What's Left of Philosophy

In this live discussion we recorded at the Radical Philosophy Association's 2026 conference at Pomona College, we talk about the post-liberal trajectory in recent political theory with Patrick Deneen's Why Liberalism Failed as our focal point. Their description of how things feel bad might seem appealing at first blush, but their culturalist orientation and ahistorical diagnosis leaves open the door for very evil stuff like, you know, fascism—which is the whole point of their project, if you'...

In this episode, we discuss the aesthetic philosophy of the so-called “Dean of the Harlem Renaissance”, Alain Locke. Locke thought art had a central role to play in the social emancipation of Black Americans. It is through art that the social consciousness of society can mature into becoming genuinely pluralist. However, not just any art will do. We focus on why he insists there must be a strict separation between art and propaganda, how he thought poetry and drama could develop the cul...

Just a quick pair of announcements for you! We'll be doing a live episode recording at the Radical Philosophy Association's conference at Pomona College at 8pm next Thursday, October 15. https://www.radicalphilosophyassociation.org/rpa-biennial-conference.html And Gil will be teaching a class on Hobbes's Leviathan in Chicago next month through the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/items/courses/hobbess-leviathan/ We hope that you will be able to jo...

In this episode we discuss the concept of hyperpolitics, as originally conceptualized by Anton Jäger. We contemplate the acute lack of substantive political transformation that has resulted from recent upheavals and movements, and wonder about what it would take to revive the kind of mass politics of the early to mid-twentieth century. Throughout, we wrestle with the prevailing sense of powerlessness and doom, the practical necessity of hope, and the potential paths toward meaningful social a...

In this episode we discuss the work of French philosopher Alain Badiou. Ever since the 1970s, Badiou’s philosophy has been characterized by an untimely systematicity and an ambitious effort to bring together politics, art, science, and love in a unique synthesis under the aegis of a novel fundamental ontology. In Metapolitics, Badiou explains what he understands by politics as a historical site where truths can be produced, and what it means for a militant subject to remain faithful to such a...