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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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/Plasticpills

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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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/Plasticpills

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/Plasticpills

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…

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…

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…

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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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…

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/plasticpillsPlasticpills

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 …

Get the full episode and all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpillsPlasticpills

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 …

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…

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/plasicpillsPlasticpills

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…

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/plasicpillsPlasticpills

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…

Inspired by the new Netflix series, we read some Poe short stories and compared them to their TV adaptation. Victor Hainagiu (aka Litvic aka @horatiovictor) came on to help us put gothic horror into historical context. Half our episodes are here, but if you want the other half check us out on https://patreon.com/plasticpills…

Some oversimplified Badiou plus a look at Wittgenstein's Antiphilosophy (https://amzn.to/47xStiv) Want more episodes? Every other one is posted to https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsPlasticpills

Dr. Phil battles Heidegger and Sartre. Get all of our episodes by becoming a patron at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills.Plasticpills

Anaximander, Apeiron, Heidegger, Derrida, Logocentrism. It's a mouthful. Get all of our full episodes by becoming a patron at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsPlasticpills