PlasticPills - Philosophy & Critical Theory Podcast

We read Althusser's "Marxism and Humanism," an Essay from his 1965 collection For Marx in which he declares the two fundamentally incompatible. We didn't make it far into the essay because we were having terminological disputes, but we shall return in finer detail soon.

There's big news on the news, and we thought we would take a poke at interpreting this event—if in fact it is one—and giving it an ideological status. Catch up on the whole series on ideology ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

We have been talking about Althusser once again on the Pod, and in advance of our new dive we are re-releasing an episode about why Althusser might be important. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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/

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

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

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

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/

This is a preview of one of many exclusive episodes available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsHere is your homework in the meanwhile: https://monthlyreview.org/2024/01/01/the-dialectics-of-ecology-an-introduction/

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/plasticpillsSchopenhauer on the Sufferings of the World: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10732/10732-h/10732-h.htm#link2H_4_0002Ayaan Hirsi Ali converts: https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/Russell Brand gets baptized: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/russell-brand-just-got-baptized-but-what-does-it-mean.html

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 https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

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.patreon.com/plasticpills

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/plasticpills

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 referenced are The Diary of Andy Warhol and The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, written by the man himself. Check out the Plasticpills YouTube channel to see the new video about why Warhol is to blame for killing art: https://www.youtube.com/c/plasticpills  Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

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/plasticpills

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 hereDon't miss an episode! find the full feed ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpills

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

Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsAlthough 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 leftist side of the Christian Flock. We asked about his view of the church in history and in politics, and read this Christofascist article together. Find more of John's work on Youtube.

Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsWhat 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 world might look like if the Catholic intellectuals had their way.

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/plasicpills

Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpillsWhile 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, and how they react to it's having ended.

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/plasicpills

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/plasticpills

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

Postmodernism has fallen. All hail the new dumbuy cult: METAMODERNISM. We took its FRESH NEW RADICAL academic wing out for a spin, as seen in this book: https://amzn.to/3So0kKH. Find tons of content from our all-powerful postmodern windmill at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Get the full episode and whole lot more at www.patreon.com/plasticpills

We noticed a few Fanon name drops so this week we decided to read "On Violence" from Wretched of the Earth and see whether it's a useful heuristic for the discourse of violence in Gaza. You can read the chapter here. If you want all our episodes they are on www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Despite the shadow of Gaza hanging over our consciences this week, we try to introduce Systems Theory via politics. The book is Political Theory in the Welfare State by Niklas Luhmann (https://amzn.to/48Q6I3g), and we hope to give you a glimpse of what it looks like in practice. This is the sixth episode on systems theory, some of which are on here and all of which are on patreon at www.patreon.com/plasticpills

The timeloop continues: Another Ukrainian SS soldier in Canada and another wave of books and articles about the dangers of Heidegger following the publication of the third edition of History of Beyng, we reflect on air fryers and moralism after the end of history.

Victor interviews Professor Carolyn Pedwell, editor of the Affect Theory Reader (two volumes) and Revolutionary Routines (https://amzn.to/44FykoA). Pedwell argues that minor gestures may be as significant as major happenings, revealing the potential in our ability to remake social or political habits and then to reinhabit everyday life.

Erik and Pills break down the myths of grooming, childhood, sexuality and the semiotic systems which produced them. The book is Roland Barthes, 195, Mythologies (https://amzn.to/47i5kpd) The rest of this series on myth is available at www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Diego Ruzzarin is back on the Plastic Pills Podcast to talk about mythologies of the Left and Right as analyzed by Roland Barthes in his 1957 book (https://amzn.to/47i5kpd). Our previous two episodes covering "Mythologies" (introducing the book and analyzing car commercials) are on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

With the release of the Barbie movie, the feminine symbol has been deployed this summer. But for thousands of summers previous, the role of the feminine was managed by folk stories and fairy tales. Featuring the literary stylings of Victor Hainagiu (known to us as Lit Vic) we broach the topic of the feminine symbolic through the story of Snow White. Check out this version of Neil Gaiman's Snow White in the form of a graphic novel: https://comiconlinefree.net/snow-glass-apples/issue-tpb/1 Follow Lit Vic on Twitter at @HoratioVictor There are many more episodes and tons of bonus content for our patrons at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills