdist. Get all our episodes for free, ad-free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Here's the homework: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/ambiguity/By Plasticpills
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This is a preview of one of many exclusive episodes available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Here is your homework in the meanwhile: https://monthlyreview.org/2024/01/01/the-dialectics-of-ecology-an-introduction/By Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 167 - Schopenhauer: Christianity is the Worst Religion
1:13:56
1:13:56
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We look at Schopenhauer's comparison of various religions' metaphysical explanations for suffering, and why conservative celebrities are converting to the dumbest one. Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Schopenhauer on the Sufferings of the World: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10732/10732-h/10…
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Pill Pod 165 - Dissident Right Fight Night: Yarvin vs. Rufo
1:24:34
1:24:34
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Deviating from our usual strategies for the leftist future, we look to the strategists of the conservative future, as discussed in this article, where Christopher Rufo debates Mencius Moldbug aka Curtis Yarvin. It was pretty anti-climactic so we also veered into some more Moldbuggery found here. Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at h…
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Pill Pod 163 - How to Control a Democracy ft. 1Dime
1:28:01
1:28:01
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This week we discuss how modern liberal democracies co-opt resistance and adapt to internal opposition as a mechanism of inverted totalitarian control. Our guest is Tony from 1Dime, who made a video on what he calls "contained opposition", find it here: https://youtu.be/7uPevWDAYFI. Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.pa…
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Pill Pod 162 - Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (preview)
14:52
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Erik and Pills read Walter Benjamin's most famous essay (and perhaps the most famous essay of critical theory), The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Get this episode and all other exclusive episodes at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 161 - Andy Warhol and the End of Art
1:16:30
1:16:30
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We're still on why everything's ending, this time with another pillar of civilization: art, and modern art in particular. Part of the discussion comes from Frederic Jameson's Postmodernism or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, the cover of which features a (particularly ugly) Warhol print (https://amzn.to/3PD4M6m). The other two books reference…
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Pill Pod 160 - Walter Benjamin on Leftist Content Creators (Preview)
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We read Walter Benjamin's (perhaps) undelivered address to the Anti-Fascist Club: The Author as Producer, and try to test whether or not it holds up. Get this episode and all other exclusive episodes at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 159 - The End of the University
1:12:00
1:12:00
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Most everyone agrees that the university has failed its ideal, but few agree as to the reasons for why this happened. Did it get too arcane? Too expensive? Too woke? Maybe there's a bit of everything, but these explanations forget the most material cause: the private-sector vampires sucking it dry. We read a case study that you can find here Don't …
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Pill Pod 158 - Walter Benjamin & The Idea of History (preview)
13:04
13:04
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Get the full episode and all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 157 - Progressive v. Reactionary Christianity ft. John Hamer
1:13:51
1:13:51
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Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Although Conservative Christians are the most attention-seeking of the Flock, our patrons reminded us that there are progressive Christians out there. For the sake of fair and balanced reporting, we invited John Hamer from Centre Place Toronto to represent the …
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Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills What if, instead of letting history end or disappear, we hit the rewind button and let the Church have another shot? We navigate through some stars in the Christofascist constellation and read Why Liberalism Failed (https://amzn.to/3waNh6l) to see what the worl…
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Pill Pod 155 - Jean Baudrillard & The Disappearance of History (preview)
10:21
10:21
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As all things disappear, we have our rountable on Baudrillard's "Illusion of the End." Get the full episode and all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpillsBy Plasticpills
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Pill Pod 154 - Christian Intellectuals at the End of History
1:08:42
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Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills While no one is exactly happy that history has ended, few are quite as perturbed about it as Christian conservatives. We delved into a treasure trove of the Christian brain trust—"The Imaginative Conservative"—to piece together what they think history is for, a…
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Pill Pod 152 - Fukuyama on The End of History (preview)
10:34
10:34
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Adjusted for inflation, Francis Fukyama received $1,311,814.68 to write The End of History and the Last Man (https://amzn.to/3tPo5Bt); we want to see what $1,311,814.68 is worth. Get the full episode and many more at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpillsBy Plasticpills
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We embark on the notion of "the end of history" by trying to figure out if we have an idea of history. This is mostly inspired by our reading of Fukuyama's book (https://amzn.to/3tPo5Bt) but the series won't be limited to it. Support our efforts and get the full series on https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills…
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