Podcast appearances and mentions of Susan Sontag

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Through her multifaceted work, the Bulgarian-born, Brooklyn-based writer, reader, and researcher Maria Popova, founder of the “free, ad-free, A.I.-free, fully human” website and newsletter The Marginalian, braids together literature, science, philosophy, poetry, and art in beautiful, alchemical ways. Traversing centuries, she approaches various ideas and thinkers, living and dead, as active references in the expansive, ongoing project of learning what it means to be human. Now, nearly 20 years since the site's founding, she continues to cultivate a singular space on the internet—one devoted not so much to information but to illumination. Her latest book, Traversal, which links figures such as Mary Shelley and Walt Whitman, alongside other writers, poets, physicists, and philosophers, serves as an intellectual journey and an across-time meditation on creativity, consciousness, and interconnectedness. On this episode of Time Sensitive, Popova discusses the idea of “spiritual ancestors,” why today's A.I. debates are fundamentally modern versions of age-old questions about the soul, and the mystery of being alive. Show notes:  Maria Popova [4:58] Traversal (2026) [5:43] René Descartes [6:50] Aristotle [6:50] Susan Sontag [7:03] Alan Lightman [8:16] Mary Shelley [8:16] Walt Whitman [9:42] Frankenstein (1818) [14:08] Frances “Fanny” Wright [17:13] Freeman Dyson [17:13] Maker of Patterns: An Autobiography Through Letters (2018) [16:04] Rube Goldberg [22:26] Nina Simone [23:28] Dan Frank [23:29] Figuring (2019) [34:24] The Marginalian [43:18] T.S. Elliot's “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915) [55:00] Dacher Keltner's Awe (2023) [45:17] Iris Murdoch [45:33] The Universe in Verse (2024) [45:55] Patti Smith [45:57] Rebecca Elson [45:58] Vera Rubin [47:23] “Urns for Living” [48:54] Sylvia Plath [59:35] Leaves of Grass (1855)

In celebration of the birth anniversary and enduring legacy of Agnès Varda, we are revisiting one of our favourite conversations on The Artists Podcast.Joining us is acclaimed film critic Carrie Rickey, former chief film critic of The Philadelphia Inquirer and author of the acclaimed biography A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda.Why did Martin Scorsese call Agnès Varda one of the "gods of cinema"?From photography to filmmaking to installation art, Varda continually reinvented herself and expanded the possibilities of cinema. Long before many of her contemporaries, she explored themes of feminism, memory, labour, aging, immigration, and identity while creating a cinematic language entirely her own.In this conversation, we explore:Varda's relationships with artists, filmmakers, and intellectualsHer transition from photography to cinema and installation artHow she developed her own cinematic grammarThe French New Wave and her place within itHer partnership with Jacques DemyHer friendships with Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, Jim Morrison, and many othersWhy her work continues to inspire filmmakers across generations, including Martin Scorsese04:15 Varda's relationships with people — Jim Morrison, Susan Sontag & others 14:02 Creating a new cinematic syntax17:25 The challenges of financing films21:00 "Jumping into the swimming pool"23:00 The complicated relationship between Varda and Jacques Demy27:00 Encounters with Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag & other cultural icons29:00 What happens when both husband and wife are filmmakers? How Demy's career affected Varda's trajectory32:00 How Varda bought back her films to own the copyright 33:00 Agnès Varda, Jim Morrison, and a funeral shorter than a Doors song 38:12 Martin Scorsese's admiration for Agnès Varda A conversation about cinema, creativity, artistic independence, and one of the most original artists of the twentieth century.

Esta semana, na estante, temos “Salamaleques”, de Manuel de Novaes Cabral; “Abundância”, de Ezra Klein e Derek Hompson; “Do Sentimento Trágico da Vida nos Homens e nos Povos”, de Miguel de Unamuno; e “Contar uma História”, de John Berger e Susan Sontag.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is "Camp"? In 1964, literary critic Susan Sontag investigated this question in her culture-defining essay "Notes on Camp". We discuss how the concept of Camp applies to Eurovision, other forms of pop culture, and our day-to-day lives.

Salut, Aujourd'hui, nous accueillons Yuliana. Elle a 21 ans et elle est originaire d'Ukraine. Yuliana a déjà un parcours très riche et diversifié. Elle va nous raconter comment différentes expériences qu'elle a vécues l'ont façonnée.  » Yuliana Dmytriieva, 21 ans, young hoe ukrainienne, étudiante aux Beaux-Arts. Enfant de la guerre et du divorce, mon sang prolétaire me force à taffer comme une folle, mes origines des favelas ukrainiennes témoignent de ma résilience  » Cet épisode est en deux parties, découvrez le première épisode en replay sur le site de la radio ! Et la recommandation culturelle de Yuliana c’est Devant la douleur des autres – Susan Sontag ( elle est américaine et pas allemend comme evoquée dans l’épisode ), Interceptés – Oksana Karpovych, Cukor Bila Smert', groupe folk expérimentale ukrainienne de Svitlana Nianio enregistrée sous label polonais Koka Records.

Writer and Frieze editor-in-chief Andrew Durbin talks about: His book tour for "The Wonderful World That Almost Was," which has been hectic; how he became familiar with Peter Hujar's work initially, and why his and Paul Tek's legacies really took off after their deaths; Peter's persona and personality as someone who could be as charming and engaging as can be, but also someone who flew off the handle with a volatile anger at some in his life, and how he actually using photography to deal with some of that anger; how Paul Tek appeared to be thoroughly charming and quintessentially hippie-ish from the various television footage of him in interviews, despite his ultimate distaste for and rebellion against the hippie archetype, and how he had an ongoing contradiction in wanting to be around people and then wanting to get away (he often questioned the love of those who loved him), which he did prolifically, from Miami right out of school to various parts of Italy throughout his adulthood; Peter's troubled relationship with his mother, who was emotionally abusive and neglectful, and whom was described by a boyfriend of Peter's at the time as "very good at being unsatisfied;" how Peter learned much of his photography skills working in commercial photos studios in the '60s and '70s (including that of Richard Avedon) and eventually applied and expanded them in the darkroom for his own work, and to what extent Gar Schneider, his friend and the printer of the work in his estate, will make prints posthumously from the estate;  In the 2nd half of the conversation, available to Patreon supporters, he covers: The legacies of Peter and Paul, including via Linda Rosenkranz's book "Peter Hujar's Day," which became a film by Ira Sachs, and how Andrew's book may just be part of the rise in their respective public profiles; how he was more interested in and relied on their own memories of their childhoods (and adulthoods) as opposed to thru the lenses of family; how Andrew melded with his subjects, and how consuming and  surprisingly somatic the experience of writing the book became, leaving him unsure how to re-fill his time once the writing finally ended; how thru writing the book he had to confront his own fears of AIDS, of death, and his insecurities, and the therapist who guided him gracefully through that process; how, despite the book being published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, he still maintained his full-time job (editor of Frieze magazine), and in fact how much the book strained his finances, as biographies turn out to be expensive endeavors (with almost no opportunity for grants to support them); how the reason that Andrew's book and Ira Sachs' film (Peter Hujar's Day) are coinciding has to do with a hunger for authenticity, including especially a yearning for a time (the '70s) in New York when artists could live together in a community and scrape by financially on whatever they made, a time long-gone but one that even some young people are aware of; iconic writer/cultural critic Susan Sontag's relationships with Peter and Paul, the latter of whom became infatuated with her, and how Andrew showed her as 'an intoxicating' individual, and what that feels like; Paul's complex relationship with his sexuality, to the extent that he often pursued relationships with women, whom he dated quite often but never got serious with, and how sexuality was something he may have tormented himself over; how the actor who played Peter in "Peter Hujar's Day" could never fill Peter's robust shoes, but at the same time how happy Andrew is for how many people the film has brought to Peter's work; the differences between living in New York and London (where he lives now), including how London actually has more in common with Los Angeles in terms of its size and its more deliberate social dynamics whereas in New York you're constantly running into people everywhere; and how he'll finally be ready to transition to his next project once this one if finally done, as it's been such an immersive, somatic experience.

In this episode of the Vault, we revisit the Italian writer Italo Calvino's James Lecture, presented at the New York Institute for the Humanities on March 30, 1983. Italo Calvino was one of the most inventive and widely read Italian authors of the twentieth century. Born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy, he began his literary career as a journalist and fiction writer after World War II, publishing his debut novel, The Path to the Nest of Spiders, in 1947. He went on to write some of the most formally original works in postwar literature, including Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a winter's night a traveler. His work moved fluidly between realism, fantasy, and structural experimentation, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost practitioners of what would come to be called postmodern fiction. He died in 1985, in Siena, Italy. In this lecture, later published as “The Written and the Unwritten Word” in the New York Review of Books, Calvino reflects on writing, reading and what it means to live between the written world and the material world. He is introduced by NYIH fellow Susan Sontag. 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 of the Vault, we revisit the Italian writer Italo Calvino's James Lecture, presented at the New York Institute for the Humanities on March 30, 1983. Italo Calvino was one of the most inventive and widely read Italian authors of the twentieth century. Born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy, he began his literary career as a journalist and fiction writer after World War II, publishing his debut novel, The Path to the Nest of Spiders, in 1947. He went on to write some of the most formally original works in postwar literature, including Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a winter's night a traveler. His work moved fluidly between realism, fantasy, and structural experimentation, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost practitioners of what would come to be called postmodern fiction. He died in 1985, in Siena, Italy. In this lecture, later published as “The Written and the Unwritten Word” in the New York Review of Books, Calvino reflects on writing, reading and what it means to live between the written world and the material world. He is introduced by NYIH fellow Susan Sontag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

In this episode of the Vault, we revisit the Italian writer Italo Calvino's James Lecture, presented at the New York Institute for the Humanities on March 30, 1983. Italo Calvino was one of the most inventive and widely read Italian authors of the twentieth century. Born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy, he began his literary career as a journalist and fiction writer after World War II, publishing his debut novel, The Path to the Nest of Spiders, in 1947. He went on to write some of the most formally original works in postwar literature, including Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a winter's night a traveler. His work moved fluidly between realism, fantasy, and structural experimentation, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost practitioners of what would come to be called postmodern fiction. He died in 1985, in Siena, Italy. In this lecture, later published as “The Written and the Unwritten Word” in the New York Review of Books, Calvino reflects on writing, reading and what it means to live between the written world and the material world. He is introduced by NYIH fellow Susan Sontag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/language

In this episode of the Vault, we revisit the Italian writer Italo Calvino's James Lecture, presented at the New York Institute for the Humanities on March 30, 1983. Italo Calvino was one of the most inventive and widely read Italian authors of the twentieth century. Born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy, he began his literary career as a journalist and fiction writer after World War II, publishing his debut novel, The Path to the Nest of Spiders, in 1947. He went on to write some of the most formally original works in postwar literature, including Our Ancestors, Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a winter's night a traveler. His work moved fluidly between realism, fantasy, and structural experimentation, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost practitioners of what would come to be called postmodern fiction. He died in 1985, in Siena, Italy. In this lecture, later published as “The Written and the Unwritten Word” in the New York Review of Books, Calvino reflects on writing, reading and what it means to live between the written world and the material world. He is introduced by NYIH fellow Susan Sontag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

Photographer, educator, and writer Odette Elix England speaks about her latest book, Isn't X Beautiful (The Ice Plant) as well as, The Long Shadow: Unwrapped ~ Marion Post Wolcott's Labor and Love (Libraryman), and to be developed, to be continued (Tall Poppy Press).https://www.odetteengland.comhttps://theiceplant.cc/product/isnt-x-beautiful/This podcast is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club - Begin Building your dream photobook library today at:https://charcoalbookclub.comOdette Elix England is a photographer, writer, avid reader, and educator. A 2022 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, her artistic and research work explores the rituals of loving and leaving.She has exhibited her work in over 120 museums and galleries worldwide and has received grants and awards from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and Anonymous Was a Woman, among others. She has been nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award (twice) and the Prix Pictet.She has published six award-winning books. Her first photo novella, Isn't X Beautiful!, is available for preorder here.She is currently working on her second novella, Once I Was A Photograph, and an experimental re-telling of Susan Sontag's On Photography.Elix England received her Ph.D. in 2018. She now teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University.

20. yüzyılın en önemli entelektüellerinden biri olarak kabul edilen Amerikalı yazar, aktivist Susan Sontag'ın artık klasikleşmiş eseri Başkalarının Acısına Bakmak ben okurum'da… Dört bir yanımızda savaşlar sürer, her gün yeni bir vahşet olayıyla karşı karşıya kalırken ve tüm bunları fotoğraflar, videolar, sosyal medya üzerinden izlerken, konuya farklı bakmak için kaçırılmaması gereken bir sohbet bu. Deniz Yüce Başarır'ın, podcast komşusu, gazeteci, sosyolog Can Kozanoğlu'nu ağırladığı bölüm, geniş bakış açısı, samimiyeti ile dinleyenleri çok da düşündürecek. Tabii Başarır'ın sesinden, Sontag'ın satırları eşliğinde…

Salut, Aujourd'hui, nous accueillons Yuliana. Elle a 21 ans et elle est originaire d'Ukraine. Yuliana a déjà un parcours très riche et diversifié. Elle va nous raconter comment différentes expériences qu'elle a vécues l'ont façonnée.  » Yuliana Dmytriieva, 21 ans, young hoe ukrainienne, étudiante aux Beaux-Arts. Enfant de la guerre et du divorce, mon sang prolétaire me force à taffer comme une folle, mes origines des favelas ukrainiennes témoignent de ma résilience  » Cet épisode est en deux parties, découvrez le deuxième épisode le mois prochain ! Et la recommandation culturelle de Yuliana c’est Devant la douleur des autres – Susan Sontag ( elle est américaine et pas allemend comme evoquée dans l’épisode ), Interceptés – Oksana Karpovych, Cukor Bila Smert', groupe folk expérimentale ukrainienne de Svitlana Nianio enregistrée sous label polonais Koka Records.

O escritor Benjamin Moser diz que se mudar para um país desconhecido é como passar a viver em um mundo invertido. "No começo, você não sabe para onde olhar. Não sabe onde está nem o que está olhando. Não sabe nem por onde começar", ele escreve na introdução de "O Mundo de Ponta-cabeça", agora lançado no Brasil. Quando tinha 25 anos, Moser deixou Nova York e foi morar na Holanda. Para lidar com a condição de estrangeiro, começou a olhar para a pintura da Idade de Ouro do país —percorrendo galerias e museus, se deparou com obras de Rembrandt, Vermeer e outros grandes pintores do século 17. A curiosidade com esses artistas virou obsessão e, duas décadas depois, deu origem ao livro, que explora a vida e a obra de quase 20 deles, mas, sobretudo, a sua experiência de descobrir esses artistas e entender melhor o mundo invertido em que estava vivendo. Neste episódio, o escritor fala sobre as circunstâncias históricas do período em que os pintores viveram e defende que é impossível separar a obra e a vida de um artista. Moser, conhecido pelas biografias de Clarice Lispector e Susan Sontag, diz que tanto a trajetória das duas escritoras quanto a dos mestres holandeses lembra que nenhum artista sabe o destino que vai ter —um talento extraordinário não é suficiente para prosperar, e as chances de fracassar ou terminar a vida na miséria são enormes. Produção e apresentação: Eduardo Sombini Edição de som: Raphael Concli See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (FSG), Andrew Durbin brings us a masterful biography of a pair of artists, their art, gay life pre- and post-Stonewall, and more. We talk about his first exposure to each of their art, why he restricted the biography to the years Paul and Peter were together/around each other (1956-1975), how queer lives are often oriented around death and why he wanted to affirm life with this book, when a biographer can let his subjects go, and why he prefers Thek over Hujar. We get into the ephemerality of much of Thek's art installations, Hujar's dissatisfaction with commercial photography and the struggles with getting photos taken seriously as art, the triangle they formed with Andrew's hero, Susan Sontag, Thek's belief that marrying the right woman (Sontag, at one point) would have "fixed" him, his regret at not getting to interview Joseph Raffael for the book, and how meeting Ann Wilson changed the course of the book. We also discuss how Andrew became an art-writer/-editor by accident, how NYC has changed since he left 6 years ago, why young people are enthusiastic about his Thek and Hujar, why he needs to decompress from writing about history, how art criticism feeds his fiction and poetry, and more. Follow Andrew on Bluesky and Instagram • More info at our site • Support The Virtual Memories Show via Stripe, Patreon, or Paypal, and subscribe to our e-newsletter

Griffyn Leeds MA '26 in conversation with Aria Gray MA '26; topics include the Irish Theatre Summer Studio, illness as metaphor, Susan Sontag, interdisciplinary studies in English, and more!

Un beso apasionado en un andén lúgubre que, en realidad, es una reacción alérgica al polvo del metro. Una mujer que parece aterrorizada por la miseria, pero que solo está enfadada por un flashazo a medio metro. Bienvenidos a la mente de Richard Sandler, el fotógrafo que afirma que "toda imagen es una mentira orquestada".Sinopsis Narrativa: En este episodio de "Crónicas de Fotógrafo", nos sumergimos en el concepto de la "mochila invisible". Analizamos la fascinante biografía de Richard Sandler: de jugador de billar y cocinero macrobiótico a convertirse en el cronista definitivo de la Nueva York de los años 80.Exploramos cómo su formación en acupuntura no fue una anécdota, sino el motor de su obra: Sandler no salía a cazar transeúntes, salía a buscar los bloqueos de energía y las contracturas sociales de una ciudad enferma, usando su cámara como una herramienta clínica.Temas clave de esta inmersión:La técnica del "caos controlado": Cómo el uso de flash frontal y obturación lenta genera una "estela fantasmagórica" que captura la ansiedad urbana.El dilema de la "Estética del Dolor": Citando a Susan Sontag, cuestionamos si la belleza de una fotografía nos anestesia frente al sufrimiento ajeno.El punto de quiebre: Por qué el 11 de septiembre hizo que Sandler abandonara la fotografía fija por considerarla "demasiado romántica" para el horror real.Este episodio no trata de megapíxeles ni de aperturas de diafragma. Trata de aprender a mirar el mundo como un sistema nervioso complejo y entender que el encuadre es siempre una elección moral.Si la grandeza de una foto reside en la "mochila humana" del fotógrafo... ¿qué pasará cuando las máquinas (IA) generen imágenes perfectas pero sin alma ni trauma detrás? Comparte tu reflexión con nosotros.

Vivimos rodeados de imágenes. Las consumimos sin pausa: guerras, cuerpos, tragedias, memes, publicidad. Todo aparece en la misma pantalla, con el mismo peso, durante el mismo segundo. En este episodio exploramos una pregunta incómoda: ¿por qué las imágenes han dejado de afectarnos? A partir de pensadores como Susan Sontag o Jean Baudrillard, analizamos cómo la sobreexposición visual no genera conciencia, sino saturación; cómo la repetición convierte el dolor en estética; y cómo hemos aprendido a mirar sin implicarnos. Quizá el problema no es que veamos demasiado, sino que ya no sabemos cómo mirar. ¿Qué ocurre cuando la imagen pierde su capacidad de herir? ¿Qué tipo de mundo construimos cuando todo puede ser visto, pero nada nos atraviesa?

Vanessa Zoltan and Hannah McGregor meet in a Parisian opera house to record this week's episode of Hot and Bothered, all about The Phantom of the Opera.This week we discuss daddy issues, queer aesthetics, and Susan Sontag's definition of 'camp.' We finish the episode by calling Dr. Dominic Broomfield-McHugh to get his take on the film.---Hot and Bothered is a Not Sorry ProductionFind us at our website | Follow us on InstagramIf we give you butterflies, consider supporting us on Patreon! On Patreon we have more great romance content including a bonus close scene analysis with Hannah and Vanessa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Photography is a technology of contradictions. It is at once mechanical and mysterious, even magical. It furnishes evidence of presence while being a token of absence. It can show us proof but can't, without accompanying narration or context, make us understand. And perhaps most perplexing of all, it is an imperialistic technology which, paradoxically, atomizes the world and democratizes all events and experiences, making each viewer of photographs the owner of a facsimile-world in his or her head. Wes & Erin discuss two essays from Susan Sontag's collection, “On Photography,” “In Plato's Cave” and “America, Seen Through Photographs, Darkly,” and ask what constitutes photography's “ethics of seeing,” and whether Sontag suggests an alternative comportment towards the camera, the subject, and the photographic image. Upcoming Episodes: Withnail & I; Waiting for Godot Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Ohrem, Christoph www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Fazit

Analyser les piqûres, les acides et autres lubies de l'anti-âge Dans la salle d'attente du dermatologue, entre un ficus en plastique et trois vieux magazines people, une petite brochure promet monts et merveilles : rides lissées, lèvres pulpeuses, glow immédiat. Le futur du visage tiendrait en quelques piqûres d'acide hyaluronique ou de botox. On hésite, on feuillette et puis on repense à cette petite ride d'amertume qu'on a remarquée l'autre jour. Dans cet épisode de Vivons heureux avant la fin du monde, Delphine Saltel s'infiltre dans un cabinet de médecine esthétique pour sonder ses propres désirs de “skin booster”. Prête à se ruiner pour repulper son relâchement cutané, elle interroge sa fascination-repulsion pour les injections. Où est le problème ? Dans la seringue ou ce qui la précède ? Les heures à scruter des visages impeccables, filtrés, retouchés, découpés par algorithme ? Avec la critique de cinéma Murielle Joudet, qui a écrit sur les actrices et la vieillesse, elle essaie de dégager les bonnes questions : pourquoi ces images de visage nous travaillent-elles autant ? Comment transforment-elles notre regard et nos désirs ? Peut-on déjouer le “capital gaze” qui transforme la chair de nos visages en surface à optimiser ? Que nous raconte le lifting de Kris Jenner ? Où trouver des contre-images qui nous permettent de résister à la démangeaison des piqûres ? Mentions : - Barbarella, Roger Vadim, 1968 ; - Sois belle et tais-toi, Delphine Seyrig, 1977 ; - The Complete Workout by Jane Fonda ; - “Pourquoi les actrices ne vieillissent pas à l'écran ?”, Mathilde Serrell, La Théorie ; - Viens je t'emmène, Alain Guiraudie, 2022 - Une femme sous influence, John Cassavetes, 1974 ; - Fargo, Joel Coen, 1996. Bibliographie : - Murielle Joudet, La seconde femme ce que les actrices font à la vieillesse, Premier parallèle, 2022 ; - Murielle Joudet, On aurait dû dormir, Éditions Capricci, 2020 ; - Le compte Facebook et les textes de Murielle Joudet ; - Mona Chollet, Beauté Fatale : Les nouveaux visages d'une aliénation féminine, La découverte, 2012 ; - Susan Sontag, The Double Standard of Aging, 1972 ; - Frédéric Spinhirny, Le privilège beau, cet impensé, PUF, 2025 ; - Jean-François Amadieu, Le poids des apparences, Ed. Odile Jacob, 2002 ; - Jean-François Amadieu, La société du paraître, Ed. Odile Jacob, 2016 Remerciements : Merci à Laura et Armelle ainsi qu'à Murielle Joudet. Enregistrements février 2026 Entretien et montage Delphine Saltel Accompagnement éditorial Mina Souchon Réalisation et mixage Samuel Hirsch Illustration Yasmine Gateau Production ARTE Radio

Photography is a technology of contradictions. It is at once mechanical and mysterious, even magical. It furnishes evidence of presence while being a token of absence. It can show us proof but can't, without accompanying narration or context, make us understand. And perhaps most perplexing of all, it is an imperialistic technology which, paradoxically, atomizes the world and democratizes all events and experiences, making each viewer of photographs the owner of a facsimile-world in his or her head. Wes & Erin discuss two essays from Susan Sontag's collection, “On Photography,” “In Plato's Cave” and “America, Seen Through Photographs, Darkly,” and ask what constitutes photography's “ethics of seeing,” and whether Sontag suggests an alternative comportment towards the camera, the subject, and the photographic image. Upcoming Episodes: Withnail & I; Waiting for Godot Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Week 50 of Ted Gioia's Immersive Humanities List brings us to three mid-20th-century thinkers wrestling with art, media, and the modern world: Susan Sontag, Walter Benjamin, and José Ortega y Gasset.I begin with Susan Sontag's famous essay “In Plato's Cave” from On Photography. Writing in 1972, she asks how photography changes our relationship to memory and experience. At the time, photographs were printed objects. We saved them in albums, books, or wallets. Today we carry thousands in our pockets. If photographs once captured moments, now they seem to overwhelm them.Walter Benjamin's “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” pushes this further, asking what happens to art when it can be endlessly copied. Photography and film, he argues, transform not just art but perception itself.Finally, José Ortega y Gasset's The Revolt of the Masses explores the rise of “mass-man”—a culture where opinions are everywhere but the pursuit of truth is optional.Taken together, these essays were more uncomfortable than I expected: the problems of our modern media world may have been visible long before smartphones, if only we'd paid attention.LINKTed Gioia/The Honest Broker's 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)CONNECTThe complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2rTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/ LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321 Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm

Over six decades and counting, the postmodern choreographer and dancer Lucinda Childs has built an exceptional, category-defining body of work grounded in a style that draws as much from “pedestrian,” everyday movements as it does from her foundational ballet training. Emerging out of the 1960s Judson Dance Theater in New York City, Childs founded her namesake company in 1973 and has created more than 50 works since. This year will see two major New York presentations of her pieces—the first, from March 14–15 at the Guggenheim, will restage five of her early dances, most of them silent; the second, titled “Momentary Reprise,” will be showcased at Bard College's Fisher Center from June 26–28 and include her collaborations with the likes of Frank Gehry, Philip Glass, and Robert Wilson. On this episode—our Season 13 opener—Childs reflects on her various experimental collaborations with Glass and Wilson; her profound perspectives on time through the lens of choreography and performance; and how she has remained unapologetically steadfast in refining her highly distinctive approach to dance. Special thanks to our Season 13 presenting partner, L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts. Show notes: Lucinda Childs [06:23] Philip Glass [12:46] Merce Cunningham Dance Company [10:02] John Cage [12:17] “Pastime” (1963) [12:36] Judson Dance Theater [13:19] Yvonne Rainer [14:04] Robert Ellis Dunn [15:34] “Calico Mingling” (1973) [15:38] “Untitled Trio” (1973) [17:01] Babette Mangolte [17:29] “Reclining Rondo” (1975) [17:29] Robert Morris [29:44] Hanya Holm [22:59] “Radial Courses” (1976) [22:08] “Katema” (1978) [32:30] “Shoulder” (1964) [37:44] Robert Wilson [37:44] Einstein on the Beach (1976) [33:59] Susan Sontag [33:59] Against Interpretation (1966) [34:28] Marguerite Duras [36:34] “Description (of a Description)” (2000) [46:07] “Dance” (1979) [48:36] “Available Light” (1983)

In this episode Jerry and Stablydiscussed Susan Sontag's On Photography, with both finding the book overly long, baroque, and pedantic, though both agreed that Sontag's observations were interesting when extracted from the dense, "show-offy" prose. Jerry and Stably critiqued Sontag's positions on photography as a predatory act, its role in tourism and status, and its potential for desensitization, with Jerry challenging Sontag's political framing and insistence on classifying art. The discussion included Stably suggesting Sontag's critique was politically motivated, while Jerry  prioritized free speech regarding photography in public.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Rax King (Sloppy, Low Culture Boil) joins the lads in Patagonia for adventures in catching fish and staving off the dread as they cover the third season of the History Channel's hit reality TV show: Alone. Topics include the history of the History Channel, the appeal of Dad TV, and what it means to make a show there's always a puma lurking right off screen. Rax King: Bluesky // Instagram // Website BUY RAX'S BOOK SLOPPY HERE! Low Culture Boil: Hosted by trashy babes Rax King and Amber Rollo. If you've ever asked yourself “would Susan Sontag have enjoyed ‘Jersey Shore',” why did Twinkie file for bankruptcy, or if you don't know how to read and at this point you know it's too late to ask, this is the podcast for you! Spotify // Apple Podcasts // Patreon Media Referenced in this Episode: Alone Season Three. The History Channel. “Whoever Starves Least, Wins” by Nicholas Quah. Vulture. June 13th, 2024. “Why Did Jami Fowler Leave?” by Jami Fowler TWOAPW theme by Brendan Dalton: Patreon // brendan-dalton.com // brendandalton.bandcamp.com Interstitial: “Zac Skatchewan: Days 1-2" // Written by A.J. Ditty // Feat. David Armstrong as “Zac/Mr. Producer” and A.J. Ditty as “Monty/Intern”

How do you deal with the emotional toll of living in a time of dissolution? Social scientists use the term "polycrisis" to describe the kind of cascading, overlapping failures that can lead to systemic collapse, and it's hard not to see the symptoms of a dying world order in events unfolding around us.  But maybe what we're witnessing is actually grounds for hope. In a forthcoming book "The Beginning Comes After the End," writer and activist Rebecca Solnit makes the case that something is dying, all right — because something better is being born. A rising worldview that embraces antiracism, feminism, environmental thinking, Indigenous and non-Western ideas, and a vision of a more interconnected, compassionate world.  Solnit is an engaged writer and intellectual in the tradition of Barbara Ehrenreich, Susan Sontag and George Orwell. Her new book picks up where her earlier bestseller “Hope in the Dark”  left off — with an argument against despair and historical amnesia. In this conversation, we explore the extraordinary scale of progressive social, political, scientific and cultural change over the past century, the roots of Solnit's stance of “pragmatic, embodied hope,” her thoughts on “moral wonder, “ and her years in San Francisco's underground punk rock scene.  She also tells us what she'd put in our own wonder cabinet: an AIDS Memorial Quilt square sewn by Rosa Parks.  — To The Best Of Our Knowledge — Tending a wartime garden: what Orwell's fascination with roses tells us about the human need for beauty  Rebecca Solnit's newsletter  Pre-order “The Beginning Comes After the End," due out March 3, 2026.  —00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:00 A Land Back Ceremony 00:08:05 Progress in Disguise 00:18:35 Hope and Interconnection 00:29:45 Defiant Hope—Wonder Cabinet is hosted by Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson.Find out more about the show at wondercabinetproductions.com, where you can subscribe to the podcast and our newsletter.  Wonder Cabinet is hosted by Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson. Find out more about the show at https://wondercabinetproductions.com, where you can subscribe to the podcast and our newsletter.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Esta semana, na estante, temos a denúncia de “Gente Pouco Recomendável”, memória da desilusão que Sarah Wynn-Williams viveu na empresa que detém o Facebook; há também “Contra a Identidade - A sabedoria de escapar do eu”, de Alexander Douglas; “Susan Sontag, A Entrevista Completa da Rolling Stone”, de Jonathan Cott; e “Partida”, a despedida literária do romancista inglês Julian Barnes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to be ill? In episode 159 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss illness. They explore how illness has been mythologized, how it may alienate us from our bodies, and how it impacts social relationships. Is science the solution to the mythologization of illness, or is the scientific model of illness its own form of mythology? How should we conceptualize illness? Is it as a “deviation” from a norm? And if so, what norm? Finally, what can we learn about illness from a phenomenological approach that centers the patient's first-person experience? In the Substack bonus segment, your hosts think about the distinction between the mental and the physical in connection to illness and the intersection between mind and body in illness. Works Discussed:Georges Canguilhem, The Normal and the PathologicalHavi Carel, Illness:  The Cry of the Flesh,Susan Sontag, Illness as MetaphorSK Toombs, The Meaning of Illness: A Phenomenological Account of the Different Perspectives of Physician and PatientEnjoy our work? Support Overthink via tax-deductible donation: https://www.givecampus.com/fj0w3vJoin our Substack for ad-free versions of both audio and video episodes, extended episodes, exclusive live chats, and more: https://overthinkpod.substack.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag’s “On Photography.” Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

In this episode, Jerry and Stably discussed Arthur Schopenhauer's On the Suffering of the World. Jerry praised the book as a great introduction to Schopenhauer's philosophy and its insights, particularly the concept of life as a balance between suffering and boredom, while Stan  found the text repetitive and at times impenetrable, disagreeing with the author's premise. They also explored Schopenhauer's core ideas, including the "Will" as an eternal, irrational force and the philosopher's suggested solution of denying the Will through asceticism or art, and they further debated the ethics of procreation and the necessity of preserving consciousness. Stan  then selected "On Photography" by Susan Sontag as the next reading material for discussion.

Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag. Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

Brutus is an honorable man, but Caesar is Caesar: at the beginning of Shakespeare's play, his name is near the point of becoming synonymous with dictatorial power, and his every wish, as Mark Antony points out, has the substance of a command. For the rebels who oppose him, this identification of political authority with personal will is a perversion of republican institutions, and a form of corruption that justifies any means of putting an end to it, even if that means killing a friend. Yet Brutus's conception of himself as unflaggingly virtuous is one he in fact shares with Caesar, and perhaps reflects the same authoritarian tendency, in grounding the legitimacy of political action in the character of a particular actor. Then again, it is not clear that democratic institutions will always forestall authoritarian tendencies, rather than enable the masses to sanction absolute power in a charismatic leader. Wes & Erin discuss Shakespeare's “Julius Caesar,” and its sustained reflection on how political power is constructed, located, and legitimated. Upcoming Episodes: “Amadeus,” Susan Sontag. Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to ad-free regular episodes. This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Visit AirwaveMedia.com to listen and subscribe to other Airwave shows like Good Job, Brain and Big Picture Science. Email advertising@airwavemedia.com to enquire about advertising on the podcast. Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Website

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with author Benjamin Moser about Jewish supremacy, diasporic Jewish life, and the life and legacy of the writer Susan Sontag. Moser recently published the article "We have Talked Enough About Ourselves: How the marriage of American exceptionalism and liberal Zionism led to genocide" in the magazine Equator. His next book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, will be published by published in September 2026.  Benjamin Moser is the author of a biography of Susan Sontag titled, Sontag: Her life and Work, which earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 2020. He the author of a forthcoming book, AntiZionism: A Jewish History (Doubleday in Sept. 2026) Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com. 

Cos'è oggi l'editoria indipendente? E come si trasforma una passione in un progetto culturale economicamente sostenibile? In questa puntata live da Roma, ne parliamo con Anna Frabotta, fondatrice di FRAB'S Magazine & More e direttrice artistica di Mag2Mag.Dal background nell'editoria classica alla creazione di un e-commerce focalizzato sull'avanguardia, Anna ha saputo dare voce a un settore in fermento, nonostante la logica le suggerisse di non farlo. Spinta dalla forza delle sue idee, ha fondato Mag2Mag, il primo festival italiano dedicato ai magazine indipendenti, e nel 2024 ha aperto a Milano il suo primo spazio fisico.Nel dialogo ci accompagna alla scoperta di un mondo fatto di carta da toccare, visione internazionale e nuove forme di imprenditoria.I link dell'episodio:– Il sito di FRAB'S Magazine & More https://frabsmagazines.com– L'account Instagram da cui tutto ha preso il via https://www.instagram.com/frabs_magazines– Il manifesto di Frab's https://frabsmagazines.com/pages/chi-e-frabs– Rubbish Famzine di Singapore https://frabsmagazines.com/products/products-rubbish-famzine-13-fanzine-artistica-singapore– Il libro suggerito da Anna, “La coscienza imbrigliata al corpo. Diari e taccuini 1964-1980” di Susan Sontag https://www.edizioninottetempo.it/it/la-coscienza-imbrigliata-al-corpo

"Ist dieser Film faschistisch? Feministisch? Und was sagt er uns über den Kapitalismus?" Kann es sein, dass wir in unseren Kritiken die Filme eigentlich nur noch mit Buzzwords zuschütten und dabei die Filme selbst aus dem Blick verlieren? Davor hat 1966 Susan Sontag in ihrem berühmten Essay "Against Interpretation" schon gewarnt. Sie schreibt: Schon seit Platon vermuten wir eine Welt hinter der Welt und sind nicht an der Kunst selbst, sondern nur noch an ihrer Bedeutung interessiert. In dieser Folge lesen Lucas und Christian nochmal diesen Text und fragen sich, wo er heute aktueller denn je ist und an welchen Stellen man ihm hingegen vehement widersprechen will.

Hugh Mackay explores twenty-five profound quotes from some of the world's greatest thinkers, from Confucius and Plato to Susan Sontag and Gloria Steinem.

Susan Sontag for almost forty years was the most recognisable public intellectual in America. She inspired an entire generation of critics to read more widely, think and feel more deeply, and stay attuned to the transformative power of art. In her numerous critical essays on art, politics, and our technologically mediated ways of seeing, Sontag built up her own distinctive aesthetic and moral sensibility, one that merged the moral seriousness of high art and the joyful eroticism of so-called low cultural products. Her debut collection, Against Interpretation, made her an almost overnight intellectual celebrity fueled by such iconoclastic essays like Notes on 'Camp'. In this episode, critic and art historian, A.V. Marraccini guest hosts to discuss the legacy and enduring importance of Sontag's writing, orbiting around a discussion of the early Notes on 'Camp' and the mid-period definitive takedown of fascist aesthetics, Fascinating Fascism. Ultimately we argue that a reconsideration of these essays are indispensable to understanding our own neo-fascist moment in which a new breed of grifters and cynical aesthetes are attempting to blind us to history and obscure the baleful influence of the fascist aesthetic's romantic longings. Re-reading Sontag reminds us of the interwovenness of art and politics and ask us to confront urgent moral questions of the critic's and artist's role during tumultuous political times. How do we avoid complicity in a society in the grip of political nihilism and spellbound by fantasies of domination and purifying violence?Purchase We The Parasites: https://sublunaryeditions.com/products/we-the-parasitesFollow A.V. on Twitter(X): @saintsoftnessPlease consider becoming a paying subscriber to our Patreon to get exclusive bonus episodes, early access releases, and bookish merch: https://www.patreon.com/MoralMinorityFollow us on Twitter(X).Devin: @DevinGoureCharles: @satireredactedEmail us at: moralminoritypod@gmail.com

Join Molly and Jack for a CARS Reading Skills Workshop as they unpack Susan Sontag's “Reflective Art”. Learn how to spot main ideas, separate concrete from “wishy-washy” lines, and use author tone and repetition to navigate dense prose. We also dive into why Sontag highlights emotional distance, postponed gratification, and filmmaker Robert Bresson and how these themes show up in CARS questions.What you'll learn:How to find the main idea when the writing is abstract“Concrete vs. wishy-washy” sentence filter (what to cling to vs. skim)Why detachment changes emotional responses in reflective artHow labels like “cold” vs “hot” art can be trapsPractical CARS habits: stay engaged without importing your own opinionsTry the passage & 5 questions:

Leni Riefenstahl remains the most famous of all Nazi propagandists, but to what extent can films like Triumph of the Will be rescued from their fascist origins. The revelatory new documentary RIEFENSTAHL (2024) argues persuasively: not at all. Join us on Patreon for an extra episode every week - https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus "Fascinating Fascism" by Susan Sontag - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1975/02/06/fascinating-fascism/

Today Lina reads a piece that's popping off on her substack about the intersection of The Hunting Wives, Susan Sontag, fascism, and Leather aesthetics. Why are we horny for what scares us? Well step right up to the erotic kaleidoscope and peer in at Malin Akerman's very Victoria's Secret-coded thongs with me.  Read the article here | Get Elizabeth Rose Quinn's book Follow Me LAUREN BOEBERT AT THE THE-A-TER HONEY Become a Patreon member to gain access to all the Ask A Sub benefits including our discord server, archive of premium audio and written posts, as well as our new podcast within a podcast, OTK with Lina and Mr. Dune. Submit questions for this podcast by going to memo.fm/askasub and recording a voice memo. Subscribe to the subby substack here. See the paid post archive here. Get 20% off your order at http://www.momotaroapotheca.com with code LINADUNE Twitter | @Lina.Dune | @askasub2.0 CREDITS Created, Hosted, Produced and Edited by Lina Dune With Additional Support from Mr. Dune Artwork by Kayleigh Denner Music by Dan Molad

This is the full version of the Aug 4 episode, now available to all subscribers.  Author, New York Times columnist, and superstar linguist John McWhorter returns to the pod to catch us up on what's been on his mind now that the Woke Emergency is over . . . or is it over? We talk about how figures like Robin D'Angelo and Ibram X. Kendi have receded from the spotlight and then move on to more pressing questions topics, such as whether New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's “I vs me” confusion is disqualifying (I say yes), whether a smart person would say “stupider” or “more stupid,” when it became acceptable to say “anyways,” and why kids today have substituted “based off” for “based on.” We also discuss John's long-running conversations with economist Glenn Loury on The Glenn Show and how their divergent views on the Trump phenomenon have changed (and also not changed) the dynamics of their discussions. (Listen to my 2024 interview with Glenn Loury here.) John reflects on Glenn's 2024 memoir and explains why he would be reluctant to expand the personal writing in his columns into an entire book. Finally, we talk about the definition of a public intellectual and why so many people with microphones count themselves as such. Would a legendary public intellectual like Susan Sontag have adapted to the YouTube era? What John has to say might surprise you. John McWhorter is one of several speakers featured at the Unspeakeasy Small Gathering for Big Ideas rereat in New York City October 11-12, 2025. Find out more at https://theunspeakeasy.com/nyc. GUEST BIO John McWhorter writes a weekly newsletter for The New York Times, is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, and the author or more than 20 books, most recently Pronoun Trouble, Nine Nasty Words, and Woke Racism. HOUSEKEEPING  Order my new book, The Catastrophe Hour: Selected Essays, on Amazon or directly from the publisher here.  Join the listener and reader community by subscribing to my Substack at theunspeakablepodcast.com.  Visit The Unspeakable on YouTube.

Paid subscribers get early access to my interview with John McWhorter, who will be at the coed New York City Retreat. If you're interested in meeting him in person (among others), you can get $700 off with the code NYC1800. Author, New York Times columnist, and superstar linguist John McWhorter returns to the pod to catch us up on what's been on his mind now that the Woke Emergency is over . . . or is it over? We talk about how figures like Robin D'Angelo and Ibram X. Kendi have receded from the spotlight and then move on to more pressing questions topics, such as whether New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's “I vs me” confusion is disqualifying (I say yes), whether a smart person would say “stupider” or “more stupid,” when it became acceptable to say “anyways,” and why kids today have substituted “based off” for “based on.” We also discuss John's long-running conversations with economist Glenn Loury on The Glenn Show and how their divergent views on the Trump phenomenon have changed (and also not changed) the dynamics of their discussions. John reflects on Glenn's 2024 memoir and explains why he would be reluctant to expand the personal writing in his columns into an entire book. (Listen to my interview with Glenn here.) Finally, we talk about the definition of a public intellectual and why so many people with microphones count themselves as such. Would a legendary public intellectual like Susan Sontag have adapted to the YouTube era? What John has to say might surprise you. GUEST BIO John McWhorter writes a weekly newsletter for The New York Times, is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, and the author or more than 20 books, most recently Pronoun Trouble, Nine Nasty Words, and Woke Racism. Want to hear the whole conversation? Upgrade your subscription here. HOUSEKEEPING