Drunken Philosophy

The Harlem Renaissance was an explosion of culture, art, and philosophy in Black America. At the head of one of the many movements dominating the conversation during that time was a Jamaican-born, controversial figure named Marcus Garvey. This week, Connor and Dan dig into Garvey's particular brand of pan-Africanism and how he clashed with other black intellectuals of his time. They also talk about how Connor cried at Hamilton because that is always relevant.

As members of global capitalists societies, we're all well aware of what economic capital is and how it effects our lives. But did you know there are other kinds of capital? Pierre Bourdieu knew that, and he outlined them over the course of his sociological career. This week, Connor and Dan discuss the various forms and functions of Cultural Capital, Social Capital, Symbolic Capital, and Tom from MySpace.

This week, your two favorite narc-ass uncles decide to put aside the beers and vodka sodas so they can partake in a little something the kids are calling "Jazz Grass." That's right. In honor of having an episode that's vaguely in the vicinity of 4/20, Connor and Dan did a drug. They also discussed the 1857 book "The Hasheesh Eater" written by American essayist, poet, and explorer Fitz Hugh Ludlow. But they may or may not spend ten minutes discussing Star Wars first. Dan also changes the battery in his smoke detector!

You've heard of Anarchy in the U.K. But Anarchy in the U.S.A.??? That's right! This week, Connor and Dan don their liberty spikes and chuck their molotov cocktails as they travel back to 19th century America and examine the various flavors of anarchism taking shape in the flailing union. Do these Free Love abolitionists have any good ideas? Or are they just trying to avoid going to the post office? You be the judge!

Hey guys, remember Hamilton? That famous rap-tap-tapping musical that swept the nation some years ago? Well, Connor and Dan finally got around to doing a podcast episode that's minimally and tangentially related to that. Sure, John Locke gets a lot of the credit for inspiring the Founding Fathers but your boy Montesquieu deserves a second look (with apologies to King Ralph).

Happy St. Paddy's Day to all the lads and lasses! To celebrate this holiest of high holidays, Connor and Dan take a look back at two very different Irish philosophers from the 17th century. George Berkeley's philosophical legacy is secure, though his ideas are a bit nonsense. John Toland is often forgotten, though his ideas were revolutionary. They were contemporaries, men of God, and Irishmen. But which do you prefer?

If you're tired of all your podcasts sounding the same, fitting into the same cookie-cutter shape, and convincing you to remain sedate and complacent, you might be confronting a little thing called the Culture Industry. German philosophy Theodor Adorno along with Max Horkheimer developed this Marxist critique of capitalist society before joining the highly influential Frankfurt Group in the wake of WWII. This week, Connor and Dan try to figure out what it's all about.

After struggling to succinctly summarize multiple suggested topics, Dan decides to pull the rip cord and dedicate an entire episode to his passion: Lord of the Rings. But it's not just pure fandom here. He and Connor discuss the philosophy at work in Tolkien's fantasy epic which was at least partially inspired by his experiences in WWI. Tolkien fever is spreading. Catch it!