Podcasts about freudian

In this episode, I interview Gila Ashtor, a practicing psychoanalyst and critical theorist, about her new book, Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia (Fordham University Press, 2021). This book proceeds from the perplexing observation that for all of its political agita, rhetorical virtuosity, and intellectual restlessness, queer theory conforms to a model of erotic life that is psychologically conservative and narrow. Even after several decades of combative, dazzling, irreverent queer critical thought, the field remains far from grasping that sexuality's radical potential lies in its being understood as “exogenous, intersubjective and intrusive” (Laplanche). In particular, and despite the pervasiveness and popularity of recent calls to deconstruct the ideological foundations of contemporary queer thought, no study has as yet considered or in any way investigated the singular role of psychology in shaping the field's conceptual impasses and politico-ethical limitations. Through close readings of key thinkers in queer theoretical thought—Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Leo Bersani, Lee Edelman, Judith Butler, Lauren Berlant, and Jane Gallop—Homo Psyche introduces metapsychology as a new dimension of analysis vis-à-vis the theories of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche, who insisted on “new foundations for psychoanalysis” that radically departed from existing Freudian and Lacanian models of the mind. Staging this intervention, Ashtor deepens current debates about the future of queer studies by demonstrating how the field's systematic neglect of metapsychology as a necessary and independent realm of ideology ultimately enforces the complicity of queer studies with psychological conventions that are fundamentally erotophobic and therefore inimical to queer theory's radical and ethical project. Britt Edelen is a Ph.D. student in English at Duke University. He focuses on modernism and the relationship(s) between language, philosophy, and literature. You can find him on Twitter or send him an email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this episode, I interview Gila Ashtor, a practicing psychoanalyst and critical theorist, about her new book, Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia (Fordham University Press, 2021). This book proceeds from the perplexing observation that for all of its political agita, rhetorical virtuosity, and intellectual restlessness, queer theory conforms to a model of erotic life that is psychologically conservative and narrow. Even after several decades of combative, dazzling, irreverent queer critical thought, the field remains far from grasping that sexuality's radical potential lies in its being understood as “exogenous, intersubjective and intrusive” (Laplanche). In particular, and despite the pervasiveness and popularity of recent calls to deconstruct the ideological foundations of contemporary queer thought, no study has as yet considered or in any way investigated the singular role of psychology in shaping the field's conceptual impasses and politico-ethical limitations. Through close readings of key thinkers in queer theoretical thought—Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Leo Bersani, Lee Edelman, Judith Butler, Lauren Berlant, and Jane Gallop—Homo Psyche introduces metapsychology as a new dimension of analysis vis-à-vis the theories of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche, who insisted on “new foundations for psychoanalysis” that radically departed from existing Freudian and Lacanian models of the mind. Staging this intervention, Ashtor deepens current debates about the future of queer studies by demonstrating how the field's systematic neglect of metapsychology as a necessary and independent realm of ideology ultimately enforces the complicity of queer studies with psychological conventions that are fundamentally erotophobic and therefore inimical to queer theory's radical and ethical project. Britt Edelen is a Ph.D. student in English at Duke University. He focuses on modernism and the relationship(s) between language, philosophy, and literature. You can find him on Twitter or send him an email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

In this episode, I interview Gila Ashtor, a practicing psychoanalyst and critical theorist, about her new book, Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia (Fordham University Press, 2021). This book proceeds from the perplexing observation that for all of its political agita, rhetorical virtuosity, and intellectual restlessness, queer theory conforms to a model of erotic life that is psychologically conservative and narrow. Even after several decades of combative, dazzling, irreverent queer critical thought, the field remains far from grasping that sexuality's radical potential lies in its being understood as “exogenous, intersubjective and intrusive” (Laplanche). In particular, and despite the pervasiveness and popularity of recent calls to deconstruct the ideological foundations of contemporary queer thought, no study has as yet considered or in any way investigated the singular role of psychology in shaping the field's conceptual impasses and politico-ethical limitations. Through close readings of key thinkers in queer theoretical thought—Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Leo Bersani, Lee Edelman, Judith Butler, Lauren Berlant, and Jane Gallop—Homo Psyche introduces metapsychology as a new dimension of analysis vis-à-vis the theories of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche, who insisted on “new foundations for psychoanalysis” that radically departed from existing Freudian and Lacanian models of the mind. Staging this intervention, Ashtor deepens current debates about the future of queer studies by demonstrating how the field's systematic neglect of metapsychology as a necessary and independent realm of ideology ultimately enforces the complicity of queer studies with psychological conventions that are fundamentally erotophobic and therefore inimical to queer theory's radical and ethical project. Britt Edelen is a Ph.D. student in English at Duke University. He focuses on modernism and the relationship(s) between language, philosophy, and literature. You can find him on Twitter or send him an email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this episode, I interview Gila Ashtor, a practicing psychoanalyst and critical theorist, about her new book, Homo Psyche: On Queer Theory and Erotophobia (Fordham University Press, 2021). This book proceeds from the perplexing observation that for all of its political agita, rhetorical virtuosity, and intellectual restlessness, queer theory conforms to a model of erotic life that is psychologically conservative and narrow. Even after several decades of combative, dazzling, irreverent queer critical thought, the field remains far from grasping that sexuality's radical potential lies in its being understood as “exogenous, intersubjective and intrusive” (Laplanche). In particular, and despite the pervasiveness and popularity of recent calls to deconstruct the ideological foundations of contemporary queer thought, no study has as yet considered or in any way investigated the singular role of psychology in shaping the field's conceptual impasses and politico-ethical limitations. Through close readings of key thinkers in queer theoretical thought—Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Leo Bersani, Lee Edelman, Judith Butler, Lauren Berlant, and Jane Gallop—Homo Psyche introduces metapsychology as a new dimension of analysis vis-à-vis the theories of French psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche, who insisted on “new foundations for psychoanalysis” that radically departed from existing Freudian and Lacanian models of the mind. Staging this intervention, Ashtor deepens current debates about the future of queer studies by demonstrating how the field's systematic neglect of metapsychology as a necessary and independent realm of ideology ultimately enforces the complicity of queer studies with psychological conventions that are fundamentally erotophobic and therefore inimical to queer theory's radical and ethical project. Britt Edelen is a Ph.D. student in English at Duke University. He focuses on modernism and the relationship(s) between language, philosophy, and literature. You can find him on Twitter or send him an email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis

Nov. 19-25: Beauty and the Beast makes history, Redford and Pitt play a spy game, Sissy Spacek smashes dishes, Keira Knightley gets Freudian, Fievel goes west, Hugo pulls a switcheroo, the Muppets are back, and RIP Freddie Mercury. All that and more this week on Thirty Twenty Ten, your weekly look back on the week that was 30, 20, and 10 years ago.

The Left is addicted to projection—the psycho-political syndrome of attributing all of one's own sins to one's opponents. The woke apparently do this out of some Freudian effort to square the circle of their own guilt or sense of privilege, by fobbing off their own fearful realities onto others. It is the atheist version of confession or medieval penance. In addition, in the spirit of “always being on the offense,” wokists know that those who slander do so most successfully when they lodge exactly those charges most familiar and applicable to themselves. Why The Left Always Projects https://amgreatness.com/2021/11/14/why-the-left-always-projects/ If liberal Democrats are accusing conservative Republicans of something, they are the ones probably doing it. https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/leftists-always-project-their-misdeeds-onto-their-opposition-saul-alinsky/ Bonehead Award Why Liberals Lie - Falseness of Liberals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6_5jqpJH5M  

We're back in the Cronenberg zone! We're diving into the founding friendship of psychoanalysis and the long history of Cronenberg doing psychosexual Freudian horror! Follow us on Twitter to get GROSS in the Otto Gross zone: twitter.com/HorrorVanguard You can support the show for less than the cost of the most special effects intensive Cronenberg movie ever made on our Patreon page: www.patreon.com/horrorvanguard

Howie talks about the Freudian slip from a MSNBC anchor calling Biden 'former' President Biden, we can only hope. Also Ted Cruz roasts John Kerry for taking private jets.

A Freudian slip is when you mean one thing and mean your mother.

Hey comrades! We're back with more swears, random Frankfurt School references, and messy book takes. In our Season 5 opener, UChicago PhD candidate, friend of the pod, and union organizer Josh Stadtner talks with us about Frank Norris's McTeague (1899), which is about an amateur dentist and his obsession with a concertina. We establish that Frank Norris was a frat douche and social Darwinist (yeesh), and that his having written in the late 19th/early 20th century is still not the slightest excuse for this. We talk about the scene in which a lady has some steamy naked times with a pile of money. This really happens in the novel and we did not make it up. We talk about teeth, money, the terrifying desert, and Freudian forms. We read the Norton Critical Edition with an introduction by Donald Pizer. We recommend you go back to a classic and read Georg Lukács's 1936 essay “Narrate or Describe?” to bone up on your “is naturalism good?” takes. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @betterreadpod, and email us nice things at betterreadpodcast@gmail.com. Find Josh on Twitter @joshstadtner, Tristan @tjschweiger, Katie @katiekrywo, and Megan @tuslersaurus.

We do a film review of the hard-to-find, enigmatic sequel to Rocky Horror Picture Show: "SHOCK TREATMENT!" If you've never seen this film, let me take you on a trip to a world where Richard O'Brien predicted the future 30 years ahead of its time!! We'll talk about the creation of this film, Richard O'Brien's controversial sexuality and gender, the cast and more! I'll then do a plot spoiling breakdown of the film with some clips (taken from trying to record off the TV because this film is ONLY available in USA on DVD- not even blu-ray!). The film shows us the global elite planning their takeover of our minds and health by appealing to the Freudian shadow; all through entertainment and the manipulative television set! It's wild- I assure you! Last, and DEFINITELY not least; we'll be joined by a listener who will sing us a tune from Rocky Horror Picture Show! Thank you Al- you're a real one homeboy!! Be sure to check out all the images from the film, discussed on the show at Instagram.com/IsaacWeishaupt Links:I explored the topic of Netflix being "liberal" on Breaking Social Norms with Josie Weishaupt, take a listen to part 1 here: https://breakingsocialnorms.com/2021/07/14/netflix-conspiracy-pt-1-what-are-liberal-shows/Get bonus content AND go commercial free + other perks with 3 options:1. VIP: Due to the threat of censorship, I set up a Patreon-type system through MY OWN website! It's the VIP section of illuminatiwatcher.com! It's even setup the same: FREE ebooks, Kubrick's Code video, Tier 2+ shoutouts, Tier 3 Livestreams! Sign up at: https://illuminatiwatcher.com/members-section/2. Patreon: Get free ebooks, bonus content, no commercials at Patreon.com/IlluminatiWatcher! 3. ROKFIN: Check out my new PRIVATE show! I'm now on the Rokfin network! Check out all the premium bonus content of Conspiracy Theories & Unpopular Culture podcast AND an exclusive new podcast “INSIDE THE MIND OF A CONSPIRACY THEORIST” (*one subscription gets you all my bonus content as well as all other creators like Tin Foil Hat's Sam Tripoli, Jay Dyer, Crrow777, Eric Dubay, Jason Bermas, Whitney Webb and more!): https://www.rokfin.com/creator/isaac [**Rokfin also gets the uncensored version and commercial free version of my third podcast- “BREAKING SOCIAL NORMS” with Mrs. Weishaupt (we talk about trending topics, marriage and self-help with a dash of conspiracy!)]More from Isaac- special offers:1. Check out another free podcast I make with my wife called the BREAKING SOCIAL NORMS podcast! You can get it free wherever you listen to podcasts (e.g. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-social-norms/id1557527024?uo=4). You can get the Uncensored and commercial-free option available at https://www.rokfin.com/creator/isaac2. Signed paperbacks, coffee mugs, shirts, & other merch: Gumroad.com/IsaacW3. Get 3 books for $5: https://illuminatiwatcher.com/how-to-get-free-books/4. ALIENS, UFOS & THE OCCULT IS NOW UP ON AMAZON AND AUDIBLE (*author narrated): https://amzn.to/3j3UtZz5. Enjoy some audiobooks and support the show! Go to Audible.com/Illuminati or text “Illuminati” to 500-500 to start your free 30 day FREE trial6. If you want to hear more from me AND also want to support the show, search for "Isaac Weishaupt" on Audible and pick up my narrated audiobooks! My most popular book- THE DARK PATH! https://www.audible.com/pd/B0759MN23F/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-095441&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_095441_rh_us AND the popular alien books USE YOUR ILLUSION are also on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/B08NRXFNDM/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-223105&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_223105_rh_us7. My show's sponsors- get discounts while you support the show and do a little self improvement! Get 10% off your first month of starting your happier life at BetterHelp.com/IlluminatiWatcher AND get free 30 day trial to great audiobooks at Audible.com/Illuminati (or text “illuminati” to 500-500)8. ATTENTION CRYPTO NERDS!!! CopyMyCrypto.com/Isaac is where you can copy James McMahon's crypto holdings- listeners get access for just $1*Want to advertise/sponsor our show?
We have partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. They're great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email: sales@advertisecast.com or click the link below to get started. https://www.advertisecast.com/ConspiracyTheoriesandUnpopularCulture*Isaac's Socials:-illuminatiwatcher.com -twitter.com/IlluminatiEyes -instagram.com/isaacweishaupt -facebook.com/illuminatiwatcher-tiktok.com/@isaacweishaupt-youtube.com/c/isaacweishaupt-https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B00CWH6PHQ

As Spooky Season continues, the Dames discuss all things vampiric, including: A brief history of sexy scary monsters Transgressive sexuality, Freudian nightmares, and rapacious aristocrats Why Bela Lugosi is the best Dracula Twilight's de-fanging of the vampire Why Coppola's Dracula is really problematic Plus! The Last Duel kerfuffle and why a medieval epic about rape might not be such a big hit right now.  For more sexy/scary vampires, check out our Letterboxd list: https://letterboxd.com/citizendame/list/sexy-scary-sexy-vampire-movies/  

A historical-psycho-erotic surrealist film exploring themes of womanhood, Christianity, and Freudian-infused takedowns of family and cultural identity?  Plus vampires?!  Hey Criterion Collection: Get out of my head!  Director Jaromil Jireš serves up a whimsically horrifying dreamscape in this seminal Czech New Wave classic. If you'd like to watch ahead for next week's film, we will be reviewing and discussing Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979) with Briana and Maddy of the Chapter One: Take Two podcast.

We're joined by the Poptimistic Podcast to talk the first 2 Terminator movies... and it turned into our most Freudian episode ever... and one of our funniest! We made a Barleywine in honor of the killer robot, because like The Terminator, this beer will put you on your ass! Terminator Barleywine - 5 gallons (90 min mash 120 mins boil) Grain 25lb Maris Otter 1lb Caramel 80 Hop 2oz Target (90mins - 30 mins after start of boil) 0.5oz Styrian Golding (30 mins) 1.5oz Stryrian Golding (10 mins) Yeast 2x English Ale Age for 2 months in secondary after fermentation complete Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"TIFU by giving an homeless girl my room at an hotel" by u/billyd94: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q18xqv/tifu_by_giving_an_homeless_girl_my_room_at_an/ "TIFU by telling my puppy I love her while in bed with my boyfriend" by u/OldWhatzHerFace: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q1i88f/tifu_by_telling_my_puppy_i_love_her_while_in_bed/ "TIFU with a Freudian slip" by u/LeviosaPhoenix: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q1lm5k/tifu_with_a_freudian_slip/ "TIFU: Sending a NSFW pic to a female friend on accident" by u/johnjsmith44: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q21ocq/tifu_sending_a_nsfw_pic_to_a_female_friend_on/ "TIFU by drinking hundreds of ants all summer long." by u/Onsyde: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q183aa/tifu_by_drinking_hundreds_of_ants_all_summer_long/ "TIFU by accidentally grabbing my friends ass." by u/N7_Izanagi: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q1bm46/tifu_by_accidentally_grabbing_my_friends_ass/ "TIFU by having sex with a baby monitor on while my parents had guests over" by u/completevast88: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q22huv/tifu_by_having_sex_with_a_baby_monitor_on_while/ "TIFU by paying someone elses petrol for them" by u/Doomaga: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/q1yllm/tifu_by_paying_someone_elses_petrol_for_them/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/reddit-guy/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/reddit-guy/support

Denise Shull is a performance coach who uses neuroeconomics and modern psychoanalysis in her work with hedge funds and professional athletes. She is also the founder of The ReThink Group. Shull focuses on the positive contribution of feelings and emotion in high-pressure decisions. She is the author of Market Mind Games[2] which explains how Wall Street traders act out Freudian transferences in reaction to market moves. She leverages her background in neuroscience and modern psychoanalysis to solve the mental mysteries of successful investing, trading, competing, and leading teams. She is known for her uncanny effectiveness in resolving mental blocks and decision conundrums. Please enjoy! Please visit https://nishantgarg.me/podcasts for more info. Follow Nishant: Friday Newsletter: https://garnishant-91f4a.gr8.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishant-garg-b7a20339/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Nishant82638150 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NishantMindfulnessMatters/

  Join me as we discover explore all the elements of perfectionism, from its root causes to its surface manifestations, through an Internal Family Systems lens, grounded in a Catholic world view.  Through poetry, quotes, research findings, personal examples and the current professional literature, I pull together many strands into a unified whole to help you deeply grasp the internal experience of perfectionism. Intro The Quintessential Persona    Leanna Smith   We are together in this great adventure, this podcast, Interior Integration for Catholics, we are journeying together, and I am honored to be able to spend this time with you.   I am Dr. Peter Malinoski, clinical psychologist and passionate Catholic and together, we are taking on the tough topics that matter to you.   We bring the best of psychology and human formation and harmonize it with the perennial truths of the Catholic Faith.    Interior Integration for Catholics is part of our broader outreach, Souls and Hearts bringing the best of psychology grounded in a Catholic worldview to you and the rest of the world through our website soulsandhearts.com Let's get into answering the questions -- the who, what, where, when, why, and how of perfectionism.  This is episode 85 of the Interior Integration for Catholics Podcast it's titled:  Perfectionism:  Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How Perfectionism -- a major, major problem for so many Catholics.   A major, major problem for so many of us.  Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill  2019 Psychological Bulletin Article:  Perfectionism Is Increasing Over Time: A Meta-Analysis of Birth Cohort Differences From 1989 to 2016 reviewed dozens of studies from a 27 year timespan all using the same instrument  the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Hewitt and Flett  164 study samples comprising more than 41,000 college students in the US, Canada and Great Britain between 1989 and 2016  Results:  there is no doubt.  Perfectionism among college students is on the rise.  Between 1989 and 2016,  the scores for socially prescribed perfectionism —  or perceiving that other have excessive expectations of me — increased by 33%.  Other-oriented expectations — putting unrealistic expectations on others — went up 16% and self-oriented perfectionism — our irrational desire to be perfect — increased 10%   The Who of Perfectionism -- the Parts The What of Perfectionism -- What is it?  What are the different kinds of perfectionism, what are the elements? Where Does Perfectionism Come From Within Us When Does Perfectionism Get Activated? Why Does Perfectionism Start and Why Does it Keep Going? How Do We Overcome Perfectionism?  How do we resolve it?  Not just a descriptive diagnosis, but a proscriptive conceptualization that gives a direction for healing, resolving the perfectionism.  Not just symptom management, this is your cross nonsense.  There are real crosses that God gives us. Yes.  But those crosses fit well.  The crosses we impose upon ourselves do not fit well.    What -- What is perfectionism?  You know that I want precise definitions when we dive into deep topics together.  I think it's ironic that there is a lot of unclear, sloppy thinking about perfectionism by perfectionists.  Shining a bright clear light on it.   Definition of Perfectionism Brene Brown:  The Gifts of Imperfection:  Perfectionism is a self-destructive and addictive belief system that fuels the primary thought: If I look perfect, live perfectly, and do everything perfectly, I can avoid or minimize painful feelings or shame, judgment and blame  Marc Foley O.C.D.  Editor of Story of a Soul: Study Edition  There is an unhealthy striving for perfection which psychologists call perfectionism. Perfectionism is the state of being driven to achieve a standard of perfection in an area of life that is fueled by either the fear of failure or the need for approval. This unhealthy striving is not the type of perfection to which God calls us.   So you may have perfectionistic parts that would like to challenge me on this.  Your perfectionistic parts may say to me  So, Dr. Peter, Mr. Catholic Psychologist, you want us to have low standards, huh?  You think that would be better, for us to be lazy, to be weak, to take our ease, to relax, to give up the fight, to be mediocre, to be lukewarm, huh?  Is that what you are saying?  Didn't St. Jerome say:  Good, better, best, never let it rest, 'till your good is better, and your better's best  First off, let's start with your quote.  Often attributed to St. Jerome, but there's no evidence for it in his writings:  Fr. Horton addresses this alleged quote on his blog fauxtations.   September 26, 2016 post.  "Good, better, best: St. Jerome?" Oldest google books attribution is from 2009.   1904 Dictionary of Modern Proverbs  1897 Christian Work: Illustrated Family Newspaper.   Others attribute it to Tim Duncan, NBA all-star player, often considered the greatest power forward of all time.   I want you to pursue excellence.   Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence or a commitment to self-improvement. There is a critical distinction between striving for excellence and perfectionism.   Let's discuss what perfectionism is not.    Brene Brown:  Perfectionism is not self-improvement./ Perfectionism is, at it's core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance  Most perfectionists were raised being praised for achievement and performance (grades, manners, rule-following, people-pleasing, appearance, sports). Somewhere along the way, we adopted this dangerous and debilitating belief system: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please. Perform. Perfect. Healthy striving is self-focused – How can I improve? Perfectionism – is other focused – What will they think?” End quote.  What will they think? Brene Brown  Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead:  “Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence. Perfectionism is not about healthy achievement and growth. Perfectionism is a defensive move. It's the belief that if we do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.”  Agnes M. Stairs, Smith, Zapolski, Combs, and Settles:  Clarifying the construct of perfectionism Assessment 2012  732 people 15 different perfectionism measures -- Factor analytic modeling  Found nine different personality traits associated with perfectionism:  Need for Order, Need for Satisfaction of a Job Well Done, Details and Checking, Perfectionism toward Others, High Personal Standards, Black and White Thinking about Tasks, Perceived Pressure from Others, Dissatisfaction with Personal Performance, Reactivity to Mistakes.   9 personality traits  Order  I like things to be neat  Things should always be put away in their place  I like to be orderly in the way I do things   Satisfaction I feel satisfied with my work after I do something well  I get excited when I do a good job  I feel great satisfaction when I feel I have perfected something   Details and Checking I often check my work carefully to make sure there are no mistakes  It takes me a long time to do something because I check my work   many times Perfectionism toward Others I have high standards for the people who are important to me  I expect a lot from my friends   I expect others to excel at whatever they do   High Standards I set extremely high standards for myself  I expect high levels of performance from myself  I have very high goals   Black and White Thinking about Tasks and Activities I will not do something if I cannot do it perfectly  There's no point in doing something if I cannot do it perfectly   Perceived Pressure from Others People expect high levels of performance from me  Others expect me to be perfect  I often feel that people make excessive demands of me   Dissatisfaction It feels like my best is never good enough   I often don't live up to my own standards  I rarely feel that what I have done is good enough   Reactivity to Mistakes When I make a mistake, I feel really bad  If one thing goes wrong, I feel that I cannot do anything right  I feel like a complete failure if I do not do something perfectly   Signs of Being a Perfectionist  GoodTherapy.org article last updated 11-05-2019  Not be able to perform a task unless they know they can do it perfectly.  View the end product as the most important part of any undertaking. As a result, they may focus less on the process of learning or completing a task to the best of their ability.  Not see a task as finished until the result is perfect according to their standards.  Procrastinate. People with perfectionism may not want to begin a task until they know they can do it perfectly.  Take an excessive amount of time to complete a task that does not typically take others long to complete.  Examples of Perfectionistic Behaviors -- GoodTherapy.org article last updated 11-05-2019 Spending 30 minutes writing and rewriting a two-sentence email.  Believing that missing two points on a test is a sign of failure.  Difficulty being happy for others who are successful.  Holding oneself to the standards of others' accomplishments or comparing oneself unfavorably and unrealistically to others.  Skipping class or avoiding a chore because it is pointless to make an effort unless perfection can be achieved.  Focusing on the end product rather than the process of learning.  Avoiding playing a game or trying a new activity with friends for fear of being shown up as less than perfect.   The Who of Perfectionism -- the Parts Definition of Parts:  Separate, independently operating personalities within us, each with own unique prominent needs, roles in our lives, emotions, body sensations, guiding beliefs and assumptions, typical thoughts, intentions, desires, attitudes, impulses, interpersonal style, and world view.  Each part also has an image of God and also its own approach to sexuality.  Robert Falconer calls them insiders.  You can also think of them as separate modes of operating if that is helpful.   Types of perfectionism -- Jay Early IFS therapist Self-Therapy Volume 3.  Four types of perfectionist parts -- Not-enough perfectionist  Creative Block perfectionist  Control perfectionist  Inner Critic   Not-Enough perfectionist Always must do more on your projects -- not good enough yet.   Working right up to deadlines, perfecting.   Afraid to finish project because your perfectionistic parts believe this will expose your shortcomings and led to being judged  and ridiculed -- humiliation.   Creative Block Perfectionist Need to be perfect the first time  Ideas are not good enough  Fear of being judged and rejected.   Mike Litman:  You don't have to get it right.  You just have to get it going.  This podcast is an example.  Didn't know what I was doing.  Early episodes were very different.  Learning curve.  How many people listened?  Not many.   Control perfectionist World must be perfectly in control and in order.   I must always do the right thing.   I must always make the right choice   Rigid control over behavior Saps vitality  Obliterates sponteneity   Need predictability to feel safe   Inner Critic  Enforces the goals of being perfect Judges and shames about your work, your life, your spiritual practices  Labels you stupid, incompetent, sloppy, inadequate or bad.   Good intention:  to help you avoid being judged or shamed for mistakes.   Types of Inner Critic:  Jay Earley Personal-Growth-Programs.com  -- Transforming your Inner Critic.  Freedom from your Inner Critic.   Perfectionist This critic tries to get you to do things perfectly.  It sets high standards for the things your produce, and has difficulty saying something is complete and letting it go out to represent your best work.  It tries to make sure that you fit in and that you will not be judged or rejected.  Its expectations probably reflect those of people who have been important to you in the past.   Guilt-Tripper This critic is stuck in the past. It is unable to forgive you for wrongs you have done or people you have hurt.  It is concerned about relationships and holds you to standards of behavior prescribed by your community, culture and family  It tries to protect you from repeating past mistakes by making sure you never forget or feel free.   Underminer This critic tries to undermine your self-confidence and self-esteem so that you won't take risks.  It makes direct attacks on your self-worth so that you will stay small and not take chances where you could be hurt or rejected.  It is afraid of your being too big or too visible and not being able to tolerate judgment or failure.   Destroyer It makes pervasive attacks on your fundamental self worth.  It shames you and makes you feel inherently flawed and not entitled to basic understanding or respect.  This most debilitating critic, comes from early life deprivation or trauma.  It is motivated by a belief that it is safer not to exist.   Molder This critic tries to get you to fit into a certain mold based on standards held by society, your culture or your family.  It wants you to be liked and admired and to protect you from being abandoned, shamed or rejected.  The Molder fears that the Rebel or the Free Spirit in you would act in ways that are unacceptable. So it keeps you from being in touch with and expressing your true nature.   Taskmaster This critic wants you to work hard and be successful.  It fears that you may be mediocre or lazy and will be judged a failure if it does not push you to keep going.  Its pushing often activates a procrastinator or a rebel that fights against its harsh dictates.   Inner Controller This critic tries to control your impulses: eating, drinking, sexual activity, etc.  It is polarized with an Indulger –addict who it fears can get out of control at any moment.  It tends to be harsh and shaming in an effort to protect you from yourself.  It is motivated to try to make you a good person who is accepted and functions well in society.   Three Main Manager Roles Contribute to Perfectionism in Catholics.   Often in serious Catholics there is a triumvirate of managers who govern the system if there is not sufficient self-energy.   Triumvirate   trium virum, genitive plural of tres viri "three men," from tres "three" (see three) + viri, plural of vir "man"  a group of three men holding power, in particular ( the First Triumvirate ) the unofficial coalition of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus in 60 BC and ( the Second Triumvirate ) a coalition formed by Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian in 43 BC. Standard Bearer, Primary Manager and the Inner Critic.   Talking only about Catholics here, Catholics who take their faith seriously. I'm going to simplify this down.  Three roles.    Most people are mostly blended most of the time.   Rare for someone to be really recollected at a natural level And most of the time with reasonably well functioning people, the blend is with a manager.   Managers are the parts who run our systems in such a ways as to proactively minimize exiles being activated and breaking through Managers handle the day-to-day activities Some of these managers are very, very competent, very good at what they do.  Efficient, effective.  They work strategically, with forethought and planning to keep in control of situations and relationships to minimize the likelihood of you being hurt.  They work really hard to keep you safe. controlling, striving, planning, caretaking, judging,  Can be pessimistic, self-critical, very demanding.    Three major roles in perfectionism.  The standard bearer, the primary manager, and the internal critic.   Standard Bearer  Definition of a Standard for a military unit -- Wikipedia:  A bright, colorful flag acting as a strong visual beacon to the soldiers of the unit -- -- it doesn't always have to be a flag.  The standard for a Roman Legion was their aquila -- their eagle. The standard of the Roman Legion, the eagle had quasi-religious importance to the Roman soldier, far beyond being merely a symbol of his legion.  To lose a standard was extremely grave, and the Roman military went to great lengths both to protect a standard and to recover it if it were lost   Is the standard the deep and loving relationship with God?  Nope. Is the standard the close, intimate relationship with our Mother Mary?  Nyet.   What is the standard that the standard bearer carries aloft The standard is the unwritten list of rules and expectations that the standard bearer has come up with by his or her own limited vision, about what he or she things Gods wants from us.   The standard is the code of conduct that the standard bearer wishes to impose on all the parts The standard might be quite unreasonable, especially in the extreme cases of perfectionism and scrupulosity  And the standard needs to be interpreted -- other parts are not deemed capable of deciphering the standard.  Oh no.  Who needs to decipher and interpret the standard?  That's right, you've got it -- the standard bearer.  In the tripartite Freudian model of the mind, The standard bearer corresponds to the superego.   The standard bearer wants to act in the role of conscience, giving directives to the system.  Why?  To keep us safe and secure.  That's the goal.  Safe from internal enemies (such as exiles with their burdens -- especially shame -- the exiles with their burdens are Freud's Id) and external enemies.  Satan, demons, villains of all kinds  And also to keep us safe from God's Wrath.  Or God's Apathy.  Or God's disappointment.  Or Something Undesirable from God -- you like, like being smited with a thunderbolt.   Good Boy in my system  IIC 71 -- A New and Better Way of Understanding Myself and Others If blended.  That's key if he blends with me, takes over with other managers, he will lapse into this role of being a standard bearer.  Otherwise, he's not like that.   Primary Manager This is a part that is blended and in charge almost all the time in fairly "well-adjusted people."   When there seems to be a consistent single "personality" you are often seeing what I call the primary manager part.   This part can have a lot of self-energy, and only blend to certain degree.   This part can also believe that it is essentially the self, or that it needs to function in the role of the self  Primary manager parts either Doesn't trust the self  Or forget.  Lapse back into old patterns  Or get caught up when exiles are activated.   Collaborator in my system -- formerly the Competent One Inner Critic Evaluator in my system.  Formerly my Internal Critic.  My internal critic's attitude toward farms growing up in Wisconsin.   If I ever have a farm.   Now I have a farm.  Radical new views.  Never painted my barn.   How my parts work together on this podcast episode When I am blended and have taken over the self, I set the standards.  I speak for God. I am in the role of standard bearer.   When I am blended, I shielded Good Boy from the unreasonableness of his demands.  I goaded Collaborator, pressed him on to ever better performance.  I am the workhorse.  Executing.  Trying to make it all happen   I'm a firefighter.  I get angry and rebel against the triumvirate of managers -- YouTube time.   Other firefighter activity -- Chocolate, video games, masturbation, porn, food, shopping, chocolate.   Backlash exacerbates the polarization.     I work to protect us.   Where Does Perfectionism Come From Perfectionism is a symptom.  It's an effect of a deeper issue. Still a problem in itself.  Curran and Hall:  Our findings suggest that self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, and other-oriented perfectionism have increased over the last 27 years. We speculate that this may be because, generally, American, Canadian, and British cultures have become more individualistic, materialistic, and socially antagonistic over this period, with young people now facing more competitive environments, more unrealistic expectations, and more anxious and controlling parents than generations before.  Pete Walker  “Perfectionism is the unparalleled defense for emotionally abandoned children. The existential unattainability of perfection saves the child from giving up, unless or until, scant success forces him to retreat into the depression of a dissociative disorder, or launches him hyperactively into an incipient conduct disorder. Perfectionism also provides a sense of meaning and direction for the powerless and unsupported child. In the guise of self-control, striving to be perfect offers a simulacrum of a sense of control. Self-control is also safer to pursue because abandoning parents typically reserve their severest punishment for children who are vocal about their negligence.”  Jay Earley:  Self-Therapy Vol. 3 chapter on perfectionism.   Fear Need for approval Marie Forleo, Everything is Figureoutable “Perfectionism at its core isn't about high standards. It's about fear. Fear of failure. Fear of looking stupid, fear of making a mistake, fear of being judged, criticized, and ridiculed. It's the fear that one simple fact might be true:  You're just not good enough. Michael Law  “At its root, perfectionism isn't really about a deep love of being meticulous. It's about fear. Fear of making a mistake. Fear of disappointing others. Fear of failure. Fear of success.” Hiding -- driven by shame.  Genesis 3.  Chinonye J. Chidolue  “Perfection is a faux. It's a mask carved by our own poor esteem to hide who we really are and make others see what really isn't us.”  But what's behind those?  Let's go deeper Shame.  Deep sense of fundamental inadequacy.  Not being loved.  Not being lovable.  Essentially flawed.  Being bad.  Unworthy.   Episodes 37-49     When Does Perfectionism Get Activated?   Some are perfectionistic all the time Some are episodic. Some of the time.  Situation factors or internal factors activate Shame.   Fear Anger Shame is:  a primary emotion, a bodily reaction, a signal,  a judgement, and an action.   Why Does it Keep Going?  Self Images Shame -- that is the main driver of perfectionism.  I am unacceptable as I am right now.  I have to engage in a self-improvement program.   That's what he took away from experience.  Not just taught, but construed.   The potential to become good enough to earn the love -- provides hope for the future in the short run.   But hamster on a wheel.   Breeds rebellion, acting out.   Perfectionistic parts always get what they don't want.  Winding up alienated, isolated, alone Glennon Doyle Melton  "We can choose to be perfect and admired or to be real and loved."  Ze Frank -- salty quote:  “Perfectionism may look good in his shiny shoes, but he's a bit of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties.”  How Do We Overcome Perfectionism?  Standard Advice -- focused on symtpoms  Oregon Counseling Become more aware of your tendencies toward perfectionism  Focus on the Positives  Allow yourself to make mistakes  Set more reasonable goals  Learn how to receive Criticism  Lower the pressure you put on yourself  Focus on meaning over perfection  Try not to procrastinate  Cut out negative influences  Go to therapy.   Others Sharon Martin, LCSW in California Practice self-compassion  Adopt a growth mindset  Instead of focusing on outcomes, enjoy the process  Be true to yourself rather than trying to please everyone  Be more assertive with your own needs  Love your imperfect self.   Tanya Peterson Choosing Therapy.com Keep track of your thoughts  Practice mindfulness  Focus on your strengths  Stop comparing yourself to others  Find your own meaning and purpose  Rekindle your sense of pleasure and gratitude  Think about your life at age 100  Let yourself experiment.   These are almost all symptom based approaches.  Superficial.  Likely to not get to the root cause.  Sound good.  Hard to accomplish though because of the perfectionism and its roots.   Two major types of approaches  Treat perfectionism as an enemy to be ignored, dismissed, fought against, or overcome.  Byron Brown based on the Diamond Approach 1999 Souls without Shame.   Robert W. Firestone and colleagues in their Voice Therapy approach  Conquer your Inner Critical Voice  Rick Carson in his 1983 book Taming Your Gremlin   By far the approach most serious Catholic favor in dealing with perfectionism and scrupulosity Will power  Suppression  Domination over the undesireable internal experience.  Triumph of the will!  Victory.  Never works.  Not for long.  And when it seems to work, it's unstable, tenuous, shaky.   Revenge of the repressed.   But what if perfectionism and the parts around it have something important to say to you?   Treat perfectionism as an ally to be seen, heard, to be accepted, befriended, understood, and ultimately transformed.   Hal and Sidra Stone based on Voice Dialogue,  1993 Embracing your inner critic: turning self-criticism into a creative asset Jay Earley and Bonnie Weiss based on Internal Family Systems therapy 2010 Self-therapy for your inner critic: transforming self-criticism into self-confidence Ann Weiser Cornell based on Inner Relationship Focusing in her 2005 book The Radical Acceptance of Everything Pat Allen also takes this approach in her 1995  book Art Is a Way of Knowing.[14]  These approaches see the inner critic as attempting to help or protect the person—but in a covert, distorted, or maladaptive way. This perspective makes it possible to connect with the critic and transform it over time into a helpful ally.  Earley's approach.    Getting to the root.  Shame IIC 37-49.   Engage with the parts burdened with shame.   Neural Networks -- one neural network Dan Siegel's interpersonal neurobiology.   Lee Health IFS is considered a brain-based psychotherapy designed specifically to access and modify neural networks through intentional interactions via a guided meditative processes.  These brain based interactions are the key to helping create different pathways often referred to as “rewiring” or “remapping”. IEADP Foundation These processes serve to engage the brain stem, limbic system and prefrontal cortex simultaneously in the safe and emotional tolerable setting of the therapist's office. This increase in the individual's ability to stay in the window of tolerance while being present with strong emotional states, body sensations and memories allows the client to engage the “witnessing mind” and increases the response flexibility to the strong emotional states that previously would elicit eating disorder behaviors Experiential Exercise What did you think -- let me know call or text 317.567.9594. Also, if you have found great resources that were helpful for your scrupulosity or perfectionism let me know.   Next episode Episode 86, will come out on November 1, All Saints Day Scrupulosity --  I have such a different take -- Scrupulosity is what happens with perfectionism gets religion.   One more element that we haven't discussed that is so central to scrupulosity, that make scrupulosity much more than a religious spiritual perfectionism.   My own battle with scrupulosity.   Grandpa Roberts:  God helps those who help themselves.   Today we laid a foundation for understanding perfectionism.  Next episode, we get much more into Solutions for scruplosity and perfectionism.   Remember, you as a listener can call me on my cell any Tuesday or Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM.  I've set that time aside for you.  317.567.9594.  (repeat) or email me at crisis@soulsandhearts.com.  Resilient Catholics Community.  84 on the waiting list.  Greater discussion of that in the last episode, episode 84.  We have been working through the Individual Results Sheet for dozens of RCC members -- amazed at how our Initial Measures Kit can provoke all kinds of new thinking about their parts and their internal worlds.  Work with Catholic Standard Bearers, Primary Managers and Inner Critics Catholic therapists or therapists in training -- If you are really interested in Internal Family System and you want to be with me and other Catholic therapists, working on your human formation with your colleagues, The Interior Therapist Community is for you.  We have a couple more spots open in the last Foundations Experiential Group for the fall of 2021, so check out all our offerings at soulsandhearts.com/itc.          

YouTube continues its strict censorship of anything on the Right. The Congressional Baseball Game made its annual debut, and President Joe Biden made an appearance! Nancy Pelosi has a Freudian slip, calling the "Build Back Better" agenda the "Obama agenda." Representative Matt Gaetz seriously grills both General Milley and Secretary Austin. Truckers call in to detail their experience on the job and hours of service. Big Pharma sure is making a lot of money during this pandemic. Another teacher was recorded making fun of anyone hesitant about getting vaccinated. Parents are following through on their threats to unenroll their children if the schools reinstitute mask mandates. Should Pat interview Alex Jones? A new poll shows that most college students think it's acceptable to use violence to discourage views they disagree with. Will Smith wants everyone to know "his truth." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen Psaki says the quiet part out loud from time to time. With regard to the $3.5 trillion rEcOnCiLiAtiOn BiLL (unofficially referred to as The Democrats Print Money to Get Everything They Want Act) about to get rubber stamped in Congress, Psaki says that the negotiations were "like an episode of a TV show." She may not have intended for it to be an admission that this is all Kabuki theater. If not, it's an unintentional double entendre and an interesting Freudian slip to boot. The bill is said to "reduce income inequality" but printing money to reduce income inequality is like killing an unborn child and calling it healthcare. Meanwhile, two Federal Reserve presidents are quietly resigning in the wake of separate insider trading scandals. Neither are being held accountable for anything because there's no rule against Federal Reserve presidents enriching themselves by making money printers go brrrr. If there was, it would defeat the entire point of printing money. This is EPISODE 767 of So to Speak w/ Jared Howe!

Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks about Greta Thunberg's attack on world leaders, Stephen Colbert stooping to new lows, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar demanding that unvaccinated NBA players be fired, and Nancy Pelosi's Freudian slip. First, Dave shares a clip of Greta Thunberg's attack on world leaders' plan to fight climate change. World leaders' talk of creating a green economy was denounced with a “blah blah blah” from Greta. Next, Stephen Colbert reached new propaganda-like lows with a painful dance routine devoted to the vaccine. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called for the firing of any NBA players who are unvaccinated despite there being no NBA vaccine mandate. Finally, Nancy Pelosi accidentally implied that Barack Obama is the president. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Book Club podcast Sam is joined by Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, a historian of psychoanalysis whose latest book is Freud's Patients: A Book of Lives. Mikkel has sifted through the archives to discover the real stories anonymised in the case studies on which Sigmund Freud based his theories, and the lives of the patients who submitted to analysis on the great man's original couch. What he discovered is startling. Mikkel tells Sam how Freud falsified the data to fit his theories, kept incurable cases coming back week after week to keep the fees rolling in - and how the global industry of Freudian analysis resembles a religious cult more than a science.

In this week's Book Club podcast I'm joined by Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, a historian of psychoanalysis whose latest book is Freud's Patients: A Book of Lives. Mikkel has sifted through the archives to discover the real stories anonymised in the case studies on which Sigmund Freud based his theories, and the lives of the patients who submitted to analysis on the great man's original couch. What he discovered is startling. Mikkel tells me how Freud falsified the data to fit his theories, kept incurable cases coming back week after week to keep the fees rolling in -- and how the global industry of Freudian analysis resembles a religious cult more than a science. 

Summary    Episode 126: Therapy is getting a total makeover as the infamous and highly esteemed ShrinkChicks join Natalie for a serious dose of real talk that challenges the traditional model of what therapy should look like. Emmalee Bierly and Jennifer Chaiken are two relatable and hilarious licensed marriage and family therapists that are shattering the clinical wall and bringing humanity to therapy. There have been studies that show the most important predicator of therapeutic success is the connection and relationship with your therapist. Emmalee and Jen have found that developing that relationship often involves breaking away from the traditional mold of what a therapist should be, so they never shy away from being themselves and even share personal, vulnerable stories on their own podcast, ShrinkChicks. Today's episode covers a lot of mental health ground as the three discuss ways to discover coping mechanisms that work for you, how to deal with criticism and embrace failure, and why they decided to start their very own practice. With practitioners in states across the US, these best friends discuss how to grow your business while simultaneously growing in your relationships and working on yourself. If the typical, emotionless Freudian mold just isn't working for you and you're looking for a fresh perspective on therapy, this episode is for you. It's out with the old and in with the new.   Thank you so much for being a part of our podcast community! Please be sure to rate, follow, review, and of course, post to your highlight reel. Follow your host Natalie on Instagram @nataliebarbu and @therealreelpodcast.  Follow the ShrinkChicks @shrinkchicks and listen to their podcast ShrinkChicks. Follow The Therapy Group @thetherapygrp and check out their website thetherapygroup.com.  Thank you to our sponsors for making this episode possible. Check out these deals just for you:  CUROLOGY - Go to curology.com/real for a free 30-day trial and just pay for  shipping and handling!  SMASH & TESS – Go to smashtess.com/realreell to shop and use code REALREEL at check out for 15% off your purchase!  SHAMELESS PETS – Go to shamelesspets.com and use code realreel for 25% off.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Slavoj Žižek is a philosopher, author of more than fifty books, the most recent of which are Volumes 1 and 2 of Pandemic!--COVID-19 Shakes the World (volume 1) and Chronicles of a Time Lost (volume 2). Joined in conversation by Professors Russell Sbriglia, Adnan Husain, Ben Burgis and Ann Li. Topics: Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer thrown out of our military; The airline passenger who growled; Biden let's the hammer down on Anti-vaxers; Incontrovertible evidence Ayn Rand was a monster; A heart worming story about Joe Rogan Guests With Time Stamps: (1:08) David does the News (1:44:02) Slavoj Žižek joined in conversation by Professors Russell Sbriglia, Adnan Husain, Ben Burgis and Ann Li. (3:13:15) The Herschenfelds: Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst, and Ethan Herschenfeld whose new comedy special "Thug, Thug Jew" is streaming on YouTube (4:00:33) Emil Guillermo, host of the PETA Podcast, and columnist for The Asian American Legal Defense And Education Fund (4:34:41) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (5:20:11) The Professors And Mary Anne: Professor Jonathan Bick, Professor Adnan Husain, and Professor Mary Anne Cummings (6:35:15) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy" and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America

Today's Quotation is care of W. H. Auden.Listen in!Subscribe to the Quarantine Tapes at quarantinetapes.com or search for the Quarantine Tapes on your favorite podcast app!Wystan Hugh Auden was born in York, England, on February 21, 1907. He moved to Birmingham during childhood and was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Robert Frost, as well as William Blake, Emily Dickinson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Old English verse. At Oxford his precocity as a poet was immediately apparent, and he formed lifelong friendships with two fellow writers, Stephen Spender and Christopher Isherwood. In 1928, his collection Poems was privately printed, but it wasn't until 1930, when another collection titled Poems (though its contents were different) was published, that Auden was established as the leading voice of a new generation.Ever since, he has been admired for his unsurpassed technical virtuosity and an ability to write poems in nearly every imaginable verse form; the incorporation in his work of popular culture, current events, and vernacular speech; and also for the vast range of his intellect, which drew easily from an extraordinary variety of literatures, art forms, social and political theories, and scientific and technical information. He had a remarkable wit, and often mimicked the writing styles of other poets such as Dickinson, W. B. Yeats, and Henry James. His poetry frequently recounts, literally or metaphorically, a journey or quest, and his travels provided rich material for his verse.He visited Germany, Iceland, and China, served in the Spanish Civil war, and in 1939 moved to the United States, where he met his lover, Chester Kallman, and became an American citizen. His own beliefs changed radically between his youthful career in England, when he was an ardent advocate of socialism and Freudian psychoanalysis, and his later phase in America, when his central preoccupation became Christianity and the theology of modern Protestant theologians. A prolific writer, Auden was also a noted playwright, librettist, editor, and essayist. Generally considered the greatest English poet of the twentieth century, his work has exerted a major influence on succeeding generations of poets on both sides of the Atlantic. W. H. Auden served as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets from 1954 to 1973, and divided most of the second half of his life between residences in New York City and Austria. He died in Vienna on September 29, 1973.From https://poets.org/poet/w-h-auden. For more information about W. H. Auden:Previously on The Quarantine Tapes:Garnette Cadogan about Auden, at 16:48: https://quarantine-tapes.simplecast.com/episodes/the-quarantine-tapes-101-garnette-cadoganRuha Benjamin about Auden, at 13:10: https://quarantine-tapes.simplecast.com/episodes/the-quarantine-tapes-129-ruha-benjamin“The Messy Genius of W. H. Auden”: https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2018/summer/feature/the-messy-genius-w-h-auden“Remembering W. H. Auden”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1975/01/20/remembering-wystan-h-auden-who-died-in-the-night-of-the-twenty-eighth-of-september-1973

Today's guest is Mary Wild, Freudian Cinephile and host of the Projections series held at the Freud Museum, London, as well as co-host of Projections Podcast with Sarah Cleaver. https://www.projectionspodcast.com Mary Wild is presenting Sunday, September 12, 2021, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT: Psychoanalysis, Art and the Occult: Mary Wild on “Taxidermy in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho” and Discussion with Anna Biller, Writer and Director of “The Love Witch” & “Viva”: https://www.morbidanatomy.org/events/2021/7/15/psychoanalysis-art-and-the-occult-mary-wild-on-taxidermy-in-alfred-hitchcocks-psycho-and-discussion-with-anna-biller-writer-and-director-of-the-love-witch-amp-viva See the entire series of PsychArtCult events at Morbid Anatomy online, Sundays in September, here: http://psychartcult.org Join Mary at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/marywild Follow her at Twitter: https://twitter.com/psycstar And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psycstar/ PROJECTIONS is psychoanalysis for film interpretation. PROJECTIONS empowers film spectators to express subjective associations they consider to be meaningful. Expertise in psychoanalytic theory is not necessary – the only prerequisite is the desire to enter and inhabit the imaginary world of film, which is itself a psychoanalytic act. MARY WILD, a Freudian cinephile from Montreal, is the creator of PROJECTIONS. https://www.freud.org.uk Upcoming Projections course Women in Horror, October 30-31, 2021: https://www.freud.org.uk/event/projections-women-in-horror-films-livestream-2/ Mikita Brottman mentioned in this episode: https://mikitabrottman.com You can support the podcast at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vanessa23carl Thank you so much for your support! Rendering Unconscious Podcast is hosted by psychoanalyst Dr. Vanessa Sinclair: http://www.drvanessasinclair.net Visit the main website for more information and links to everything: http://www.renderingunconscious.org Rendering Unconscious: Psychoanalytic Perspectives, Politics & Poetry (Trapart 2019): https://store.trapart.net/details/00000 The song at the end of the episode is “Solitude (Realm of the Shadow)” from the album "Follow my voice" by Vanessa Sinclair and Per Åhlund. https://vanessasinclairperhlund.bandcamp.com Many thanks to Carl Abrahamsson, who created the intro and outro music for Rendering Unconscious podcast. https://www.carlabrahamsson.com Image: Mary Wild at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/marywild/

What is gooooood we are super excited to bring you guys our first ever IN PERSON EPISODE!!! This is a big deal to us because we've been recording over the phone for over a year now and to finally have a conversation the way conversations should be had, it feels great. We are also hyped about this week because we have a super rich discussion about Daniel Caesar's Freudian. Let us know what you think!Here's a link to the album:https://open.spotify.com/album/3xybjP7r2VsWzwvDQipdM0?si=PH7XxEgtT-umdnXixwh9jQ&dl_branch=1Check out our playlist! If you want to hear some of our favorite tracks from the artists we discuss, we've compiled them into one playlist on Spotify for you to check out.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GCvqUqDQHI08z9j30jppA?si=EFID1fM3QNiS6K0lOR-zIwCheck out Clarke's latest Single here:https://open.spotify.com/track/6hHQuuFHCAv0K4Y76PQki7?si=QMT-A2X-QA6R9cS1srvgvAFollow Clarke on Soundcloud here too:https://soundcloud.com/user-776519488

Somewhat surprised Judge Kavanaugh upheld the Texas abortion ban considering it allows for no exceptions in the case of rape. Topics: Ida; Afghanistan; Biden; Texas? Y'all may secede now Guests With Time Stamps: (1:17) David does The News (1:32:00) Professor Ben Burgis whose new book is "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" (2:03:09) The Herschenfelds: Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst, and Ethan Herschenfeld whose new comedy special "Thug, Thug Jew" is streaming on YouTube (2:35:23) Emil Guillermo, host of the PETA Podcast, and columnist for The Asian American Legal Defense And Education Fund (3:08:00) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (6:39:00) The Professors And Mary Anne: Professor Jonathan Bick, Professor Ian Faloona, Professor Adnan Husain, and Professor Mary Anne Cummings (5:08:04) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy" and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America We livestream here on YouTube every Monday and Thursday starting at 5:00 PM Eastern and go until 11:00 PM. Please join us!

Mel remains the most sane of the lot, Brodie still doesn't know how to say his wife's name during an introduction, special guest Meredith almost blinded her family with crushed pepper juices, and Clayton has a Freudian problem. Oh also, the four of them talk about video game character creators too! Come join the discussion! Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/superokpodcast

Freudian, Dickensian, Orwellian... learn about adjectives that come from names.

Topics: Rudy caught shaving inside restaurant; Marco Rubio talks tough; Eric Trump talks tough; Kevin McCarthy talks tough; Lindsey Graham already planning our next war; America doesn't negotiate with terrorists except when it does (03:14) Dan Frankenberger and David try to save the show from completely going off the rails (05:30) David does The News (1:30:21) Mike Rowe, Emmy award winning author of "It's A Funny Thing" (1:56:00) The Herschenfelds: Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst, and Ethan Herschenfeld whose new comedy special "Thug, Thug Jew" is streaming on YouTube (2:31:33) Emil Guillermo, host of the PETA Podcast, and columnist for The Asian American Legal Defense And Education Fund (3:01:18) "I'm Traveling Light" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel (3:05:36) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:13:50) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard (4:24:30) The Professors And Mary Anne: Professor Jonathan Bick and others PHDs TBD (5:02:14) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy" and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America We livestream here on YouTube every Monday and Thursday starting at 5:00 PM Eastern and go until 11:00 PM. Please join us! Take us wherever you go by subscribing to this show as a podcast!

Can the Mariners pull off an end of the season push? Are the Red Sox the odd team out of the AL? Fair or Foul (including Joe's very odd Freudian slip), and FIN. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics: General Milley; Ron DeSantis's monoclonal antibody scam; Kenneth Copeland attacks a man in a wheelchair; Don Jr. actually sounded wise; Trump attacks Pfizer Guests With Time Stamps (5:35) David does The News (1:35:13) PM Professor Ben Burgis whose new book is "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" (2:02:00) Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst and Ethan, comedian whose special "Thug, Thug Jew" is now streaming on YouTube (2:34:06) Emil Guillermo, host of The PETA Podcast and columnist for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (3:06:39) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:08:39) Marc Cevasco, chief of staff for Congressman Ted Lieu (4:45:28) The Professors and Mary Anne: Professor Jonathan Bick, Professor Adnan Husain and Professor Mary Anne Cummings (5:55:28) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard (6:03:52) Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America

In this PBI course discussion referencing Paul Axton's book, The Psychotheology of Sin and Salvation, Tim, Nathan, Matt, Allan, Dan and Paul, discuss the dynamics of human subjectivity in Paul's depiction of the ego, law and body of death (in Romans 7), as they overlap with the Freudian/Lacanian registers.

Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe - Episode 4 - The Clash Of Cultures Ends Tragically   Hi, I'm Christy Shriver and we're here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.    I'm Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.  This is our fourth and final episode discussing Chinua Achebe's groundbreaking novel Things Fall Apart. In episode one we discussed the country of Nigeria, the history, the cultural context, Achebe's life, the poem from which the book got its name and a little of the life of Okonkwo- our hero in the story. In the second episode we explored the first seven chapters of the novel and talked briefly about the book that inspired Achebe to write it, Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness. Last episode we got into more controversial territory as we broached issues of gender as expressed by Achebe.  This week, in case gender wasn't controversial enough, we will focus on colonialism, religion and father/son relationships- Good Lord- Achebe is merciless!!!  He's killing us with controversy.    Killing us- haha- irony!!!  Is that foreshadowing?  It's true, but some how he does it so sweetly and can be confrontational without being offensive.  I really love to listen to Achebe lectures.  His voice is comforting.  Achebe conveys hope when he talks- especially in his later years, he really does, and I encourage anyone  to just google some of his lectures and listen to him.  I'll put some links on our website.  By virtue of his birthplace and age, he confronted issues fifty years ago that today are common problems all of planet earth.   By being born a child of two cultures and two distinct religions, by living in a country plagued with colonialism, civil war, racism and corruption, his perspective from lived experience has credibility, and on that note I do want to draw attention to a contemporary Nigerian author of our day who follows in the same vein as her mentor- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  Adichie first came to my attention through a friend who told her about her TedTalk “The Danger of a Single Story”.  Adichie, just like Achebe understands that things are more than just one thing- that balance must be the goal- and she speaks to our generation about how to apply these things today.  I'm going to link her TedTalk to our website as well.      So, let' begin talking about religion and the introduction of Christianity into the Nigerian landscape which is where we left off last week.  Last week, we were still in part 2 of TWA, Okonkwo was still in his mother's land.  Today we finish part 2 as well as discuss the most important ideas of part 3.     We finished with chapter 15 and the incident of the white man entering into Abame, being killed there by locals encouraged by the oracle and then slaughtered en masse by the full force of the colonial army.  And the pattern is established: The missionaries come first, but after them comes government in that order or as it says in chapter 18, “The white man had not only brought a religion but also a government.”    By chapter 16, we are referencing the white man, but not by missionaries building hospitals or even teaching in schools, but as soldiers.  It doesn't take long for one to follow the other.  We are also led to understand some of the things about Christianity that appealed to the native people. It's the second year of Okonkwo's exile and Obierika comes back to Mbanta to visit, but this time when he talks about the white man, it's about the white man coming to Umuofia, and not just that, it seems Okonkwo's own son has converted to Christianity and had been one of the missionaries to visit the clan.  Obierika was shocked.      Yes, and this again is where we see Achebe hitting on universal issues and setting them in a context that is foreign to most of us.  Okonkwo's issue with his son is more than just an example of colonial intrusion.  Why is Nyowe an early adopter of Christianity?  In large part, the only people converting to Christianity were the what they called efulefu- or worthless people- people that were on the absolute bottom of the Igbo social system.  In fact, this was one of the reasons the clan permitted Christianity- they were collecting all the garbage the clan really didn't want and were living in the Evil Forest, a place no one wanted to be. Here Achebe also explains that Igbo society had a class system, and not everyone was flourishing under it.  Those who were rejected by that system were the first to accept the new system that elevated their worth.  If you're an efulefu or an osu, which literally means outcast, that makes sense.  But Nyowe isn't efulefu?  His father has two titles.  Achebe answers this question very subtly for his audience by again using the narrative technique of gently letting us slip into Nwoye's mind- remember we call that indirect discourse.  Let's read the passage where the missionaries are talking about Jesus Christ and what exactly led Nwoye to convert to this new faith.    Read page 145-147    Now let me read what Okonkwo thought of his son's conversion.    Page 152-153    In some ways, what we see happening with Nyowe is very Freudian.  He basically rejects Igbo faith, in part at least, as a way to reject his own father.  Okonkwo won't bend on what his idea of a man is, so Nyowe embraces more of what Okonkwo hates.  The relationship falls apart. How many sons and daughters have done something just because they knew their parents hated it?  How many of become something their parents hate just to spite them?  Okonkwo himself is a reaction to his own father.  His obsession with masculinity is a direct response to his father as is his son's a response to his.  How complicated is this crazy thing we call the parent/child relationship.  The relationship you have with your parent or child is totally unlike any relationship you will ever have with any other person on this earth- and it goes on through the generations- although not this pronounced- but one generation reacting to the previous one.    And in the case of Okonkwo and Nwoye it brings us back to the imbalance between the masculine and feminine principles.  It is one of the things that divided these two men.      I think it's important to understand that not everything portrayed about the Igbo culture is something Achebe endorses.  Achebe never claims that Igbo culture is a perfect culture.  There is no such thing.  We have seen this raw expression humanity from the beginning.  One example would be the killing of twins.  As we make our way to the end of the book we began to understand more fully why it is important to Achebe to portray Igbo culture in as honest a way as he can.  Igboland is not Adventureland at Disneyworld; it's humanity on display.  Their civilization is not flawless, but it IS a human civilization. That seems obvious from this vantage point, but if we understand a little about colonial education, it becomes an important point to emphasize.       Actually, I heard Achebe talk about his homeland when the book turned 50 years old.  He talked about his love for his homeland.  He clearly loved his homeland deeply, but he also described Nigeria as frustrating.  He called it annoying, but then said, “It is the only home I have.”  There are things about it he loved about his home, his culture.  He loved their admiration of hard work and excellence, their appreciate of dialogue, but there were things about his homeland that he hated- the propensity for corruption as we will see exposed in part 3 is one I heard him talk about specifically- although I will say, if you could name a country that was without corruption, I'd move there now- no such animal exists.  But as he explained himself he made the point that his loyalty to Nigeria and to the Igbo was never contingent on Nigeria' perfection or really even on their commitment to improve- although he longed for the day when a leader would surface that could lead them into a better reality.  He talked about loving home because it is a part of who we are and we are a part of it- the improving part- that's where we do our part.  When we demand our homeland to be a perfect place as a requirement for our acceptance- we create a binary that cannot withstand pressure.     And may I point out that is also true between parents and children.  When we make uncompromising demands from anyone that puts the relationship exclusively on our terms, we create binaries that divide and ultimately makes relationships fall apart.    When I heard Achebe talk about his home country, it made me think about my home country- the United States but what he talks about applies to any country.  Achebe explains that the Igbo worldview is made up of ideals and beliefs- values, but even people who believe strongly in the ideals, like Okonkwo, don't always live up to their own beliefs and it is these weaknesses from within the culture that destroy it.  I understand him to be arguing that the military force was not the biggest threat during the colonization period- it was the cultural colonization that was given an opportunity to flourish because internal weaknesses.  This is kind of how I interpret the final part of the book.  That also seems to be similar to Yate's idea in the poem “The Second Coming” which not only gives us the book title, but if we read the whole stanza sort of outlines what happens in the story- Look at the stanza of the poem where Achebe gets this title    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;  Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,  The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere     The ceremony of innocence is drowned;  The best lack all conviction, while the worst     Are full of passionate intensity.    Look at these last three lines- The ceremony of innocence is drowned”- that's what we're seeing now in part 2.  We had this ceremony of innocence in part one, but it's drowning.  We also see that The best lack all conviction- - and finally we're going to see with the introduction of the character Enoch and the corrupt government officials- that “the worst are full of passionate intensity“.  This is the recipe that drives things to fall apart.      I agree with you. Humans, families and civilizations fall because of weaknesses from within the system- not without - the center no longer holds, to use Yeats words- and things fall apart.      Yeats actually believed that all civilizations eventually fall apart.  We can talk about that next episode when we feature the poem itself.     Well, he may be right.  How does a civilization evolve with people of integrity doing their best to preserve ideals and values while changing with the times?  How do you fight corruption from within?  There's a lot of opportunity, when things change, for power-grabbing.  People without integrity or wisdom often rise to power.      Achebe illustrates in this third section how all of this creates disaster.  On the personal level, we see a man of integrity, Okonkwo, but he cannot evolve or change.  We also see a society who will evolve, but corruption immediately sets in.  In times of great transition, it's just easier for people without integrity to get to the top.  They are willing to do things people with convictions just won't do- and the center doesn't hold= so  discuss the historical narrative of colonialism and how things break down on a community level, but before we do I do want to make one HUGE clarification- Okonkwo is going to fall, but let us be clear about one thing- the Igbo people have not fallen apart- not by any definition of the term.  It is actually a thriving community all over the world to this day.  Listen to what Achebe said when talking about Igbo culture later;    A culture can be damaged, can be turned from its course, not only by foreigners. . . . [A] culture can be mutilated, can be destroyed by its own people, under certain situations. . . . The Igbo culture was not destroyed by Europe. It was disturbed. It was disturbed very seriously. But... a culture which is healthy will often survive. It will not survive exactly in the form in which it was met by the invading culture, but it will modify itself and move on. And this is the great thing about culture if it is alive. The people who own it will ensure that they make adjustments: they drop what can no longer be carried in transition[.] .. . So I think what has happened is that we still have the fundamental principles of the Igbo culture. Its emphasis is on the worth of every man and woman.      And so there we land once again on this idea of balance and finding balance during transition which is the big takeaway from the middle part of the book.      Christy, as we think about the role of missionaries in Africa, I know we start to get a little personal with you because of your family's involvement with missions all over the world and specifically the many ties you have to Africa.  For those that don't know, Christy was raised overseas and even before that her dad was a missionary in Vietnam during the sixties and her mother was in Nigeria, actually during Achebe's time there, working in education- although she worked with the Yoruba people.  Christy, it's been a long time , literally over 100 years, since the first missionaries were sent to Africa and there is no debating that the colonial government grew in parallel with the missionary efforts.  What are your thoughts on this last section book that looks at the mission work from the side of the indigenous people?    Well, honestly, I truly appreciate the fact that Achebe does not put all missionaries in the same basket.  Christian missions, and that's what I know although it's not the only religion to practice missions, but mission work obviously is cross-cultural by definition.  Historically there is no denying that a lot has been done in the name of missions that is destructive to native cultures and even individuals- sometimes because of ignorance but also sometimes intentionally. There has been a lot of arrogance- many have what today we call the “savior complex”- no doubt. But I don't believe missionaries are the only group that can be accused of that.  Any person or organization if they have a new technology like hospitals or bicycles or even a worldwide trade language like English- in this case, but it could just as easily be a computer or any other technology- Knowing something other people don't brings with it an arrogance- in most people.  I've seen it even in my little work place here in Memphis, but certainly in the US at large.  People with the technological edge in one domain can be led to misunderstand themselves and think they possess wisdom in all domains.  Some but not all  missionaries are like that- the ones that are going to be any good most certainly will not be- and Achebe makes this distinction very clear. Mr. Brown and Akunna have extensive dialogue over spiritual things that are respectful and helpful. There are missionaries like Mr. Brown, who are very aware of differences in cultures and want to respect them.  Mr. Brown holds on to his Christian interpretations of life principles like a Christian definition of human life but introduces the values as something to be discussed and accepted voluntarily not superimposed.      Well, you would think that the value of life would be something easy to define, but it actually isn't.    No, it's definitely not.  The Igbo obviously hold life as sacred; as do the missionaries, but how do we protect life.  How do we protect the lives of most people?  These kinds of ethical questions plague all cultures and Achebe expresses this with the killing of twins- that's the example we see here.  The Igbo see the twins as a threat to the lives of the already living; Christianity sees the value of the newborn babies as trumping the value of the adult members clan.  This is an honest discussion, but there are those like Mr. Smith who don't have dialogue at all.  They don't see differences of moral interpretation as related to culture but instead see  all things as my culture is morally right and yours is morally wrong.  We are good people and therefore you are bad people.  There have always been both types of missionaries and only someone with large amounts of direct experience with both kinds, like Achebe, would be interested in making a nuanced description of both. There do exists culturally sensitive missionaries who do have religious convictions but also seek to respect indigenous values and there are also unreflective cultural imperialists- and this second version is portrayed through the character of Mr. Smith.    Another interesting nuance that Achebe acknowledges is that there was some positive and immediate impact of British education, medicine and even commerce. I am a huge believer in education as a tool for empowerment, and even Achebe's influence on the world scene would not have been possible without missionary schools… Achebe was an individual shaped by two cultures- and he explores the messy nature of the colonial encounter.      Yes, and Achebe underscored more than once that Africa did gain a lot from the missionaries.  The question he raises is if culturally, they did not lose more than they gained, and he's not talking about soldiers or government- he's actually talking about education- and his reasons for this are psychological.  Africans were taught in colonial schools, whether directly or subtextually, that their history was inferior to European history.  That the “great” men to be imitated were all European, men like David Livingston.  They were taught that the important history of the world was history that occurred far away, not near where they lived or within their social fabric.  None of this is healthy for critical thinking and all of it creates feelings of inferiority in individuals as well as in entire cultures.  Achebe spoke of feeling that struggle within himself.       True and we must remember Achebe speaks as one of the children raised in the church, not in the village.  He went to these schools, did well, and in fact was one of the most successful in the entire nation.  This is what he said and I quote from an essay he wrote in 1976, “I was born in Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria of devout Christian parents. The line between Christian and non-Christian was much more definite in my village forty years ago than it is today. When I was growing up I remember we tended to look down on the others. We were called in our language “the people of the church” or “the association of God.” The others we called, with the conceit appropriate to followers of the true religion, the heathen or even “the people of nothing.” .      Again, we see her in a religious context what we were just talking about in terms of education.  This kind of thing reinforces the psychologically harmful idea that native Igbo or African culture of any kind is inferior-in fact, as far as Africans were taught- they were taught that before the Europeans came to Africa they had no history, no culture,  no civilization at all- that they had been savages- lesser forms of humanity.  That's what enraged Achebe and motivated his writing.    This is what these confrontations at the end of the book are about.  Achebe wants to write his book about his people- to incontroverdibly illustrate their humanity.  In order to do this he chooses to draw attention to the weaknesses within the community and within individuals that gave place to chaos- not the weaknesses in colonial schools or other outside pressures.  Let's look at Nyowe, for example, he had questions that were not being answered within the framework of traditional Igbo culture about his own identity and definition of masculinity.  He had deep wounds over the death of Ikemefuna that were legitimate.We also see other problems.  In chapter 18 this is highlighted through the character of Mr. Kiaga, the native-African missionary leader/interpreter as he tries to balance two contrasting worldviews in regard to the Osu or worthless people. The church, who you remember is mostly composed of people on the lower rungs of regular Igbo society, want to reject people from the church based on their being lower then them.  Mr. Kiaga, as an African leader in his own right, navigates Christian faith in an Igbo context, and Achebe displays how complicated this is.      Page 155    So, having discussed the messy situation as it pertained to the church and even the schools, I think the imperial imposition of colonial government is easier to understand.   Which brings up the natural question?  How does one country just show up in another country and set up government?  It's hard to understand how that happened?  From the view of the natives, these people just showed up.     That's a great question, and it has everything to do with what was happening outside of Africa while all this missionary work was going on inside.  It is outside forces that villagers didn't even know existed that was going to create the cataclasmic clashes we see in part three of the novel.  And honestly, from our vantage point in history, it just seems incredible that this happened.  So, in 1884, Otto von Bismark called together something called the Berlin or the Congo Congress.  Representatives from 14 countries attended, none of them were African, and they organized what was called the “Scramble for Africa”.  By the end of the conference, all of the countries with the exception of the US, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden-Norway, had made a claim to lands in Africa.      You mean, they agreed on where they were going to aggress and not to aggress the lands others were going to aggress?    That's definitely how Africans see it.  And honestly, colonizers had already been doing so- we talked about the Royal Niger company in episode 1. What happened at this conference did not start colonization in Africa, but it contributed to heighten it as well as help override most existing forms of African self-government that had existed up to this point. Colonialism happened with kind of this three prong front: religion, economics and finally military or government.  Could things have been different if only companies and missionaries had come to Africa and there were no political and military invasion?  We don't know.  That's not what happened.  In the case of Nigeria, the British military was associated with and aided by the advent of the missionaries and commercial endeavors, but the military presence immediately resulted in violence, a total upheaval of the political system, and taking away systems that were locally controlled- and in the case of the Southern regions of Nigeria, even the elimination of local languages as the language of state.  All of a sudden, everything is being done in English.  It's also ironic to notice that the British came in with a totalitarian regime and replaced what was, in the Igbo case, a democratic system responsible to the people they were governing.   In the name of progress, the new colonial system was an autocratic system comprised of people from the outside who were accountable to absolutely no one on the continent.  After the British invaded, Crown rule began around 1897, these are the exact years discussed in our book.  These District Commissioners were accountable only to an office in Britain- the mandate was to secure British interests.  Who was looking out for the common man or woman?   The system was not designed to do that.  These district commissioners were despised by local people and the local people who worked for them were viewed pretty much like as traitors.        Achebe uses a word that looks like an Igbo word, if you don't know any better.  When I first saw it, that's what I thought it was. the word Kotma- KOTMA- but it's really a distortion of the English words “Court man”.  He's making fun of them- calling them distortions of words- because that's what they are- distorters of words- of truth- of reality- they are government messengers- but in a distorted way- kotma.    And this distortion of reality is a total shock for Okonkwo as he returns to Umuofia to a totally colonial environment.  Okonkwo wants to rebuild just like he had done as a young man, and he has a plan to come storming back and climb up to the top of the social hierarchy.  He is prepared for the natural setbacks of being gone from home for so long.  He knows the white men are there, and he knows that will be a problem with his oldest son, but he has already decided how to address this. Let's read how Okonkwo plans to deal with the fact that his oldest son is now a Christian.    Page 172.     Well, and although Okonkwo was prepared to deal with the missionary presence, he was not prepared for the colonial government as well as the Africans kotman- many if not most who were not even from the communities they served.  Let's read that part.     Page 174     I will say, I've enjoyed the humor of the locals making fun of the invaders.  Some of the most thematically important lines of the entire book come from this chapter, chapter 20.  Okonkwo just cannot believe that his hometown has lost its self-efficacy.  It does not rule itself.  He cannot climb to the top of the social hierchy by hard work and getting respect from his peers.  Outsiders were coming, people unaccountable to anyone, and they were not honorable people.  These outsiders had control.  He's shock, and we can clearly understand why.  It is shocking to all the readers.  This isn't fair.  And we, like Okonkwo have to ask, how does this happen, to which the wise voice of Obierika once again weighs in.      Page page 176    And once again, Achebe resists the temptation to make the end of the book about the colonial invaders.  We understand what the invaders are doing, but it isn't the focus.  Achebe wants to tell us what has happened from inside the culture.  He wants to also demonstrate what about Okonkwo himself that is problematic.  Why does this great man fall?  And even prior to that, we should ask the question, why is this a great man, and there is no doubt that we are to think of him as great- even if he's imperfect- Achebe does not see perfection as the standard for greatness.  As we look at the ending of this book, we must see that there are three endings here- the first will center around Okonkwo- the personal.  The second will center around the district commissioner- the colonial.  The third centers around the Igbo people- the global.  When we see it this way, I believe, we can see that the colonial elements of this book are actually the most dated and least important of the three endings.  But let's look at how we are to understand the ironic ending of this book.    First, let's look at Okonkwo's personal story.  Okonkwo's story starts in the vein of a classical Greek hero.  He's mythical from the first chapter.  He epitomizes much that is admired by his community- he's strong- but with a fatal flaw- harmatia if you remember that from our study of Oedipus.  He has hubris- excessive pride.  He reminds me in a lot of ways of Achilles- larger than life.  But, just like the classical Greek heros, his excessive behaviors puts him at odds not just with the members of his own community, but at odds with the gods as well.  He defies the gods, but he also takes up their cause as well.  In chapter 22, Mr. Brown, the missionary who is Mr. Smith's successor was not wise in keeping peace between the Christians and the rest of the clan, and one of his hot-headed converts did one of the most disrespectful things anyone could ever do in Umuofia= he unmasked the egwuwu in public, if you remember this was a man who represented the voice of the ancestors.  Nothing could be more sacrireligious to this community.  Mr. Smith hid Enoch from the wrath of the clan and as a result the clan burned down the church.  When the egwugwu came to execute justice these were their words ‘page 190'      And of course, now that we know more of the Igbo civilization, their traditions, their systems, this retribution seems reasonable and understandable, and Okonkwo's anger entirely justified.    Exactly, it is also reasonable that in the next chapter when the six leaders of the community are invited to discuss this with the District Commissioner, they go in good faith.  Dialogue the instrument of balance in Igbo culture is the only way to peace.  It is also entirely understable that Okonkwo burns with rage, when they are deceived, locked up, shaved and humiliated.   This is a government who literally and ironically lies, puts men in handcuffs and ironically claims it's in the name of a “peaceful administration.” The quote is, “Okonkwo was choked with hate.”  He's mad at the District Commissioner.  He's being humiliated by men who have not worked for their place in society.  They are given authority by the British, some outside agent that has not been given any permission by anyone to be in charge.  There is internal agreed upon, locally controlled system of justice.   AND, we, as readers are to clearly understand the people running the show are not ethical or moral people.  They are the opposite- the kotma overcharge the community for the bail- which itself is unethical, keeping a huge bribe for themselves.  The new justice system is totally corrupt at every level.  So, the reason or Okonkwo's anger is justified.  But. His response which comes in the second to the last chapter of the book is foolish.  “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete.  The messenger crouched to avoid the blow.  It was useless. Okonwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body.”  But the twist to this hero story is the following sentences, “Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man.  He knew that Umuofia would not go to war.  He knew because they had let the other messengers escape.  The had broken into tumult instead of action.  He discerned fright in that tumult.  He heafd voices asking, “Why did he do it?”  He wiped his machete on the sand and went away.”      If we look at this scene, we can be shocked.  Okonkwo didn't kill a white man. He killed a fellow native and furthermore, then he wiped the blood off of his machete.  That was never done in their culture.  He had remained true to his values until he fell apart and violated a core principle- the deliberate killing of a native.  He has been broken as we can clearly see- this is not the honorable man from the beginning of the book. His suicide which we don't see, but find, doesn't really surprise the reader at this point.  It's consistent with what has happened to him.  Okonkwo would rather die than yield to the Kotma.  But even more than that, he has fallen apart in his own culture- he would rather face the wrath of his own gods and commit one more crime against the goddess Ani- suicide- then live in this new world order.  Very Greek, really.  Obierika honors him with his angry words towards the District Commissioner.  The text reads, “Obierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend's dangling body, turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously, “that man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia.  You drove him to kill himself, and now he will be buried like a dog.'  He could not say more.  His voice trembled and choked his words.”    Well, truthfully and rather ironically, the application of British law in Africa was something the British considered to be their greatest contribution.  They considered themselves, and I will quote the journal of African law“The keeper of the conscience of the native communities in regard to the absolute enforcement of alleged native customs.”  As we can see from reading Achebe's book, that is a totally foolish statement.  The British had NO idea what they were doing.  They created nicely phrased attempts at integrating African values with things like repugnancy laws and stare decisis- but neither British or African justice was faithfully implemented.   The whole thing reeks with irony.  This story is a perfect illustration. African natives had already executed justice with no loss of life until the British intervened.  The burning of the church was something the District Commissioner understood nothing about.  It WAS the execution of justice- not an aggressive act at all.    And this is the irony that Achebe uses to end his book.  Let's read the end of the book.  Let me point as we do that Achebe has again taken us into the mind of a character- this time the white District Commissioner.  He gets the final word after they have cut down Okonkwo's body.    Read 208-209    In Achebe's essay “Colonialist Criticism” he says this, “To the colonialist mind it was always of the utmost importance to be able to say: ‘I know my natives', a claim which implied tow things at one: a) that the native was really quite simple and b) that understanding him and controlling him went hand in hand- understanding being a pre-condition for control and control constituting adequate proof of understanding.”     Yet, look how he ends his book- such bitter irony- Okonkwo's story is an epic story, but the District Commissioner understands so little of it, that he can't even fill a paragraph.  He is no better than Conrad's Marlow.  Nothing has changed.       And with this bitter mockery of the colonizers, Achebe confronts and discredits the entirety of the quasi-historical record kept by district commissioners all over the continent for the duration of colonial occupation.      And like I said, he can do this with a gentleness that cuts to the heart.  The final way to understand the ending of this book is to look at the people Okonkwo left behind.  That is where the tragedy goes from Greek tragedy to modern tragedy.  In Greek tragedy the audience finds catharsis or emotional release. It's open; we're free. And with the death of Okonkwo we have a classical Greek ending, but the story is more than just Okonkwo- what about the people he left behind.  What about his son Myowe who changed his name to Isaac?  He he okay now?  Nothing here suggests that he will be.   Modern tragedy provides no release by definition- to certainty.  In this case, we are left with a postcolonial Africa that is ambiguous.  Achebe called it “the crossroads of cultures”-  and that is where Achebe is very much a post. Modern writer of his day- very much in the vein of writers like Eliot, Kafka or even Fitzgerald to some degree.    Well, and as students of history we can also find our current modern moment- today the entire world is at a crossroads of cultures.  Nigeria found itself in a world that was ironically aristocratic and democratic, heroic but ironic and both contemporary but ancient.  And in that sense, the world today very much reflects the clashes of culture Achebe so skillfully represented.      And it's much larger than race or even colonialism.  Are we, as citizens of on planet, going to discard ancient wisdom and tradition in favor of new outside influences and ideas that provide quick economic gains at the expense of a center that holds?  Are the young with their technology going to rule over old?  Are those with the power going to steam role over the many without?   Do our systems promote integrity or corruption?   And in that sense, we are all heirs of Achebe's prophetic message- if I may be so bold and perhaps melodramatic to say.      What a book?  What a man?   Thanks for listening…..etc..and the rest.                 

Topics: My Pillow Guy's voter fraud is a fraud; Assange; Time to evict landlords; Rudy on Cameo; Congressman Jim Jordan and DeSantis blame Covid on the Southern border; Crime is NOT going up Guests With Time Codes: (7:10) David does The News (1:05:40) Mike Rowe, Emmy award winning comedy writer and author of the new bestseller "It's a Funny Thing." (1:34:01) Professor Ben Burgis whose new book is "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" (2:05:39) Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst and Ethan, comedian whose special "Thug, Thug Jew" is now streaming on YouTube (2:39:18) Emil Guillermo, host of The PETA Podcast and columnist for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (3:13:06) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:16:08) Marc Cevasco, chief of staff for Congressman Ted Lieu (4:53:06) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard with Guest Host John Hays (5:06:50) The Professors and Mary Anne: Professor Jonathan Bick, Professor Adnan Husain and Professor Mary Anne Cummings (6:02:08) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy," and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America (6:44:17) "I'm On My Way" written and performed by Professor Harvey J. Kaye (6:54:04) Dr. Gina Hakamaki interviews Professors Jake Alimahomed-Wilson and Ellen Reese authors of "The Cost of Free Shipping: Amazon in the Global Economy" (Pluto Press)

The group rests in hopes the demon chicken will wander off but those hopes are crushed. Camlea shows thanks for some favors, Bovin shares a memory with a Freudian, Miles' caged-chicken idea is nixed by Gerald and 9 shows his devious side. That play button is calling your name so come join us!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Alld20)

Topics: The GOP is one big super spreader party; Stop comparing #BLM protests to January 6; Nina Turner; Andrew Cuomo; DeSantis; Obama turns 60 Guests With Time Codes: (2:39) David does the News (33:21) Professor Ben Burgis, author of "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" (1:10:23) Henry Hakamaki talks with Robert Hennelly, award-winning print and broadcast journalist, and author of the new book "Stuck Nation: Can the United States Change Course on Our History of Choosing Profits Over People?" (published by Democracy at Work) (1:42:03) Pete Dominick, host of StandUp! With Pete Dominick 2:13:06 Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst and Ethan, whose comedy special "Thug Thug Jew" is streaming on YouTube (2:48:30) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard (3:06:04) NINA TURNER WHAT HAPPENED? Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy" and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America (3:43:20) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:39:27) Emil Guillermo, host of The Peta Podcast and columnist for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (5:28:19) The Professors and Mary Anne: Professor Mary Anne Cummings, Professor Ann Li; Professor Adnan Husain, Professor Jonathan Bick and Professor Ian Faloona (7:10:20) Benji Futrell calls from Florida.

Freudian slips: When you say one thing but mean your mother. In this episode, we riff on Freudian slips, Freudian typos, and all sorts of other things. If you'd like to see me live and also live around Columbus or Liberty Township, Ohio, head over to http://elliottmorgan.com/tour to come hang out! **The Fundamentalists** is available here: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fundamentalists/id1346820645 Google Play: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL3RoZWZ1bmRhbWVudGFsaXN0cy9mZWVkLnhtbA?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahgKEwiQjIKs963vAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQ4AE Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/68aaf57c-97d1-4ab2-9e73-02bc5884217b/The-Fundamentalists Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1GeviZEtqrzMtjO57S31fk?si=KpJ8282uSB6vWunicWpbkA Podbean: https://thefundamentalists.podbean.com iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-the-fundamentalists-31087767/ PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/the-fundamentalists-2360037 Listen Notes: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-fundamentalists-elliott-morgan-and-S9xk4N21VLT/ Thank you to everyone who makes this podcast possible. Feel free to leave us your OWN review over at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fundamentalists/id1346820645 and yeah, enjoy your week, you desirous beautiful creatures! And last but not least, thank you to Cam Gibson for making the quality of these episodes SO much better. Check out Cam at: https://www.instagram.com/gibsontech/ Check out Pete at http://instagram.com/peterrollins or http://peterrollins.com I had a Freudian slip last night with some friends, where I said Tic Tac instead of TikTok. This likely has nothing to do with any interest in UFOs. I probably just had bad breath or something. Anyway, enjoy your week!

Topics: Matt Gaetz; Fox's Pete Hegseth; Marjorie Taylor Greene; Paul Gosar; Steve Scalise; Kevin McCarthy; #DanPatrick; Tucker Carlson; Brit Hume; Tammy Bruce; #EvictionBan  Guests With Time Codes (4:00) "I'm Traveling Light" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel (8:54) Was The #Insurrection Just A Riot? Professor Ben Burgis, author of "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" (1:21:40) David does The News: #FoxNews #MattGaetzPedophile #SteveScalise #KevinMcCarthy #TuckerCarlson (2:02:08) Jon Ross, comedy writer and farmer, almost becomes enemies but thankfully Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst and Comedian Ethan Herschenfeld whose new special "Thug, Thug, Jew" is streaming on YouTube save the day. (2:29:15) Dr. Herschenfeld leaves and then it's Ethan and Jon Ross (2:58:28) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:07:33) Marc Cevasco, chief of staff to Congressman Ted Lieu (4:47:22) The Professors and Mary Anne and Professor Jonathan Bick and Professor Ian Faloona (5:31:55) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard (5:44:10) Emil Guillermo, host of the PETA Podcast and columnist for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (6:09:19) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, "FDR on Democracy" and Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America

02:51 - Jennifer's Superpower: Kindness & Empathy * Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-complex-ptsd-2797491) (C-PTSD) 07:37 - Equitable Design and Inclusive Design * Section 508 (https://www.section508.gov/) Compliance * Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/) (WCAG) * HmntyCentrd (https://hmntycntrd.com/) * Creative Reaction Lab (https://www.creativereactionlab.com/) 15:43 - Biases and Prejudices * Self-Awareness * Daniel Kahneman's System 1 & System 2 Thinking (https://www.marketingsociety.com/think-piece/system-1-and-system-2-thinking) * Jennifer Strickland: “You're Killing Your Users!” (https://vimeo.com/506548868) 22:57 - So...What do we do? How do we get people to care? * Caring About People Who Aren't You * Listening * Using Web Standards and Prioritizing Web Accessibility * Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman (https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Web-Standards-Jeffrey-Zeldman/dp/0321616952) * Bulletproof Web Design by Dan Cederholm (https://www.amazon.com/Bulletproof-Web-Design-flexibility-protecting/dp/0321509021) * Progressive Enhancement * Casey's Cheat Sheet (https://moritzgiessmann.de/accessibility-cheatsheet/) * Jennifer Strickland: “Ohana for Digital Service Design” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfsZlkm59BE) * Self-Care 33:22 - How Ego Plays Into These Things * Actions Impact Others * For, With, and By * Indi Young (https://indiyoung.com/) 44:05 - Empathy and Accessibility * Testability/Writing Tests * Screen Readers * TalkBack (https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6283677?hl=en) * Microsoft Narrator (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/complete-guide-to-narrator-e4397a0d-ef4f-b386-d8ae-c172f109bdb1) * NVDA (https://www.nvaccess.org/about-nvda/) * Jaws (https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/) * Heydon Pickering (https://twitter.com/heydonworks/status/969520320754438144) Reflections: Casey: Animals can have cognitive disabilities too. Damien: Equitable design initiatives and destroying the tenants of white supremacy. Jennifer: Rest is key. This episode was brought to you by @therubyrep (https://twitter.com/therubyrep) of DevReps, LLC (http://www.devreps.com/). To pledge your support and to join our awesome Slack community, visit patreon.com/greaterthancode (https://www.patreon.com/greaterthancode) To make a one-time donation so that we can continue to bring you more content and transcripts like this, please do so at paypal.me/devreps (https://www.paypal.me/devreps). You will also get an invitation to our Slack community this way as well. Transcript: MANDO: Hello, friends! Welcome to Greater Than Code, Episode number 243. My name is Mando Escamilla and I'm here with my wonderful friend, Damien Burke. DAMIEN: Thank you, Mando, and I am here with our wonderful friend, Casey Watts. CASEY: Hi, I'm Casey, and we're all here today with Jennifer Strickland. With more than 25 years of experience across the product lifecycle, Jennifer aims to ensure no one is excluded from products and services. She first heard of Ohana in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, “Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind, or forgotten.” People don't know what they don't know and are often unaware of the corners they cut that exclude people. Empathy, compassion, and humility are vital to communication about these issues. That's Jennifer focus in equitable design initiatives. Welcome, Jennifer! JENNIFER: Hi! DAMIEN: You're welcome. MANDO: Hi, Jennifer. So glad you're here. JENNIFER: I'm so intrigued. [laughs] And I'm like 243 and this is the first I'm hearing of it?! DAMIEN: Or you can go back and listen to them all. MANDO: Yeah. CASEY: That must be 5, almost 6 years? JENNIFER: Do you have transcripts of them all? CASEY: Yes. JENNIFER: Great! MANDO: Yeah. I think we do. I think they're all transcribed now. JENNIFER: I'm one of those people [chuckles] that prefers to read things than listen. DAMIEN: I can relate to that. CASEY: I really enjoy Coursera courses. They have this interface where you can listen, watch the video, and there's a transcript that moves and highlights sentence by sentence. I want that for everything. MANDO: Oh, yeah. That's fantastic. It's like closed captioning [laughs] for your audio as well. JENNIFER: You can also choose the speed, which I appreciate. I generally want to speed things up, which yes, now that I'm getting older, I have to realize life is worth slowing down for. But when you're in a life where survival is what you're focused on, because you have a bunch of things that are slowing your roll and survival is the first thing in your mind, you tend to take all the jobs, work all the jobs, do all of the things because it's how you get out of poverty, or whatever your thing is. So I've realized how much I've multitasked and worked and worked and worked and I'm realizing that there is a part of the equality is lost there, but we don't all have the privilege of slowing down. DAMIEN: I can relate to that, too. So I believe every one of our past 243 episodes, we asked our guests the same question. You should know this is coming. Jennifer, what is your superpower and how did you acquire it? JENNIFER: I don't know for sure. People have told me that I'm the kindest person they've ever met, people have said I'm the most empathetic person I've ever met, and I'm willing to bet that they're the same thing. To the people, they just see them differently. I acquired being empathetic and kind because of my dysfunction in my invisible disabilities. I have complex post-traumatic stress disorder from childhood trauma and then repeated life trauma, and the way it manifests itself is trying to anticipate other people's needs, emotions, moods, and all of that and not make people mad. So that's a negative with a golden edge. Life is full of shit; how you respond to it shows who you are and rather than molesting kids, or hurting people, I chose to do what I could to make sure that no one else goes through that and also, to try to minimize it coming at me anymore, too. [chuckles] But there's positive ways of doing it. You don't have to be like the people who were crappy to you and the same goes like, you're in D.C.? Man, they're terrible drivers and it's like, [laughter] everybody's taking their bad day and putting it out on the people they encounter, whether it's in the store, or on the roads. I was like, “Don't do that.” Like, how did it feel when your boss treated you like you were garbage, why would you treat anyone else like garbage? Be the change, so to speak. But we're all where we are and like I said in my bio, “You don't know what you don't know.” I realized earlier this week that it actually comes from Donald Rumsfeld who said, “Unknown unknowns.” I'm like, “Oh my God. Oh my God.” MANDO: You can find good in lots of places, right? [laughs] JENNIFER: If you choose to. MANDO: Absolutely. Yeah. JENNIFER: Look at, what's come out of the horror last year. We talk about shit that we didn't use to talk about. Yeah, it's more exhausting when lots of people, but I think in the long run, it will help move us in the right direction. I hope. MANDO: Yeah. That's absolutely the hope, isn't it? JENNIFER: We don't know what we don't know at this time. My sister was volunteering at the zoo and she worked in the Ape House, which I was super jealous of. There's an orangutan there named Lucy who I love and Lucy loves bags, pouches, and lipstick. So I brought a backpack with a pouch and some old lipstick in it and I asked a volunteer if I could draw on the glass. They gave me permission so I made big motions as I opened the backpack and I opened the pouch and you see Lucy and her eyes are like, she's starting to side-eye me like something's going on. And then she runs over and hops up full-time with her toes on the window cell and she's like right up there. So I'm drawing on the glass with the lipstick and she's loving it, reaches her hand behind, poops into her hand, takes the poop and repeats this little actions on the glass. MANDO: [laughs] Which is amazing. It's hilarious so that's amazing. JENNIFER: It's fantastic. I just think she's the bomb. My sister would always send pictures and tell me about what Lucy got into and stuff. Lucy lived with people who would dress her in people clothing and so, she's the only one of the orangutans that didn't grow up only around orangutans so the other orangutans exclude her and treat her like she's a weirdo and she's also the one who likes to wear clothes. Like my sister gave her an FBI t-shirt so she wears the FBI t-shirt and things like that. She's special in my heart. Like I love the Lucy with all of it. DAMIEN: Well, that's a pretty good display of your super empathetic superpower there. [laughter] And it sounds like it might be really also related to the equitable design initiatives? JENNIFER: Yeah. So I'm really grateful. I currently work at a place that although one would think that it would be a big, scary place because of some of the work that we do. I've found more people who know what equity is and care about what equity is. The place I worked before, I talked about inclusive design because that's everywhere else I've worked, it's common that that's what you're doing these days. But they told me, “Don't say that word, it's activism,” and I was stunned. And then I'm like, “It's all in GSA documents here,” and they were like, “Oh,” and they were the ones that were really bad about like prioritizing accessibility and meeting section 508 compliance and just moving it off to put those issues in the backlog. The client's happy, no one's complained, they think we're doing great work. It's like, you're brushing it all under the rug and you're telling them what you've done and you're dealing with people who don't know what section 508 is either because who does? Very few people really know what it means to be section 508 compliant because it's this mystery container. What is in this? What is this? What is this thing? DAMIEN: So for our listeners who don't know, can you tell us a bit what section 508 is? JENNIFER: Sure. So section 508 means that anything paid for with federal funds must be section 508 compliant, which means it must meet WCAG 2.0 success criteria and WCAG is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. If you're ever looking for some really complicated, dense, hard to understand reading, I recommend opening up the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. I think the people that are on the working groups with me would probably agree and that's what we're all working towards trying to improve them. But I think that they make the job harder. So rather than just pointing at them and complaining like a lot of people do on Twitter, or deciding “I'm going to create a business and make money off of making this clear for people,” I decided instead to join and try to make it better. So the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are based on Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust, POUR. Pour like this, not poor like me. [laughs] So there's just a bunch of accessibility criteria that you have to meet to make your work section 508 compliant. It's so hard to read and so hard to understand that I feel for everybody like of course, you don't know what section 508 compliance is. It's really, really hard to read. But if somebody who is an accessibility specialist tells you and writes up an issue ticket, you don't argue with them. You don't say, “This isn't a thing,” you say, “Okay, how soon do I need to fix it?” and you listen to them, but that's not what I experienced previously. Where I am now, it's amazing. In the place I worked before here, like just the contracting, they welcomed everything I said to them regarding accessibility. So I just clearly worked at a contractor that was doing a lot of lip service and not talking the talk, not walking the talk, sorry. [laughs] Super frustrating. Because accessibility is only a piece of it. I am older probably than anybody on this call and I'm a woman working in tech and I identify as non-binary. The arguments I've had about they/them all my life have been stupid, but I'm just like, “Why do I have to be female?” It's just, why do I have to be one, or the other? Anyway, everyone has always argued with me so I'm so grateful for the young ones now for pushing all that. I'm Black, Native, Mexican, and white all smushed together and my grandma wouldn't let me in the house because apparently my father was too dark so therefore, I'm too dark. Hello? Look at this! [laughter] Currently, some people are big on the one drop rule and I always say to people, “If you hate me, or want to exclude me so much because somewhere in me you know there is this and how do you feel about so-and-so? I'm done with you and you are bad people and we've got to fight this stupidity.” I have also invisible disabilities. So I'm full of all these intersectional things of exclusion. I personally experience a lot of it and then I have the empathy so I'm always feeling fuzzy people who are excluded. So what am I supposed to do with the fact that I'm smart, relatively able-bodied, and have privilege of being lighter skin so I can be a really good Trojan horse? I have to be an advocate like, what else am I supposed to do with my life? Be a privileged piece of poop that just wants to get rich and famous, like a lot of people in tech? Nope. And I don't want to be virtue signaling and savior complex either and that's where equitable design has been a wonderful thing to learn more about. HmntyCntrd.com and Creative Reaction Lab out in Missouri, those are two places where people can do a lot of learning about equity and truly inclusion, and challenging the tenants of white supremacy in our working ways. I'm still trying to find better ways of saying the tenants of white supremacy because if you say that in the workplace, that sounds real bad, especially a few months back before when someone else was in office. When you say the tenants of white supremacy in the workplace, people are going to get a little rankled because that's not stuff we talk about in the workplace. DAMIEN: Well, it's not just the workplace. JENNIFER: Ah, yes. DAMIEN: They don't like that at sports bars either. Ask me how I know. MANDO: No, they sure don't. [laughter] JENNIFER: We should go to sports bars together. [laughs] Except I'm too scared to go to them right now unless they're outdoors. But when we talk to people about the actual individual tenants about power hoarding, perfectionism, worship of the written word, and things like that, people can really relate and then you watch their faces and they go, “Yeah, I do feel put my place by these things and prevented from succeeding, progressing, all of these things.” These are things that we've all been ingrained to believe are the way we evaluate what's good and what's bad. But we don't have to. We can talk about this stuff when we can reject those things and replace them with other things. But I'm going to be spending the rest of my life trying to dismantle my biases. I'm okay with my prejudices because even since I was a kid, I recognized that we were all prejudice and it's okay. It's our knee jerk first assumption, but you always have to keep an open mind, but that prejudice is there to protect you, but you always have to question it and go, “What is that prejudice? Is that bullshit? Is it right? Is it wrong?” And always looking at yourself, it's always doing that what you call self-awareness stuff, and always be expanding it, changing it, and moving it. But prejudice? Prejudice has a place to protect, speaking as someone who's had guns in her face, knives through her throat, and various other yucky things, I know that when I told myself, “Oh, you're being prejudiced, push yourself out into that vulnerable feeling,” things didn't go very well. So instead, recognize “Okay, what are you thinking in this moment about this situation? Okay, how can you proceed and keep an open mind while being self-protective?” DAMIEN: Yeah, it sounds like you're talking about Daniel Kahneman's System 1 and System 2 Thinking. We have these instinctive reactions to things and a lot of them are learned—I think they're all learned actually. But they're instinctive and they're not things we decide consciously. They're there to protect us because they're way faster, way more efficient than most of what we are as humans as thinking and enacting beings. But then we also have our rational mind where we can use to examine those things and so, it's important to utilize both. It's also important to know where your instinctive responses are harmful and how to modify them so that they're not harmful. And that is the word. JENNIFER: I've never heard of it. Thanks for putting that in there. Power accretion principles is that it? CASEY: Oh, that's something else. JENNIFER: Oh. CASEY: Type 1 and type 2 thinking. JENNIFER: But I know with a lot of my therapy work as a trauma survivor, I have to evaluate a lot of what I think and how I react to things to change them to respond things. But there are parts of having CPTSD that I am not going to be able to do that, too. Like they're things where for example, in that old workplace where there was just this constant invalidation and dismissal of the work, which was very triggering as a rape survivor/incest survivor, that I feel really bad and it made me feel really unsafe all the time. So I felt very emotional in the moment and so, I'd have to breathe through my nose, breathe out to my mouth, feel my tummy, made sure I can feel myself breathing deeply, and try to calmly explain the dire consequences of some of these decisions. People tend to think that the design and development decisions we make when we're building for the web, it's no big deal if you screw it up. It's not like an architect making a mistake in a building and the building falls down. But when you make a mistake, that means a medical locator application doesn't load for an entire minute on a slow 3G connection—when your audience is people who are financially challenged and therefore, unlikely to have always high-speed, or new devices—you are making a design decision that is literally killing people. When you make a design decision, or development decision not to QA your work on mobile, tablet, and desktop, and somebody else has to find out that your Contact Us options don't open on mobile so people in crisis can't reach your crisis line. People are dying. I'm not exaggerating. I have a talk I give called You're Killing Your Users and it got rejected from this conference and one of the reviewers wrote, “The title is sensationalism. No one dies from our decision,” and I was just like, “Oh my God, oh my God.” MANDO: [laughs] Like, that's the point. JENNIFER: What a privileged life you live. What a wonderfully privileged life! There's a difference between actions and thoughts and it's okay for me to think, “I really hope you fall a flight of stairs and wind up with a disability and leave the things that you're now trying to put kibosh on.” But that's not me saying, “I'm going to go push you down a flight of stairs,” or that I really do wish that on someone. It's emotional venting, like how could you possibly close yourself off to even listening to this stuff? That's the thing that like, how do we get to a point in tech where so many people in tech act like the bad stereotype of surgeons who have this God complex, that there are particular entities working in government tech right now that are told, “You're going to save government from itself. You've got the answers. You are the ones that are going to help government shift and make things better for the citizen, or the people that use it.” But the people that they hire don't know what they don't know and they keep doing really horrible things. Like, they don't follow the rules, they don't take the time to learn the rules and so, they put user personal identifying information, personal health information on the public server without realizing it that's a no-no and then it has to be wiped, but it can never really fully be wiped. And then they make decisions like, “Oh, well now we're only worried about the stuff that's public facing. We're not worried about the stuff that's internally facing.” Even though, the internally facing people are all some of the vulnerable people that we're serving. I'm neutralizing a lot of what I'm talking about. [chuckles] MANDO: Of course. [laughter] DAMIEN: Well, convinced me of the problems. It was an easy sell for me. Now, what do we do? JENNIFER: The first thing we do is we all give a fuck about other people. That's the big thing, right? Like, how do I convince you that you should care about people who aren't you? MANDO: Yeah. CASEY: I always think about the spectrum of caring. I don't have a good word for it, but there are active and passive supporters—and you can be vocal, or quiet—like loud, or quiet. I want more people to be going around the circle of it so if they're vocally opposed, just be quiet, quietly opposed, maybe be quietly in support, and if you're quietly in support, maybe speak up about it. I want to nudge people along around this, the four quadrants. A lot of people only focus on getting people who passively care to be more vocal about it. That's a big one. That's a big transition. But I also like to focus on the other two transitions; getting a lot of people to be quiet about a thing that as opposed. Anyway, everywhere along that process is useful. JENNIFER: I think it's important to hear the people who were opposed because otherwise, how are we ever going to help understand and how are we going to understand if maybe where we've got a big blind spot? Like, we have to talk about this stuff in a way that's thoughtful. I come from a place in tech where in the late 90s, I was like, “I want to move from doing print to onscreen and printing environmental to that because it looks like a lot of stuff has gone to this web thing.” I picked up Jeffrey Zeldman's Designing with Web Standards and Dan Cederholm's Bulletproof Web Design and all of them talk about using web standards and web standards means that you prioritize accessibility from the beginning. So the first thing you build is just HTML tagging your content and everyone can use it. It's not going to be fancy, but it's going to be completely usable. And then you layer things on through progressive enhancement to improve the experience for people with fancy phones, or whatever. I don't know why, but that's not how everybody's coming into doing digital work. They're coming in through React out of the box, thinking that React out of the box is – and it's like nope, you have to build in the framework because nobody put the framework in React. React is just a bunch of hinges and loops, but you have to put the quality wood in and the quality glass panes and the handles that everybody can use. I'm not sure if that analogy is even going to work. But one of the things I realized talking with colleagues today is I tend to jump to three steps in when I really need to go back, start at the beginning, and say, “Here are the terms. This is what section 508 is. This is what accessibility is. This is what A11Y is. This is WCAG, this is how it's pronounced, this is what it means, and this is the history of it.” I think understanding history of section 508 and what WCAG is also vital in the first version of WCAG section 508, it adopted part of what was WCAG 1.0, but it wasn't like a one to one for 1.0, it was just some of it and then it updated in 2017, or 2018, I forget. Without my cheat sheet, I can't remember this stuff. Like I got other things to keep in my brain. CASEY: I just pulled up my favorite cheat sheet and I put it in the chat sidebar here. JENNIFER: Oh, thank you. It's in my slides for Ohana for Digital Service Design that I gave at WX Summit and I think I also gave it recently in another thing. Oh, UXPA DC. But the thing is, the changes only recently happened where it went to WCAG 2.0 was 2018, I think it got updated. So all those people that were resisting me in 2018, 2019, 2020 likely never realized that there was a refresh that they need to pay attention to and I kept trying to like say, “No, you don't understand, section 508 means more now.” Technically, the access board that defines what section 508 is talking about moving it to 2.1, or 2.2 and those include these things. So we should get ahead of the ball, ahead of the curve, or whatever you want to call it and we should be doing 2.1 and 2.2 and even beyond thinking about compliance and that sort of stuff. The reason we want to do human beings is that 2.1 and 2.2 are for people who are cognitively fatigued and I don't think there's anyone who's been through the pandemic who is not cognitively fatigued. If you are, you are just a robot. I don't know. I don't know who could not be not cognitive fatigue. And then the other people that also helps are mobile users. So if you look at any site, look at their usage stats, everything moving up and up and up in mobile devices. There's some people who don't have computers that they only have phones. So it just seems silly not to be supporting those folks. But we need, I don't know. I need to think more about how to get there, how to be more effective in helping people care, how to be more effective in teaching people. One of the big pieces I've learned in the last six months is the first step is self-care—sleep, exercise, eat, or maybe those two need to be back and forth. I haven't decided yet because I'm still trying to get the sleep workout. Before I moved to D.C., I was a runner, hiker, I had a sit spot at the local pond where I would hang out with the fishes and the turtles and the frogs and the birds and here, I overlook the Pentagon and there's swarms of helicopters. I grow lots of green things to put between me and it, but it's hard. The running is stuck because I don't feel safe and things like that. I live in an antiseptic neighborhood intentionally because I knew every time I went into D.C. and I saw what I see, I lose hope because I can't not care. It kills me that I have to walk by people who clearly need – this is a messed up world. We talk about the developing world as the place where people are dying on the side of the road. Do you have blinders on like, it's happening here? I don't know what to do. I care too much. So what do we do? What do you think? DAMIEN: Well, I think you have a hint. You've worked at places that are really resistant to accessibility and accessibility to improvements, and you've worked at some that are very welcoming and eager to implement them. So what were the differences? What do you think was the source of that dichotomy? JENNIFER: I think at the place I worked after I left the hellhole; the product owner was an Asian woman and the other designer was from India. Whereas, before the other place was a white woman and a white man and another white man who was in charge. And then the place I work now, it's a lot of people who are very neurodiverse. I work at MITRE, which is an FFRDC, which is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. It's full of lots of smart people who are very bookish. It's funny when I was a little kid, I was in the gifted and talented kids and so, they would put us into these class sessions where we were to brainstorm and I love brainstorming. I love imagining things. I remember thinking, “I want to work in a think tank and just all I do all the time is brainstorm and we'd figure out a way to use some of those things!” And I feel a little bit like I'm there now, which is cool and they treat one another really well at MITRE, which is nice. Not to say it's perfect there. Nowhere is perfect. But compared to a lot of places, it's better. I think it's the people are taking the time to listen, taking the time to ask questions. The people I work with don't have a lot of ego, generally. At least not the ones I'm working with. I hear that they do exist there, but I haven't run into many of them. Whereas, the other place, there was a lot of virtue signaling and a lot of savior complex. Actually, very little savior conflicts. They didn't really care about saving anyone, sorry. Snark! [laughs] DAMIEN: Can you tell us a little more about ego and how ego plays into these things? JENNIFER: How do you think ego plays into these things? DAMIEN: Well, I think it causes people to one up and turn questions around it on me, that's one way. Ego means a lot of things to a lot of different people, which is why I asked the question. I think it was introduced to English by Freud and I don't want to use a Freudian theory for anything ever. [laughter] And then when I talk to people about death of the ego and [inaudible] and all of these things, it seems really unpleasant. People like their self-identity, people like being themselves, and they don't want to stop being themselves. So I'm not sure how that's related to what you were saying. CASEY: The way I'm hearing you use ego here sounds like self-centered, thinking about your own perspective, not taking the time and effort and energy to think about other people's perspectives. And if you don't have a diverse set of experiences to lean on your own, you're missing out on a lot. JENNIFER: Yeah. I tend to think about, I guess, it's my dysfunction. Once again, it's like, how do my actions impact others? Why are other people thinking about how their actions impact others? When you're out in public and you've got to cut the cheese, are you going to do it when there are a lot of people around? Are you going to take a stinky deuce in a public bathroom that you know other people in there? If you think about the community around you, you would go find a private one if you cared at all. But most people don't care and they think, “I do what I got to do.” I just think we need to think a little bit more about the consequences of our actions and I tweeted yesterday, or this morning about how – oh, it was yesterday. I was watching TV and a new, one of those food delivery commercials came on. This one, they send you a stove, you get a little oven, and you cook all of their meals in this little throwaway dishes. So you have no dishes, nothing. How much are we going to just keep creating crap? When you think about all of this takeout and delivery, there's just so much trash we generate. We should be taxing the bleep out of companies that make these sorts of things like, Amazon should have the bleep taxed out of it because of all the cardboard and I'm just as guilty because I ordered the thing and the box of staples arrives in a box. It has a plastic bubble wrap all around it. Like it's just a box at $2.50 staples, but I couldn't be bothered to go – I don't know if they have them at Walgreens. Like for real, I don't know. We need to do better. We need to think about the consequences of these decisions and not just do it like, that's the thing that tech has been doing is let's make an MVP and see if it has wheels. Let's make a prototype, but do the thing. Okay, let's do the thing. Oh, it's got wheels. Oh, it's growing, it's growing, it's growing, it's growing. Who cares about the consequences of all of it? Who cares? Your kids, your grandkids someday maybe will when the world is gone. We talk about climate change. We talk about 120-degree temperatures in Seattle and Portland, the ocean on fire, the beaches are eroding, like the ice cap—most of the Arctic is having a 100 and some odd degree temperature day. Like we are screwing it up and our legislation isn't keeping pace with the advances in technology that are just drawing things. Where are the people who care in the cycle and how are they interrupting the VCs who just want to like be the next big tech? Everybody wants to be the next Zuckerberg, or Jack, or Bezos, or Gates, or whatever, and nobody has to deal with the consequences of their actions and their consequences of those design and development decisions. That's where I think it's ego, it's self-centeredness, it's wanting to be famous, it's wanting to be rich instead of really, truly wanting to make the world a better place. I know my definition of better. We've got four different visions of what better is going to be and that's hard work. Maybe it is easier to just focus on getting famous and getting rich than it is on doing the hard work of taking four different visions of what good is and trying to find the way forward. DAMIEN: Making the world a better place. The world will be a better place when I'm rich and famous. But that also means – and that's the truth. [laughter] But what else you said was being empathetic and having a diverse – well, marginalized people in charge where you can see that that's why the impact that things are having on other people. It's not just about me being rich and famous, but it's also about things being better for other people, too. JENNIFER: Yeah. I don't necessarily mean marginalized people have to be in charge. DAMIEN: Right. I took that jump based on your description of the places you worked for. I should have specified that. I wasn't clear enough. JENNIFER: I do have to say that in general, when I've worked for people who aren't the status quo, more often than not, they bring a compassionate, empathetic approach. Not always. There have been some that are just clearly driven and power hungry, and I can't fault them either because it's got to take a lot to come up from wherever and fight through the dog-eat-dog world. But in the project work, there's the for, with and by. The general ways that we redesign and build things for people, then the next piece is we design and build things with the people that we're serving, but the newer way of doing things is that we don't design and build the things, the people that we're serving design the things and tell us what they want to design, and then we figure out how to make sure that it's built the way they tell us to. That goes against the Steve Jobs approach where Steve Jobs said people don't know what they want sort of thing. Wasn't that was he said? DAMIEN: Yeah. Well, there was Henry Ford who said, “If you ask people what they wanted, they would've said faster horses.” JENNIFER: Right. D And Steve Jobs kind of did the same thing. JENNIFER: Right. And we, as designers, have to be able to work with that and pull that out and suss it out and make sure that we translate it into something useful and then iterate with to make sure that we get it. Like when I do research, listening sessions with folks, I have to use my experience doing this work to know what are the – like, Indi Young's inner thinking, reactions, and guiding principles. Those are the things that will help guide you on what people are really wanting and needing and what their purpose is. So you make sure that whatever your understanding is closer to what they're really saying, because they don't know what can be built. They don't know what goes on, but they do know what their purpose is and what they need. Maybe they don't even know what they need, but they do know what their purpose is, or you keep validating things. CASEY: I want to amplify, you said Indi Young. I read a lot of her work and she just says so many things that I wish someone would say, and she's been saying them for a while. I just didn't know about her. Indi Young. JENNIFER: It's I-N-D-I and Y-O-U-N-G. I am so grateful that I got to take her courses. I paid for them all myself, except for one class—I let that other place pay for one through my continuing ed, but I wanted to do it so badly that I paid for all myself. The same thing with all the Creative Reaction Lab and HmntyCntrd stuff; I paid for those out of my own money that probably could have gone to a vacation, [chuckles] or buying a car, or something. But contributing to our society in a responsible and productive way, figuring out how to get my language framework better. Like you said earlier, Damien, I'm really good at pointing out what the problems are. I worry about figuring out how we solve them, because I don't really have the ego to think that I know what the answer is, but I'm very interested in working with others to figure out how we solve them. I have some ideas, but how do you tell a React developer that you really have to learn HTML, you have to learn schematic HTML. That's like learning the alphabet. I don't understand. CASEY: Well, I have some ideas around that. Amber is my go-to framework and they have accessibility baked into the introduction tutorial series. They have like 13 condoned add-ons that do accessibility related things. At the conference, there's always a whole bunch of accessibility tracks. Amber is like happy path accessibility right front and center. React probably has things like that. We could have React's onboarding docs grow in that direction, that would be great, and have more React add-ons to do that that are condoned and supported by the community could have the same path. And it could probably even use a lot of the same core code even. The same principles apply. JENNIFER: If you want to work together and come up with some stuff to go to React conferences, or work with the React team, or whatever. 
CASEY: Sounds fun. DAMIEN: Well, one of the things you talked about the way you described it and made it sound like empathy was so much of the core of it. In order to care about accessibility, you have to empathize with people who need that functionality. You have to empathize with people who are on 3G flip phones. That's not a thing, is it? [laughs] But nonetheless, empathizing. JENNIFER: A flat screen phone, a smartphone looking thing and it's still – if anyone's on a slow 3G, it's still going to be a miserable experience. DAMIEN: Yeah, 3G with a 5-year-old Android OS. JENNIFER: But I don't think it's necessarily that people have to empathize. In an ideal world would, but maybe they could be motivated by other things like fast. Like, do you want to fast cumulative layout shift? Do you want like a great core vitals Google score? Do you want a great Google Lighthouse score? Do you want the clear Axe DevTools scan? Like when I get a 100% little person zooming in a wheelchair screen instead of issues found. Especially if I do it the first time and like, I hadn't been scanning all along and I just go to check it for the first time and it's clean, I'm like, “Yes!” [laughs] CASEY: Automation helps a lot. JENNIFER: Yeah. CASEY: When I worked at USCIS, I don't know what this meant, but they said we cannot automate these tests. I think we can and they didn't do it yet, but I've always been of baffled. I think half of it, you can automate tests around and we had none at the time. JENNIFER: Yeah, you catch 30 to 50% of the accessibility issues via the Axe rule set and JSX Alley and all that. You can catch 30 to 50. CASEY: Sounds great. JENNIFER: That's still better than catching none of them. Still not great, but it's still better than nothing. They're not here to tell us why they can't, but adding things into your end-to-end test shouldn't be that hard if you know how to write tests. I don't personally know how to write tests. I want to. I don't know. Like, I have to choose which thing am I going to work on? I'm working on an acquisition project, defining the requirements and the scope and the red tape of what a contract will be and it's such foreign territory for me. There's a lot of pieces there that I never ever thought I would be dealing with and my head hurts all the time. I feel stupid all the time, but that's okay. If you're not doing something you haven't done before, maybe you're not learning, it's growing. I'm growing. I'm definitely growing, but in different ways and I miss the code thing of I have a to-do list where I really want to get good at Docker, now I want to learn few, things like that and I want to get back to learning Python because Python, I think is super cool. CASEY: There's one thing I wanted to mention earlier that I just remembered. One thing that was eye-opening to me for accessibility concerns is when I heard that screen reader has existed, which was several years into my programming career. I didn't know they were a thing at all. I think it's more common now that people know about them today than 10, 15 years ago. But I still haven't seen someone use a screen reader and that would be really important for me as a developer. I'm not developing software lately either so I'm not really coding that. But if anyone hasn't, you should use a screen reader on your computer if you're developing software that might have to be used by one. JENNIFER: So everyone on a Mac has voiceover. Everyone on an iPhone has voiceover. It's really hard on the iPhone, I feel like I can't, oh, it's really hard. I've heard great things about Talkback on Android. And then on Windows, newer versions have Microsoft Narrator, which is a built-in screen reader. You can also download NVDA for free and install it. It depends on how much money you want to spend. There a bunch of different ways to get Jaws, do Jaws, too. Chrome has Chromebox so you can get another screen reader that way. CASEY: So many options. It's kind of overwhelming. If I had to recommend one for a Windows user and one for a Mac user, would you recommend the built-in ones just to start with, to play with something? JENNIFER: So everywhere I've tested, whether it was at the financial institution, or the insurance place, or the government place, we always had to test with Jaws, NVDA, and voiceover. I test with voiceover because it's what I have on my machine, because I'm usually working on a Mac. But the way I look at the screen reader is the number of people who are using screen readers is significantly fewer than the number of people with cognitive considerations. So I try to use good semantic markup, basic web standards so that things will work; things have always been pretty great in screen readers because of that. I try to keep my code from being too complicated, or my UI is from being complicated, which might do some visual designers seem somewhat boring to some of them. [chuckles] CASEY: Do you ever turn off CSS for the test? JENNIFER: Yes, and if it makes sense that way, then I know I'm doing it right and is it still usable without JavaScript. Better yet, Heydon Pickering's way of like, it's not usable unless you turn off the JavaScript, that was fabulous. I pissed off so many people. But to me, I try to focus on other things like how clear is, how clean is it? Can I tab through the whole UI? Can I operate it with just a keyboard? Your keyboard is your best assistive tech tester. You don't skip. If you can tap through anything without getting stuck, excellent. If you don't skip over nav items. CASEY: My biggest pet peeve is when websites don't work when you zoom in, because all of my devices I zoom in not because my vision is bad, but because for my posture. I want to be able to see my screen from a far distance and not lean in and craning my neck over laptop and my phone, both and a lot of websites break. JENNIFER: Yeah. CASEY: You zoom in the text at all, you can't read anything. JENNIFER: Yeah. At the one place I worked before, we required two steps of zoom in and two steps of zoom out, and it still had to be functional. I don't see that in most places; they don't bother to say things like that. CASEY: Yeah. JENNIFER: At the government, too – CASEY: I wonder how common it is if people do that. I do it so I think it's very common, but I don't know the right. [laughter] JENNIFER: But that's how the world is, right? I can tell you that once you hit this old age and your eyes start to turn against you and things are too small, or too light, you suddenly understand the importance of all of these things so much more. So for all of those designers doing your thin gray text on white backgrounds, or thin gray text on gray backgrounds, or your tiny little 12 and under pixels for your legaleas, karma is out to get you. [chuckles] We've all done it. Like there was a time I thought nobody cared about the legaleas. That's not true. Even your footer on your website should be big enough for people to read. Otherwise, they think I'm signing away my soul to zoom because I can't read it. If you can zoom it in, that's great. But some apps disable the zoom. DAMIEN: So we usually end on a series of reflections. How do you feel about moving to that? JENNIFER Sure! DAMIEN: We let our guests go last. Casey, do you have a reflection you want to share with us? CASEY: I'm thinking back to Mando's dog and I thought it was interesting, Jennifer, that you linked your experiences with the dog's experiences. Like, some of the symptoms you have might be similar if a dog has CPTSD, too and I think that's really insightful. I think a lot of animals have that kind of set up, but we don't treat them like we treat humans with those issues even if they're similar. DAMIEN: It was in your bio, equitable design initiatives, I really want it to dig into that because that fascinates me and I guess, if draws that bridge between things that I think are very important, or very important for me, both accessibility, that sort of work, especially in software design, because that's where I'm at. And then destroying the tenants of white supremacy and being able to connect those as things that work together and seeing how they work together. Yeah, that's what I'm going to be reflecting on. JENNIFER: Yeah. Whenever we're doing our work, looking for opportunities to surface and put it out for everyone to look at who has power, if this changes who has power, if this doesn't change who has power, what is motivating the players, are people motivated by making sure that no one's excluded, or are people motivated by making sure that their career moves forward, or they don't get in trouble rather than truly serving? I still am in the mindset of serving the people with a purpose that we're aiming to meet the needs of kind of thing. I still have that mindset. A lot of the prep work, we're still talking about the people we aim to serve and it's still about getting them into the cycle. That is a very big position of power that a designer has and acknowledging that that's power and that I wield that power in a way that I consider responsible, which is to make sure that we are including people who are historically underrepresented, especially in those discussions. I'm really proud of a remote design challenge where all of our research participants were either people of color, or people with disabilities. Man, the findings insights were so juicy. There was so much that we could do with what we got. It was really awesome. So by equitable design initiatives, it's really just thinking about acknowledging the power that we have and trying to make sure we do what we can to share it, transfer it, being really respectful of other perspectives. I've always thought of it as infinite curiosity about others and some people have accused me being nosy and they didn't realize it's not about getting up in their private business. It's just, I want to be gracious and respect others. What I will reflect on was how I really need to rest. I will continue to reflect on how I rest is key. I'm making a conscious decision for the next couple of months to not volunteer because I tend to do too much, as Casey may, or may not know. [chuckles] Yeah, I want to wake up in the morning and feel energized and ready to take full advantage of, which is not the right way to phrase it, but show up as my best self and well-prepared for the work. Especially since I now have found myself a new incredibly compassionate, smart place that genuinely aims to improve equity and social justice, and do things for the environment and how grateful I am. I totally thought this place was just about let's them all and it's so not. [laughs] So there's so many wonderful people. I highly recommend everybody come work with me if you care about things. DAMIEN: That's awesome. Well, thank you so much, Jennifer for being our guest today. It's been a pleasure. The author's affiliation with The MITRE Corporation is provided for identification purposes only, and is not intended to convey or imply MITRE's concurrence with, or support for, thepositions, opinions, or viewpoints expressed by the author. ©2021 The MITRE Corporation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Approved for public release. Distribution unlimited 21-2206. Special Guest: Jennifer Strickland.

Meryl Altman's new book Beauvoir in Time, published by Brill Rodopi Press (2020), situates Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (1949) in its historical context and responds to criticism that muddles what she actually said about sex, race and class. She takes up three aspects of Beauvoir's work today's feminists find problematic: the characterizations of the frigid woman and lesbians, the analogy of race and class that obscures Black and working-class women and her examples drawn from white middle-class experience. Charged with ethnocentrism, her contribution is distorted by not considering her place and time. Through close reading of Beauvoir's writing in many genres, alongside expansive criticism, Altman shows that what appears as a problem for feminist theory is best understood by a full consideration of Beauvoir's engagement with Freudian, Marxist and anticolonial thinkers. Extremely helpful in understanding the place of The Second Sex within international feminist theory, Altman offers insights into how Beauvoir is still relevant in the age of intersectionality and identity politics. Meryl Altman is Professor of English and Women's Studies at DePauw University. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her most recent book is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology (Oxford University Press, 2018). Her current writing project is on the intellectual history of women and the origins of feminism seen through the emblematic life and work of Simone de Beauvoir. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

Topics: Michael Brooks; Jeff Bezos wants Civility; Ro Khana; Bill Kristol; Brett Kavanaugh; Josh Hawley; Charlie Kirk; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; Fascism and Theocracy Guests With Time Code: (2:30) David does The News (1:14:12) "I'm On My Way" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel (1:16:03) "I'm Traveling Light" written and performed by Professor Mike Steinel (1:21:03) Mike Rowe, Emmy award winning comedy writer, digs through his mom's basement. Mike's book is "It's A Funny Thing: How the Professional Comedy Business Made Me Fat & Bald" purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Funny-Thin... (1:38:22) Michael Brooks: Professor Ben Burgis, author of "Cancelling Comedians While The World Burns" remembers Michael Brooks. Michael Brooks' book is "Against the Web: A Cosmopolitan Answer to the New Right" Purchase it here: https://www.amazon.com/Against-Web-Co... Michael's recent column in Jacobin: https://jacobinmag.com/2021/07/michae... Professor Ben Burgis's book is "Canceling Comedians While the World Burns: A Critique Of The Contemporary Left" Buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Canceling-Come... (2:04:16) "Ain't No Cane On The Brazos" performed by The Covid Players who are Lance Jeffries, Tom Webber, John Hayes and Kathlene Ashe (2:09:19) Dr. Philip Herschenfeld, Freudian psychoanalyst, Ethan Herschenfeld, comedian whose latest special "Thug, Thug Jew" is now streaming on YouTube (2:37:47) Henry Hakamaki talks with Sakshi Aravind about Ecology and Climate Politics, as well as a bit of indigenous law sprinkled in (3:09:29) Dan Frankenberger's Community Billboard (3:21:44) The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (4:44:35) The Professors and Mary Anne: Professor Mary Anne Cummings, Professor Ann Li, Professor Ian Faloona and Professor Jonathan Bick (5:45:06) Emil Guillermo, PETA Podcast and columnist for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (6:20:03) Professor Harvey J. Kaye, FDR on Democracy and Alan Minsky, executive director of the Progressive Democrats of America We livestream on YouTube every Monday and Thursday starting at 5:00 PM Eastern and go until 11:00 PM. Please join us! Take us wherever you go by subscribing to this show as a podcast!

In this episode, Dinesh exposes the hypocrisy of the runaway Texas Democrats, and looks forward to their Covid quarantines being followed by their arrest on the same charge as the January 6 protesters, "obstructing an official proceeding." Dinesh offers a Freudian analysis of the psychology of billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos who propel themselves into space. Georgetown legal scholar Randy Barnett joins Dinesh to explain how the Right and the Left both adopted a "democratic" view of the Constitution, instead of the "republican" view that the founders held--and that we need to get back to. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Andrew Lapidus joins us live from Austria for the first ever international episode of Ramble by the River. Andrew is one of the most interesting and likable people I have ever met and he poses the quality of being 100% himself at all times. He couldn't fake it if he tried (unless you mean on a stage because I am positive he would kill it as an actor). He is not afraid to walk a different path than most people and it is inspiring to hear about his journey. We get to hear how a goofy kid from Vancouver, Washington came to be an educator in the City made famous by Sigmund Freud. Andrew shares some of his fears about the changes that he has seen in the USA since he left and we talk about some simple solutions to all of the online political rage. This conversation takes the scenic route across major topics: drugs, literature, music, and psychology, and along the way we ramble through stories about coaching, voice training, creativity, and books. We fondly look back on our shared time at Western Washington University as we recount the emotional toll we paid as athletes, and we speculate on the possible skin conditions of one of our better looking professors which led to a discussion on the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. He was born to podcast! Andrew is a perfect guest and I knew he would be. It was written in the stars. He is so open and curious that we could venture into topics that make a lot of people uncomfortable while always maintaining a level of playfulness with ideas and never taking anything too seriously. I mean, we covered nationalist ideology, linguistics, and Freudian egotism in the same hour, and then we flipped over to discussing the adult-man breast-feeding scene at the end of one classical American novel and Andrew ate a booger (I'm pretty sure). So, I feel like we achieved a nice tonal balance. This was a lot of fun to record and Andrew was a great sport during a few technical difficulties on my end. He is truly one of my favorite humans and I like knowing that people like him even exist. The fact that we get to be friends and he will come on my podcast and laugh at my jokes is more than I could ask for. I hope you enjoy this podcast! Love y'all, Jeff Please Subscribe and Share! Links: Business inquiries/guest booking: Ramblebytheriver@gmail.com Website: https://my.captivate.fm/Ramblebytheriver.captivate.fm (Ramblebytheriver.captivate.fm) Facebook: Jeff Nesbitt (Ramble by the River)https://www.facebook.com/jeff.nesbitt.9619 (https://www.facebook.com/jeff.nesbitt.9619) Instagram: https://instagram.com/ramblebytheriver?r=nametag (@ramblebytheriver) Twitter: @RambleRiverPod Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCNiZ9OBYRxF3fJ4XcsDxLeg (https://youtube.com/channel/UCNiZ9OBYRxF3fJ4XcsDxLeg) Music Credit(s): Still Fly, Revel Day. Smartface, Old Grump. Topics/Keywords: JK Rowling; Harry Potter; trans-rights; track and field; Cuckoo's Calling; Stephen King; The Institute; Carrie; It; The Shining; edible cannabis; dissociative drugs; psychedelic mushrooms; PTSD; trauma; traumatic memories; neuroplasticity; MDMA; psilocybin; cancel culture; Critical Race Theory; Pink Floyd; The Wall; Paul McCartney; Wings; Austrian folk music; vocal timbre; Wikipedia; University of Vienna; Opera; voice training; phonetics; language; abstraction; Steven Pinker; The Language Instinct; Better Angels of Our Nature; Enlightenment Now; Wikipedia; kratom; universal language; creativity; chess; problem-solving; religion; spirituality; atheism; Richard Dawkins; Bill Maher; Religulous; forgiveness; Jordan Peterson; 12 Simple Rules; Macklemore; Carinthia “Texas of Austria”; southern hospitality; choral music; rowing/crew; Windermere Cup; University of Washington; Western Washington University Men's Crew; sports psychology; ergometer; Lake Sammish; Lake Whatcom; overtraining; caffeine; The Grapes of Wrath; John Steinbeck; wabi-sabi; imperfection; The Great Gatsby; breast-feeding; dystopian novels; 1984; George Orwell; The...

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll philosophize.Stuart and Andie take a wild ride with Caveat Magister. They discuss how to transform daily life with psychomagical experiences. They illustrate the power of art, ritual and play, and the magic of love. They reveal the secret sauce of Black Rock City, and the triumphs and failures of experience design. They explain engineered disperfection, miracles without religion, and nightlife as a spiritual pursuit. And everything else. Caveat is one of the few who comprise the Philosophical Center of Burning Man Project. For a dozen years he has been a people-person at BRC's Media Mecca, then the lead writer for Burning Man's education program, then the author of a book about Burning Man culture. His new book is a deeper cut on the phenomenon: “Turn Your Life Into Art: Lessons in Psychomagic from the San Francisco Underground.”journal.burningman.org/author/cmagisterfascinatingstranger.comThe Scene That Became Cities: What Burning Man Philosophy Can Teach Us About Building Better Communitiestwitter.com/BenjaminWachs

After Carl's Freudian slip concerning his being a pastor, our resident minister (not TE) quickly recovers and gets back on track by introducing his sidekick and their special guest. Benjamin Fischer is a missionary priest of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, as well as the rector of Christ the Redeemer, a congregation in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) and the associate professor of Literary History at Northwest Nazarene University. Ben has translated and edited Being a Pastor: Pastoral Treatises of John Wycliffe, and he sits down with Carl and Todd to discuss who Wycliffe was and why we should be interested in his work. We may know and enjoy some of Wycliffe's legacy through a host of Reformers, but there's much more to this translator, priest, and theologian than meets the eye. We're happy to offer you the opportunity to win a free copy of Being a Pastor. Register! The books are a generous gift from our friends at The Davenant Press. 

The Woke Culture: A Pathology of Post-Modern Tribalism The Woke Culture: A Pathology of Post-Modern Tribalism Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD Progressive Radio Network, June 28, 2021   In a recent article, “Critical Race Theory [CRT] is Worse than Marxism, the social thinker and author, Prof. Paul Gottfried, breaks ranks from his Alt-Right compatriots to argue that CRT “has nothing to do with traditional Marxism.”  “The swear words “Marxist” and “revolutionary,” Gottfried writes, “are thrown around by conservatives, such as those at Heritage, the New York Post and Fox News, with the same abandon with which the left speaks about “human rights”…” Rather than being truly revolutionary, based upon the history of past revolutionary movements, CRT “is an instrument of repression brandished by those in power against those whom it is feared might resist them.”  Yet most important, to label CRT as Marxist desecrates good ol' Marx's tomb.  In fact, at the time Critical Theory emerged from the German Frankfurt School in the 1930s, its most adamant opponents were the traditional card-carrying Marxists and Communists. The School's intention was to actually re-write classical Marxism and to prolong the internal fallacies launched during the Enlightenment era. Perhaps its most redeeming value is its efforts to define and explain the phenomenology of social power and aggression. Its primary early proponents, such as Max Horkheimer, were also harsh critics of the rise of metaphysical realism and scientific dogmatism that today has turned modern science, especially the biological sciences and medicine, into a fundamentalist ideology or religion. But this is where Critical Theory's contributions end. Critical theory has more in common with Freudian sexual repression and psychoanalysis than Marx. One of the 20th century's great philosophers Karl Popper criticized the Frankfurt School for offering no viable and realistic pathway to improve society.  Unlike Marx, who reasonably condemned capitalist society's unfairness, he did offer a vision for a better future. On the other hand, Critical Theory for Popper, was “vacuous and irresponsible” for omitting a promised future altogether. Remarkably, modern Critical Theory's leading spokespersons, such as Robin DiAngelo, are exemplars of the very manifestation of dysfunctional biases that Critical Theory rebukes. This may be a reason why those who embrace tribal wokeness are simply angry, maladjusted adolescents in adult bodies.  The 21st century woke generations appear to have entered a coma.  Its characteristic qualia of ADHD would likely prevent them from getting through 20 pages of Das Capital let alone making any sense from it. The most recent incarnation of wokeness is not an awakening of either conscientiousness or a higher conscious awareness that directly experiences the sacredness of all life, other humans, and the animal and plant kingdoms. It veered from its origins within the Black community in the 20th century when it was used to refer to a social and political awareness for racial and social injustices. In fact its first modern expression might be traced back to a 1962 New York Times article by the Black author William Melvin Kelly in referring to being “well informed, up to date.”  To be authentically woke requires critical thought and discernment, and also an intuitive knowing to distinguish the cobra from the rope when groping in the dark. Now the term has been adopted by two entire generations, regardless of race, and politically weaponized with almost an ontological unease to conquer and divide. Hence to be woke is anti-woke.  Througout human history there have been those who have held hierarchical power to control those who are subject and dependent upon that power, such as the rule of kings, emperors and authoritarian tyrants. And for having our daily needs met and securing financial ease there are the landowners, merchants and bankers. In all of these power relationships, equity is always on the side of those who hold power. At this moment our nation has reached an impasse where only a tiny group of individuals control and govern the dictates of the lives of the many.  The Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan wrote, “In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message.”  What McLuhan was suggesting is that the masses have the tendency to focus on what is most obvious and consequently miss or ignore the deeper and more subtle changes happening over a period of time.  In other words, what may seem to be correct and just on the surface eventually brings forth deleterious or “unintended” consequences. McLuhan was writing long before the internet. Now, presidential campaigns and federal laws, public health policies, the mainstream media and the films and music are the conduits for how we define ourselves and establish the options of dogmatic beliefs that we ultimately identify with. But all of these narratives are controlled by a handful of power players, including the social media platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia. Succumbing to the siren's call of this illusion is being woke with closed eyes. There is a saying that if you do not know the product being advertised you are the product; and this is certainly true for how millions of Americans are persuaded to purchase junk they have no need for, including the honor of wearing a “woke” badge. Our personal realities thereby are reduced to millions of bits of algorithmic data that know more about us than we know about ourselves.  We are sold on the promises of 5G technology despite the media never mentioning its serious dangers to human health and the environment. The risks of genetically modified foods and the lack vaccine science to prove their safety and efficacy are censored from public discourse. Federal agencies that started small and were believed to be temporary, such as Homeland Security, became permanent and unstoppable leviathans that encroach into every corner of our lives.  At this moment, we are being lectured like children to get vaccinated against the SARS-2 virus so life can return to normal. In principle, this sounds reasonable. However, to accomplish this there lurks under this message's surface the hidden intention to bypass or trash essential regulatory protective measures to assure the safety of these products.  If you get vaccinated, you are now “woke.” If you remain cautious or hesitant because nobody has even a vague idea about the Covid-19 vaccine's long-term adverse effects, you should be hermetically sealed away from the society, branded, canceled and censored.  Conventional medical voices who refuse to be misled by Biden's, Anthony Fauci's and Bill Gate' Ministry of Truth are also being canceled and censored from society by Silicon Valley and social media. So too are professors who have spoken out against student demands for personal entitlement and the anti-woke White Fragility diatribe that condemns genetic whiteness as racist. Students would prefer college to be sanitized of critical thought, a pleasant, non-intrusive and safe environment filled with teddy bears and psychologists next door to drug their episodes of existential angst and purposelessness in life.  As the pandemic hijacks our attention, global warming increases. But federal experts tell us we have time. Biden tells us the economy is recovering and flourishing and a herd of lemmings believe this message despite 20 percent of Americans who will go to sleep hungry tonight. Those with cancer, heart disease, diabetes and dementia are told to just hang on a bit longer; a big pharmaceutical cure is just around the corner.  But for decades, this carrot has been dangled before us and has yet to come to fruition.  Everything today is its opposite. The blue and red pills have been pulverized together. Only a purple pill laced with the strychnine of lies and half-truths is offered by an unduly legislative system run by technocrats and their private financial handlers. Woke and anti-woke are indistinguishable since both are born from similarly delusional worldviews isolated from reality. Neither is capable of observing the preciousness and fragility of human life. What should be a condemnation of the class and economic struggle against the elites' persecution of everyone else has degenerated into hate-filled identity war, both on the Left and the Right. It is only the rare authentic progressive who has transcended this divide and can observe wisely the battlefields orchestrated by politically motivated ideologues, aristocrats and the media.  As the US spins further into a controlled dystopia, it is difficult to imagine that the trajectory towards social decay can be easily reversed. Arthur Miller said, “an era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted.”  Therefore, we still have a long way to go and it may require a full system-failure at all economic and social levels before a viable and realistic effort can restore what has been lost from the ethical wasteland left in its wake. It took Rome several centuries to collapse but we are on course to accomplish this feat within a decade. To remain optimistic, therefore, requires a rejection of the dominant Social Darwinism and the specter of what Thomas Huxley called the Church Scientific that now informs both parties and that has shackled us into a fatalist purgatory or worse Dante's hedonic hells of lust, gluttony and greed. The evangelical Christian Right, as science's counterrevolutionary reactive response, is equally a major contributor to the dumbing down of the nation's sanity with fairy tales and superstition.  Our indoctrination into scientific materialism, our surrendering our autonomy and divine freedoms to political and corporate regimes, and the clashes over political correctness, that disempower us from believing we can change our conditions, has resulted in a sense of hopelessness in life and growing existential despair. It is contributing to the unbridled frenzy of anger in the streets, again from both the Left and Right.  Ideological beliefs become dogmas founded upon our mental afflictions, which in turn hold rule over our emotions, fears and hatreds and reactions. No wonder that pessimism is on the rise and optimism is in decline.  Only a personal encounter with a deeper purpose and meaning in life, which cuts through the tyranny of our false sense of the self or ego, can ultimately guide us to rise above the turmoil and crises facing us. This does not imply a detached disinterest, an ascetic renunciation, from the plights of our neighbors and humanity. In fact, only by discovering authentic kindness and compassion through a personal introspective inquiry into ourselves and our connection with the others can an authentic sense of well-being and genuine happiness emerge.  It is a commitment to finding our interconnection, in fact our interdependence, with others in the spirit of selflessness and service.  Yet to be left alone with only your own mind to keep you company terrifies the vast majority of people, including those who might be characterized as “normal.” This was observed in literally “shocking” experiments. In a University of Virginia study, hundreds of student participants would sit alone in an empty lab room for 15 minutes. No mobile phones, books, paper or anything was permitted. Just themselves and the cacophony of static in their own minds. However, there was a button they could push if they felt so inclined that would give a moderately painful electric shock. The results? Sixty-seven percent of men and 25 percent of women chose to find amusement to occupy their minds by shocking themselves rather than sit quietly and have peaceful time for self-reflection. This was despite all of the participants stating prior to the experiment that they would pay money to avoid being shocked with electricity.  So if modern American society relies solely upon mental and emotional distraction to survive, clearly there is no hope for constructive solutions to emerge to confront climate change, racism, identity politics, inequality, etc. Nor will society evolve beyond that of primates if we can only function from our reptilian and limbic brains. Obviously not everyone will discover the same purpose to his or her life's meaning. It is an individual quest that is largely entwined with each of our unique gifts, skills, passions and talents that we have brought into this incarnation. Those who disagree that one can discover meaning in life are the dogmatists of materialism and should be shunned as deranged scientific fanatics. Logic and reason alone will not satisfy this discovery, although developing skills in critical thought and discernment is more often than not necessary. It is only the rare person who has immediate intuitive knowledge about herself and the world around her.  For the remainder of us, we need to reeducate ourselves to create a roadmap, develop a discerning eye, and engage in deep introspection into ourselves to find a genuine well-being that transcends power player's board game to manufacture social strife, division and hatred. It is an individual journey that begins deep within ourselves and ends by embracing others in community despite all differences. However this is not an exercise in reason, but a direct experience within the depths of ourselves. When we touch on that space that can only be reached by subjective introspection new horizons of opportunities and possibilities open up. Then we can understand the words of the great jazz artist John Coltrane, “I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.” In that honoring of our inherent goodness, genuine well-being and happiness is found and only then can our illusions and dogmatic beliefs be broken down. 

Note: This episode includes descriptions of childhood sexual assault. The drive for revenge can be all-consuming, especially when you or someone you love has been wronged. Outcast and distraught, the title character in Richard Strauss's Elektra is obsessed with avenging the murder of her father. And because the story is based on a Greek myth, and Greek myths are full of dysfunctional families, this means that Elektra is hellbent on killing her own mother. We get our first taste of the darkness inside Elektra's mind, and the trauma at the heart of her rage, in the monologue, “Allein! Weh, ganz allein.” It's a sort of primal scream accompanied by a huge orchestra, and Elektra plans her revenge in all its gory, graphic glory. Host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore the depths of trauma and the heights of vengeance, both for Elektra and for a man whose own drive for revenge brought him to those very same extremes of elation and despair. The Guests: Soprano Nina Stemme thinks there's some truth to the story that Strauss once told an orchestra to play so loudly that they would drown out the soprano singing Elektra, and she should know -- she's one of today's leading interpreters of the role! She invested a lot of herself in shaping this character, and it's one that takes all of her physical and emotional energy to perform. William Berger is an author and radio commentator. Equal parts opera buff and metalhead, he brings his love of intense storytelling to his work at The Metropolitan Opera, and to his exploration of Elektra. While it's a story of violence and revenge, Berger thinks the real journey is the one of psychological discovery and deep Freudian conflicts bubbling to the surface.  David Holthouse is a writer and documentary filmmaker who spent three years of his life consumed by the desire for revenge. He meticulously plotted to murder the man who raped him when he was seven years old. He tells his story of childhood sexual assault in his first-person essay “Stalking the Bogeyman,” and follows up on his story in “Outing the Bogeyman.”

Donald Trump is now telling people he will be "reinstated" as president in August. He won't, of course. Here's what he's likely trying to accomplish with his latest outrageous lies. Donald Trump is a federal problem which calls for a federal solution. It's certainly a good thing that he's being criminally investigated by the states of New York and Georgia for the crimes he committed in violation of state laws. But he also must be held accountable for his federal crimes. Here's why the leadership of the Department of Justice is up to the task. *One correction: during the video I actually (and inadvertently) said "Donald Fraud" instead of "Donald Trump." Perhaps the ultimate Freudian slip. For our newly launched Team Justice and Justice Matters merchandise shop, please visit: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/glennkirschner/ Please consider becoming a #TeamJustice patron at: https://www.patreon.com/glennkirschner My podcast, "Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner" can be downloaded where you get your podcasts. Follow me on: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/glennkirschner2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glennkirschner2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glennkirschner2