Emancipations Podcast
Emancipations explores the intersection of Marxism, politics and philosophy. Hosted by Daniel Tutt (@DanielTutt).
Mon, April 07, 2025
Rumors and Philosophy (feat. Mladen Dolar)
I am joined by the philosopher Mladen Dolar, one of the most important Lacanian philosophers working today. A founder of the Ljubljana school of psychoanalysis, Mladen Dolar has written important works on Hegel, Marx and numerous works on Lacanian thought. In this podcast, we discuss his experience studying with Lacan in Paris and the legacy of the 1960s on today's politics. We then turn to a discussion of Dolar's new book Rumors , a philosophical essay on the persistent problem of rumors from the time of Socrates to the present. We examine how Socrates, Rousseau, Kafka and Kierkegaard each faced the problem of rumors and sought to overcome the stain of rumors on philosophy. Dolar writes that “rumors present another face of the big other, not the face of knowledge and truth but something that nobody quite believes to be true yet it unfailingly works and is given a questionable credence and general currency.” Learn more about Mladen Dolar's new book https://amzn.to/4b7WlJJ
Tue, April 01, 2025
The Working Class vs. Neofeudalism (feat. Jodi Dean)
I am joined by political theorist Jodi Dean to discuss her provocative new book Capital's Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle . Jodi Dean is one of the most vocal proponents of the "neofeudal thesis", the idea that capitalism has regressed to a neofeudal arrangement characterized by the delinking of capitalist accumulation from production, the end of competition, rent-seeking, predation and plunder. No longer can Marxists rely on a developmentalist theory of capitalism and a proletariat tied to productive labor as the means to abolishing capitalism. Dean argues that we must completely re-think the proletariat and that the global service sector points the way to a renewal of working class agitaiton and revolutionary activity. Jodi Dean is a political theorist and professor in the Political Science department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York state. Her books include The Communist Horizon, Crowds and Party, Comrade: An Essay on Political Belonging , Blog Theory and several others. Please check out Capital's Grave and order a copy here . Join our Patreon to gain access to our interviews before they go live to the public and become a member of our study group collective where we read important books in Marxist thought and philosophy https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups
Tue, April 01, 2025
Why Marxists Should Be Public Intellectuals (feat. Russell Jacoby)
My guest Russell Jacoby is credited with coining the concept "public intellectual." He has written extensively on socialism in America, western Marxism and Freudian Marxism. We begin with a discussion of his criticism of Domenico Losurdo's recently translated work Western Marxism, we then discuss his recent Jacobin article "American Marxism Got Lost on Campus", the work of Christopher Lasch (Jacoby's Ph.D. advisor) and how Marxism can become "plain" again. Jacoby offers advice for Marxist scholars and writer to better reach the public and transcend academic specialization. Russell Jacoby is the author of seven books including The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe, Dogmatic Wisdom: How the Culture Wars Divert Education and Distract America and Dialectic of Defeat: Contours of Western Marxism. He is Emeritus professor of History at UCLA.
Tue, April 01, 2025
Althusser and the Problem of the Petty Bourgeoisie (feat. Nicolas Villarreal)
We welcome socialist thinker and writer Nicolas D. Villarreal for a discussion on the thought of Louis Althusser, and how to navigate the political and ideological problems of the petty bourgeoisie. We begin with a discussion into whether professionals qualify as a class and what their precise function is for the perpetuation of the bourgeois state. Villarreal takes the view that professionals do not constitute a class but that they rather play an ideological function. This conversation clarifies many outstanding debates on today's left around how to understand the PMC, the working class, the function of the state, and how the state controls and represses the citizenry. Nicolas D. Villarreal is the founder of the CASPER Forum, Palladium Magazine contributor, a contributor to Cosmonaut Magazine and he is the author of the novel “Caeruleus”, two time winner of the Howard Scammon Drama Prize. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary specializing in Government and Economics. Subscribe to Nicolas' Substack A Pre-History of an Encounter at ( https://nicolasdvillarreal.substack.com ).
Tue, April 01, 2025
The Critique of Class Abstractionism (feat. Mike McCarthy)
My guest Michael A. McCarthy joins me to discuss his critique of "class abstractionism" or the tendency to theorize the working class in ways that result in vulgar and reductive conclusions. While McCarthy directs his critique to Vivek Chibber and his work The Class Matrix, we also discuss class abstractionism more broadly and how it appears on today's left. We speculate on ways to better theorize class while remaining critical of left-liberal identity politics. McCarthy, along with co-author Mathieu Hikaru Desan published their critique of class abstractionism in Sociological Theory, “The Problem of Class Abstractionism" in 2023. McCarthy is a critical sociologist and his work is on class structure and class formation. He explores the past and possible futures of radical economic democracy. McCarthy is faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz and he is the author, most recently of The Master’s Tools published January 2025 with Verso Books. Learn more about the book here .
Mon, February 03, 2025
Debating Marxism - Daniel Tutt vs. Chris Cutrone
I have invited Chris Cutrone onto the show for a critical debate and discussion on our differences regarding Marxism in America, imperialism, interpretations of Nietzsche and the meaning of the left. Chris Cutrone is not someone that I agree with in matters of Marxism, but we have talked past each other for several years now and we have decided to talk out our differences directly, without a third party mediator. One of my objectives in this discussion is to model the type of public debate that I think we need more of on the left. While Chris Cutrone is not someone that I agree with on hardly anything, his presence on the Marxist left is inescapable and it is important that we have the chance to confront our differences in the open air of the public, without control or censor. Chris Cutrone is a college educator, writer, and media artist, committed to critical thinking and artistic practice and the politics of social emancipation. He is the original lead organizer and chief pedagogue of the Platypus Affiliated Society.
Tue, January 07, 2025
Jacques Rancière Interview on Emancipations
Please welcome Jacques Rancière to the Emancipations podcast. In the unlikely event you are not aware of the work of Jacques Rancière, he is seemingly impossible to classify as a thinker. He emerges from the May 68 moment, a student of Althusser who broke from his teacher and went on to develop some of the most uniquely inspiring works on emancipatory politics, aesthetics and most interestingly, he wrote a series of works on proletarian intellectuals in the 19th century. I ask Jacques Rancière whether the seeming decline in ‘master philosophers’ from the time of French Theory is a good thing, and what a master philosopher is for him. I ask him what he thinks of the working-class today and its fragmented status. I ask him how we should assess the defeat of left-populism and what he thinks of Laclau and Mouffe and Hardt and Negri and other post-Marxist theorists of “radical democracy.” I ask him if he thinks our time resembles the pre-1848 period wherein class antagonisms were rampant but the working-class was unorganized. Read this interview on my Substack ( https://danieltutt.substack.com ). Please support my efforts to bring you these discussions by becoming a Patron on Patreon. As a Patron you will receive early access to all of my interviews and public seminars ( https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups ).
Mon, December 16, 2024
Marx and the Struggle for Freedom (feat. Vanessa Wills & Daniel Tutt)
We are joined by Marxist philosophers Vanessa Wills and Daniel Tutt for a discussion moderated by Sam Greenhouse. This in-person podcast event delves into the philosophy of Marx and how Marx's thought relates to the ongoing quest for freedom in today’s world. We discuss Marx's Ethical Vision , Vanessa's important new book on Marx . Please join us on Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups ) to support our efforts.
Wed, December 04, 2024
Marx and the Problem of Inequality (feat. Branko Milanović)
We welcome Branko Milanović for a discussion on inequality and Marxism and his latest book Visions of Inequality: From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War . A sweeping and original history of how economists across two centuries have thought about inequality, told through portraits of six key figures. Branko Milanovic obtained his Ph.D. in economics (1987) from the University of Belgrade with a dissertation on income inequality in Yugoslavia. He served as lead economist in the World Bank’s Research Department for almost 20 years, leaving to write his book on global income inequality, Worlds Apart (2005). He was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington (2003-2005) and has held teaching appointments at the University of Maryland (2007-2013) and at Johns Hopkins University (1997- 2007). He was a visiting scholar at All Souls College in Oxford, and Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (2010-11). His book The Haves and the Have-nots (2011) was selected by The Globalist as the 2011 Book of the Year. Global Inequality (2016) was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the best political book of 2016 and the Hans Matthöfer Prize in 2018, and was translated into 16 languages. It addresses economic and political effects of globalization and introduces the concept of successive “Kuznets waves” of inequality. His most recent books are Capitalism, Alone , published in 2019, and Visions of Inequality , published in 2023
Wed, November 27, 2024
The Origins of the Revolutionary Tradition in America (feat. Gerald Horne)
We are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne for a discussion on the meaning of the American Revolution and his extensive scholarship on re-assessing 1776 as a "counterrevoluton." At the heart of this discussion is the political and practical question for socialist politics in our time, namely: what is salvageable from 1776, and what is not? How do we read history from a materialist point of view? Dr. Horne's scholarship traces the social forces that brought about the rebellion of 1776 back farther than most historians of the American Revolution have done, by showing how the international forces went to shape the early settlers in relationship to the threat of slave rebellions and resistance. Horne's work also sheds light on a far more extensive network of resistance and rebellion amongst enslaved Africans that has largely gone ignored by historians and he reveals how central the slavery question was to the wider movements of 1776. Chapters Opening and Intro to Dr. Horne Is the American revolution a purely bourgeois revolution? Can we salvage the optimism of 1776? Is there a revolutionary tradition in America? Understanding slave rebellions and resistance pre-1776 How can history help the "class vs. race" debate that often divides the left? How is "counterrevolution" related to Trump? Is Trump Bonapartist or Fascist? How can socialists contest the two capitalist parties in America? Closing and future of Dr. Horne's scholarship and work Please join our Patreon to support us and get early access to all of our interviews, seminars and videos ( https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups ). Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies. His research has addressed issues of racism in a variety of relations involving labor, politics, civil rights, international relations and war. He has also written extensively about the film industry. Dr. Horne is the author of more than thirty books and one hundred scholarly articles and reviews. His current research includes two forthcoming books: The Counter-Revolution of 1836: Texas Slavery, Jim Crow and the Roots of U.S. Fascism and Revolting Capital: Racism and Radicalism in Washington, D.C., 1918-1968 . His other projects include a study of U.S. imperialism in Northeast Africa, principally Egypt and Ethiopia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a similar study concerning U.S. imperialism in Southeast Asia during the same period. He won the American Book Award for The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century in 2021.
Wed, November 20, 2024
The Different Forms of Class Struggle (Class Struggle Study Group Session I)
We turn to a study group on Domenico Losurdo's Class Struggle: A Political and Philosophical History , a crucial text for understanding class struggle within Marx and Engels’ thought that challenges populist understandings of class struggle and seriously incorporates gender, race, and post-colonial thought within the framework of class struggle. If you are interested in joining, we encourage you to support our efforts by becoming a paid patron if you can swing it, although that is not required ( https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups ). READING SCHEDULE: Nov 12 - Read to page 52 Nov 26 - Read to page 120 Dec 10 - Read to page 198 Jan 7 - Finish book, final session (link will be provided for final session)
Tue, November 12, 2024
Why the Left Got High on Nietzsche — Daniel Tutt interview with Henry Holland from NietzschePOParts
A new interview with Henry Holland from Nietzsche POParts, a recently-founded Swiss magazine dedicated to debating Nietzsche's relevance today—essayistic yet grounded in the latest scholarship. Henry interviewed me on my book How to Read Like a Parasite ( https://a.co/d/3RxOrXO) . A meticulous reader and a careful scholar, Henry asks very intelligent questions that reflect a deep immersion into my book. It's clear that he had not only read the book but he was challenged by it. If you feel so inclined or even challenged, be sure to pick up the book, available in Audible and in paperback ( https://a.co/d/3RxOrXO) . Read more from Nietzsche POParts and the text version of the interview will be published here ( https://www.nietzsche-poparts.ch ). Nietzsche POParts is set to expand to include English-language articles from 2025; until then browser translation extensions guarantee fascinating reads for those of you who don't read German!
Wed, October 30, 2024
Why Losurdo's Western Marxism Matters (feat. Gabriel Rockhill)
We are joined by philosopher and Marxist intellectual Gabriel Rockhill to discuss the relevance and importance of the recently translated work, Western Marxism (Monthly Review Press, 2024) by Domenico Losurdo. In this discussion, we analyze Losurdo's book with a focus on extracting the most seminal insights and lessons from the text. We discuss the various Western Marxist thinkers that are critiqued in the text, from Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, Max Horkheimer, to Theodor Adorno and others. We discuss how this text can promote a shift in the western Marxist left in today's time and why it is hitting a nerve. Learn more about Western Marxism by Losurdo please visit ( https://monthlyreview.org/product/western-marxism/ ). Dr. Gabriel Rockhill is the Founding Director of the Critical Theory Workshop / Atelier de Théorie Critique, Professor of Philosophy and Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University, and the author or editor of ten books, as well as numerous scholarly and general public articles. He is also the Associate Director of Cultural Studies at Villanova University, Research Associate at the Laboratoire d’anthropologie politique – LAP (EHESS, Paris), one of the editors-in-chief of the World Marxist Review, and co-editor of the book series AIM–Anti-Imperialist Marxism.
Tue, October 22, 2024
The Politics of Lacanian Structuralism (feat. Samo Tomšič)
We welcome Lacanian philosopher Samo Tomšič for a presentation and discussion on Lacan's relationship to structuralism and politics. We center this discussion around Seminar XVI, "From an Other to the Other" where we witness a shift in Lacan’s structuralism, indicated in the very seminar title: from an Other (symbolic order) to the other (enjoyment). It is not unimportant that Lacan's sole thorough engagement with Marx appears precisely in this context, an engagement that can, and probably should, be read together with the shift from the indefinite to the definite article in the Seminar’s title: “an” Other (language) is abstract, unspecified, and therefore detached from historicity; “the” other is specific and historically contextualized (surplus-value). In this talk, Samo revisits this and other open issues regarding the transformation of Lacanian structuralism, initiated in this ground-breaking Seminar. Above all, he argues for a “partisan reading” of Lacan’s references to Marx. Although these may have been circumstantial (May ‘68) and perhaps even opportunistic (pleasing the radical students), they nevertheless open the horizon of a consistently left Lacanianism. Please support our work to bring these presentations and new research to a public audience by joining and contributing to our Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/c/torsiongroups ).
Tue, October 22, 2024
Schelling and Irrationalism (feat. Christopher Satoor)
We welcome philosopher Christopher Satoor for a discussion on the philosophy of Schelling, the great German idealist. We will focus our conversation on two Marxist critiques of Schelling in Lukács' The Destruction of Reason , to Engels' critique of Schelling from his notes on attending Schelling's lectures as a younger student. Christopher Satoor is an expert in German idealism and a strident Schellingian, so this conversation is sure to be of interest! Get access to the readings for this discussion and seminar with Dr. Satoor by joining our Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/schelling-with-109208386 ).
Fri, October 18, 2024
The Revival of Western Marxism? Losurdo Study Group (Session V)
2011 witnessed a resurgence of protest movements from the Movement of the Squares, Occupy Wall Street, to the Arab Spring. These events propelled Marxist intellectuals Slavoj Žižek and Alain Badiou into the limelight, resulting in a surge in their popularity. But was the precondition of their popularity based on the absence of anti-imperialism in their work? In this study group, we examine Losurdo's criticism of Žižek and Badiou regarding how they understand existing state socialism, how they theorize liberation, freedom and justice. We debrief on the text and we discuss how Western Marxism can be reborn.
Tue, October 15, 2024
The Death of Western Marxism - Losurdo Study Group (Session IV)
We discuss Part IV: "The Triumph and Death of Western Marxism" with particular focus on the work of Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism and On Revolution . We discuss Losurdo's analysis of "recognition" from Hegel and how revolution is theorized as recognition in Marx and Engels and how subsequent liberal theories of revolution in Arendt and Nietzschean theories of Foucault promote what Losurdo sees as the "death" of Western Marxism.
Wed, October 09, 2024
A Lacanian Analysis of Kanye's Reactionary Turn (feat. Robert Beshara)
We welcome Lacanian scholar Robert Beshara back to the show to discuss his new book A Psychoanalytic Biography of Ye: The Legacy of Unconditional Love . It particularly focuses on the 5-year period from 2016 to 2021 (the Shaky-Ass Years) in an effort to think psychoanalytically about Ye's complex subjectivity, his struggle with manic-depression, the thin line between the personal and the political when it comes to celebrity culture, and, of course, his aesthetic productions – be they in the form of music, video, or fashion – which the author regards as also being ethical and political projects/objects. The book takes what Ye says seriously, as opposed to dismissing him through the use of stigmatizing terms. Beshara specifically aligned his desire with Donda’s in an attempt to see him from her point of view – that is, through the legacy of unconditional love. Buy the book from the publishers website with the following discount code PROMO25 https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-2886-4 Learn more about Robert Beshara's work at https://sites.google.com/site/robertkbeshara .
Fri, October 04, 2024
Western Marxism and Anticolonial Revolution - Losurdo's Western Marxism Study Group (Session III)
We examine Losurdo's criticism of western Marxism in relation to anticolonial revolution following the Second World War. We discuss Walter Benjamin's "Theses on the Philosophy of History," Max Horkheimer's Authoritarian State , Althusser's antihumanist turn, Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason , Adorno's Nietzschean pessimism, and Tronti's workerism. We discuss how Losurdo pinpoints an aversion to the anticolonial revolution in the Marxist theories that are generated by these thinkers. We discuss the merits of Losurdo's polemic, where it hits the mark and where it falls short. Please join us at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups .
Sat, September 28, 2024
"The Two Marxisms" Losurdo's Western Marxism Study Group (Session II)
In our second session, we discuss Domenico Losurdo's theory of the birth of Western Marxism as a response to the First World War and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. We begin with a few remarks on the Marxist theory of intellectuals and power, particularly how imperialism fragments the intellectual in relationship to the working class. We then discuss Losurdo's arguments about how western and eastern Marxism begin to take form and contrast one another in terms of the national struggle, state theory, messianism, and priorities of emancipation. We discuss Losurdo's theory that, at least in practice, western Marxists develop an anarchist political practice. Our aim in this study group is to learn the practical challenges facing Marxist politics in our time. Please join our Patreon to study this text with us: https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Wed, September 25, 2024
Domenico Losurdo's Western Marxism Study Group (Session I)
We are discussing Domenico Losurdo's newly translated work, Western Marxism: How It Was Born, How It Died, How It Can Be Reborn in a public study group. Our aim is to learn the practical challenges facing Marxist politics in our time through a close reading method. Each session begins with a brief talk on the salient themes and concepts and then proceeds to group discussion. Order the book from the Monthly Review . Learn more about how to get involved and support us at ( https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups ).
Thu, September 19, 2024
The Most Important French Marxist You've Never Heard Of: Michel Clouscard (feat. Aymeric Monville)
We are joined by Aymeric Monville, author of Neocapitalism According to Michel Clouscard and publisher of Delga Editions to discuss the work of French Marxist philosopher Michel Clouscard. In this interview, we discuss Clouscard's thought, his major works, concepts and ideas. Michel Clouscard was a prominent French Marxist philosopher whose work aimed to reveal the collusion between capitalism and French theory, represented by thinkers ranging from Lévi-Strauss, Lacan to Deleuze, constructing his own concept of neo-Kantianism to describe these thinkers. Clouscard developed a philosophical approach around the idea of the social contract and was highly influenced by the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Karl Marx, he postulated that "the constitutive principle of any society is the relation between production and consumption". --------- Chapters: Clouscard's Critique of French Theory Clouscard's Dissertation Being and the Code (L'Etre et le Code) Clouscard's Concept of Bourgeois Ideology and Neo-Kantianism Neo-fascism and the Ideology of Desire Clouscard's Theory of the Middle Strata & Neo-fascism Clouscard's Style The Capitalism of Seduction : Key Ideas Clouscard's Method The Paths of Praxis (Clouscard's later work) Please join our Patreon to support us and get early access to all of our interviews, seminars and videos.
Thu, September 12, 2024
Jacques Rancière's Theory of Emancipation (feat. Stuart Blaney)
We are joined by philosopher Stuart Blaney to discuss the thought of Jacques Rancière, his work on 19th century worker autodidacts and his theories of emancipation, aesthetics and equality. This conversation is based around a forthcoming book by Stuart Blaney that is entitled, Equality and Freedom in Rancière and Foucault with Bloomsbury Books. Please join our Patreon community to get early access to our interviews and seminars (https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups).
Sun, September 01, 2024
Marxism Contra the Extra-Class Left: Nietzscheanism & Marxism after 2008 (feat. Conrad Hamilton)
We explore the big philosophical questions at the heart of Marxism. Does Marxism require a supplementary philosophy such as Nietzscheanism or Freudianism to properly ground its practice? How have the changing material conditions post-2008 shaped Marxist thought and practice? What is the best Marxist response to speculative realism, a major movement in contemporary philosophy? To explore these questions we are joined by Marxist scholar and writer Conrad Hamilton who is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at East China Normal University. Hamilton is the author of the forthcoming book, Marxism Contra Subjectivity (forthcoming from Brill) which looks at the philosophical impasses facing Marxism in a post-2008 conjuncture, with a particular focus on speculative realism, Althusserianism and different strains of French Marxism. We begin our discussion with Hamilton's analysis of Nietzsche's place in Marxism after World War II. We focus on Hamilton's recent essay on Nietzsche and French thought and his review of my book How to Read Like a Parasite . We then discuss some of the ideas in his forthcoming book on Marxism, philosophy and epistemology. Stay tuned for a symposium on Hamilton's book hosted by our study collective when it comes out. -------- Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction to Conrad Hamilton 4:11 - Recurrent Reaction: Nietzsche and the Thought of the French Middle Strata 21:10 - Nietzschean Appropriations and Marxism after World War II 30:17 - The Problems with the Nietzschean "extra class" left 48:30 - Does Marxism require a comprehensive philosophy? 1:12:10 - Speculative Realism, Real Abstraction and Marxism post-2008 1:22:20 - Where is the subject of the proletariat today? 1:43:50 - Why does philosophy matter to political Marxism? Show Notes: "The Monsters We Become" by Conrad Hamilton (https://cosmonautmag.com/2024/05/the-monsters-we-become-on-how-to-read-like-a-parasite) "Recurrent Reaction: Nietzsche and the Thought of the French Middle Strata" by Conrad Hamilton (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-13635-1)
S1 E1 · Fri, June 21, 2024
Notes on Dialectics: Left Hegelianism or Marxism-Leninism? feat. John McClendon
We welcome Marxist philosopher John McClendon to the show for an in-depth conversation on his philosophical outlook, his work on African American philosophy, and the role of philosophy in Marxist thought and practice. We then discuss McClendon's important book on C.L.R. James's Notes on Dialectics and its implications for Marxist philosophy in our time. If you found this conversation valuable please consider supporting us on a monthly basis at our Patreon .
S1 E1 · Fri, June 21, 2024
How Nietzsche Came in from the Cold - An interview with Philipp Felsch
The postwar period witnessed a renaissance in Nietzschean thought and interpretation, most notably with the French postmodernist readings generated by Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida. But what drove the French Nietzschean renaissance was in many ways supported by the work of two Italian philologists Giorgio Colli and his former student Mazzino Montinari, and their lifelong translation of Nietzsche's unpublished material and key main works. To tell this story, we are joined by German Cultural Historian Philipp Felsch to discuss his newly translated book How Nietzsche Came in from the Cold: Tale of a Redemption , published by Polity Press in June 2024. In this newly translated book, Felsch retraces the journey of two Italian editors, Giorgio Colli and his former student Mazzino Montinari and their efforts to translate the unpublished material of Nietzsche. Felsch tells a gripping and unlikely story of how one of Europe’s most controversial philosophers was resurrected from the baleful clutch of the and transformed into an icon of postmodern thought. Order How Nietzsche Came in from the Cold .
S1 E1 · Thu, June 20, 2024
The Lessons of the Cultural Revolution in China (feat. Tony @1DimeRadio)
We are joined by scholar and socialist thinker Tony, creator of @1Dimee , an important YouTube channel that offers educational videos for a mass popular audience. In this discussion, Tony and host Daniel Tutt discuss his research, writing and video work around The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 - 67. We examine what gave rise to the Cultural Revolution, what it tells us about class struggle and class as a political category vs. an economic category. We also broach how the Cultural Revolution has seeped into Europe, America and beyond. For background, watch Tony's documentary on " The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution " and the second video " Why the Cultural Revolution Failed: Lessons for Leftists ."
S1 E1 · Thu, May 30, 2024
Why Poetry Needs Psychoanalysis - An Interview with Bianca Stone
We welcome the poet laureate of Vermont, Bianca Stone to the show for a conversation on poetry and psychoanalysis. In recent years, Bianca has turned to psychoanalysis as a way to teach poetry and as a method to better understand the process of writing poetry. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss how poetry relates to philosophy and politics, how to interpret poems, what the process of writing a poem is for Bianca, and much more! John Ashbery has said that Bianca Stone is "a brilliant transcriber of her generation’s emerging pathology and sensibility" and her work has been featured in numerous publications, from the New Yorker to Poetry Magazine, and her poems have been featured in numerous literary magazines. She is the Director of the Ruth Stone House up in Vermont, check it out: https://ruthstonehouse.org .
S1 E1 · Thu, May 30, 2024
The Way is Shut feat. Benjamin Studebaker
We are joined by political theorist Benjamin Studebaker to discuss his book, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut, a sharp and accessible work on the political deadlocks of our present. The American economic system is slowly subjecting Americans to enormous amounts of stress, and the United States lacks the state capacity required to alleviate this stress. The elites and oligarchs have created a system that encourages citizens to blame each other. The crisis cannot be solved, the economy cannot be set right, and democracy cannot be saved. But American democracy cannot be killed, either. In this conversation, we discuss how professionals can incorporate political rhetoric that does not alienate workers or pander to them as they seek to develop practical strategies for political change. We discuss the idea of the revolutionary subject and its viability today; why economic egalitarianism is seemingly impossible to advocate in the current system; the meaning of the subaltern (in Gramsci's sense) and how we can understand the disempowering effects of our system as one in which more and more people are made into subalterns and deprived of full citizenship. We also debate the role of the Gaza conflict and the student protests.
S1 E1 · Thu, May 30, 2024
Intellectual Life in Times of Ideological Disorder - A Conversation with Tyler Austin Harper
We are joined by writer and literary scholar Tyler Austin Harper, whose writing in The Atlantic and New York Times has raised debates on class, race and the meaning of the left in ideologically turbulent times. In this conversation, we discuss the meaning of the left, how Marxism is to be interpreted in terms of class analysis, the merits of different interpretive models of class power and ideology, the professional or "New Class" problem which arose after the Second World War, and what is now referred to as the "PMC problem." We also discuss psychoanalysis and the theme of subjective limits and why Freud and Lacan are important for politics. To learn more about Tyler's work, please visit ( https://www.bates.edu/faculty-expertise/profile/tyler-a-harper/) .
S1 E1 · Mon, May 13, 2024
The Rise and Fall of Marxist Perspectives feat. Gabriel Raeburn
We are joined by historian Gabriel Raeburn to discuss the thought of Eugene Genovese, a firebrand Marxist historian who fundamentally transformed the academic study of slavery in the United States and who, with Christopher Lasch, attempted to launch Marxist Perspectives, a serious Marxist-centered journal that brought together the entirety of the global intellectual literati and leading Marxist scholars of the time. With the backing of the most prominent Marxists of the time, from E.P. Thompson, Eric Hobsbawm, Frederic Jameson and with support from young scholars such as Barbara Fields, the journal promised to usher in a new era of Marxist intellectual output that aimed to crossover to the public. But the journal soon dissolved after only two years. With C. Derick Varn of @VarnVlog we discuss the dynamics of what led to the dissolution of this journal and what these lessons can teach us today as we aim to infuse Marxist thinking and scholarship beyond the academy. We also discuss the thought of Eugene Genovese and Christopher Lasch, the two primary scholars behind Marxist Perspectives. To learn more about Gabriel Raeburn and to be in touch with him should you have access to any letters of Genovese for his ongoing research, please find his bio here .
S1 E1 · Sat, April 13, 2024
The Politics of Music (feat. Scribe Wolf)
We are pleased to welcome longtime friend of the show Scribe Wolf, aka A. H. Ra. In this discussion we focus on the book Noise: The Political Economy of Music by theorist Jacques Attali, a highly influential work that crosses disciplinary borders from history, music, to critical theory and Marxism. This is a wide-ranging and improvisational conversation. Definitely not to be missed. Includes a surprise new song! Scribe Wolf is an Appalachia-based alt-country musician who describes his project as a "folk-form residing in the punctuated stitching-through of classical technique in avant-garde substrates." Along with his musical work—which additionally spans industrial roles as a classically trained composer and an audio engineer—Ra comes to the program with a background in Marxist, psychoanalytic, and medievalist scholarship, as well as a history of Leninist organizing. His new avant-metal band Lunafaction is a collaboration with Portland-based Jacob Schulte of black metal project Yfelsian; their debut single The Augury will be out on Bandcamp Friday, April 5, 2024: https://lunafaction.bandcamp.com/ Music video for "Possible Steps through a Moribund Arbor": https://youtu.be/i81XBcJJrpE?si=zYwi7-Qc3llELIQk
S1 E1 · Sat, April 13, 2024
Gaza Now: A Palestinian Perspective (feat. Mohammed Sulaiman)
We welcome Dr. Mohammed Sulaiman for a follow-up interview on the situation in Gaza where as of the time of recording (March 13, 2024) Israel has killed over 30,000 Palestinians. Building off our first discussion, this interview explores a number of questions listeners have wanted to raise with Mohammed about the war on Gaza. We discuss the legacy of Mohammed's teacher, Dr. Refaat Alareer who was murdered on December 6, 2023, what the future may hold for Hamas and the role of secularism in Palestinian struggle for freedom. Please join our Patreon if you enjoyed this conversation to help support us https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
S1 E1 · Fri, March 29, 2024
Politically Red: What Does it Mean to Read as a Marxist? (feat. Sara Nadal-Melsió & Eduardo Cadava)
We welcome Marxist scholars Sara Nadal-Melsió & Eduardo Cadava for a discussion on their new book "Politically Red". If as Brecht said "reading is class struggle" what does that mean for us as Marxists? How are we to orient ourselves in reading groups? How is reading political? Politically Red focuses on the work of Walter Benjamin, Frederic Jameson, Rosa Luxembourg, W.E.B. DuBois and we discuss some of the key ideas of this new book. Check it Politically Red here: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262047807/politically-red
S1 E1 · Fri, March 29, 2024
Marxism and the Absence of Socialism in America: A Conversation with Carlos Garrido
We welcome philosopher Carlos Garrido for a conversation on the theoretical and practical challenges facing the left in America. Garrido is the author of The Purity Fetish and the Crisis of Western Marxism and he specializes in Marxist theory, the history of socialism in America and pragmatist philosophy. He is a director and philosopher at the @MidwesternMarx think tank and media organization. In this conversation we discuss the concept of the purity fetish, the variations within Western Marxism and we move to discuss the practical challenges facing the American left. We also analyze the best accounts of why socialism has never happened in America. Please check out Carlos's work https://www.midwesternmarx.com
S1 E1 · Fri, March 29, 2024
The Vicissitudes of Identity Politics On the Left (feat. Sudip Bhattacharya)
I'm joined by Sudip Bhattacharya for a discussion on how to navigate debates on identity politics and class on the left. What are the best ways for socialists to engage in these debates without risking they end up in unproductive division and hostility? This is a productive conversation full of helpful social and political analysis. Sudip Bhattacharya is a doctoral candidate in Political Science at Rutgers University. You can find his work at outlets like Protean magazine, Jacobin, Current Affairs, Black Agenda Report, among others.
S1 E1 · Mon, February 12, 2024
Drugs in America: From Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge feat. Ben Fong
We are joined by scholar Benjamin Fong to discuss his excellent new book Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge . We discuss the history of drug policy, the role of the state in enforcing and distributing drugs, and we focus on the history of alcohol, opioids, psychedelics and marijuana. We conclude with a conversation on how psychoanalytic theory can help explain drug use. Benjamin Y. Fong is Honors Faculty Fellow at Barrett, the Honors College and Associate Director of the Center for Work & Democracy at Arizona State University. He is the author of Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge (Verso 2023). He is also the co-editor (with Craig Calhoun) of The Green New Deal and the Future of Work (Columbia, 2022) and the author of Death and Mastery: Psychoanalytic Drive Theory and the Subject of Late Capitalism (Columbia, 2016).
S1 E1 · Mon, January 29, 2024
Lacan on Religion and Theology feat. Mark Gerard Murphy
Jacques Lacan frequently discusses religious themes in his work, from rethinking the concept of belief, to the meaning of the return to religion in modern life. In this episode, we are joined by scholar Mark Gerard Murphy to discuss his work on Lacan and theology and to introduce some salient ideas that Lacan introduces in the field of theology and religion. Mark brings both a humility and a love for spirituality to his scholarship on Lacan and I think this conversation really brings that out. We also discuss Dr. Murphy's new book on Lacan and Spiritual Direction . Hope you enjoy it!
S1 E1 · Sat, January 27, 2024
Is Liberal Socialism a Contradiction? (feat. Matt McManus)
Is liberal socialism a contradiction in terms? An oxymoron? Or are liberalism and socialism necessary for the realization of the political objectives that each share and profess? We are joined by Matt McManus, author of the forthcoming book, The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism to make the case for his vision of a renewed liberal socialism for our time.
S1 E1 · Fri, December 29, 2023
Marxism and the Radical Enlightenment: A Debate feat. Max Tomba and Landon Frim
What is the legacy of the Enlightenment in political struggles today and how are socialists and Marxists to relate to the Enlightenment? Must we rely on first principles and an a priori theory of knowledge in our understanding of capitalism and exploitation? Or must we proceed on the basis of an appeal to empiricism and experience primarily in our understanding of social struggles? What is the role of philosophy in our political practice? How do we know that the political causes we champion are just or right? We welcome Marxist thinkers Landon Frim and Max Tomba for a debate on Marxism and the Radical Enlightenment to help us get at the heart of these questions, and much more! For background reading, please see Max Tomba's Introduction to his book Insurgent Universality (download here) and Landon Frim's "Reason is Red" essay (download here) . Max Tomba is Chair and Professor of at the History of Consciousness in the Politics Department at UC Santa Cruz. His research examines time and temporalities, Marxism, critical theory (especially the first generation of the Frankfurt School), and modern and contemporary political thought. He is the author of several books, and most recently Insurgent Universality. An Alternative Legacy of Modernity , with Oxford University Press, published in 2019, which was the co-winner of the 2021 David and Elaine Spitz Prize for the best book in liberal and/or democratic theory published in 2019. Landon Frim is Associate Professor in Philosophy at Florida Gulf Coast University and he is a specialist in Spinoza, enlightenment rationalism and he has written in popular outlets including Jacobin Magazine, The New Republic, Salvage Magazine, and Inside Higher Ed. With Harrison Fluss, Landon wrote Prometheus and Gaia: Technology, Ecology and Anti-Humanism which is an examination of the ideological positions of Futurism and Eco-Pessimism. You can catch a great interview I conducted with Landon and Harrison Fluss on the Zer0 Books YouTube channel and on the Emancipations podcast.
S1 E1 · Fri, December 15, 2023
Sartre’s Marxist Turn? A Discussion on the Critique of Dialectical Reason feat. Terry Pinkard
We are joined by philosopher Terry Pinkard to discuss Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason, his second major philosophical work next to Being and Nothingness. Dr. Pinkard is one of the foremost Hegel scholars in the world and he has recently written a book on Sartre's Critique entitled Practice, Power, and Forms of Life: Sartre’s Appropriation of Hegel and Marx. In this discussion, we review the main concepts developed in the Critique and we ask what this work offers to contemporary politics on the left and how Sartre understands Marx and Hegel. As a special gift to supporters of our program, you can download an unauthorized translation provided by Prof. Pinkard of Sartre's lecture on "The Roots of Ethics" from 1964 at the Gramsci Institute by going here https://www.patreon.com/posts/sartres-marxist-93945414 . The thumbnail image incorporates Alexander Calder's famous painting of Sartre from 1947.
S1 E1 · Sat, December 02, 2023
Palestine and the Actuality of Struggle: A Forum with BICAR
Palestine and the Actuality of Struggle: A Forum with the Beirut Institute for Critical Analysis & Research (BICAR) Featuring presentations from Nadia Bou Ali, Ray Brassier, Sami Khatib and Maya Andrea Gonzalez. Panel moderated by Daniel Tutt Read the BICAR statement on Palestine: https://bicarlebanon.org
S1 E1 · Tue, November 07, 2023
The War On Gaza, Hamas and Political Islam feat. Mohammed Sulaiman
Our guest Mohammed Sulaiman was raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza strip. He has survived multiple Israeli bombings of Gaza over the last two decades, including a 2013 shelling of his home while he was conducting an interview with CNN . Currently, his entire family is in Gaza as Israel continues to unleash a brutal massacre and bombardment campaign on the people of Gaza, which has already resulted in the killing of over 10,000 Gazans, including 4,000 children. In this conversation, we discuss the rise of Hamas, how Hamas fits within the wider phenomenon of political Islam and we analyze the brutal genocidal bombardment of Israel on the Gaza strip in response to the Hamas attacks into Israel in October 7th. Mohammed earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of South Australia on political Islam. If you enjoyed this conversation, please support our work by becoming a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups .
S1 E1 · Tue, October 31, 2023
Marx and Critical Social Ontology: Learning from the Later Lukács feat. Michael J. Thompson
The purpose of Marxist theory is not only to diagnose the negative forces and effects of capitalist society; emphasis must also be placed on the need for social transformation that would enhance human progress at the social and individual level. But the trends of current critical and Marxist theory have turned away from a more positive vision of critique. In his later work with the Budapest School, Lukács argued that Marxism must develop a comprehensive social ontology to understand how power relations within the society also shape and organize the social totality itself. A social ontology seeks to comprehend the ways that social relations, structures, processes and purposes are shaped or possibly contested. We welcome Marxist scholar, thinker and writer Michael J. Thompson. Thompson teaches at William Patterson University and is the author of The Domestication of Critical Theory , Twilight of the Self: The Decline of the Individual in Late Capitalism and several other important works. In this interview we discuss the legacy of western Marxism, the neo-idealist turn in the Frankfurt School, how to think the return of class in out time, and the work of the later Lukács and the project on critical social being. Please join us on Patreon for as much as $1.50 per month to help us continue to bring you interviews and seminars: https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Mon, October 23, 2023
Palestine: Understanding the War on Gaza feat. Anita Zsurzsán and Jamil Khader
We are joined by philosopher Anita Zsurzsán and Jamil Khader, the Dean of Research at Bethlehem University in Palestine for a roundtable on the war on Gaza, otherwise known as the "2023 Hamas-Israel war". We discuss the politics of the current war, the status of Islamist politics in Palestine and the region, the role of the media, Islamophobia and Antisemitism, Arab Marxism and the meaning of Palestine liberation today. Please read Jamil's latest article on Truthout "Media’s Selective Moral Outrage Manufactures Consent for Palestinian Genocide" https://truthout.org/articles/medias-selective-moral-outrage-manufactures-consent-for-palestinian-genocide/
S1 E1 · Fri, September 29, 2023
What is the Warm-Stream of Marxism? feat. Tijana Okić
We welcome Tijana Okić back to the show for a discussion on the Marxist philosopher Ernst Bloch's idea of the warm and cold stream in Marxism. How are we to understand this distinction and which Marxist thinkers fit into these two streams? Can the cold and the warm streams be synthesized? Tijana Okić is a philosopher, feminist and translator. She completed her Ph.D. in philosophy at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy. She is one of the editors of the volume The Lost Revolution: AFŽ between Myth and Forgetting (Sarajevo, 2016).
S1 E1 · Sat, September 23, 2023
Understanding Class Politics: Bourdieu with Marx feat. Lisa Mckenzie
What are the best theoretical frameworks for understanding class politics? Marx offers an understanding of class as tied to relations of productive labor and property ownership in capitalist society. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu offers an understanding of class which goes beyond Marx in many ways, offering a richer and more varied idea of class as a cultural formation that generates a field of power. Can Marx and Bourdieu be reconciled? Can they be combined? We are joined by sociologist Lisa Mckenzie to discuss the best ways to theorize class, the working class, class politics and more.
S1 E1 · Thu, September 07, 2023
Daniel Bensaïd and the Renewal of Marxism feat. Darren Roso
We are joined by socialist author Darren Roso to discuss his forthcoming book Daniel Bensaid: From the Actuality of Revolution to the Melancholic Wager which is the first major study of Bensaïd's thought. Daniel Bensaïd completed his Ph.D. on Lenin right as May 68 took off and his work has contributed to contemporary Marxist philosophy and practice in important ways. In this fascinating interview, Roso describes the key ideas and the thrust of Bensaïd's renewal of Marxism starting in the 1980s to his death in 2010.
S1 E1 · Fri, August 25, 2023
In Defense of Žižek? A Discussion with Matthew Flisfeder
Slavoj Žižek is a provocative intellectual, constantly taking positions on social and political issues that upset convention and lead him to face derision from both the right and the left. Given the often erratic stances that he takes, from his support for the Ukraine war, to Donald Trump in 2016, some have wondered whether the Giant of Ljubljana has lost his way in recent times. We are joined by Žižek scholar Matthew Flisfeder for a discussion on how to understand the core of Žižek's thought, and how to remain true to his project and method even when he may waver from it. Matthew Flisfeder is an associate professor of rhetoric and communications at the University of Winnipeg. He is the author of Postmodern Theory and “Blade Runner” and The Symbolic, the Sublime , and Slavoj Žižek’s Theory of Film .
S1 E1 · Mon, July 10, 2023
On the Meaning of Revolution feat. C. Derick Varn (Part II)
We continue our conversation on the meaning of revolution with C. Derick Varn, by turning to the theoretical basis of "post" Marxist thinkers from the Althusserian school, Laclau and Mouffe, Hardt and Negri and Alain Badiou. We discuss some of the pitfalls of these contemporary Marxist theorists and the basis by which they revise core tenets from Marx. We also discuss new class theories on today's left and how they relate to Marx's class theory and different theories of the intellectual in socialist thought. To download the reading list we have created for this series please go here . To get early access and support our work please check out our Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups) .
Thu, June 15, 2023
On the Meaning of Revolution feat. C. Derick Varn (Part I)
Is revolution dead? The left is divided over how to make revolution, and many Marxist and post-Marxist theorists have developed radically new conceptions of revolution that are often highly divergent from how Marx, Engels and Second International Marxists dealt with revolution. Our age is notoriously known as post-revolutionary, and liberal realism has set in so deep that we have seemed to have lost touch with the truths of Marxist insights into revolution. We are experiencing a resurgence of political and cultural radicalism but in the context of the absence of working-class radicalism as expressed through socialist parties, mass parties and labour unions. To help us understand the history and the meaning of revolution, both in its practical and theoretical valences, we are joined by scholar, poet and podcaster C. Derick Varn. C. Derick Varn is the host of the politics and culture podcast Varn Vlog where he probes socialist politics and offers invaluable insights for the left. Please subscribe to his show at @VarnVlog . To get access to the reading list that we have created around this two-part series, please join our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups .
S1 E1 · Thu, June 08, 2023
The Story of Agnes Smedley: From Peasant to Socialist Heroine feat. Stephen MacKinnon
Agnes Smedley is an American writer and socialist heroine born in 1892 in Missouri. Her family relocated all across the American west including near the Ludlow Massacre of coal mining workers. Smedley managed to escape the conditions of poverty she was born into and went on to become one of the most important personalities of revolutionary socialism in the first part of the 20th century. Smedley's notoriety has been larger in Russia and China than in the United States because her books were banned during the Red Scare in the 1950s - 1970. She was witness to the Chinese Revolution where she spent the longest period of time embedded with the Chinese Red Army, longer than any other western journalist. We are joined by Stephen MacKinnon, a historian of modern China and the author of Agnes Smedley: The Life and Times of an American Radical to discuss the remarkable life of Agnes Smedley. In this interview, host Daniel Tutt and Stephen MacKinnon discuss Smedley's life and legacy and speculate into a number of open questions about her death, her possible status as a Russian spy and more.
Thu, June 01, 2023
Tragedy, Parody and Psycho-Power feat. Ali Benziane
We welcome the brilliant poet and thinker Ali Benziane. Dr. Benziane is an autodidactic philosopher currently working closely with friend of the show, the famous French actor and philosopher Mehdi Belhaj Kacem. We discuss some philosophical and metaphysical perspectives on the post-covid world, looking at Ali's notion of a new mechanism of global power that he calls "psychopouvoir" (psycho-power) after the late french philosopher Bernard Stiegler. We discuss his intellectual influences, Phillipe Lacoue-Labarthe, the meaning of tragedy, parody, Deleuze's work, fascism and philosophy, traditionalism, and Ali's love for the French metaphysician René Guénon.
S1 E1 · Wed, May 24, 2023
New Currents in Marxism: From Degrowth Communism to Neo-Kautskyism feat. Richard Seymour
We welcome writer and Marxist thinker Richard Seymour back onto the show for a spirited discussion on new currents in Marxist thinking. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss the contradictions and tensions between the concept of "degrowth communism", coined by eco-socialist thinker Kohei Saito, to another trend in Marxist and socialist thinking which is encapsulated by the name of "neo-Kautskyism", or the general tendency for a more productivist and working-class organized direction of socialist politics. We also discuss the legacy of Althusserian Marxism, class politics, the PMC debate and quagmire as well as Richard's intellectual trajectory, idealism and materialism and faith and spirituality. If you enjoy this conversation please consider joining us as a Patron for as little at $3 a month https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
S1 E1 · Wed, May 03, 2023
Sartre’s Existential Psychoanalysis feat. Mary L. Edwards
We are joined by Mary L. Edwards to discuss her new book Sartre's Existential Psychoanalysis: Knowing Others . We discuss Sartre's concept of bad faith, the in-itself and the for-itself and the challenge that his philosophy poses to psychoanalysis. We also discuss Sartre's psychobiographies on Jean Genet and Gustave Flaubert and what these works have to offer to psychoanalytic practice and theory. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups Link to Mary's book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/sartres... Mary Louise Edwards is a teacher in philosophy at Cardiff University, School of English, Communication and Philosophy. Mary researches and teaches existentialism, feminist philosophy, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of imagination.
Wed, April 26, 2023
Lukács, Irrationalism and Marxist Reason
In this episode, I expound on Lukács's later work and the meaning of irrationalism. I analyze Marxist reason in contradistinction to neo-Kantian thought and touch on what is most distinctive about philosophy for Marx and Engels and how Marx breaks with both Kant and Hegel. From a Marxist point of view, the practical aim of philosophy is to bring about human freedom and human freedom in capitalist society requires the activation and the organization of the proletariat to realize and overcome class domination. References: Lukács, Georg The Destruction of Reason Verso Books, 2021 Lukács, Georg History and Class Consciousness MIT Press, 1992 Lukács, Georg "Moses Hess and the Problem of Idealist Dialectics" from Tactics and Ethics Verso Books, 2014 Lukács, Georg "Intellectual Workers’ and the Problem of Intellectual Leadership” from Tactics and Ethics Verso Books, 2014 Lenin, Vladimir "What Is to Be Done" https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd Frederick C. Beiser The Genesis of Neo-Kantianism, 1796–1880 Oxford University Press, 2014 Rockmore, Tom Irrationalism: Lukacs and the Marxist View of Reason Temple University Press, 1991 Check out our symposium on Lukács' The Destruction of Reason ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE03jn2k3GYAWlu20REPquu3-R-_Snbef) Supplemental reading: Tutt, Daniel "The Question of Worldview and Class Struggle in Philosophy: On the Relevance of Lukács' The Destruction of Reason " Cosmonaut Magazine February, 2022 https://cosmonautmag.com/2022/02/the-question-of-worldview-and-class-struggle-in-philosophy-on-the-relevance-of-lukacss-worldview-marxism-and-the-destruction-of-reason To get early access to our interviews and talks please join us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
S1 E1 · Sun, April 23, 2023
Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn feat. Doug Greene
We sit down with Doug Greene to discuss his latest work on Stalinism. In this interview, Greene describes who Stalin was, what his role in the Bolshevik movement was and how he came to power. Greene then provides a compelling analysis of different paradigms of how Stalinism has been conceptualized by intellectuals from Arthur Koestler, Jean-Paul Sartre, Antonio Gramsci, to heads of states such as Winston Churchill and writers such as George Orwell. Doug Greene is a Marxist historian based in the Boston area. Our last interview with Greene was about his book on Michael Harrington, A Failure of Vision , which is a biography of Harrington, the liberal-socialist founder of the DSA. We conclude our conversation with a discussion about Domenico Losurdo’s book on Stalin and its shortcomings. We also discuss the specter of Stalinism on today's left and whether there is a compelling sort of psychological account as to what draws people to Stalinism to this day. Order Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn .
S1 E1 · Tue, April 18, 2023
The New Irrationalism - A Conversation with John Bellamy Foster
We are back! And we changed our podcast name to Emancipations Podcast! In this episode, we are pleased to welcome Marxist thinker John Bellamy Foster to discuss his recent article The New Irrationalism in the Monthly Review ( https://monthlyreview.org/2023/02/01/...) . This article started a conversation on the legacy of Lukács's Destruction of Reason and the role of philosophy in times of imperialism and war. You can listen to the video version of this interview where I elaborate on the theme of irrationalism by going here ( https://youtu.be/E6H7RfzgyMA) . Sign up to support our efforts on Patreon at ( https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups) .
Tue, February 28, 2023
The Enigma of Christopher Lasch feat. Christian Lorentzen
We are joined by literary critic and actor Christian Lorentzen to discuss the legacy and thought of Christopher Lasch. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lorentzen and host Daniel Tutt discuss Lasch's socialist politics, why he's so often misunderstood by the contemporary left and how he read literature. We assess the reasons why Lasch remains so popular and we touch on the politics of American novelists, the new Dimes Square scene in Manhattan, for which Christian is a central figure and personality, and we touch on the generational politics that seem to return and return ever since Lasch diagnosed them in the 1970s. You can subscribe to Christian's Substack to read his prolific book review essays and other writings: https://christianlorentzen.substack.com
S1 E1 · Sun, January 29, 2023
Adorno On Ideology feat. Jacob Bard-Rosenberg
In 1954 Adorno wrote, "if one were to condense what the ideology of mass culture comes down to into a single sentence, one would have to represent it with the parodic statement: “become what you are.” Adorno offered a series of important lectures on the concept of ideology with Max Horkheimer in the wake of the Second World War. They argued against the liberal sociologists such as Mannheim and Weber's conceptions of ideology, and they also called for a new Marxist understanding of ideology. In this episode, we discuss the history of the concept of ideology up to Adorno's important intervention. This conversation is based on a newly translated article "Contribution to the Theory of Ideology" by Adorno and translated by our guest Jacob Bard-Rosenberg . Dr. Rosenberg has recently completed a Ph.D. on Adorno and Benjamin on memory, forgetting and dreams. You can download his dissertation here . To read Rosenberg's review of Adorno's article on ideology, please go here .
Fri, January 20, 2023
Lacanian Marxism On Today’s Left with Jensen Suther
We sit down with philosopher Jensen Suther for a conversation on Lacanian Marxism on today's left. Jensen Suther earned his PhD in Comparative Literature from Yale University and was recently elected as a Junior Fellow to the Harvard Society of Fellows. His forthcoming book, Spirit Disfigured: The Persistence of Freedom in the Modernist Novel , argues against the “lacanian turn” in Marxist theory and provides a new reading of Hegel’s encyclopedia as the philosophical foundation of emancipatory politics. The host, Daniel Tutt is the host of Study Groups on Psychoanalysis and Politics and has taught philosophy at George Washington University, Marymount University, the Global Center for Advanced Studies and the Washington DC jail.
Sat, December 24, 2022
Ressentiment: A Liberal Concept? feat. Sjoerd van Tuinen
Our final episode for the year! Thank you all for your support this year. In this episode, we sit down with the philosopher Sjoerd van Tuinen to discuss the concept of ressentiment and the politics of resentment. Dr. van Tuinen has many essays on ressentiment and a forthcoming book on the topic. Please pitch in to support us at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Thu, November 10, 2022
An Introduction to the Philosopher Kojin Karatani
Kojin Karatani is one of the most interesting and important Marxist philosophers working today. Listen to our conversation about his main ideas...featuring Daniel Tutt and Gabriel Tupinambá. The workshop we held on Karatani's The Structure of World History can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE03jn2k3GYDWu4I9kdRXvq-FXy1vPVkO Support us by joining our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Mon, September 19, 2022
Marxist Class Theory for a Skeptical World feat. Raju Das
What is the Marxist theory of class? Did Marx have a mature class theory in Capital or is Marx's theory of class unfinished and ultimately unclear? Many scholars contend that Marx does not have a clear class theory. But too often Marxists do not offer any alternative to the theory of class, so Marxism ends up with very little to say about class. Our guest in this episode, Raju Das, disagrees with many contemporary Marxists who tend to sideline Marx's theory of class. In this conversation, we learn that Marx does have a theory of class and we break it all down and show how central it is to his thought. We begin with a critique of Analytical Marxist and Post-structuralist Marxist theories of class and we learn about a more materialist and dialectical foundation for class theory. Das helps us to theorize class at both the transhistorical level and at the level of capitalism. Raju Das is the author of Marxist Class Theory for a Skeptical World.
Thu, August 18, 2022
Freud and the Limits of Bourgeois Individualism with Bruno Bosteels
We are joined by writer and Marxist thinker Bruno Bosteels to discuss Léon Rozitchner’s Freud and the Limits of Bourgeois Individualism , which Bosteels has recently translated. In this conversation, we discuss Rozitchner's biography, his place within South American Marxism, the key concepts and approach of the text and we end with a consideration of Alain Badiou's thought. Bosteels is the translator of Freud and the Limits of Bourgeois Individualism , Alain Badiou's Theory of the Subject and he is the author of the forthcoming book Philosophies of Defeat: The Jargon of Finitude (Verso).
Mon, August 01, 2022
Is Nietzsche compatible with Marxism? feat. Jan Rehmann
We continue our investigation into the philosophy of Nietzsche, this time with philosopher Jan Rehmann who teaches critical theories and social analysis at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and philosophy at the Free University in Berlin. We discuss the Marxist reading of Nietzsche and Rehmann's recently translated work Deconstructing Postmodernist Nietzscheanism: Deleuze and Foucault . To learn more about what we are doing and support us please become a Patron https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Mon, July 25, 2022
Pleasure: A Political Issue with Anna Kornbluh
Fredric Jameson is one of the most important Marxist literary critics. We are joined by Anna Kornbluh to discuss his theory of postmodernism and particularly his work on psychoanalysis and Marxism. We analyze Jameson's incredible essay "Pleasure: A Political Issue" which looks at the relationship between psychoanalysis and Marxism. This conversation gets at the heart of the Marxism-psychoanalysis relationship, what the stakes are, what psychoanalysis offers to Marxist analysis and more. Anna Kornbluh's research and teaching interests center on Victorian literature and Critical Theory, with a special emphasis in formalism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, and theory of the novel. She is the author of The Order of Forms: Realism, Formalism, and Social Space (University of Chicago 2019), Marxist Film Theory and Fight Club (Bloomsbury "Film Theory in Practice” series, 2019), and Realizing Capital: Financial and Psychic Economies in Victorian Form (Fordham UP 2014).
Fri, July 15, 2022
Too Much Theory on the Left? feat. Catherine Liu
We are joined by Catherine Liu to discuss how French Theory grew to such prominence in American culture and academia, and how it has shaped not only the left but many aspects of our everyday life, from how we conceive of power, , the figure of the intellectual to the literary canon. French Theory was not merely a fad, it has had deep and long-lasting effects on our culture. After discussing this history, we discuss Deleuzian theory and socialism, whether the libertine & counterculture left can forge solidarity with the working class and more. For a reflection on this conversation, check out my write-up . Support us at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Mon, June 20, 2022
Psychoanalysis, Love and Politics feat. Duane Rousselle
We welcome Duane Rousselle to the show for a dialogue with host Daniel Tutt on Lacanian theory and politics. We discuss Duane's latest book Real Love and his work on the later Lacan and politics, as well as the thought of Jacques-Alain Miller. Rousselle is a practicing Lacanian psychoanalyst and Canadian sociological theorist. Support us at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Sat, June 18, 2022
Is the Vibe Shift Reactionary?
Mike comes back on the show after a year long hiatus (!) to discuss the "vibe shift" in the New York literary scene. We analyze the political implications of the "vibe shift" and where things might be headed. Be sure to check out Mike's substack where he investigates these new scenes.
Sun, May 29, 2022
Why Class Matters with Lillian Cicerchia
Lillian Cicerchia, co-host of What's Left of Philosophy wrote an essay "Why Does Class Matter" which was the first article about class (specifically) in academic philosophy in several decades. Why in the would academic philosophy sideline analysis of class? The answer to that question may be quite obvious, or there may be more to it. Listen to find out! Lillian is interested in finding ways to bring an analysis of class back into the conversation that does so in a way that pays attention to the theme of "non-domination" in the labor market. She brings a very interesting mode of analyzing class to the table. To listen to the full interview please go here https://www.patreon.com/posts/67038471
Sat, May 21, 2022
Adieu Lacan - Interview with Filmmaker Richard Ledes
We sit down with filmmaker Richard Ledes to discuss the process of making his film Adieu Lacan , which depicts a successful psychoanalytic intervention by Lacan. Ledes is a fascinating filmmaker who has been compared to David Lynch and his most well-known film is Fred Won't Move Out . Adieu Lacan is available on VOD and is definitely a must-watch!
Fri, May 13, 2022
Circumcision and Psychoanalysis feat. Jordan Osserman
We are pleased to welcome writer and thinker Jordan Osserman to the show to discuss circumcision and his new book Circumcision on the Couch: The Cultural, Psychological, and Gendered Dimensions of the World's Oldest Surgery which has recently been published by Bloomsbury. Join us at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups to get access to our seminars, writing and early release of our shows.
Sat, April 30, 2022
The Lacanian Left, Self-Help, and the Family feat. Richard Seymour
We sit down with the prolific writer and thinker Richard Seymour, Co-Founder of Salvage Magazine and author of The Meaning of David Cameron (2010), Unhitched (2013), Against Austerity (2014) and Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics (2016). Since 2013, Seymour has turned to Lacanian theory in his writing and analysis of contemporary politics . We discuss what he finds valuable in psychoanalytic theory, the recent fractures over the trans movement in the Lacanian field, the patriarchy question, Oedipal politics, family abolition, meritocracy and Richard's next book project The Little Red Self-Help Book . We conclude with a discussion on the future of the far right. If you like this conversation and might be willing to pitch in to support us, please become a member of our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups
Mon, April 25, 2022
Lasch Beyond the Culture War - A Conversation with Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn
We are very pleased to sit down with American historian and cultural critic Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn to discuss her work on the history of race relations in America and the legacy of her father, the historian and critic Christopher Lasch. Christopher Lasch's thought has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years and one of the big questions that surrounds his work is how we understand his political vision and what the core of his critique of liberalism and American elites really amounts to. In this sneak-peak of an interview, we get a bit closer to answering this elusive question and we learn more about the real Lasch. To listen to our full interview with Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn please become a member of our Patreon ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/65598099 ). In addition to this clip on the legacy of Christopher Lasch, we also discuss her work Race Experts: How Racial Etiquette, Sensitivity Training, and New Age Therapy Hijacked the Civil Rights Revolution and her work Ars Vitae: On the Fate of Inwardness and the Return of the Ancient Arts of Living which talks about spirituality and new modes of living in our society.
Mon, April 11, 2022
Decolonial Psychoanalysis feat. Robert Beshara
We are joined by artist, writer and educator Robert Beshara to discuss his work in critical psychology, Islamophobia, Freud and Said and how to understand racial capitalism, solidarity and comradeship. This is an oft-inspiring conversation that touches on a lot of very important debates and concepts in contemporary politics. One of the many highlights include Robert's discussion of the highly misunderstood the thinker Edward Said had with psychoanalysis. This is a great conversation and I hope you all benefit form it! To listen to the full interview check out our Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/decolonial-freud-64587307 Also, be sure to check out Dr. Robert Beshara's books, films and other work at his website .
Fri, April 01, 2022
Myths in Crisis: Prometheus, Gaia, and Marxism
We welcome philosophers Landon Frim and Harrison Fluss to the show for a discussion on how to navigate the ecological crisis in philosophy. This episode originally appeared on the Zer0 Books YouTube channel . Support our work for $3 - $10 a month at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups Fluss and Frim argue the two dominant strains of thinking ecology today, Accelerationism and Gaian philosophies are ultimately inadequate frameworks because they reject the human frame as grounding politics; each seeks to subordinate the human in favor of a wholly alien other, either in the form of an anarchic nature or a dynamic technology. To transcend this strange coincidence of opposites, Fluss and Frim make the positive case for a Marxist humanism that is rationalist without being anthropocentric. This conversation is centered around their new book Prometheus and Gaia: Technology, Ecology and Anti-Humanism .
Thu, March 17, 2022
Class Struggle in the History of Psychoanalysis (feat. Hannah Proctor)
Please go to our Patreon to listen to the final 30 minutes of this conversation https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups and get access to our other interviews, seminars and more. Our guest for today's episode is Hannah Proctor, writer, historian and thinker of the history of psychoanalysis. Hannah has written extensively on early Soviet era psychoanalysis and psychology and her Substack Unconsciousness Raising focuses on lesser known psychoanalytic thinkers. In this conversation, we discuss early Soviet psychoanalysts, Wilhelm Reich and Herbert Marcuse on revolution, her work on political burnout and more.
Thu, March 10, 2022
The petit-bourgeois habitus *TEASER*
Listen to the full interview with cultural theorist Marc James Léger, author of The Neoliberal Undead at https://www.patreon.com/posts/63587198
Mon, March 07, 2022
How to be a Marxist with Tijana Okić
We are joined by philosopher Tijana Okić for a spirited conversation on what it means to be a Marxist today. What are the common problems we face when it comes to holding a Marxist position today? Is Marxism reducible to the correct philological and textual analysis of Marx's thought? What are we to make of the epistemological break between the early Marx's work on alienation to his later notions of exploitation? Does Marxism become irrelevant when we abandon a theory of alienation? We also discuss the working class today and how to best theorize class in our wider commitment to the class struggle. We conclude with a discussion of the urgent geopolitical crisis of the war Russia has waged on Ukraine. Tijana brings a sophisticated and passionate socialist perspective. Please consider becoming a Patron for $3 per month at https://www.patreon.com/torsiongroups . We post new interviews, seminars and study group opportunities frequently. Our guest Tijana Okić is a philosopher with an interest in history and historiography. Her research interests are primarily related to social and political philosophy, in their historic and systematic development. Tijana is a dedicated feminist with an interest in feminist theory both generally and specifically as well as the politics of debt and austerity.
Fri, February 25, 2022
Teaser: Interview with Adrian Johnston on Today’s Hegel Renaissance
We sit down with American philosopher Adrian Johnston, one of the most creative and interesting philosophers working today. To listen to the entire conversation where Adrian succinctly defines "transcendental materialism" in less than two minutes(!) and we discuss the new Hegel renaissance in contemporary philosophy and Adrian's philosophical differences with Zizek. You can listen to this interview for just $2 at our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/posts/63046361.
Sun, February 20, 2022
Can American socialists reform the Democratic Party? Interview with Doug Greene
We sit down with historian Doug Greene to discuss the important history of American socialism and the over 70 years of attempts to "realign" the Democratic Party. Should socialists cooperate with the Democratic Party? To explore this important question, Doug Greene tells us about the ideas and vision of Michael Harrington, the founder of the largest socialist organization in America, the DSA. Harrington's ideas inform the "common sense" of America's contemporary left and they are at the core of why the American working class has been prevented, time and again, from independently forming a worker's party or effectively challenging the absolute dominance of capital and the ruling class. Support Doug Greene: Doug's Patreon: "I Read It So You Don't Have To!" https://www.patreon.com/enaa_doug_blanqui?fan_landing= Doug's blog http://blanquist.blogspot.com Doug's book A Failure of Vision on Michael Harrington https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/failure-vision-michael-harrington-democratic-socialism
Thu, January 13, 2022
Psychiatry and Trauma with Vincenzo Di Nicola
We are joined by Dr. Vincenzo Di Nicola to discuss modern psychiatry and his work on trauma, family therapy and the philosophical underpinnings of psychiatry. We discuss the prevalence of trauma discourse, the philosophy of Alain Badiou, why social dynamics are often ignored by modern psychiatry and psychology, and we examine the history of the "anti-psychiatry movement" with special focus on R.D. Laing, Jacques Lacan and Frantz Fanon. Vincenzo Di Nicola is an Italian-Canadian psychologist, psychiatrist and family therapist, and philosopher of mind. Di Nicola is a tenured Full Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry & Addiction Medicine at the University of Montreal, where he founded and directs the postgraduate course on Psychiatry and the Humanities, and Clinical Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The George Washington University, where he gave The 4th Annual Stokes Endowment Lecture in 2013.
Mon, December 13, 2021
The Concept is a Weapon - Interview with French philosopher Mehdi Belhaj Kacem
We sat down with French philosopher Mehdi Belhaj Kacem who the late David Graeber praised as one of the most important philosophers living today. In this interview, we discuss Kacem’s reading habits, what inspires him in the world of thought, how he derived his philosophical concepts, what qualifies as truly radical in our age and why he broke up with his former mentor Alain Badiou. Kacem is, similar to Giorgio Agamben, a major critic of the way the ruling class is managing the pandemic and he is not shy to share his views. In this wide-ranging conversation, we catch a glimpse of a deeply inventive and creative mind and we get advice for how to do philosophy outside of conventional institutions. This interview was conducted on Thursday December 9th, 2021, by Daniel Tutt. Translation and interpretation assistance provided by Saad Boutayeb. To read the English transcripts of this interview which include two additional questions not covered in the podcast go here to download . For the transcriptions in French please go here to download . Music: "Banned in D.C." by Bad Brains
Wed, December 08, 2021
Psychoanalysis and the Love of Arabic with Nadia Bou Ali
We are honored to be joined by Nadia Bou Ali, practicing psychoanalyst and Assistant Professor at the Civilization Studies Program at the American University of Beirut. We discuss Nadia's new work Psychoanalysis and the Love of Arabic: Hall of Mirrors - a work of Lacanian theory, comparative literature and political theory. We discuss the main themes of this work and raise questions about Lacan's contribution to the study of literature, psychoanalysis and liberalism, tolerance, the birth of Arab modernity and the two fascinating literary figures that she analyzes in this work: Ahmad Faris Shidyaq (1805-87) and Butrus al-Bustani (1819-83). This is a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation - definitely not to be missed! Interview and discussion conducted by Daniel Tutt To purchase this book please visit https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/...
Thu, December 02, 2021
Deciphering Nietzsche/anism Part III with Carl Sachs
We are joined by philosopher Carl Sachs, Professor of Philosophy at Marymount University and all around great human being. Carl did his Ph.D. on Nietzsche and has spent a great deal of time with Nietzsche's thought over the years. In this discussion, we analyze the achievement of Domenico Losurdo's massive book Nietzsche, the Aristocratic Rebel: Intellectual Biography and Critical Balance Sheet . Will the world of philosophy embrace Losurdo's new perspective on Nietzsche? What does Losurdo say that changes our understanding of Nietzsche? Is Losurdo's perspective and analysis of the core of Nietzsche right? We discuss these questions and more in this very enlightening episode! Carl Sachs is the author of Intentionality and Myths of the Given: Between Pragmatism and Phenomenology (Routledge 2015) , Co-Founder and Vice President of the Wilfrid Sellars Society and Professor of Philosophy at Marymount University. Find him on Twitter at @carl_b_sachs .
Tue, November 09, 2021
Trotskyism Today with Ian Parker
Marxist theorist, literary critic, military leader and exiled opponent of Stalin, Leon Trotsky is one of the most important figures of 20th century Marxism. But how are Trotsky's ideas being lived out today by revolutionary socialists? To help us understand Trotskyism, its history and legacy today we are joined by Ian Parker, Lacanian psychoanalyst and revolutionary socialist. He has written over 25 books to his name and he works in the fields of critical psychology, Marxist psychology, and psychoanalytic theory. Parker is a fellow of the British psychological society, Emeritus Professor at the University of Leicester, and the managing editor of the Annual Review of Critical Psychology . Parker is also a practicing psychoanalyst analyst. For those interested, you can see Ian Parker and his co-author David Pavón-Cuellár this Friday November 12th at 2 pm EST for a conference hosted by Study Groups on Psychoanalysis and Politics centered around their new work, Revolution: Critical Psychology for Liberation movements . Join us with speakers Isabel Millar, Gabriel Tupinambá and Nadia Bou Ali to discuss this work at 2 pm this coming Friday November 12th - RSVP (on Zoom): https://psychoanalysis-revolution.eventbrite.com In this episode, we discuss history of Trotskyism and its main ideas and how Trotsky’s ideas can help us address creeping fascism and build and world that has gone beyond capitalism. Chip in $5 - $10 to support us and help keep us going: https://t.co/hBNOnpQKnp?amp=1
Sat, October 30, 2021
The Last Days of the Dialectic with Robert Boncardo and Bryan Cooke
We are joined by philosophers Robert Boncardo and Bryan Cooke to discuss the philosophical and political thought of Alain Badiou. Boncardo and Cooke's research is shedding light on how Badiou's concrete political militancy from 1969 - 1981 shaped his first major work Theory of the Subject (1982). We discuss the communist group Badiou was part of from 1969 - 1981 UCFML, the SONACOTRA Rent Strike, Badiou's relation to Maoism and how these more practical activities serve as a crucial backdrop for understanding the otherwise enigmatic concepts Badiou develops in T heory of the Subject . Enjoy!
Fri, October 22, 2021
Deciphering Nietzsche/anism Part II
We continue to probe Nietzsche and Nietzsche/anism, picking up on some problems and questions that were opened in our last interview with Geoff Waite. We begin with a reading of Nietzsche from two radically different positions: Georges Bataille and György Lukács. We then go on to discuss Nietzsche and Marx, consciousness, antihumanism, antiphilosophy, liberation, Nietzsche's politics and more. Does Nietzsche/anism address a real problem that Marxism can’t account for? Or must we work to discard all traces of Nietzsche/anism in order to champion a more liberated world and a more egalitarian version of philosophy?
Sat, September 18, 2021
Deciphering Nietzsche/anism with Geoff Waite
We seek relief from our "Nietzsche fever" with Nietzsche scholar Geoff Waite, professor of German Studies at Cornell University. How does one go about reading Nietzsche? How does one get out of Nietzsche's system, and not fall into its abyss? The influence of Nietzsche is arguably more profound than even Freud or Marx. Nietzsche/anism has "won" in the sense that a world of rank order and capitalist exploitation is all around us. In that sense, Nietzsche/anism is the air that we breathe. It is necessary for the left to read Nietzsche because to do so is to understand the enemy, to understand the profoundly elusive and esoteric strategy he developed in his philosophy. In this conversation, we discuss the legacy of Nietzsche for today's left, how to read Nietzsche, the recent 1,000 page translation of Aristocratic Rebel by the Marxist historian and philosopher Domenico Losurdo, and Geoff's strategy for deciphering Nietzsche/anism. Geoff Waite is the author of Nietzsche′s Corps/e Aesthetics, Politics, Prophecy, or, the Spectacular Technoculture of Everyday Life Warning: this may be a conversation for everyone and no one Music: "Your Red Dress" by Alaska in Winter and Mihâly Vig's music from Béla Tarr's film "A Torinoi Lo" ( The Turin Horse ) Photo: The "Yung Nietzsche" (without beard, lol)
Thu, August 19, 2021
Episode 29: A Manifesto for the Working Class with Cynthia Cruz
We are joined by writer and thinker Cynthia Cruz for a heartfelt and real conversation about the working class. Cynthia has written an incredible new book called The Melancholia of Class: A Manifesto for the Working Class (Repeater Books, 2021). We discuss the experiences of being working class, of leaving one's class roots, alienation, working class artists and the current status of the working class in America. As Cruz writes, "to be working-class in a middle-class world is to be a ghost. Excluded, marginalised, and subjected to violence, the working class is also deemed by those in power to not exist." This conversation is not to be missed!! Music: Joy Division "The Eternal"
Fri, July 23, 2021
Episode 28: Cuteness and Cringe - A Lacanian Theory of Online Culture
Daniel ( @danieltutt ) and Mike ( @mcrumps ) are joined by Bonni Rambatan ( @bonni07 ) and Jacob Johanssen ( @Jacob_PhD ) to discuss their forthcoming book Event Horizon: Sexuality, Politics, Online Culture, and the Limits of Capitalism . We discuss Bonni and Jacob's theory of online culture, a Lacanian analysis of social media, trolling, incels, and a theory of why the Internet is all about cuteness. Music: Alice Coltrane - "Reflection on Creation and Space" (A Five Year View) LP 1973
Mon, June 28, 2021
Episode 27: Spirituality and Politics with Dr. Walaa Quisay
Join us for an in depth and heartfelt conversation on contemporary Islamic spirituality and politics with Dr. Walaa Quisay, Ph.D. University of Oxford. Dr. Quisay's research looks at the Neo-Traditionalist Islamic movement, one of the most prominent Islamic intellectual and spiritual movements in the west. In this interview, co-host Daniel Tutt ( @danieltutt ) and Dr. Walaa Quisay examine how this movement thinks politics and justice, the origins of Islamism, how it differs from Neo-Traditionalism, whether Neo-Traditionalism is primarily a western movement, how it understands Marxism and Islamist movements, and how younger Muslims that are drawn to this movement are grappling with their subjectivities and with the political realities of the world. We also discuss Walaa's new research on Egypt post-Arab Spring. Enjoy! *Music: "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan
Sat, June 26, 2021
Episode 26: The Adventure of Poetry with Tim Lavenz
Daniel and Mike are joined by poet and philosopher Tim Lavenz ( https://fragilekeys.com ) to discuss the mysteries of poetry. What exactly is the 'old quarrel' between philosophy and poetry? What is the mystery of poetry? What are poetry's limitations: what can't it do or decide? Bio for Tim Lavenz: Tim has many creative essays on the topic of poetry (and much else) on his website, fragilekeys.com , and runs a YouTube channel called Experimentum Vocis , which houses his poetry readings and talks. He began writing poems as a teenager thanks to an online rap battles forum. His inquiry into the essence of poetry began at the Iowa Writer's Workshop circa 2007 and has intensified since. The readings mentioned in the episode can be found here . Alain Badiou "Language, Thought, Poetry" Jean Paulhan "Key to Poetry" Handout with excerpts from John Keats and Hart Crane. *Music: "Caledonia Soul Music" by Van Morrison
Tue, May 18, 2021
Episode 25: The Lukács Hour with Daniel Lopez
Daniel interviews Daniel Lopez, Jacobin Editor and author of Lukács: Praxis and the Absolute https://brill.com/view/title/56328 Topics of Discussion Include: Who is Lukács, and his revival, introductions. Lukács the Worldview Marxist (also what is Worldview Marxism?), The proletariat today, A bio of Lukács, Faith and Praxis, Reification, Moralism, Tragedy, Lukács and Marx, Antimonies, Trotsky, Nietzsche, future projects and much more Music: Big in Japan by Tom Waits
Tue, March 23, 2021
Episode 24: Coda on Trump
.@mcrumps and @DanielTutt meet in the Vampire Bunker for an episode of catching up and chatting. Chatting about what? Well, the ruins of the Trump era, covering everything from the public sphere, the potential end of austerity, Bernie's Mittens, and the absolute state of the right, to how posting has changed and how it has changed us (or not), class in contemporary capitalism, and what a break between american socialism and liberalism would look like. Music: 'Canticle' by Les Hommes
Mon, March 15, 2021
Episode 23: Protagonists of Love with Mari Ruti
.@DanielTutt and @mcrumps talk brass tacks with Mari Ruti, philosopher and author of many books including ‘ Envy and Other Bad Feelings’ In this episode they discuss Ruti’s influences, her project more generally, Lacan, hurdles to teaching theory, Jordan Peterson, lack, the Sinthome, paranoid vs reparative modes of reading, the problem with self-help, ‘wild analysis’ and autodidacts, Chris Lasch, Eric Santner. Lacanian Psychoanalysis, protagonists of love, and upcoming works
Wed, February 24, 2021
Episode 22: Adam Bartlett Interview
@DanielTutt interviews Adam Bartlett, where they discuss- Ruminations on Australia and personal recollections, discussion on Adam’s book on Badiou and Plato: unpacking sophism, badiou’s reading of plato, representational thinking, the republic, ‘the event’, the allegory of the cave, Badiou’s Philosophy, and ‘neoliberalism’ Read "Badiou and Plato" by A.J Bartlett Music: Like Like A Ship by Pastor T.L. Barrett
Thu, February 18, 2021
Episode 21 Twitch Stream: The Steps of Capital, Qanon and Anti-Recovery
@DanielTutt and @mcrumps interview @FSmecker and @DrSeanWitters on the phenomena known as 'Qanon'. In this episode we discuss: alcoholics anonymous and alanon, Qanon as addicts, addicts as symptoms of capitalism, the anti-steps to success, anti anti-fascism, L Ron Hubbard, castration, Q and violence, and post trump bonapartism. As well, a ship gets built, we enter Mike’s comment zone, and take questions from the audience.
Tue, January 19, 2021
Episode 20 Ishay Landa Part 2: Nietzschean Overture
@DanielTutt interviews Ishay Landa, author of The Apprentice's Sorcerer: Liberal Tradition and Fascism, Fascism and the Masses: The Revolt Against the Last Humans, The Overman in the Marketplace: Nietzschean Heroism in Popular Culture and player of the harmonica! Part 2 of this 2 part episode focuses on Landa’s work on Nietzsche, Nietzsche’s politics, Nietzche’s connection to 20th century fascism, left Nietzscheanism, Badiou, and future projects. Song: "Full Moon" by Eden Ahbez
Mon, January 18, 2021
Episode 19 Ishay Landa Part 1: The Apprentice’s Sorcerer
@DanielTutt interviews Ishay Landa, author of The Apprentice's Sorcerer: Liberal Tradition and Fascism, Fascism and the Masses: The Revolt Against the Last Humans, The Overman in the Marketplace: Nietzschean Heroism in Popular Culture and player of the harmonica! Part 1 of this 2 part episode focuses on Fascism and liberalism, neoliberalism vs liberalism, discourse of fascism- identity and race, contemporary crisis of liberalism, the 4 myths of fascism, individualism, origins of fascism, and fascism today. Song "Simba" by Les Baxter
Tue, December 29, 2020
Episode 18: Hinterland Part 3 ”The Party of Anarchy”
@DanielTutt and @mcrumps interview author Phil Neel on his book ‘Hinterland’, talking about his life, experiences and the process that led to writing ‘Hinterland’. Part 3 of this 3-part special focuses on- The Party of Anarchy, Badiou, what it’s like to be a communist in public, and life in the Pacific-Northwest Song: "Nighttime in the Switching Yard" by Warren Zevon
Tue, December 29, 2020
Episode 17: Hinterland Part 2 ”Feral Insurrectionaries”
@DanielTutt and @mcrumps interview author Phil Neel on his book ‘Hinterland’, talking about his life, experiences and the process that led to writing ‘Hinterland’. Part 2 of this 3 part special focuses on the impossibility of Red-brown alliance, the composition of the hinterland, generational conflict, the 'Neel framework' and Camatte, and 'feral insurrectionaries' Song: 'Concrete and Clay' by Unit 4 Plus 2
Tue, December 29, 2020
Episode 16: Hinterland Part 1
@DanielTutt and @mcrumps interview author Phil Neel on his book ‘Hinterland’, talking about his life, experiences and the process that led to writing ‘Hinterland’. Part 1 of this 3 part special focuses on comparing the Chinese and American hinterlands, the meaning of hinterland, the new suburbs and the proletariat, the logistics economy, and the far right and third positionism in the exurbs. Song: 'Suburbs' by Arcade Fire
Sat, July 18, 2020
Episode 15: Harper’s Fetters
We discuss the anti-woke/class first(and only?) left, tearing down the statues, Floyd Protests and Solidarity, the Harper's letter, and the Biden campaign. Music is 'What a Fool Believes' as covered by the band 'Self'
Sun, June 28, 2020
Episode 14: Interview with Laurence Rickels
History repeating itself again, life on other planets, science fiction, vampires?! Is this an episode of the twilight zone? No, it’s Jouissance Vampires, back at it again, this time in an interview with Laurence Rickels, literary and media theorist and author of Psychoanalysis as well as the upcoming work Critique of Fantasy .
Sun, April 05, 2020
Episode 13: Exercises in Lacanian Thinking with Gabriel Tupinambá
Originally recorded during the Jouissance Vampires twitch stream featuring commiseration over Sanders loss, the machinations of our political class, featuring our first guest the incredible Gabriel Tupinambá (@gtupinamba) who answers your questions, and gives his perspective of psychoanalysis and Lacanian thought.
Mon, March 02, 2020
Episode 12: Spoken Word from the Rally
Daniel interviews supporters, undecideds, members of the press and… Matt Taibi (8th interview in), Ilhan Omar rallies the crowd, Bernie stumps for himself, and we run into a genuine bonafide listener of the pod.
Thu, February 27, 2020
Episode 11: Bernie Sanders Power Hour
He could win it, maybe. Episode Covers: Obama, Nevada, McGovern vs Bernie or is it Mondale, the cold war, the ultraleft, warren, alt right and cucked discourse, Bloomberg, the revolutionary feeling, and what are we reading
Thu, January 23, 2020
Episode 10: Obama’s Creased Copy of Capital
Who's Obama again?
Sat, December 21, 2019
Episode 9: Corbyn’s Christmas Miracle
Now what?
Fri, November 15, 2019
Episode 7: The Slovenian Vampire
JV Squad talks about the Current Affairs (s)hit piece on Zizek
Fri, October 11, 2019
Episode 5: Hansel and Greta
Is Greta the Anti-Christ? No, but to some people she may be.
Fri, October 11, 2019
Episode 4: Dork Deleuze
Oohhh I'm starting to feel like black Justin Murphy.
Fri, October 11, 2019
Episode 3: Rockwell in Motion
So how is it that music is created, produced anyways? In this episode of Jouissance Vampires we don't talk about any of that, instead we focus on Lana's most recent release 'Norman Rockwell' and a host of other things.
Fri, October 11, 2019
Episode 2: Big Oedipus’s Vape Ban
In this 'seminar' (lol) we discuss big tobacco and big Oedipus's vape ban, propaganda and global warming, Bernie (as per usual) and Warren and ‘society’ and Trumpism and the coming integralist menace (🤔), the discourse and white supremacy, class and race, falsity of meritocracy and, the US Empire but woke (jk?)
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