History of Philosophy Audio Archive

Come join the Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonThe best version of Musashi in English that I have found is the book The Complete Musashi translated by Alexander Bennett, which is available in audiobook form and is quite short and scholarly to boot. Goodreads link.Books and Movies:Silence, Martin ScorsesePi, Darren AronofskyIntroduction to Zen Buddhism - D. T. SuzukiLinks:Eleusinian MysteriesErgotamine (LSD)Sekiro (From Software Game)Music Credit (Drums, Intro/Outro) by RelaxMusicPro on YouTube:https://youtu.be/M3cJs_m351AEdit: removed the part where Shogun Richard and I discussed the YouTube parody AI Am a Jedi, which you should look up just in case:https://youtu.be/v6So-4uvruU

Documentaries:Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore)Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix)Citizenfour (Laura Poitras)Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nah'at)The Mauritanian (Kevin Macdonald)Books:Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical IslamAlfred W. McCoy: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug TradeJoseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes, The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq ConflictPeter Dale Scott, Drugs, Oil & War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and IndochinaRuss Baker, Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put it in the White House & What Their Influence Means for AmericaValerie Kaur, See No Stranger (Link)Barton Gellman: Angler: The Dick Cheney Vice Presidency and Dark Mirror: Edward Snowden and the American Surveillance StateRobert Fisk, Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle EastMichael C. Ruppert: Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil (Note to reader: serious conspiracy/crank material is found mixed quite freely with fact herein, read with due hazard in mind)Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Guantánmo DiaryFollow Sabrina Jennings on Bluesky or Patreon:⁠Note To Self // Patreon⁠Sabrina Jennings // BlueskyFollow William Engels on Bluesky or PatreonBlueskyPatreonFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:⁠⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement⁠⁠Further References:The Carlyle Group (US-Saudi Investment Firm of Bush Family Provenance)Clinton Destroys Pharmaceutical Factory in Sudan as DistractionUS Military Attacks on Journalists in Iraq War / Gulf War 2 (Wikipedia)False Intel on Iraqi Buildup at Saudi Border in 1990 (Christian Science Monitor)FDR and Abdul Aziz Meeting in 1945The Onion Router (Tor) Web Anonymization ToolPEGASUS - Zero Day iPhone Exploit

A truly decadent and indulgent episode for the genuinely twisted wordheads and storyfreaks still crawling on all fives. Cheers, you beautiful bastards.⁠Music by Anapse⁠, track Bisector off Streamsafe EssentialsBooksHells Angels by Hunter S ThompsonFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S ThompsonScrewjack by Hunter S. ThompsonBetter Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S ThompsonFreak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph WatkinsDark Alliance by Gary WebbGoebbels by Peter LongerichHST's Best Audiobook Narrator: Scott SowerFilm⁠Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb⁠⁠Fear and Loathing in Aspen⁠⁠Inherent Vice⁠⁠Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas⁠⁠The Rum Diary⁠Sundry Fed, Spook, and Military InitiativesCOINTELPRO (FBI)MHCHAOS (CIA)Project Plowshare (DARPA)

With special guest Deputy Dick filling in (for) Richard Sinex.⁠Music by Anapse⁠, track Bisector off Streamsafe Essentials--Books--Hells Angels by Hunter S ThompsonFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S ThompsonScrewjack by Hunter S. ThompsonBetter Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S ThompsonFreak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph WatkinsDark Alliance by Gary WebbGoebbels by Peter LongerichHST's Best Audiobook Narrator: Scott Sower--Film--⁠Freak Power: The Ballot or the Bomb⁠⁠Fear and Loathing in Aspen⁠⁠Inherent Vice⁠⁠Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas⁠⁠The Rum Diary⁠--Sundry Fed, Spook, and Military Initiatives--COINTELPRO (FBI)MHCHAOS (CIA)Project Plowshare (DARPA)

Music Credit: Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 30 performed by Paavali Jumppanen, available on Museopen.The Alan Shapiro translation of the Oresteia is my favorite.Another episode (Hemlock #5) I did about Aeschylus can be found here. It talks in greater depth about the metaphor of the net, and centers Clytemnestra as the hero/main character of the post-Trojan scene.For fun and profit: reading the Wikipedia page on the Eleusinian Mysteries.He who learns, must suffer.Even in our sleep, pain: which time cannot forgetFalls drop by drop upon the heart.Until, in the fullness of time, against our will and in our despairThrough the awful grace of GodComes wisdom--Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.Matthew 26:48Watch Judas and the Black Messiah:https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/judas-and-the-black-messiahFollow Sabrina on Bluesky or Patreon:⁠Note To Self // Patreon⁠Sabrina Jennings // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:⁠⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement⁠⁠References, Books, MentionsSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)The Riot Report (DocDocs 6)Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)WeathermenRainbow CoalitionG-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly GageOne Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Organized Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein (Two Volumes) by Whitney WebbFBI Suicide Letter to Martin Luther King JrAn African American and Latinx History of the US by Paul OrtizCaste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel WilkersonCOINTELPROMHCHAOS / Operation CHAOSDark Alliance: The CIA, The Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion by Gary WebbDrugs as Weapons Against Us (Documentary)-//-

⁠Support me on Patreon⁠ - or leave a review for the show.Hubert "Bert" Dreyfus (1929-2017) was a ⁠professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley⁠ who specialized in phenomenology, 20th century Continental philosophy, artificial intelligence, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, and the aesthetics/literature of existentialism from Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard to ⁠Terrence Malick⁠. He is probably most famous for his ⁠exposition of Heidegger's early masterpiece⁠ "Being and Time" (German: Sein und Zeit), and for his ⁠negative predictions about artificial intelligence.⁠ He taught multiple courses through MOOCs from roughly 2006-2012 about Greek philosophy, existentialism in film and literature, Heidegger's opus Being & Time, and the limits of AI. In this course he uses the ⁠Fitzgerald poetic translation⁠ of the Odyssey with his own amendments and R. Lattimores' meaning-literal translation.He was also extremely kind to me.Arete, techne, poesis, aletheia, gnosis...Books Mentioned:The Discovery of the Mind - Bruno SnellThe Greeks and the Irrational - E. R. Dodds-//-

Watch "Cruel and Unusual" on Kanopy!https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/cruel-and-unusualFollow Sabrina and I on Bluesky or Patreon:⁠Note To Self // Patreon⁠Sabrina Jennings // BlueskyHemlock // PatreonWilliam Engels // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:⁠⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement⁠⁠Books and Sources Mentioned:Our Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison by Chris HedgesChain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour HershThe Minds of Men (YouTube Documentary)The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Era of Colorblindness by Michelle AlexanderAramark and Prison Industrial Labor (Article)

Watch Vita Activa on Kanopy!https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/vita-activa-spirit-hannah-arendt-1?vp=newschoolFollow Sabrina on Bluesky or Patreon:Note To Self // PatreonSabrina Jennings // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement⁠Books and Sources Mentioned:Tough Enough: Arbus, Arendt, Didion, McCarthy, and Weil by Deborah NelsonAmerican Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris HedgesEichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt"Evil resides in the pretended necessity that we claim for those choices which we make that at are, at bottom: mere preferences."-me, a few days ago

The final book in Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, on the compatibility of divine omniscience and human free will, the eternal and the continual, and the rarefaction of intelligence.Cheers! Virginia Woolf is next...Music: Beethoven, String Quartet No 13, "Cavatina", Orion String Quartet. I also recommend the Lindsay String Quartet version, and the Takács Quartet on Decca.English translation by WV Cooper, with some modifications by the host (e.g. dropping some 'thee' and 'wherefore' archaisms)

McNamara at War is available September 23rd from Amazon! There's an audiobook as well for the audio-inclined...Summary (AI Generated, Model = NotebookLM)The podcast features an insightful conversation between host William Engels and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian William Taubman, co-author of the recent book "McNamara at War". Taubman, a distinguished Cold War expert, has also penned biographies of Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev. The discussion delves into the complex life and career of Robert McNamara, who served as US Defense Secretary during the early years of the Vietnam War. Topics covered include McNamara's personal biography, the controversies surrounding his strategic approach to Vietnam, his profound regrets, and his role in pivotal Cold War events like the Cuban Missile Crisis.The conversation explores McNamara's impressive pre-Pentagon career, characterized by his "brilliance" and a methodical, data-driven approach he applied at Harvard Business School and in reorganizing the US Air Force during World War II. He notably became the first non-Ford family president of Ford Motor Company. However, this trajectory of success ended with his leadership of the Vietnam War, a conflict that ultimately "mastered him". The US involvement in Vietnam was largely fueled by the "domino theory," a deeply held, though ultimately "paranoid," belief within the US government that the fall of South Vietnam to communism would trigger a cascade of communist takeovers across Southeast Asia, eventually isolating the United States. The sheer scale of the US aerial bombardment in Vietnam was staggering, with more bombs dropped than by all sides in all of World War II, leading to immense death and destruction.A significant point of discussion is the American government's perceived failure to understand its adversaries during the Cold War. Engels references McNamara's assertion in the documentary "The Fog of War" that the US had empathy for the Soviets but lacked it for the Vietnamese. Taubman, however, counters that even the Soviets, particularly Khrushchev, were never fully understood, leading to dangerous misinterpretations of his intentions in crises like Berlin and Cuba. McNamara emerges as a "tragic figure" – a man of intellect and a "highly developed moral conscience," influenced by his pushy mother and distant father, who nonetheless became embroiled in a military system that he failed to control. Despite his growing conviction that the war was unwinnable, McNamara found it difficult to express these doubts to President Johnson, constrained by bureaucratic consensus and a desire to mitigate even greater escalation from within.Fundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement⁠Articles"The Nuclear Club Might Soon Double" in The AtlanticTrump Pushing Japan, South Korea to Nuclearize (Japan Times)BooksThe Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb by Philip TaubmanFear: Trump in the White House by Bob WoodwardRage by Bob WoodwardPeril by Bob Woodward and Robert CostaWar by Bob Woodward and Robert CostaIn Retrospect by Robert McNamara

Now It's Dark.Explicit Advisory: This episode contains potentially upsetting discussions of child sexual abuse/violence as well as addiction, domestic abuse, and human trafficking.Music Credit: Twin Peaks Theme (Cover) by Dehli MusikkCorrection: I said that Lynch married Rossellini. Actually they were just romantic partners and were never married.In this one Richard and I cover David Lynch's pocket biography, Blue Velvet (1986) and Twin Peaks (1988), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive.Wishing DL an auspicious passage into the Bardo - see you, President Roosevelt...Watchlinks:Blue VelvetTwin Peaks (TV Series)Twin Peaks: The ReturnTwin Peaks: Fire Walk With MeLost HighwayMulholland DriveInterviews / SourcesPainter: Francis BaconIsabella Rossellini (Plays Dorothy Vallens in Blue Velvet)1997 Charlie Rose Interview"The Art Life" Interview with ArtforumOutstanding Essay by Auteur Cinema (YT) (Rossellini Interview Source)Bad Canadian Interview for Blue VelvetBraindead Siskel and Ebert Takes on BVLynch Interview about Roy Orbison and the BV Music

(Pre-) Order Kaila's new book, out August 19th:Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and BeautySummary (AI Generated by Gemini 2.5 Pro):Author Kaila Yu joins the show to discuss her powerful new memoir, "Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty." The conversation unpacks the complex and often damaging ways Asian women are portrayed in Western media. Yu deconstructs the through-line from cultural touchstones like Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly and the original Little Mermaid  to modern media, linking them to the historical origins of the Southeast Asian sex trade in American colonialism and military occupation. She shares her personal journey through modeling and music, explaining how these experiences informed her critical perspective on beauty, stereotypes, and the insidious nature of fetishization.The discussion also explores the real-world consequences of these stereotypes, examining the rise in anti-Asian violence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also considering the massive global success of K-Pop as a sign of shifting cultural representation. Yu offers a nuanced take on the feminist debates surrounding sex work, questioning the emotional toll on its participants while affirming the need for workers' rights and safety. Ultimately, the episode delves into the power of self-love and critical awareness as tools to navigate and dismantle a culture that seeks to define individuals through a narrow, fetishized lens.Donation links for Palestine:Amjad Hamad and his FamilyRulin and FamilySammar and her HusbandMSF (Doctors Without Borders)Palestinian Youth MovementMy Patreon:Hemlock | Patreon

Check out the premium podcast Welcome to the Crusades: The First Crusade and unlock all ten episodes now. Click here for the full first episode.I am joined by Eleanor Janega and Luke Waters of the We're Not So Different Podcast (Patreon Page) and the fellas over at American Prestige podcast (Website) Derek Davidson and Daniel Bessner.My Patreon, fwiw~References, Citations, People, Assorted Wikipedia & Amazon Pages:Albert of Aix (Reputable Christian Chronicle of First Crusade)The Rhineland Massacres (Jewish Pogrom at Start of First Crusade)A Chronicle of the Above, Namely the Solomon bar Simson ChronicleThe First Crusade with the Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres by Edward PetersThe First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading by Jonathan Riley-SmithThe First Crusade by Steven RuncimanShipping, Trade, and Crusade in the Medieval MediterraneanBest Contemporary Arab Source/Perspective: The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin MaaloufDerek's mention of the first Complete History of the World by Ali ibn al-AthirArab chronicle by El-IsfahaniPersian chronicler under Mongol/Il-Khanate rule Hamadani

This episode is Lecture #3 of 6 in Susan Neiman's "Heroism for a Time of Victims" lecture series, part of the Gifford Lectures delivered in May 2022. The other 5 can be found in HoPAA #171.Read about ⁠Susan Neiman's⁠ May 2022 Gifford Lecture Series "Heroism for a Time of Victims" at the ⁠Gifford Lecture blog.⁠View the original YouTube playlist with all six lectures (and a Q&A which I did not include) ⁠here⁠.Music Credits:-Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major by ⁠Max John⁠-Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major, Movement 2

Support me on Patreon!Read about Susan Neiman's May 2022 Gifford Lecture Series "Heroism for a Time of Victims" at the Gifford Lecture blog.View the original YouTube playlist with all six lectures (and a Q&A which I did not include) here.Music Credits:-Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major by Max John-Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major, Movement 2Lecture Table of Contents:(00:00:00) Host Intro(00:01:33) Who Needs Heroes?(01:06:22) Odysseus, the First Modern Hero, and his Critics(02:09:27) John Brown: Freedom Fighter or Terrorist?(03:09:43) George Eliot: Heroes Without Faith(04:22:38) Einstein: Hero to Celebrity(05:28:54) Paul Robeson: Art in Service of Heroism

This is Part 2 of Shelly Kagan's course on YouTube/Yale Open Courseware. Part 1 is linked in the description, or you can just click here. You can support Professor Kagan by purchasing his book on Death. The original YouTube series can be found here. Support my work on Patreon and keep this stuff free and flowing for everyone:patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonMusic is Fauré Requiem, Op. 48, performed by ⁠Seiji Ozawa at the Hiroshima Peace Concert.⁠ Creative Commons.Table of Contents(00:00:00) Host Intro(00:00:32) Nature of Death 1(00:41:24) Nature of Death 2(01:21:05) Dying Alone, Badness of Death 1(02:06:26) The Badness of Death 2(02:49:42) Badness of Death 3, Immortality 1(03:36:28) Immortality 2, Value of Life 1(04:22:58) Value of Life 2(05:09:53) Aspects of Death(05:56:34) The Fear of Death(06:41:03) How to Live Given Death(07:22:14) Suicide Part 1(08:03:01) Suicide Part 2(08:48:03) Suicide Part 3

Support my work and get ad-free full episodes on Patreon:⁠https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon⁠Earlier episodes (#1-27) up now, ad-free on History of Philosophy Audio Archive / Spotify.Music Credit (Cover of 99 Luftballons by NENA, performed by /millibeep)⁠https://youtu.be/gTss-rBgUl8⁠What the song means (⁠Genius⁠):[Verse 1]If you have some time for meThen I will sing a song for youOf ninety-nine balloonsOn their way to the horizonAre you perhaps thinking of me right now?Then I will sing a song for youOf ninety-nine balloonsAnd something that came of them[Verse 2]Ninety-nine balloonsOn their way to the horizonWere taken for UFOs from spaceHence, a general sentA squadron after themTo give the alarmBut there, on the horizonWere just ninety-nine balloons[Verse 3]⁠Ninety-nine jet fightersEach was a great warriorRegarded themselves as Captain Kirk⁠There was a great display of fireworksThe neighbors didn't understandAnd instantly felt offendedBut they shot at the horizonAt ninety-nine balloons[Verse 4]Ninety-nine ministers of warMatches and petrol canistersRegarded themselves as clever peopleAlready on the scent of a hunt⁠They shouted, "War," and wanted power⁠Man, who would have thought?That someday it would come this farBecause of ninety-nine balloons[Verse 5]Ninety-nine years of warLeft no place for winnersWar ministers don't exist anymoreNeither do the fighter jetsToday, I stroll aroundSee the world in ruinsI've found a balloonI think of you and let it fly--//--Sources:Archaic Torso of ApolloSource: ⁠Wikipedia: Archaic Torso of Apollo⁠Summary: This poem by Rainer Maria Rilke explores an ancient, fragmented statue of the Greek god Apollo, contemplating its powerful and enduring presence despite its missing parts. The poem ultimately concludes with the famous line, "You must change your life"JFK and the UnspeakableSource: ⁠Goodreads: JFK and the Unspeakable⁠Summary: James W. Douglass's book argues that President John F. Kennedy's assassination was the result of his conversion from a Cold Warrior to a peacemaker. It posits that Kennedy was killed by his own security apparatus for pursuing peace with the Soviet Union and Cuba.Merton Lectures on RilkeSource: ⁠Goodreads: Thomas Merton on the Poetry and Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke⁠Summary: This is a collection of remastered talks by Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and renowned poet, who deeply admired Rainer Maria Rilke. In these lectures, Merton explores Rilke's poetry and letters, demonstrating how Rilke's work informed his own Catholic spirituality.Letters to a Young Poet by RilkeSource: ⁠Goodreads: Letters to a Young Poet⁠Summary: This is a collection of ten letters written by poet Rainer Maria Rilke to a young officer cadet, Franz Xaver Kappus. Rilke advises the young man not on his poetry itself, but on how to live an authentic and artistic life by looking inward for truth.Robert Bly Commentary of RilkeSource: ⁠Scribd: Rilke and Bly⁠Summary: Robert Bly, an American poet and translator, is known for his influential translations and commentary on Rilke's poetry.The Sonnets to Orpheus by RilkeSource: ⁠Goodreads: The Sonnets to Orpheus⁠Summary: "Sonnets to Orpheus" is a collection of poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, written as a tribute to a young woman who died from illness. The poems explore themes of art, life, and death through the mythological figure of Orpheus, the legendary musician who could charm all of nature with his song.Doomsday ClockSource: ⁠Britannica: Doomsday Clock⁠Summary: A symbol maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to represent how close humanity is to a human-made global catastrophe. The clock is a metaphor, with "midnight" representing the end of the world, and the time is assessed annually based on threats like nuclear weapons and climate change.

Patreon Support:⁠patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon⁠Podcast Sources (AI Generated, May Contain Errors):Ada LovelaceSource: ⁠Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace⁠Summary: Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is often regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of a "computing machine" and the first computer programmer. She was also the legitimate daughter of Lord Byron and Annabella Byron.The Jacquard Loom and ComputersSource: ⁠Britannica: Jacquard loom⁠Summary: The Jacquard loom, invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard, used a series of punch cards to automate the weaving of complex patterns. This mechanical loom is considered a precursor to modern computing, as its use of punch cards provided a model for storing and reading coded information, inspiring Charles Babbage's design for the Analytical Engine.Byron's Dramatic Poem ManfredSource: ⁠Wikipedia: Manfred (poem)⁠Summary: Manfred is a dramatic poem written by Lord Byron in 1817, featuring a noble hero who is tormented by a mysterious guilt stemming from a forbidden love. The poem explores themes of transgression, isolation, and the conflict between human free will and supernatural forces.The Corsair by ByronSource: ⁠Wikipedia: The Corsair (poem)⁠Summary: The Corsair is a long narrative poem by Lord Byron, published in 1814, that became an instant success. It tells the story of Conrad, a charismatic pirate whose life of adventure and rebellion is tragically intertwined with love and betrayal.Lawrence v. Texas (US Court Decision)Source: ⁠Wikipedia: Lawrence v. Texas⁠Summary: Lawrence v. Texas was a landmark 2003 US Supreme Court decision that invalidated sodomy laws throughout the country, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in every state. The ruling overturned a prior decision and found that the laws violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.The Marquis de SadeSource: ⁠Wikipedia: Marquis de Sade⁠Summary: Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, was an 18th-century French aristocrat and writer known for his libertine philosophy and explicit novels. His works, which gave rise to the term "sadism," explored themes of transgressive sexuality, cruelty, and the subversion of social and religious norms.The Percy Shelley Sailing AccidentSource: ⁠Wikipedia: Percy Bysshe Shelley⁠Summary: Percy Bysshe Shelley, a renowned English Romantic poet and a friend of Lord Byron, tragically drowned in a sailing accident off the coast of Italy in 1822. His body was cremated on the beach with Byron and other friends in attendance.Studio Ghibli's AI Creature IncidentSource: ⁠YouTube: Hayao Miyazaki's incredible reaction to horrific zombie-like AI animation⁠Summary: A documentary clip shows Hayao Miyazaki's visceral reaction to a presentation by Japanese artists who created a horrifying AI-generated zombie creature. Miyazaki called the animation an "insult to life itself" and refused to acknowledge the AI's role as a creative tool.Hayao Miyazaki's Reaction to Tales from EarthseaSource: ⁠CBR: Hayao Miyazaki's Infamous Reaction to His Son's Film, Tales From Earthsea⁠Summary: Hayao Miyazaki famously walked out of the premiere screening of his son Goro Miyazaki's directorial debut, Tales from Earthsea. Miyazaki reportedly disliked the film, a moment that highlighted the creative tension and complex relationship between the father and son.David Lynch's George Lucas Pitch StorySource: ⁠Entertainment Weekly: David Lynch's bizarre meeting with George Lucas about directing Return of the Jedi⁠Summary: In a classic interview, David Lynch recalls his eccentric meeting with George Lucas about potentially directing Return of the Jedi. Lynch recounts a strange conversation where Lucas pitched the film to him in a restaurant while a "little Wookiee" sat beside him, leading Lynch to ultimately decline the offer.

It's not easy being a gay brain-sex icon and a straight brain-sex icon at the same time but ya boi Byron did it. Part 1 of 2. Poll in the thing for the next topic. I will abide by the results.Come join the Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonAlso, I decided Richard and I's biographical series is gonna be called "Bad Role Models" since that seems to be the theme... Also "Behind the Bastards" was already taken.Citations:Malcolm McDowell Movie "If...." (1968)Byron: Life and Legend by Fiona MacCarthyTchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 performed by Anna Fedorova and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie led by Yves Abel (Creative Commons, version I used here)IMHO the 1958 version with Van Cliburn and Fritz Reiner / Chicago Symphony on RCA is best.