Red Scare: Aesthetics, Nihilism, And Vibes Over Values The Labyrinth podcast

52:21

So this started with a Substack note that semi-blew up, and it pushed me to expand on something I’ve been thinking about for a while: rebellion, aesthetics, and how edginess functions as a kind of political currency (or all of those combined do). I talk about Red Scare. But this isn’t just about them . It’s about the death of irony, the collapse of aesthetics into ideology, and what happens when leftist politics forget how to maintain an edge in favor of an oversimplified and marginalizing ethic. I talk jouissance (Lacan and stuff), performative rebellion, reactionary grifting, and the slow shift of “edgy” from leftist cultural critique to right-wing nihilism. I touch on why moral posturing turned the liberal left into the new status quo—and why Dasha and Anna’s (Red Scare ladies) vibe shift might be the most revealing political litmus test for our current cultural and political moment. This episode is about how rebellion gets hollowed out, how irony can curdle into belief, and how our politics are increasingly built not from principles, but from vibes. Are you ruled by reason…or by desire, rage, and the need for transgression? Is that really a base for a moral framework? Anyway…i’ll have more stuff around this idea. I need to further develop how nihilism is at the heart of the rot…. Stay curious. Article that I referenced in the episode: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
The Resignation 22:45

21 weeks ago22:45

22:45

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com The jumping off point for this episode: Society, at its core, thrives on a delicate balance between conformity and controlled deviation. The deviation is the accepted level of neurosis where society will not call you psychotic. It requires people to give themselves to authority at some level to function—to accept its norms, rules, and boundaries, even as……

1
The Reckoning for Sam Harris and Liberals 52:20

28 weeks ago52:20

52:20

I listened to Sam Harris’s episode “The Reckoning”… . I have som thoughts… Here’s the key point I want to illustrate in this episode (which ties into our current political and cultural chaos): We need to understand how the internet has become a wasteland of endless information. Finding anything resembling “real” or stable truth online is nearly impossible, and I believe most people feel this deeply. So, what do we do? We focus on paying our bills, but when we want to make sense of the world, we turn to simplified narratives—ones that tap into primal instincts like fear, anger, and loyalty to our “in-groups.” The right has positioned itself as rebellious or populist, and they’ve quickly grasped that young men, in particular, have moved on from millennial political framing. Zoomers, raised on the internet, perceive the world through an online lens. So, when Biden talks about bringing back manufacturing jobs, it barely resonates. They want to be content creators, not factory workers. The content that sells right now is fueled by right-wing talking points. Elon Musk clearly recognized this when he reshaped Twitter. This generation doesn’t trust corporations, the media, the “American Dream,” or even their parents. Instead, they put their faith in individuals—the influencers who tell them they don’t need a 9-to-5 job, that they can succeed as content creators or finance bros. They’ve watched their parents struggle. They’ve seen millennials hyper-aware of corporate exploitation, with little to show for it—unable to afford homes, rent, or even the basics to start a family. Zoomers’ response has been to conform collectively while rebelling individually. In this climate, you try to secure your piece of the pie—and right now, conforming to the right’s cultural framing is the way to do that as an individual. The challenge? I want to find a way to convince people to resist that pull. Anyway… I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts about the current political and cultural chaos—especially how we reached the point of a second Trump term. This isn’t just another “here’s what’s wrong with everything” rant filled with low-hanging fruit talking points. Those have been exhausted. They feel performative and predictable. The left is due for a reckoning. This reckoning won’t come from recycled takes or comforting narratives that avoid the hard truths. It will require confronting uncomfortable realities. No, the solution isn’t a “progressive Joe Rogan.”No, Kamala Harris’s loss isn’t solely about racism, sexism, or even “wokeness.”It’s far more complex than that. Our media ecosystem and the internet aren’t just bystanders—they’re actively driving cultural and political shifts we’ve yet to fully comprehend. When Trump shouts out figures like Adin Ross and the Nelk Boys, while Dana White gives a speech during his celebration, it’s a sign that the landscape of influence has fundamentally changed. The left can’t dismiss these cultural signals. They need to learn from them, even if it means reshaping their framing of the world. Sam Harris is a perfect case study here. He’s emblematic of a liberal media cohort—figures like Ethan Klein and Bari Weiss—who want to critique the system without meaningfully challenging it. They represent a centrist liberalism that’s long dominated the Democratic Party, embodied by Clinton, Obama, Biden, and Kamala Harris. This faction has often operated at the expense of the voter base it claims to represent. Instead of empowering diverse, authentic voices that demand systemic change, liberal institutions often prefer controlled minorities—those who fit within a safe, curated narrative. In contrast, Republicans are embracing chaos. They’re opening doors to a new generation of wildcards, loyalists, and provocateurs. While this is risky and often reckless, it creates a sense of genuine expression and raw connection that resonates with many. This is where I use Sam Harris’s critiques of “wokeness.” Yes, wokeness has an optics problem. But Harris, like many liberal pundits, hyperfixates on it as if dismantling it will solve the broader systemic issues. It won’t. Woke discourse is just one piece of a much larger, reformulating puzzle. Kamala Harris is a microcosm of this problem. Her failure wasn’t just about “wokeness”—it was her inability to connect meaningfully with any voter base. In trying to please everyone, she pleased no one. Meanwhile, the media continues to thrive on spectacle, feeding tribalism and controversy. Figures like Trump, Carlson, and Musk dominate this space because they play to primal, simple narratives: us vs. them. The left’s challenge isn’t just to counter this messaging—it’s to resist becoming a watered-down imitation of the right. Instead, they must forge a new way forward, one that genuinely connects with people’s discontent and offers something more substantive than the performative politics we’ve grown used to. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Election 2024 as Political Theater: Are We Voting or Just Consuming? | Jubilee, Joe Rogan, and the Spectacle 41:10

30 weeks ago41:10

41:10

In this episode, I dive into the intersection of politics and identity, exploring how the election—and the discourse around it—has morphed into a hyper-stylized spectacle. I felt the need to talk about the election in my way….I’ve got to stay on brand, right!? Anyway our increasingly online world has transformed political engagement into a product, something we consume for entertainment rather than something that prompts genuine reflection or change. We essentially perform our discontent instead of seeking out a genuine understanding of the origins of said discontent. Think about it: are we really engaging with the issues, or just performing our political identities for an audience? We seek validation for the identity we formulate online! Both as consumers and creators. To explore this, I use Jubilee as a backdrop, which has turned political debate into binge-worthy content, casting ideological labels into meme-ready roles in series like Middle Ground (insane ‘vs’ series…. “fit vs fat” is an example of their debates) and Surrounded (1 vs 25 debates). These "debates" aren’t about meaningful exchange; they’re about creating viral moments, reinforcing stereotypes, and packaging political identity as a consumable commodity. These staged personas reflect the performative nature of modern politics. They’re not there to inform—they’re there to entertain, to affirm, and to let viewers project their own identities onto prefabricated political tropes, symbols, and trends. But it’s not just Jubilee. Think about figures like Joe Rogan, who recently stirred the pot by endorsing Trump. Platforms and influencers with massive reach have financial incentives to feed us predictable, memeable political “analysis,” and we consume it without digging deeper. Our political discourse has been flattened into a series of catchphrases and predictable debates, designed to feed our sense of self/identity rather than challenge it. So, what does it mean when our politics is sold back to us as entertainment? This isn’t just disillusioning—it’s profoundly isolating. As we scroll through clips, drawn into ideological caricatures and clickbait conflicts, we sense a disconnect between the theater of politics and the real issues shaping our lives. But instead of prompting action, this disconnect leaves us in a loop of passive consumption, feeding a politics of narcissism and spectacle. So….our personal distress, our longing for validation, and even our political identities have become the products we buy and sell—leaving us, the “voters,” as spectators in a political drama that may not care whether we truly understand or engage with issues that truly effect us everyday. The fragmented political arena is a closed loop; a loop with no escape and no imagined future, only a loop of predictable reactions. Now, dance liberal! How can we move the spectacle into something more impactful? How can we find a political project that actually has an idea for the future? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

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I’m Not Your Daddy, But I’ll Be Your Chaos Guide 1:03:39

31 weeks ago1:03:39

1:03:39

Welcome to Unformulated. A subsection of my audio/visual content…where I can ramble through what I’m researching, poke at uncomfortable ideas, and maybe even say something worthwhile. This will be my chaotic sandbox. It’s my experiment in real-time thinking, a space where I can let my mind wander without obsessing over making every idea neat and polished. We will destroy the neat package that is the easily digestible content! (Also this is still well researched content….it’s just not condensed down and will vary more in topics and style…it’s experimental.) It’s an act of rebellion against the algorithms. Anyway, I’ve been fixating on some cultural and societal frustrations lately, especially how the theory space feels like an intellectual time capsule—more obsessed with dissecting the past than figuring out what it means for our uncertain future. Don’t get me wrong, I love history and all that, I love theory, but sometimes it feels like we’re stuck playing curators in an intellectual museum instead of building anything new. We need more people willing to take risks with their ideas, even if it means sounding a little unhinged. Cultural analysis should go beyond history…it should be willing to predict. We need to be more willing to fail and be wrong. I talk about why so much of modern culture—think figures like Jordan Peterson or Ben Shapiro—peddle simplified versions of complex ideas, treating history like a myth to prop up their narratives. But it’s not just them. Everyone’s craving predictability—something the algorithms love to reinforce. That desire to fit into neat categories? It’s killing our ability to imagine new futures. We end up trapped in these tidy, marketable versions of ourselves, all the while ignoring the deeper questions about how power shapes our desires and keeps us in a state of discontent and problematic status quo. This is my space to push back against all that. I’ll throw out my clusterfucked and more ‘lateral’ thoughts here and only upload when I think there’s some value in my word-vomit. Thank you for your attention. I need your attention—seriously, it keeps me sane. But I also need you to challenge me, to love and hate what I say. Okay, now I’m gonna attempt to break some museums or something. I’ll have the video version on my YT channel I made for Unformulated …it should be up a few hours after your receive this in case you’d rather stare into my eyes and look at my face while consuming my words. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Consumed by Consumption: The Self-Help Industry & The Erosion of Self 20:51

33 weeks ago20:51

20:51

I’ve been working on an essay that uses the recent Jay Shetty controversy as a lens to explore deeper themes around individuality and how capitalism shapes our sense of self. The controversy isn’t surprising in a system designed to commodify every aspect of our lives. I argue that the more individualized we become, the more society pushes us to deconstruct ourselves in pursuit of consumption. This cycle creates a fragmented sense of identity, marketed as self-exploration and empowerment, but ultimately designed to sell us more. More, more, more….hoooooray! Self-help has evolved into a massive industry driven by figures like Jordan Peterson, Tony Robbins, and Jay Shetty (to name a few of the endless names I could have named), capitalizing on our desire to "fix" ourselves. But what if this endless focus on the individual is distracting us from the collective issues we face? Deleuze and Guattari's idea of capitalism as schizophrenic—constantly reshaping our desires to fit market demands—plays a key role here. As we consume to define ourselves, we become more atomized and isolated, convinced that self-consumption is the path to maintaining our identity. I also touch on how hyper-individualization connects to media distrust in the digital age. As we build personalized realities through fragmented information, we lose a shared sense of truth, deepening social divisions. Ultimately, I hope to explore how this obsession with self-identity not only drives consumerism but keeps us from addressing the broader systemic forces that benefit from our division. Stay tuned for more on this topic as I made this episode because my other essay was getting off track around a related topic. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
End of History...Rebooted Reality...Meme Activism 45:01

36 weeks ago45:01

45:01

In this one I dive deep into the peculiar tension that Gen Z and younger millennials are feeling around today's cultural and political landscape. But it’s not just about politics or the rise of certain obvious and overdone characters like….Trump. It’s about something more pervasive, something beyond current discourse. Imagine being caught in a strange subliminal space…where meaning, once anchored by grand narratives, is evaporating faster than we can grasp. I’m not making a value judgement on this idea either…maybe those grand narratives need to fall in on themselves. I’m into it. But what happens when the rebellions of past generations—once fueled by dreams of change—become nothing more than empty aesthetics? Hippie culture, cyberpunk, punk rock: all absorbed by the very systems they sought to dismantle, now sold as commodities. Any symbol of rebellion that ends up as a Halloween costume? You’ve lost it. It’s dead. A ghost of what it once was. Time to move on. It’s been hollowed out by the center. Are we losing sleep over political collapse? Should we? Instead, we’re struggling with the suffocating sense of stagnation. Whether it’s politics, where new faces are just sequels of the old…our current culture, where the freshest ideas feel like polished-up retreads. We’re stuck in a loop…Marvel superheroes, Disney remakes, even Barbie got a reboot. It’s reboots all the way down! So, the big question here: Are we trapped in a rebooted reality? Is everything—from the content we consume to our political choices—just a remix of what’s come before? And more crucially, is there a way out of this loop, or are we doomed to keep recycling the same stale narratives forever? I’m trying to explore this disorienting moment in time, where the future feels like a nostalgic rerun but the nostalgic feeling is overstaying its welcome. Anyway….thanks for listening and I’ll be doing a branch off of this as a Part 2. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
The "Hegelian E-Girl Council" and Digital Dialectics 54:35

39 weeks ago54:35

54:35

In this one…I get into the chaotic, absurd world of the "Hegelian E-Girl Council" drama—a bizarre saga that epitomizes the kind of online cultural labyrinth I'm all about. The brief hook: Twitter is swarming with communities that ride the fine line between genius, madness, and stupidity and this council is the latest example that has emerged and garnered some attention. It's not just about Hegel; it's about how online identities and highbrow jargon become badges of pseudo-intellectual honor, a reality-check on the line between digital performance and genuine philosophy. Caught up in this mess (but not really), I found myself in a Discord rabbit hole where theory nerds perform as if every tweet is a stage, showcasing the schizoid dialectical. I explore how these online personas tried to bring Hegel into the real world with a symposium in NYC, only to implode in a whirlwind of accusations, betrayals, and ideological clashes that mirror the fragmented, hyperreal landscape of our online identities. This episode is more than internet gossip/drama—it’s a probe into how our virtual personas, fueled by narcissistic desires, clash with reality, revealing the messy, often performative nature of our intellectual lives. It’s about the Hegelian struggle to find truth amidst the noise and the hilarious futility of seeking coherence in an era where even philosophy is reduced to a meme. Or maybe that is Zizek…who is checking though? Right? My not serious critique, with a bit of self-reflection, and a deep dive into the digital maelstrom that is my psyche and the collective consciousness of our culture. Welcome to my web of culture, identity, and the ever-elusive pursuit of truth. Stay curious. Nikki: https://x.com/returntohegel Anna: https://x.com/tenshi_anna Sanje: https://x.com/sanjehorah Also I like JRegs political compass video…. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
The Conservative Boogeyman: Kevin Roberts 40:48

44 weeks ago40:48

40:48

"Oh no…a politics episode." Yes, yes, I hear your collective groan. Politics, ugh, right? Same due. But I've got a bone to pick with the Heritage Foundation's President Kevin Roberts and his Project 2025. I kind of used to work for the guy. We kind of used to debate each other on some stuff. I kind of pretended to be an anarchist Catholic (it was a fun bit) while engaging with him. Trust me, this isn't just politics as usual—this is a deep dive into a conservative fever dream that demands our attention. Let's dismantle the conservative (especially the religious conservative) mindset, and expose Kevin Roberts' not-so-subtle nods to violence and upheaval, all wrapped up in the guise of a "New American Revolution." The man is practically inciting chaos with his rhetoric. Yet he claims to be on the side of “common sense.” So sick dude. I'm delving into the conservatives' psychological warfare, where they manipulate spiritual narratives to maintain their grip on power, while liberals stumble around with their performative wokeness. It's a spectacle of narcissism on both sides, and it's high time we dismantle it. We need to start by dragging our political discourse out of its current dismal state. Think of this as a step one individual effort of mine to redefine political discourse. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Podcast Daddy 21:29

1 year ago21:29

21:29

Intro of what this episode is about… So, there's this trend in the influencer and guru world of trying to make God cool again. You've got your Petersons, your Hubermans, your Rogans, all preaching their own brand of spirituality, self-improvement, and self-optimization. And I've noticed this trend where they’ve moved more towards this acceptance of God or more open to a Jesus like figure. Not a problem on face value. I’m not here today to critique the flaws of religion. It’s over done or at least we will save it for a different day. I want to examine why this happens and just the general understanding of these, what I want to call, Podcast Daddy. Look at it this way, we're all players in the grand theatre of life, acting out our parts in a drama as ancient as the myths of Greece. We can cast ourselves into three roles, I think, in some sense, obviously this is a bit oversimplified as I’m still trying to formulate my wording for this but: those striving to be Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods to bring wisdom to mankind and gods being the structures we live under, the structures that influence our desire without us really know it; those wanting to play Apollo, the priestly conduit between heaven and earth, and the Gods, being your interpreter of ‘the good’; and then there are those who are content being the chorus, echoing whatever tune the priestly Apollo plays. Basically, you have your wise guys, you have your priest, and you have the people who generally follow the priest or start becoming a wise guy. I might turn this into a more in depth essay but the episode includes some of my initial thoughts. Let me know what you think… Stay curious. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Breaking Down the Alt-right: How Outspoken Extremes Shape Our Culture 27:45

1 year ago27:45

27:45

Some highlights… * "The most outspoken members of society shape opinions and shift the center significantly." * "Twitter is often a cesspool of stupidity, yet it's also where the most opinionated gather to shape culture, art, politics, and philosophy." * "Our current commentary culture encourages edgy takes supported by selective evidence, yet fails to challenge the deeper complexities of truth." * "The alt-right's fixation on certain idols as a response to the perceived instability of the Symbolic order in our postmodern era is a clinging to these idols as a way to anchor their sense of self in a world where meaning seems increasingly fragmented and uncertain." * "They've mistaken the inversion of values for their transcendence, and in doing so, have fallen prey to the very nihilism they claim to despise." This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Free will, determinism, and consciousness (ft. Sam Harris, Deleuze, and Nietzsche) 12:22

1 year ago12:22

12:22

There’s this clip of Sam Harris discussing consciousness and free will that went a bit viral on Twitter. I wanted to comment on it… so here it is. I hope you enjoy it. Stay curious. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Modern magic: the internet and its endless influencers 13:52

1 year ago13:52

13:52

The quote that motivated this episode…. “Central to Hermetic thought was the tenet: ‘As above, so below.’ Everything is connected, from the movement of the stars and the planets to the internal workings of an insect. Understanding these secret connections, and harnessing them, was the key to a successful magician’s art. Central, too, was the occult nature of the mage’s knowledge. The mage saw things, and connections, that ordinary or uninitiated people could not. Whoever shapes the perception of others, in order to get what they desire, is practising magic. As above, so below’, in this context, refers less to the relationship between, say, plants and planets, than to the relationship between the human psyche and human cultural life. Change one person’s mind – and you might change the world. Like the old witches’ bargains of eras past, we agree to sell parts of ourselves – our eyeballs – in exchange for certain illusory fulfilments of desire packaged up by powerful corporate tech titans and memetically gifted shitposters capable of ‘going viral’ with a perfectly worded image or tweet. Memes, in this telling, become the modern interpretations of the magician’s sigil: a magical image empowered to convey the magician’s desired energy.” — Tara Isabella Burton What better way to maintain the validity of your simulated world than to draw people into the hyperreality that you perceive? Stay curious. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Deconstructing Arrival and Time: The Hidden Meaning 14:45

2 years ago14:45

14:45

This is the audio version of my previous essay and I’ve also linked the Youtube version as well. “But now I'm not so sure I believe in beginnings and endings. There are days that define your story beyond your life. Like the day they arrived.” “And "purpose" requires an understanding of intent. We need to find out, do they make conscious choices or is their motivation so instinctive that they don't understand a "why" question at all. And-And biggest of all, we need to have enough vocabulary with them that we understand their answer.” — Arrival One does not see an alternative cosmos, a cosmic folklore or exoticism, or a galactic prowess there - one is from the start in a total simulation, without origin, immanent, without a past, without a future, a diffusion of all coordinates (mental, temporal, spatial, signaletic) - it is not about a parallel universe, a double universe, or even a possible universe - neither possible, impossible, neither real nor unreal: hyperreal - it is a universe of simulation, which is something else altogether. — Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulation "One has only to throw away the deterministic model of 'objective necessities' and obligatory 'stages' of development? One has thus to sustain a minimum of anti-determinism: nothing is ever written off, in an 'objective situation' which precludes any act, which condemns us fully to biopolitical vegetation. There is always a space to be created for an act—precisely because, to paraphrase Rosa Luxemburg’s critique of reformism, it is not enough to wait patiently for the 'right moment' of the revolution." — Slavoj Zizek "The past does not cause one present to pass without calling forth another, but itself neither passes nor comes forth. For this reason, the past, far from being a dimension of time, is the synthesis of all time of which the present and the future are only dimensions." — Gilles Deleuze This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendenslabyrinth.substack.com/subscribe…

1
Deconstructing A Clockwork Orange: The Hidden Meaning 11:55

2 years ago11:55