Help support the show, get access to exclusive episodes, and keep the podcast ad-free forever:

https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreon

Write-up on the May 68 barricades:

https://jacobin.com/2018/05/how-beautiful-it-was

The original recording was made in late April 2008 by the BBC.

Chapters

(00:00:00) Casablanca Intro

(00:06:39) 1) The Year of Revolutions: 1968

(00:48:43) 2) Philosophy in the Streets

References and Keywords

Charles de Gaulle, Joseph Stalin, CGT (Trade Union Confédération Générale du Travail), Women's Liberation, Birth Control Pill, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Herbert Marcuse, Jean-Paul Sartre, Slavoj Zizek, Jacques Lacan, Guy Debord and the Situationists, Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, David Cunningham (Radical Philosophy), Simon Critchley, "Boredom is counterrevolutionary", École Normale Supérieure, Henri Bergson, Structuralism, Jacques Rancière, Claude Levi-Strauss, Deconstruction.

Books:

The Society of the Spectacle - Guy Debord

The Order of Things - Michel Foucault

The Ends of Man - Jacques Derrida

Écrits (Writings) - Jacques Lacan

Reading Capital - Louis Althusser

Come join my Patreon!

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Check out Roy's Work:

https://www.youtube.com/@DrRoyCasagranda

Watch the original video:

https://youtu.be/D8s_qxWcN9I

Description from original:

The 1,000-year Legacy of Ibn Sina is Dr. Roy's first lecture for the Museum of the Future's Lessons from the Past (2025). This collaboration between the Museum of the Future and Dr. Roy aims to explore 10 topics ranging from the life of the father of modern medicine to examples of great leadership to the birth of the Most Serene Republic of Venice.

(Originally uploaded April 3rd 2025)

Ibn Sina:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna

PART 1 (HoPAA #160a):

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5taLk6nbSkUZ3kGgRIgoSk?si=7724226c6b1042e1

Come join my Patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreon

Learn more about Professor Darren Staloff's Work (Yes, he's still alive…)

https://hamilton.center.ufl.edu/people/darren-staloff/

This series was originally titled "The Search for a Meaningful Past" and is available on YouTube.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:12) Arnold Toynbee and World Historical Speculation

(00:47:26) R. G. Collingwood “The Idea of History”

(01:33:36) Positivist Historiography

(02:19:48) Arthur Danto's Narration and Knowledge

(03:06:20) Fernand Braudel's “On History”

(03:52:11) Poststructuralism and the Linguistic Turn

(04:39:06) William McNeill's “Plagues and People”

(05:25:46) The Heterogeneity of Historical Knowledge

(06:10:32) Outro

-//-

Check out Dr. Lain's Work:

https://law.richmond.edu/faculty/clain/

Pre-Order "Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection"

https://a.co/d/7tqFYeB

Come join my Patreon!

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-//-

Show Notes:

People Mentioned:

Michel Foucault

Dan Carlin

Books, Podcasts:

Discipline and Punish

Hardcore History: Painfotainment

Our Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison (Chris Hedges)

I did a podcast about torture, both in Abu Ghraib and in American prisons in the context of the "global war on terror":

https://www.patreon.com/posts/s1e3-tortured-110682686

Studies and Citations:

The reversal rate on death sentences:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/03/17/most-death-penalty-sentences-are-overturned-heres-why-that-matters/

4.1% on death row are factually innocent (National Academy of Sciences):

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1306417111

Anders Breivik

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik#Prison_life

-Let me know in the comments what I missed and I'll add it back in-

Buy Dr. Boursier's Book Precious Precarity and Support Her Work:

https://a.co/d/8h6xu0D

Come join my community on Patreon (free to sign up!)

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction to the Crisis at the Border

(02:54) Helen's Journey into Advocacy

(09:27) Conditions in Detention Centers

(13:05) Legal and Human Rights Violations

(15:27) The Journey of Migrant Families

(22:29) Art as a Healing Tool

(35:45) Understanding Femicide and Feminicide

(43:37) U.S. Complicity in Central American Violence

(44:30) Historical Context of U.S. Intervention in Latin America

(48:41) The Flores Settlement Agreement and Child Asylum Seekers

(51:53) The Role of Indifference in Immigration Policy

(56:04) The Impact of Immigration on American Society

(01:01:42) The Power of Storytelling in Asylum Cases

(01:10:13) Reflections on Justice and Compassion

(01:18:01) Environmental Impacts of the Border Wall

(01:25:03) Faith, Politics, and the Call to Justice

Works Referenced (Books, Articles):

Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/542700.Trauma_and_Recovery

Everyone Who is Gone is Here, Jonathan Blitzer

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/145624514-everyone-who-is-gone-is-here

Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing, Miranda Fricker

https://academic.oup.com/book/32817?login=false

Femicide: The Politics of Woman Killing, ed. Jill Radford and Diana E. H. Russell

https://docslib.org/doc/5701267/femicide-the-politics-of-woman-killing

2666, Roberto Bolaño

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2666

Works Referenced (People)

Elie Wiesel

Dawn Martin-Hill (Indigenous Studies, PhD)

https://rematriation.com/dawn-martin-hillmother-scientist-activist/

Hope Frye (Lawyer, Flores Settlement)

https://immigrationhistory.org/item/the-flores-settlement/

Works Referenced (Film and Documentary)

Sophie's Choice

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084707/

American Scar: The Environmental Tragedy of the Border Wall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx71C4iguuk&pp=ygUNYW1lcmljYW4gc2Nhcg%3D%3D

Trails of Hope and Terror the Movie

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6095044/

-//-

tags:

migrant families, ICE detention, human rights, femicide, art therapy, U.S.-Mexico border, advocacy, immigration, trauma recovery, social justice, U.S. intervention, Latin America, asylum seekers, Flores Settlement Agreement, immigration policy, indifference, environmental impact, justice, storytelling, faith

Come join my Patreon!

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Watch the conversation on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDzcdGzjXmI

Originally titled “The Search for a Meaningful Past”⁠

YouTube Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRGCfeEu2DRR4_Px-vrIfyPRkmzaDbmyf&si=xa1Cw7i66We6QoXR

Check out Dr. Darren Staloff's Work:

https://hamilton.center.ufl.edu/people/darren-staloff/

Support this work on Patreon:

⁠https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon⁠

NB: The chapter on Mircea Eliade has been already published on this channel as HoPAA #158.

Chapters:

(00:00:00)-Intro

(00:00:36)-1.Philosophies, Theories, and Interpretations of Human History

(00:43:56)-2.Mircea Eliade's Cosmos and History of Cyclical Time

(01:29:07)-3.Vico's New Science of History

(02:16:01)-4.Kant's Idea for a Universal History

(03:02:54)-5.Hegel's Philosophy of History

(03:49:59)-6.Marx's Historical Materialism

(04:32:10)-7.Nietzsche's Critique of Historical Consciousness

(05:19:49)-8.Weber's Historical Sociology

-//-

A Creative Commons Zero (unrestricted free public domain use) production of Boethius' "Consolation of Philosophy" read by the host, William Engels.

This is Book 2, "Fortune's Wheel".

Translation is WV Cooper, with host amendments for style and clarity.

https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/boethius/jkok/2p1_u.htm

Support this work on Patreon:

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Follow Topher's Work:

https://tophermcdougal.com/

Buy the book, Gaia Wakes:

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/gaia-wakes/9781788218283

Follow Topher on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/topherlmcdougal

Come join me on Patreon:

https://patreon.com/HemlockPatreon

Clarifications:

Prokaryotes emerged 3.5-.3.8 billion years ago (BYA), eukaryotes/endocytosis emerged 2 BYA.

Chapters

(00:00:00)-Introduction to Gaia Wakes and Its Themes

(00:09:06)-The Intellectual Clash of the Cold War

(00:16:06)-The Dialectic of Predation and Domestication

(00:50:01)-The Emergence of a Planetary Consciousness

(00:55:44)-The Scalar Organization of Life and Learning

(01:02:20)-Consciousness and the Models of Our Models

(01:08:28)-The Emergence of AI Consciousness

(01:18:00)-Ethics and AI Personhood

(01:24:42)-The Future of AI and Human Interaction

(01:52:23)-The Role of Humanity in Ecosystem Stewardship

(01:58:10)-Synthesis of Biological and Technological Systems

(02:06:09)-The Future of Energy and Resource Management

(02:12:05)-The Logic of Coordination and Planning

(02:18:15)-Technological Progress and Economic Impact

(02:31:03)-Recommendations for Further Reading

-//-

Summary

In this conversation, William engages with Professor Topher McDougal about his upcoming book, 'Gaia Wakes,' which explores themes of planetary consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the interplay between human development and ecological challenges. They discuss historical intellectual debates during the Cold War, the dialectic of predation and domestication in evolutionary processes, and the potential for a centralized planetary consciousness to address environmental issues.

In this conversation, McDougal explores the intricate relationship between learning, consciousness, and the emergence of AI. He discusses the scalar organization of life, the models we create to navigate our environment, and the potential for AI to develop consciousness. The ethical implications of AI personhood and the future of human interaction with AI are also examined, highlighting the need for a robust framework for understanding and guiding these developments.

In this conversation, the speaker explores the intricate relationship between humanity, technology, and the environment. They discuss the role of humans as custodians of ecosystems, drawing parallels with natural systems like slime molds. The synthesis of biological and technological systems is highlighted, along with the potential risks associated with rapid technological advancements.

The conversation also delves into the future of energy management, the importance of planning for sustainability, and the disjunction between meaningful work and economic realities. Recommendations for further reading are provided to deepen understanding of these themes.

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00:00-Introduction

02:30-The 1919 Revolution: A Catalyst for Change

10:38-Emergence of Dominant Ideologies in the Arab World

20:59-The United Arab Republic: A Pan-Arab Dream

23:48-Yemen's Civil War: Echoes of History

28:24-The 1973 Arab-Israeli War and Its Aftermath

38:27-Kissinger's Chaos and Middle Eastern Alliances

41:20-The Rise of Tyranny and Civil Wars

45:45-The Arab Spring: A Wave of Change

52:31-Yemen's Fragile Democracy and the Houthi Revolution

56:44-The Complexity of Yemen's Civil War

01:01:43-The Future of Yemen: Hope or Despair?

01:07:47-The Impact of Climate Change on Yemen's Stability

-//-