PlasticPills - Philosophy & Critical Theory Podcast

The Pill Pod is hosted by a group of PhDs offering their irreverent (and unsolicited) takes on critical theory, philosophy, culture, and politics.

Pill Pod 189 - Theorizing America's Trump Vote

The federal union of the United States has decided to elect Presinald Trump as its leader from the years 2025-2029, as God wills.Here, three Canadians provide you with unsolicited opinions about the meaning of this event or lack thereof.Find this content ad-free for free at www.patreon.com/plasticpills

11-09
01:15:12

Pill Pod 186 - The Post-Political Singularity Everywhere (preview)

Today we take the temperature of all the new futures popping up—the various Acc/s, the radical democracies, the Christofascists, and the Magacomms—and psychoanalyze them as all sharing one trait: they're too optimistic to be believed.Get all the full episodes at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

10-30
12:21

Pill Pod 185 - Bataille on Fascist Psychology (preview)

In 1933, Bataille linked Durkheim's sociology and psychoanalysis to the rise of fascism over the border. The parallels to the present moment are hard to miss.Get the full episode and many more at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

10-04
09:59

Pill Pod 184 - MAGACommunism & Philosophy: HAZ on Marx, Heidegger and Dugin

MAGA Communism may strike you as contradictory and stupid sounding, but it is backed by 200 tweets of theory which include Marx, Lenin, Dugin, and Heidegger. We plunge the depths of the MAGA Communist tractatus: "MARXISM IS NOT WOKE" to explore its theoretical aspirations.Source text: https://x.com/InfraHaz/status/1672279505774448640Find our recent episodes on fascist philosophy ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

10-04
01:34:47

Pill Pod 183 - Carl Schmitt on the Friend/Enemy Distinction (preview)

We face the fact that only a Nazi could properly explain American politics.Get all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

09-20
11:17

Pill Pod 182 - Bataille & Sacrifice (preview)

Back to business—we talk Aztec myths and Bataille on Sacrifice from The Accursed Share.Get the full episode and all the others at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

09-07
08:20

Pill Pod 181 - Hegelian EGirl Council ft. Jreg

We don't often have current events to cover, but once in a while the current events are Hegel. The Hegelian E-Girl Council was to be the head of a new cult, which fell into a Twitter flame war about a week after its launch. Our guest's studio was the physical origin site of the Hegelian E-Girl Council which first blasted into the real world in NYC, and then onto theorytwitter for a glorious week before bursting into flames for the internet's schadenfreude.This was, in our consideration, not the abortive event it may seem at first glance, but a sign for the near future of theory. Sorry for the ads but all public episodes are ad-free for free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills, plus moreFind Jreg's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@JREG and his podcast here https://www.youtube.com/@HSTPOD

08-31
01:20:34

Pill Pod 180 - The Gift by Marcel Mauss (preview)

We move from Durkheim to Marcel Mauss and his book The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies. Referenced by Bataille, Levi-Strauss, Derrida and Baudrillard—this is a mandatory reading.The full episode and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

08-29
16:32

Pill Pod 179 - The Mana Principle (Preview)

After a brief recap of the Deleuzo-Guattarian Australian breakdancer we read chapters 6 and 7 of Durkheim's Elementary forms of Religious Life and try to get a hold on the primordial concept of concepts: MANA.The full episode and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

08-27
10:27

Pill Pod 178 - We Solved the World with Diego Ruzzarin

What do Adin Ross, China, RFK and the Cult of the Individual have in common? This episode... that's it.All episodes are found only at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsBe sure to check out the plasticpills YouTube channel for new CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT this week. https://www.youtube.com/c/plasticpills

08-13
01:39:55

Pill Pod 177 - Society as Magic, Society as Religion: Emile Durkheim

Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, slowly came to the discovery by the end of his career that consciousness, langauge and thought itself were of religious origin. We tried to retrace a few of his steps from The Elementary Forms of Religious Life and try to come up with some examples to illustrate his radical hypothesis.   All public episodes can be found ad-free, for free, on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

08-06
01:21:03

Vance & The Dork Conservatives (Preview)

The full episode (Pill Pod 176) and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

07-29
08:42

Pill Pod 175 - The Straussian Plot Against America

Conspiracy theory or actual conspiracy? Today we investigate how a small cabal of philosophers managed to take over America and caused the invasion of Iraq based on the writings of eminent political philosopher Leo Strauss.  Listen ad-free, for free, and get the source readings at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

07-13
01:27:19

Trump v. United States (preview)

We hear this is a big deal and the end of American democracy (or whatever), but we don't all know why. Lucky for us, Victor happens to read Supreme Court decisions on his spare time for fun. Has the sky fallen?The full episode (Pill Pod 174) and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

07-09
16:58

Pill Pod 173 - Biden v. Trump & The Economy of Fear

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/plasticpills

06-30
01:18:19

Dark Academia (preview)

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/plasticpillsThe "Look" of Dark Academia: https://www.pinterest.com/kathrynaesthetics/dark-academia-aesthetic/

06-30
20:16

Pill Pod 171 - Zizek Goes Monarchist

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/plasticpills

06-13
01:04:35

Pill Pod 96 - The Malaise of Modernity (Taylor's Version) *UNLOCKED*

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/plasticpills

06-10
01:30:02

Pill Pod 170 - The Ethical Dilemma of Killing Nazi Children (Preview)

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/plasticpills

06-05
09:15

PP169 - Is Existentialism Ethical?

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/plasticpillsHere's the homework: https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/ambiguity/

06-05
01:16:21

Ruth McNally

My sincere thanks to both of you guys. I was stimulated and educated and please keep up the fabulous work.

09-07 Reply

Brandon Miles

oh, I finally get it now, it's like hamburger helper. I feel smart

01-08 Reply

Mikkel Thøgersen

Where's matt?

10-03 Reply

Mikkel Thøgersen

yyyyyyyààààààààààààààààààààzzzzzzz!!!!!

08-11 Reply

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