Episode 76: Satire

State of the Theory

This is Episode 76 of the State of the Theory Podcast. Politics. Power. Popular Culture. And other stuff, probably. In this series, we’re like super nerdy philosophical DJs: mashing up Serious Academic Questions with the most topical news and trends in pop culture. Each week, we’ll tackle a new topic and collide it with ‘critical theory’ (we’re pretty loose with our definitions, though, so expect the unexpected). Our aim is to destroy the stuff we know, explore the stuff we don’t and unsettle everything we think we know about the world. We take the obvious, the commonsensical, the certain, and then we rip it all to shreds. We are your theory doctors and we are always on call. This week we are excited by the return of “Spitting Image” (https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/28/spitting-image-returns-chaotic-times-trump-putin-zuckerberg) and think about what makes effective satire. What is the relationship between satire and time, and why does some satire age well, while others don’t? What is the point of satire anyway? You can watch the “Going for an English” sketch from “Goodness Gracious Me” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huSP7PtctC4 You can watch the “Delhi Mail” sketch from “Goodness Gracious Me” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7nU2a23m9o You can listen to “The Post 9/11 Blues” by Riz MC here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKTsJpfC0IQ You can listen to “Send the Marines” by Tom Lehrer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFvxqQTh3m4 You can listen to “National Brotherhood Week” by Tom Lehrer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgASBVMyVFI You can watch “Black Jeopardy” with Tom Hanks on “Saturday Night Live” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VaXlMvAvk Our theme music is "The Face of God" by The Agrarians (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Agrarians/The_Jovial_Shepherd/The_Face_of_God) State of the Theory is brought to you by Hannah Fitzpatrick (@drhfitz) and Anindya Raychaudhuri (@DrAnindyaR) Find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/stateofthetheorypodcast) or Tweet us @TheoryDoctors