Your boys, Seth and Alex, begin their intrepid journey into the world of podcasting! Initial observations about the false dichotomies that are emerging around Covid-19 evolves into a broader discussion about the purpose of the show. 

We make an initial case for the “beautiful loser” as a primary archetype to understand culture today. We are beautiful losers and we seek to critique this archetype in today's culture. We think that a beautiful loser is an idealist guided by feelings. The commitment to their idealism becomes an impossible and impractical objective. Nevertheless, the beautiful loser uses this feelings-based idealism as the ultimate test for the morality of their worldview.

We consider our status as outcasts of a certain leftist tradition and wonder what the future holds for individuals like us. We raise the issue of our educational background and its value, and consider the broader implications for the future of the humanities as a knowledge discourse.

In the second half of the show we look at a recent NYT David Brooks Op-Ed that considers how Covid-19 will cause our culture to “toughen up.” Brooks wins our award for worst Beautiful Loser of the week. Contrary to Books’ bad take, we look at a poem by Louise Glueck as a better example for thinking about the toll of hard work and how it can be instructive for thinking. We mediate on Glueck’s haunting final line, “it will make no forms but twisted forms”

The boys also offer their first lesson in prose writing: no alliterations!

This is a rough one for the time-capsule folks! Some minor sound issues will improve in future episodes (we promise). Please like and subscribe and check out our newsletter at beautifullosers.substack.com Our substack is the best way for you to interact with us. 

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