Shows / PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
The Pill Pod is hosted by a group of PhDs offering their irreverent (and unsolicited) takes on critical theory, philosophy, culture, and politics.
Episodes
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Althusser: Marxism vs. Ideology // 192
This is the big one and it's hard to believe we haven't done this particular essay before, but it's the linchpin for the critical theory use of the term…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Marxism vs. Humanism (ft. Diego Ruzzarin) // 191
This episode is based on an article Althusser wrote in the 60s, Marxism and Humanism, which you can find in "For Marx." He declares that Marxism and Humanism…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Ideology: What it is // 190
We read Althusser's "Marxism and Humanism," an Essay from his 1965 collection For Marx in which he declares the two fundamentally incompatible. We didn't make…
PlasticPills Critical Theory & PhilosophyPill Pod 195 - Luigi's Mansion
There's big news on the news, and we thought we would take a poke at interpreting this event—if in fact it is one—and giving it an ideological status. Catch up…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Althusser // 115
We have been talking about Althusser once again on the Pod, and in advance of our new dive we are re-releasing an episode about why Althusser might be…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 189 - Theorizing America's Trump Vote
The federal union of the United States has decided to elect Presinald Trump as its leader from the years 2025-2029, as God wills. Here, three Canadians provide…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 186 - The Post-Political Singularity Everywhere (preview)
Today we take the temperature of all the new futures popping up—the various Acc/s, the radical democracies, the Christofascists, and the Magacomms—and…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Bataille on Fascist Psychology (preview) // 185
In 1933, Bataille linked Durkheim's sociology and psychoanalysis to the rise of fascism over the border. The parallels to the present moment are hard to miss…
PlasticPills Critical Theory & PhilosophyMAGACommunism does Philosophy // 184
MAGA Communism may strike you as contradictory and stupid sounding, but it is backed by 200 tweets of theory which include Marx, Lenin, Dugin, and Heidegger…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Carl Schmitt on the Friend/Enemy (preview) // 183
We face the fact that only a Nazi could properly explain American politics. Get all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Bataille on Sacrifice // 182 (preview)
Back to business—we talk Aztec myths and Bataille on Sacrifice from The Accursed Share. Get the full episode and all the others at…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Hegelian E-Girl Council (ft. Jreg) // 181
We don't often have current events to cover, but once in a while the current events are Hegel. The Hegelian E-Girl Council was to be the head of a new cult…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 180 - The Gift by Marcel Mauss (preview)
We move from Durkheim to Marcel Mauss and his book The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies. Referenced by Bataille, Levi-Strauss…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 179 - The Mana Principle (Preview)
After a brief recap of the Deleuzo-Guattarian Australian breakdancer we read chapters 6 and 7 of Durkheim's Elementary forms of Religious Life and try to get a…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 178 - We Solved the World with Diego Ruzzarin
What do Adin Ross, China, RFK and the Cult of the Individual have in common? This episode... that's it. All episodes are found only at…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Durkheim: Society as Magic, Society as Religion // 177
Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, slowly came to the discovery by the end of his career that consciousness, langauge and thought itself were of…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Vance & The Dork Conservatives (Preview)
The full episode (Pill Pod 176) and many more are available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 175 - The Straussian Plot Against America
Conspiracy theory or actual conspiracy? Today we investigate how a small cabal of philosophers managed to take over America and caused the invasion of Iraq…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Trump v. United States (preview)
We hear this is a big deal and the end of American democracy (or whatever), but we don't all know why. Lucky for us, Victor happens to read Supreme Court…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 173 - Biden v. Trump & The Economy of Fear
We recap the Trump-Biden debate and then discuss the politics and economy of fear. Sources include Armageddon, Strauss, Hegel, and Durkheim. Get all our…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Dark Academia (preview)
Some simulationist material analysis in the economy of signs from Pill Pod episode #172. The full episode and many more are available at…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Zizek Goes Monarchist? // 171
We discuss Zizek's Hegelian defense of a monarchy to solve the problem of democracy. https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/in-defense-of-hegels-notion-of-monarchy/…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Charles Taylor on The Malaise of Modernity // 96
Get the book (it's easy and small:https://amzn.to/3KxgjB3) or listen to the lectures by Charles Taylor starting here…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 170 - The Ethical Dilemma of Killing Nazi Children (Preview)
We continue reading Simone DeBeauvoir's Ethics of Ambiguity, and try to sus out its particular ethical dilemmas. The full episode and many more are available…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Existentialism is un/ethical // 169
We read Simone DeBeauvoir's defense of Existentialism as an ethic that is not hyper-individualistic, nihilistic or absurdist. Get all our episodes for free…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
PP168 - Ecomarxism (preview)
This is a preview of one of many exclusive episodes available at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Here is your homework in the meanwhile…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Schopenhauer: Christianity is the Worst Religion // 167
We look at Schopenhauer's comparison of various religions' metaphysical explanations for suffering, and why conservative celebrities are converting to the…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Yarvin vs. Rufo: Dissident Right Fight Night // 165
Deviating from our usual strategies for the leftist future, we look to the strategists of the conservative future, as discussed in this article, where…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 163 - How to Control a Democracy ft. 1Dime
This week we discuss how modern liberal democracies co-opt resistance and adapt to internal opposition as a mechanism of inverted totalitarian control. Our…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Walter Benjamin: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction // 162 (preview)
Erik and Pills read Walter Benjamin's most famous essay (and perhaps the most famous essay of critical theory), The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 161 - Andy Warhol and the End of Art
We're still on why everything's ending, this time with another pillar of civilization: art, and modern art in particular. Part of the discussion comes from…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Walter Benjamin on Leftist Content Creators // 160 (Preview)
We read Walter Benjamin's (perhaps) undelivered address to the Anti-Fascist Club: The Author as Producer, and try to test whether or not it holds up. Get this…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 159 - The End of the University
Most everyone agrees that the university has failed its ideal, but few agree as to the reasons for why this happened. Did it get too arcane? Too expensive? Too…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Walter Benjamin & The Idea of History // 158 (preview)
Get the full episode and all episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasicpills
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 157 - Progressive v. Reactionary Christianity ft. John Hamer
Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills Although Conservative Christians are the most attention-seeking of the…
PlasticPills Critical Theory & PhilosophyChristofascism or Liberalism // 165
Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills What if, instead of letting history end or disappear, we hit the…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Jean Baudrillard & The Disappearance of History // 155 (preview)
As all things disappear, we have our rountable on Baudrillard's "Illusion of the End." Get the full episode and all episodes ad-free at…
PlasticPills Critical Theory & PhilosophyPill Pod 154 - Christian Intellectuals at the End of History
Listen to our public episodes ad-free, for free, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills While no one is exactly happy that history has ended, few are quite as…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Fukuyama on The End of History // 152 (preview)
Adjusted for inflation, Francis Fukyama received $1,311,814.68 to write The End of History and the Last Man (https://amzn.to/3tPo5Bt); we want to see what…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
The End of History // 151
We embark on the notion of "the end of history" by trying to figure out if we have an idea of history. This is mostly inspired by our reading of Fukuyama's…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 149 - Gothic Horror: Edgar Allen Poe & The Fall of The House of Usher
Inspired by the new Netflix series, we read some Poe short stories and compared them to their TV adaptation. Victor Hainagiu (aka Litvic aka @horatiovictor)…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Badiou: Philosophy & Antiphilosophy // 148
Some oversimplified Badiou plus a look at Wittgenstein's Antiphilosophy (https://amzn.to/47xStiv) Want more episodes? Every other one is posted to…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 147 - Authenticity & Existentialism (preview)
Dr. Phil battles Heidegger and Sartre. Get all of our episodes by becoming a patron at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills.
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Heidegger on the Anaximander Fragment // 146 (preview)
Anaximander, Apeiron, Heidegger, Derrida, Logocentrism. It's a mouthful. Get all of our full episodes by becoming a patron at…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Metamodernism is just bad // 145
Postmodernism has fallen. All hail the new dumbuy cult: METAMODERNISM. We took its FRESH NEW RADICAL academic wing out for a spin, as seen in this book…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
There are no Democratic Systems (Pill Pod 144 Preview)
Get the full episode and whole lot more at www.patreon.com/plasticpills
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Frantz Fanon on Violence (Gaza) // 143
We noticed a few Fanon name drops so this week we decided to read "On Violence" from Wretched of the Earth, as applied to violence in Gaza. You can read the…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Systems Theory Politics: Gaza // 142
Despite the shadow of Gaza hanging over our consciences this week, we try to introduce Systems Theory via politics. The book is Political Theory in the Welfare…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Heidegger Nazi Debate No. 125,421 // 140
The timeloop continues: Another Ukrainian SS soldier in Canada and another wave of books and articles about the dangers of Heidegger following the publication…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Affect Theory and Revolutionary Routines - Interview with Carolyn Pedwell
Victor interviews Professor Carolyn Pedwell, editor of the Affect Theory Reader (two volumes) and Revolutionary Routines (https://amzn.to/44FykoA). Pedwell…
PlasticPills Critical Theory & PhilosophyPill Pod 137 - Groomer Mythology
Erik and Pills break down the myths of grooming, childhood, sexuality and the semiotic systems which produced them. The book is Roland Barthes, 195…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 135 - Political Mythologies of the Left and Right ft. Diego Ruzzarin
Diego Ruzzarin is back on the Plastic Pills Podcast to talk about mythologies of the Left and Right as analyzed by Roland Barthes in his 1957 book…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Fairy Tale Feminism // 132
With the release of the Barbie movie, the feminine symbol has been deployed this summer. But for thousands of summers previous, the role of the feminine was…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 131 - Freedom Isn’t Free
Everyone speaking on freedom but nobody's asking what it means. "Freedom-from interference" is a 400-year-old definition that covers a few bases but not much…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Latour: We Have Never Been Modern // 130
Pills and Erik celebrate Latour Day. Cracking one of our old favs (https://amzn.to/3O2fLVp), to discuss the theory island chain, the scheme of actor network…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Rousseau but Based // 126
One of those guys we rarely think about but who single-handedly pulled the track lever in the history of philosophy, it's Rousseau. We read Discourse on the…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 124 & 125 - The Light of Reason and the Eye of the Mind (preview)
Pill Pods 124 & 125 cover a paper written by Pills, which argues that despite banishing figurative language for the sake of "clarity", Western philosophy has…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 123 - ”Western Civilization” According to Francis Bacon
We revisit Atlantis, the new one, in this Victor Hainagiu (Lit Vic) episode where we peer into the the early modern, colonial, proto-capitalist imagination…
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Pill Pod 122 - Mosh Pit Sociology (Preview)
Get the full episode, many others, and all the other exclusive content by supporting the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
- PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
Foucault & Derrida vs. Searle: FIGHT NIGHT // 121
Today we discuss how to pet your professor's ego to get better marks, and review John Searles sassy attempt to take down Derrida by quoting Foucault gossip…