PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy

Pill Pod 123 - ”Western Civilization” According to Francis Bacon

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We revisit Atlantis, the new one, in this Victor Hainagiu (Lit Vic) episode where we peer into the the early modern, colonial, proto-capitalist imagin...

Pill Pod 122 - Mosh Pit Sociology (Preview)

13 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Get the full episode, many others, and all the other exclusive content by supporting the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Pill Pod 121 - Obscurantism in French Philosophy: Searle on Foucault & Derrida

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 g...

Pill Pod 119 - Bernard Stiegler & Posthumanist Post-Marxism (ft. Diego Ruzzarin)

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How many posts can be fit into a title? Diego's back is back and so are we to have a look at why Stiegler believes that the class war is over, the tec...

Pill Pod 117 - Baudrillard as Post-Marxist

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are still on the lookout for some worthwhile post-marxisms, we found a dude who is post-everything. Our reading is from "Ironic Strategies" from Ba...

Pill Pod 116 - Guattari & Negri: Communists Like Us (preview)

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New week, new book, and we're still on the hunt for a "post-Marxism" that hits. As usual, we were split on which ingredients we look for in the recipe...

Pill Pod 115 - Althusser and Structuralist Marxism

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Erik and Pills duo on Althusser, reading "Contradiction and Overdetermination" from the book For Marx. We read this anticipating a couple episodes try...

Pill Pod 114 - POST-MARXISM ft. Diego Ruzzarin (Preview)

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

n the 80s, Laclau and Mouffe decided they wanted to succeed Marxism with discourse stuff and some identity politics thrown in. We read their apologeti...

Pill Pod 113 - Slavoj Zizek vs Wokeness

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Zizek allegedly wrote an article on the problems of wokeness and we argued about it. Reactionary? Transphobic? Trolling? We don't agree (with each oth...

Pill Pod 111 - Spectacles of The Integrated Spectacle

18 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How many of the intellectual left were assassinated by the CIA? THE TRUTH WILL SHOCK YOU! Guy Debord's head inflates by the time he gets to his book w...

Pill Pod 109 - SOCIETY OF THE SPECTACLE

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've been leading up to it, and here is the first spectacle of 2 on Debord's popular book (https://amzn.to/3HRp0pj). Stay tuned for future spectacles...

Pill Pod 108 - Psychogeography (preview)

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is a preview on our episode covering the Situationist concepts of psychogeography and unitary urbanism, from back when we hoped for such things. ...

Pill Pod 107 - Situationist Revolutionary Theory

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From 1957 to 1972, the Situationist International published a slew of articles, pamphlets, films and journals trying to bring theoretical Marxist deba...

Pill Pod 106 - Introduction to The Situationist International (preview)

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are starting a series on the theorists and artists of the Situationist International and their most well-known export: The Society of the Spectacle...

Pill Pod 27 - BURNOUT SOCIETY by Byung-Chul Han *UNLOCKED*

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a while since we released an exclusive episode, but I thought this that this episode is as pertinent as it ever was, so enjoy this release f...

Pill Pod 105 - AI, Transhumanism & Silicon Valley Singularity Cults

17 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After our episode claiming that ChatGPT would destroy university education as it currently exists, we had to de-mythologize the dumb philosophy status...

Pill Pod 104 - AI & the New Crisis of Humanities Education

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Not with a whimper, but with a bang: it's time for another crisis of the Humanities.  Students, then teachers, then administrators will realize that ...

Pill Pod 103 - Feminist Fight Night: Nussbaum vs. Butler (preview)

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What was a niche, inter-feminist fight in the 90s proves to be prophetically relevant this week. Pills and Victor narrate Martha Nussbaum coming at Ju...

Pill Pod 101 - Democracy 101(preview)

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We glance at Ranciere's Hatred of Democracy which suggests that hatred, not equality, is the animus of so-called democracies, and then debate whether ...

PILL POD 100

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a "party" for our 100th episode! Thanks for everyone who helped us reach this milestone by listening, guesting, supporting us on patreon, or what...

Pill Pod 99 - Edward Bernays (preview)

28 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today we read Freud's nephew, the "Father of PR," Edward Bernays' book "Propaganda" and compare his theory and practice to other opinions on the purpo...

Pill Pod 98 - Ricky Rorty: Derrida vs. Habermas

25 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This resembles one of our FIGHT NIGHT episodes, except the whole of it is mediated by another philosopher, Richard Rorty. We give a bit of background ...

Pill Pod 95 - Materialist Theogany ft. Diego Ruzzarin

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We covered this from every perspective we could get to, featuring some Spinoza, Marx, Benjamin, and corn among other references. Please enjoy us bumpi...

Pill Pod 94 - Kafka Metamorphosis

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Find the whole text here https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200 Find LitVic on Twitter! @HoratioVictor Always looking for more suggestions for the li...

Pill Pod 93 - Nick Land (preview)

26 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's easy to get all the bonus eps and a lot besides on www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Pill Pod 91 - ADIEU LACAN

26 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Brace yourselves for two and a half hours focused on Lacan's psychoanalytic method. We are joined partway through by Director/Auteur Richard Ledes, wh...

Pill Pod 89 - The Myth of Atlantis (Preview)

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We turn our attention to the ur myth of civilizational collapse... and accidentally find political philosophy. Ah well. Get the other half of our epis...

Pill Pod 87 - The Idea of Communism IV ft. Diego Ruzzarin

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's more answers without questions, in part IV of our "Idea of Communism" series. We're getting the hot takes from Diego Ruzzarin (@DiegoRuzzarin) on...

Pill Pod 86 - Know Your Enemy ft. Matthew Sitman

12 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's a political theory day, speaking with the Know Your Enemy podcast's Matthew Sitman, a former young conservative. Starting with some Roe v. Wade, ...

Pill Pod 85 - The Word ”Communism” *Preview*

01 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We have another heated discussion on the sense and meaning of the word "communism," this time from a Heideggerian communist. Get all the goods at htt...

Pill Pod 84 - The Universality of Communism *Preview*

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we read the article by Susan Buck-Morss "The Second Time as Farce... Historical Pragmatics and the Untimely Present" from, again, The Idea o...

Pill Pod 83 - The Idea of Communism - Alain Badiou

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is our first in the reading series on the Idea of Communism conferences, covering Alain Badiou.   Our readings will come from The Idea of Commun...

The Deleuze Seminars ft. Professor Daniel W. Smith

14 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pills is graced by the presence of the eminent Deleuze scholar, editor, and translator, Daniel W. Smith. Dan explains how he came to Deleuzian philoso...

Pill Pod 82 - 1980s Nostalgia

10 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Reboots and renewals, bodies and images, city and pasture. The Pill Pod takes a crack at analyzing the desire structure of 80s nostalgia in popular me...

Pill Pod 81 - The Postmodern Condition *Preview*

07 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pills, Erik and Victor tackle the boogeyman: Lyotard's Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, with reference to Wittgenstein's language-game met...

Pill Pod 80 - Wittgenstein

27 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The team reassembles to talk Wittgenstein, champion of "ideas-don't-matter" philosophy, and about why he matters—even if ideas don't. The primary so...

Kumbaya Posthumanism *Preview*

14 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We venture into the weeds of ignorance, science, and anthropomorphism, and not even immuno-responses can stop us. We look at posthumanism a la Frances...

Talking to America’s New Right (Interview)

14 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Victor interview Nate Hochman on conservative college campuses and America's new right.

America’s New Right Problem ft. WaPo’s Greg Sargent

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) from the Washington Post joins Victor and Matt to discuss America's burgeoning illberal right wing. While often painted ...

Pill Pod 78 - The Posthumanism Manifesto

29 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Erik and Pills do the thing, because everything needs to be manifestoed eventually and I needed a title. If you wonder whose name is being referenced ...

Pill Pod 77 -Trans/Post-Human Technics (Preview)

22 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pills and Erik talk about transhumanism as opposed to posthumanism, and compare their positions on human technology and technics. Heidegger, McLuhan, ...

Pill Pod 76 - Posthumanism is Good Actually Vol. 1

16 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Erik and Pills cover posthumanism in the context of systems theory and what makes it a viable model as an alternative to humanist explanatory framewor...

PrePostPostHumanism *Preview*

09 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This is a brief introduction to our defense of posthumanism. Find our extended deliberations about philosophy and whether or not it matters at  http...

Christian Socialism

08 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Socialism and Christianity have had a tenuous relationship. Our guest this week, Aaron Anderson, argues that Christianity and socialism not only have ...

Pill Pod 74 - Post Posthumanism

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week the pod hosts Matthew Flisfeder (@MattFlisfeder), the Zizek/Hegel/Lacan/Jameson scholar who organized the Peterson vs. Zizek debate. He's wo...

Pill Pod 72 - Dugin: Russia’s State Philosopher

11 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In lieu of a basket of hot takes on the Ukraine invasion, we take a look at the TRUE cause behind all the madness: the Eurasian nationalist-pagan occu...

Hyperreal War *UNLOCKED* Pill Pod 57

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We recorded this months ago but feels relevant enough for a public post. Regularly scheduled content will continue as usual! The video referenced is t...

Prison Abolition & Criminal Justice ft. Blake Wilson

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Victor (@victorbruzzone) interviews Professor Blake Wilson from California State University about the Rittenhouse trial, the legitimacy of law, and pr...

Pill Pod 71 - Plato was an Idiot (preview)

26 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Plato has had it too easy. We take an hour and a bit to divide the philosophers from the sophists.   This is what we do every week at https://www.pat...

Pill Pod 70 - Fanon (Preview)

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This was one of the top topics from the previous patron vote--Fanon's postcolonialism.   Get all our exclusive eps on https://www.patreon.com/plastic...

Pill Pod 69 - The Jordan Peterson is Over Party

11 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Rogan hosted JBP to discuss fracking, Abraham, and Nietzsche, and we are here for those hot and not-so-hot takes on our first in-person, video pod...

Pill Pod 41 - Fight Night 1: Baudrillard vs. Foucault *UNLOCKED*

04 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week's episode is going to be late, because we are planning something a little different. This episode is an unlock from a This episode features ...

Futilitarianism: Neoliberalism and the Production of Uselessness (Bonus Interview)

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Neil Vallelly (@NeilVallelly) joins Matt (@mattpolprof) for a cheery discussion of neoliberalism and futility, the central themes of Neil's new book, ...

Pill Pod 68 - Lacan & Poe’s Purloined Letter

29 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's another literature corner episode, featuring The Purloined Letter and the interpretive stylings of the illustrious Lit Vic (find more of his utte...

Pill Pod 67 - The Question Concerning Technology (preview)

21 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode topic was chosen by our patrons. Get the episode and have your say on the next one over at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Pill Pod 66 - Neologism in Technofeudalism

15 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Is capitalism over? Whether or not it is, Friday is a good day to coin some new academic terms. We discuss making up words to advance your career and ...

Pill Pod 65 - Don’t Look Up (preview)

09 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Movie episode! This is more than a film, it's now a cultural event, and content is content and we are serious about that content. Please time your mol...

Pill Pod 64 - Democrathy Dieth in Darkneth

07 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The resurrection took longer than expected as the Pill Pod got COVID, but we're back with a sprawling 100 minutes of sex, drugs, and democracy: Chile ...

Pill Pod 63 - Tourette‘s Tok (preview)

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Kids be getting Tourette's from TikToK? This episode features Pills, Victor, and Erik taking on mass sociogenic illnesses from the phenomenological pe...

Marx & Nietzsche: How to Philosophize with a Hammer and Sickle (ft. CCK Philosophy)

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Pills and Matt interview he who was once known as Cuck Philosophy, and who is now known as Jonas Čeika, author of How to Philosophize with a Hammer a...

Pill Pod 62 - Phenomenology: The Body Schema (preview)

26 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Here's 10 minutes of a 100 minute episode on how Merleau-Ponty's analysis of the Schneider case forever changed the philosophy of mind. Get all our e...

Pill Pod 61- Phenomenology of Marxism & Revolution

19 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Phenomenology is sometimes viewed apolitically, today we try to get a handle on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological Marxism.   The sections of the text...

Pill Pod 60 - New Consciousness (preview)

12 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Here we go back a few pages to discuss the "prejudices" in philosophy of mind including empiricism, intellectualism, psychologism, and clinical physio...

Pill Pod 59 - Phenomenology Could Save Your Lifeworld

05 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

No politics, no metaphysics, no grand narratives, as this week, and for the following weeks, the Pill Pod is going back to the things themselves. That...

Socialism & Liberalism: Mortal Enemies or Embittered Kin?

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pill Pod gets academic as our new volume is out, edited by Matt and featuring contributions Victor, Erik and our episode guest Ben (@benburgis) of...

Pill Pod 57 - Hyperreal War (preview)

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We are name dropping that Baudrillard, Virilio and trying to remember what Emmanuel Levinas said, giving a biased review of the new Pills vid, and try...

Nietzsche: The Aristocratic Rebel

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jordan DeJonge joins the pod to revisit the question "just how reactionary was Nietzsche?" as asked in Domenico Losurdo's newly translated intellectua...

Pill Pod 56 - Structuralism is a Lie (preview)

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Erik brings a shocking discovery to the Pill Pod, oh yea and what the hell is structuralism anyway?   Get the full ep and hours more educational cont...

Pill Pod 55 - ”I Would Prefer Not To”

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Evoked by no less than Agamben, Byung-Chul Han, Deleuze, and Zizek's wardrobe, Bartleby is a compelling character. This week we are joined by Lit Vic ...

FIGHT NIGHT: Zizek vs. Deleuze II (Preview)

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Parts I and II comprise 3+ hours of discussion on Zizek's Organs Without Bodies: On Deleuze and Consequences. Join up with us on Patreon to get it al...

21st Century Socialism ft. Jeremy Gilbert

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Jeremy Gilbert from across the pond gives a primer on his primer: Twenty-First Century Socialism. Gilbert gives a jargon-free explanation as...

FIGHT NIGHT: Zizek vs. Deleuze I (preview)

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Part 1 of our reading of Zizek's attempt to take down Deleuze, whom he calls an ideologist of late capitalism in "Organs Without Bodies." Join up wit...

Lacanian Analysis & Racist Jokes (ft. Jack Black)

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jack Black (no, the Other Jack Black) joins the Pill Pod to discuss his new book "Race, Racism and Political Correctness in Comedy: A Psychoanalytic E...

Pill Pod 50 - Performativity & Performative Utterance (Preview)

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This is a preview for a 2.5 hour romp through performativity and performative speech acts in analytic and continental philosophy, stopping off at J.L....

Pill Pod 52 - Libghanistan

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In memoriam of the coalition state-building adventure in Afghanistan, we look to the inveterate morons who continue to ventriloquize the "humanitarian...

Pill Pod 49 - Project Cybersyn & Latin American Politics in Overview

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a supplement to Plastic Pills' new documentary on Project Cybersyn, the Pill Pod is joined by Marion, who is usually our Foucault correspondent but...

Pill Pod 48 - Critical Theory is Conspiracy Theory

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Quarantine Agamben! He's at it again! This episode we getinto it the kindred bond between critical theory and conspiracy theory, how states do and do ...

Radical Democracy & Protest Politics (ft. David Matijasevich)

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor David Matijasevich, author of Radical Democracy and Its Limits, joins Matt and Victor to discuss the limits of radical democracy and the aes...

Pill Pod 46 - Nihilism (preview)

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Here's a preview of this week's episode featuring Uncle Bob, Baudrillard, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Lacan and the simple question: Dude, why not just bi...

Pill Pod 45 - FIGHT NIGHT: Political Theory is the Cops (Ranciere vs. Honneth)

02 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In Round 4 of the Pill Pod's Fight Night, we feature a theoretical battle over the foundation of politics: is politics founded on the struggle for rec...

Pill Pod 44 - Critical Race Hysteria (Preview)

25 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we depart from the usual solemnities to diagnose the latest object of conservative hysteria: critical race theory. It's being banned from cu...

Therapy Culture & Happy Signifiers (ft. Ashley Frawley)

16 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Ashley Frawley, author of The Semiotics of Happiness, joins us to discuss the cyclical history of some slippery signifiers: "self-esteem," "...

Pill Pod 19 - Derridalirium *UNLOCKED*

11 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pill Pod is off this week for an AFK project, so please enjoy this unlock from the exclusive patron vault, which sorta serves as an intro to Derri...

Pill Pod 43 - FIGHT NIGHT: Foucault Slaps Back (Preview)

04 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Not to be called a n00b, Foucault slaps back at Derrida (eventually) with "My Body, This Paper, This Fire" defending his Madness and Civilization from...

Victor Interviews a Debate Bro (ft. Mouthy Infidel)

02 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Victor interviews Mouthy Infidel from the Mouthy Infidel YouTube channel, which features debates, debunks and arguments from a left perspective. This ...

Pill Pod 42 - FIGHT NIGHT: Derrida vs. Foucault

28 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Year is 1963 and our Versus Series continues with Fight Night Round 2, in which a young challenger, Jacques 'Derridevil' Derrida, comes at Dr. Arc...

Libertarian Lulz ft. Ben Burgis

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today we have a heady one for ya. This is some in-the-weeds political theory, where Ben, Matt, and Victor consider libertarianism via professional sop...

Pill Pod 41 - FIGHT NIGHT, Round 1: Baudrillard vs. Foucault (Preview)

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Round 1 of our new series, which covers theorists' takedowns of other theorists. This episode features an exciting 1977 bout between the yo...

Pill Pod 40 - Non-Fungible Future: The Memeing of Mark Fisher (ft. Mike Watson)

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Watson of the Acid Left (@_leftaesthetics) joins Matt (@mattpolprof) and Pills (@plasticpills) to talk about Acid Communism, Adorno, and The Meme...

Pill Pod 39 - Oculus Grift (preview)

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pill Pod is joined by Meaghan, a real life cognitive scientist and VR researcher, to answer our ignorant questions about brains, behaviour, and pe...

Pill Pod 38 - A.I. Dreams and the Ghosts in Machines

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pill Pod takes on two definitive philosophers opposed to the fantasies of uploading consciousnesses into machines: John Searle and Hubert Dreyfus....

Cosmopolitan Socialism ft. Meagan Day

28 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matt and Victor are joined by Meagan Day (@meaganmday) to discuss Michael Brooks' ambitious proposal for cosmopolitan socialism, its relation to parti...

Cartoons & Comics with J. Andrew World (Bonus Interview)

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matt (@mattpolprof) and Victor (@victorbruzzone) are joined by cartoonist J. Andrew World (@rightaboutnow2) to talk Marvel, DC, and artists' intellect...

Pill Pod 37 - 'Reading' Adam Curtis (Preview)

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

So we had some different interpretations as to whether Can't Get You Out of My Head is art, history, documentary, art-history, history-documentary or ...

Pill Pod 36 - Identity Shmolitics

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Matt tricks the Pill Pod into reading analytic philosophy: "Personal Identity" by Derek Parfit (1971), who challenges intellectualist ideas of selfhoo...

In Defense of Anarchism (preview)

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We'll be back on Friday with our regularly scheduled program, and here's a clip of this week's exclusive content up at www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Pill Pod 35 - Amnesty Intellectual (preview)

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pill Pod discusses the rage of elites: ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM. But that's not all! There's also the techno-material conditions for intellectuals, co...

The Words are Gifts: Indigenous Politics & Wittgenstein ft. Dale Turner

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Professor Dale Turner joins Matt and Victor to discuss Wittgenstein, 'ways of life', and their application to indigenous politics and treaty relations...

Pill Pod 34 - The Snyder Nut: Psychoanalysis & Film

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spoiler warnings: That new DC film, Fight Club, Starship Troopers. This is a performative attempt to theorize the relationship between popular cultura...

Microdose - Gramsci (preview)

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Join Pills, Matt, and Erik for our Patreon voted topic: A romp through the Formation of the Intellectuals from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci...