Darts and Letters

By Cited MediaSociety & Culture News Education News Commentary Philosophy

Darts and Letters episodes

June 30, 2022EP60: Not Alright Alright Alright (Big Shiny Takes ft. Gordon Katic)
Canadian media is full of galaxy brain columnists. Luckily there is a show who reads their crap so that you don’t have to: Big Shiny Takes, aka Jeremy Appel, Eric Wickham and Marino Greco.
We’re featuring this episode because your esteemed host and editor Gordon Katic made an appearance to discuss the latest unfathomably smart take: Matthew McConaughey has a moral obligation to run for president of the United States. It’s stunning intellectual work like this that has led Big Shiny Takes to become the world’s first anti free speech podcast. They’re also our colleagues, as part of the Harbinger Media Network
It’s a different vibe to our usual programming, but we think you’ll like it because Big Shiny Takes is witty and anarchic and smart. The team really deserve a lot of recognition for doing the lord’s work: shit-talking columnists.
——————FURTHER READING, LISTENING, & WATCHING————————-
If you enjoyed this then check out the other episodes Big Shiny Takes, subscribe to the show and never read another opinion column in your life. You too can be free!
If however you prefer masochism then you can read the Toronto Star Article yourself: After his moving speech on gun control, it’s time for Matthew McConaughey to give up Hollywood for Washington, by Vinay Menon
We also featured Eric, Marino and Jeremy on a previous Darts episode. EP41: Canada’s Dumbest Public Intellectuals. This was one of our more fun episodes, also featuring drug legalisation campaigner and the left’s best psychedelic TikTok star Hilary Agro. Also Kate Jacobs of fellow Harbinger podcast Alberta Advantage and the man behind Harbinger Media himself: André Goulet.
——————-ABOUT THE SHOW——————
For a full list of credits, contact information, and more, visit our about page.
1 hr 28 min
June 19, 2022EP59: January 6th and the Myth of the Mob (ft. James Jasper and Joy Rohde)
The January 6th hearings continued this week, so we took it as an opportunity to revisit how academics tried to explain the events. Many likened it to a kind of psycho-social pathology; terms like deindividuation, psychosis, groupthink, and mob mentality were thrown around liberally. This is basically crowd theory, a line of thought developed in the 19th century by French physician Gustave Le Bon.
However, Le Bon was a reactionary bigot. He feared the masses, derided popular intelligence, and condemned democratic rule. Plus, his ideas are largely discredited. Left wing scholars do not like Le Bon–at least not when it comes to understanding leftwing movements. Yet, when it comes to the right, something changes. Is it OK to apply reactionary ideas to reactionary movements, out of political expediency? We think no, because these ideas will end up inevitably being applied to movements for social justice. In fact, they long have been.
On this episode, we explore why academic always fear the mass, whatever the politics. First, social movement theorist James Jasper takes us on an intellectual journey — throughout the western philosophical canon, to Le Bon and beyond — revealing how publics have long been seen as irrational and emotional. Next, historian Joy Rohde takes us into the academic-military-industrial complex. The US military has played a major role funding these kinds of ideas, because they serve the interests of empire, white supremacy, and elite control.
——————FURTHER READING, LISTENING, & WATCHING————————-
If the politics of emotions and social movements is of interest, you have to check out James Jasper’s book, The Emotions of Protest. Especially relevant is the appendix, which offers a wider history of emotions and rationality as it pertains to social movements.
We highly recommend Joy Rohde’s book Armed with Expertise: The Militarization of American Social Research During the Cold War, or the shorter encyclopedia article that offers a concise history on the entangled relationship of US empire and US social science.
For more on the discredited work of Gustav Le Bon, check out Stephen Reicher’s work, including this tweet thread, and a BBC4 documentary that featured his work.
Stewart Ewan’s classic PR!: A Social History of Spin focusses especially on how the ideas of Le Bon and others influenced Freud and his nephew Edward Bernays, the father of modern public relations. Adam Curtis’ documentary the Century of the Self also tells this story, especially in the second part.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW————————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content. Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected].
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. The lead producer is Jay Cockburn, and our assistant producer is Ren Bangert. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and we have marketing and video editing from Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. It is part of a series of episodes on the relationship between activism and academia. Our scholarly advisors on this series are Professors Lesley Wood at York University, Sigrid Schmalzer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as Sharmeen Khan, Sami McBryer, and Susannah Mulvale.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
1 hr 9 min
June 03, 2022 EP58: The Twisted “Science” of Great Replacement Theory
The suspect in the Buffalo shooting had a manifesto, as mass shooters often do. However, this one was different. It was littered with references to peer-reviewed scientific research that, he purports, supports his white supremacist beliefs. It’s part of a broader far right subculture, with ‘journal clubs’ and the like, in which research is read closely and appropriated, says population geneticist Jed Carlson (check out this thread in particular). What are scientists to make of it?
Plus, there’s a much wider intellectual history of race science and the right. Mitch Thompson of Press Progress details this ‘scholarly’ work, much of it CanCon, and how it undergirds conservative austerity politics.
Marc Apollonio is guest host this week.
——————-ABOUT THE SHOW——————
For a full list of credits, contact information, and more, visit our about page.
43 min
May 21, 2022EP57: Truck Nuts (ft. Matt Christman, Shane Hamilton, Chase Barber, Justin Martin, & Gabrielle Esperdy)
The pickup truck is the symbol of rural conservative masculinity. So, it often takes centre stage in the tired culture wars between reactionary neo-populists and liberal moralists. Like today, with Canada’s right crudely embracing the truck–and tweeting furiously about those ‘Laurentian elites,‘ and ‘Toronto columnists‘ who thumb their nose at it. But, if you really want to piss off the libs: don’t just post about it. Why not hang some big veiny nuts from your truck? Today on the show, we talk about the political history of trucks and trucking.
Matt Christman (@9:23) of Chapo Trap House tells us why conservatives love their trucks, why we love to hate them, and wonders how we might break out of these tired patterns.
What does the world look like when you see it through a windshield (@26:15)? Chase Barber is a logging trucker in BC, and viral Tik Toker posting about all things transport and green energy. Plus, Justin Martin of Freight Waves breaks down the state of the trucking industry.
Then, Shane Hamilton (@33:26) argues that you can understand a lot about about modern political economy through the history of trucking. He is author of Trucking Country: the Road to America’s Wal-Mart Economy, which covers the history of long-haul trucking–from its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, to the exploitative debt peonage of today.
Finally (@57:35), nobody is happy with the state of our roads and highways. But Gabrielle Esperdy tell us, at one point, it looked like it might become a utopia–an autopia. Today, EVs offer us the promise of a new green autopia. Esperdy is author of American Autopia: An Intellectual History of the American Roadside at Midcentury.
——————FURTHER READING, LISTENING, & WATCHING————————-
Everything you wanted to know about truck nuts, but you were too afraid to ask: Vice’s article on the the truck nuts war, Above the Law’s discussion on the constitutionality of truck nuts, and Slate’s investigation that reveals truck nuts consumers aren’t who you think they are.
What to make of that ‘freedom convoy?’ Listen to Matt Christman’s extended discussion on the Bottlemen, which also covers some of this 70s trucking culture. Plus, Tanner Mirrlees’ article on the toxic rightwing petro-populism of the convoy.
There are some great trucking movies we talk about in this episode. Some, less great. Check out the imitable Humphrey Bogart in the classic They Drive by Night (1940). In the 1970s, things got a bit politically weirder: Smokey and the Bandit (1977), and most of all, Convoy (1978), typify the era.
——————-ABOUT THE SHOW——————
For a full list of credits, contact information, and more, visit our about page.
1 hr 16 min
May 06, 2022EP56: Don’t Look Left (ft. David Sirota)
Why does the democratic establishment always avoid turning left, even when it might mean a political win? Gordon asks David Sirota. Sirota is behind the smash-hit Netflix movie Don’t Look Up! He is also host and co-writer of an excellent podcast series called Meltdown, which documented how Obama’s lacklustre response to the financial crisis set the stage for Trump. We cover a range of topics: from the limits of technocracy, the political co-option of science and expertise, the critical reaction to Don’t Look Up, and whether or not Ideocracy (2006) has bad politics.
——————FURTHER READING & LISTENING————————-
Some things we talked about: From Sirota, we talked mostly his work on Don’t Look Up! and Meltdown. We also talked about the Lever, which Sirota runs (it was formerly called the Daily Poster). From there, check out his article on how Biden is Jokerfying America.
More good stuff: check out Champagne Shark’s episode with Sirota on Meltdown, Luke Savage’s coverage on Jacobin, the Useful Idiots’ episode on Don’t Look Up! at the Oscars, and especially Nathan J. Robinson’s essay on why critics of the movie totally missed the point.
——————-ABOUT THE SHOW——————
For a full list of credits, contact information, and more, visit our about page.
43 min
April 23, 2022 EP55: Mutually-Assured Dysfunction (ft. Jessica Hurley & Mark Winfield)
The war in Ukraine has brought nuclear technology to the forefront. There’s the threat of nuclear weapons, and the danger of nuclear power plants melting down under military fire. Yet, the nuclear industry also promises to deliver us from our dependency on fossil fuels. It’s an interesting duality with nuclear: is it the end of the world, or is it salvation? Professor Jessica Hurley, author of Infrastructures of Apocalypse: American Literature and the Nuclear Complex, walks us through the history of nuclear dystopia and nuclear utopia, and how they have always been closely connected.
Also: happy Earth Day, even though we are not feeling particularly optimistic about the state of our planet. The war in Ukraine has brought environmental politics front-and-centre, with countries racing to extricate themselves from Russian oil and gas. Yet, in Canada, we are seeing industry push to ramp up dirty tar sands production. How will the war change energy policy? We wonk out and get into the nitty-gritty of the state of climate policy with, Mark Winfield.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW————————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected].
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. The lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and we have marketing support from Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. It is part of a series of episodes on the politics of technology and techno-utopian thinking. We had research advising from Professor Tanner Mirrlees at Ontario Tech University and Professor Imre Szeman at the University of Waterloo.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
1 hr
April 08, 2022EP54: Dugin: Russia’s Imperial Philosopher
We look at the mind behind Russia’s imperial vision, Aleksandr Dugin. Political theorist Matt McManus walks us through this far-right thinker’s strange and often contradictory ideas, from: his geopolitical clash-of-civilizations narrative, his flirtation with left-wing postmodernism, his Nietzschean great man-visions, his rejection of all things liberal, and his more ancient and mystical imagination.
——————FURTHER READING & LISTENING————————-
This episode is inspired by the Pill Pod’s take on Duggin, with Matt McManus and friends. Their episode has a deeper dive into what Duggin means for postmodernism, Bruno Latour, and the left–check it out!
Duggin is a kind of postmodern conservative, and McManus’ book the Rise of Postmodern Conservatism analyzes this emerging intellectual milieu in detail.
We used the book Key Thinkers of the Radical Right in preparation, and in particular Marlene Laruelle’s chapter on Duggin. It encapsulates his ideas, and gives a more detailed biography than we had here.
Note: Unfortunately, a lot of academic work is paywalled and not readily accessible to people outside the academy. If you ever see anything in our reading list that you cannot access but would like to access, simply email the show and we will do what we can to get them to you.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW————————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected].
—————————-CREDITS—————————
Darts and Letters is hosted and executive produced by Gordon Katic. Marc Apollonio is managing producer. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. We work primarily in Toronto, Ontario, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
40 min
March 25, 2022 EP53: Survival of the Leftest: Should We Embrace Behavioural Genetics?
Can genetics play a role in crafting left social policy? Or should we not touch those ideas ever again–even with a 10 foot pole? Paige Harden’s new book, “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” makes a forceful case for an egalitarian politics informed by DNA. However, geneticist Joseph Graves critiqued the book in the pages of the Lancet, arguing that we do not need sophisticated genetic knowledge to make a more socially just world. Managing producer Marc Apollonio guest hosts, talking to both.
——————-PROGRAMMING NOTE——————
You may have noticed the last couple weeks we have been posting less frequently. For the next few months, we are switching over to releasing every two weeks because of funding reasons. We think it will be temporary, and regular host Gordon Katic will be back next week with a more detailed update. Still, now more than ever, we need your support! If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters.
—————————-CONTACT US————————
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected].
—————————-CREDITS—————————
Darts and Letters was hosted and produced this week by Marc Apollonio, who is also our managing producer, with editing from Gordon Katic. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. We work primarily in Toronto, Ontario, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
47 min
March 11, 2022EP52: The DNA of a Wrongful Imprisonment (ft. Kimani Boden, Stephen Cordner & Amade M’charek)
DNA offers us the promise of an objective forensic science. Rather than following our own racially-biased hunches, technology can deliver us the unvarnished truth. Yet, we always interpret technology through our own particular lens, and within a society that produces technology in a particular sort of way. In this episode, we look at how forensic DNA technologies relate to our ideas about race and criminality. We see how DNA led to the imprisonment of an innocent man, Farah Jama. Then, we look at the frontier of forensic DNA and artificial intelligence. A new technique promises to draw an image of a suspect based solely on what we see in the DNA, but critics say these pictures are entrenching stereotypes about race and crime.
First (@3:44), Kimani Boden is a Melbourne-based attorney who served as Farah Jama’s appeal lawyer. He takes us through the trial, the circumstances surrounding the story, and the use and misuse of DNA evidence. He points to race as a factor, reminding us that the criminal justice system is rarely as unbiased as some would have us believe.
Then, (@20:07) Stephen Cordner is the former director of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. He was the head of the VIFM, which oversaw the sexual assault centre related to the case, at the time when this story was unfolding. He discusses what went wrong, how we might be more sceptical of DNA evidence, and how we might prevent similar wrongful convictions in the future.
Finally (@27:13), Amade M’charek is professor of the Anthropology of Science at the University of Amsterdam, where she researches forensics and race. She argues that legal systems around the world need to be more critical of forensic science, taking us through the state of forensics and the challenge of new and evolving technologies in the field – including an emergent technology that uses DNA to produce composite images of potential suspects.
——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————
Australian author and journalist Julie Szego wrote the book on Farah Jama’s ordeal. Check out The Tainted Trial of Farah Jama.
Read through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative’s page on Farah Jama.
Get to know Amade M’charek’s research on forensics and race.
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW————————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected] or tweet Gordon directly.
—————————-CREDITS—————————
Darts and Letters was hosted and produced this week by Marc Apollonio, who is also our managing producer, with editing from Gordon Katic. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Roland Nadler provided research assistance and David Moscrop wrote the show notes.
Special thanks this week to Julie Szego.
Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. And we are backed by academic grants that support mobilizing research. This episode was also a part of a mini-series on the state of forensic science. The scholarly lead on that project is Professor Emma Cunliffe.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
46 min
February 25, 2022EP51: This is Your Brain on Trial (ft. Andrew Scull, Tess Neal & Roland Nadler)
Imagine reading or watching The Minority Report and thinking of that as a model for the criminal justice system. Well, plenty of forensic types are doing just that. Can you figure out if you are a criminal by scanning your brain? On this episode of Darts and Letters, guest-host Jay Cockburn and our guests explore the study of the criminal mind, from the history of madness, to spotty personality tests, to the emerging neuroscientific frontier.
First (@7:23), what do you see in this image? Wrong answer, off to jail! We look at the state of forensic psychology, and how to improve it. Tess Neal is associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University. She studied the quality of hundreds of assessment tools and processes used to understand individuals and found that the quality…varies. A lot.
Then, (@24:34) what might neuroscience tell us about criminality – and how dangerous is that as a source of assessment tools? Roland Nadler is a PhD candidate in law at the University of British Columbia and a Darts and Letters researcher. This is Minority Report type stuff and the implications are, to say the least, potentially very disturbing with technologies ripe for abuse, error, and systemic injustice.
Finally (@46:08), the history of madness is extraordinary, and it comes with warnings for the current and future of psychological and neuroscientific techniques in the criminal justice system. Andrew Scull is a sociologist and the author of Madness in Civilisation: The Cultural History of Insanity, From the Madhouse to Modern Medicine. He defines madness and guides us through its history throughout the last several hundred years.
——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————
Read Tess Neal’s co-written paper “Psychological Assessments in Legal Contexts: Are Courts Keeping ‘Junk Science’ Out of the Courtroom?” Then, see more of her work on her faculty page.
Get to know Roland Nadler and his work through his graduate school page at UBC, and read about his work in Vox on neurointerventions and prisoners.
Check out Andrew Scull’s books Madness in Civilisation and Desperate Remedies; also, see his work in the Los Angeles Review of Books. Plus, have a look at more of his work on his faculty page.
Dig more into the lit on the topic with Ben Green’s “The False Promise of Risk Assessments” along with Emily Murphy and Jesse Rissman’s “Evidence of Memory from Brain Data.”
——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW————————-
We need your support. If you like what you hear, chip in. You can find us on patreon.com/dartsandletters. Patreon subscribers usually get the episode a day early, and sometimes will also receive bonus content.
Don’t have the money to chip in this week? Not to fear, you can help in other ways. For one: subscribe, rate, and review our podcast. It helps other people find our work.
—————————-CONTACT US————————-
To stay up to date, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. If you’d like to write to us, email [email protected]
—————————-CREDITS—————————-
Darts and Letters was hosted and produced this week by Jay Cockburn, with editing from Gordon Katic. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. Roland Nadler provided research assistance, and David Moscrop wrote the show notes.
Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.
This is a production of Cited Media. And we are backed by academic grants that support mobilizing research.. This episode was also a part of a mini-series on the state of forensic science. The scholarly lead on that project is Professor Emma Cunliffe.
Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.
1 hr 4 min

About Darts and Letters

From the publisher's feed

This is about ‘arts and letters,’ but for the kind of people who might hack a dart. We cover public intellectualism and the politics of academia from a left perspective. Each week, we interview…