Overthink

On episode 12 of Overthink, Ellie and David sit down with philosopher Brian Keeley to discuss conspiracy theories. The three examine both the appeal of conspiracy theories and the dire need for public trust in institutions to combat such beliefs. Following last week’s far-right attack on the Capitol, Ellie and David consider the particularly American nature of conspiracy theories that has existed since the nation's founding.  Finally, they discuss the way conspiracy theories root within families and communities and pull people apart.  

Works Discussed
Brian Keeley, "Of Conspiracy Theories"
Anne Applebaum, "Trump and His Heirs Dream of Endless Victory"
Jared Millson, "Conspiracy Theories"
Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook, "The Conspiracy Theory Handbook"
Charles Pigden, "Before Conspiracy Theories and the Conventional Wisdom"
Mack Lamoureux, “People Tell Us How QAnon Destroyed Their Relationships”
J. Eric Oliver and Thomas J. Wood, "Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style(s) of Mass Opinion"

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On episode 11 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the ways in which Zoom has impacted our perception of the self and others. They begin by exploring the blurred lines of privacy that Zoom offers (who among us hasn’t cut their video feed to do a load of laundry?). Next, the two jump into the impact self-view has had on all of us now that we are able to see ourselves conduct our normal lives, tying it to Lacan’s mirror stage. Plus, they discuss disability theorists and the potential benefits that Zoom has for inclusion and accessibility. 

Interested In the works discussed? 

Paul Virilio, Open Sky
Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex
Ellie Anderson, “You’re Not Staring at Yourself on Zoom, You’re Judging Yourself”
Jacques Lacan, "The Mirror Stage as Formative of the I Function"
Céline LeBoeuf, "Anatomy of the Thigh Gap"
Iris Marion Young, "Throwing Like a Girl"
Zoe Beery “When the World Shut Down, They Saw it Open”
danah boyd, "Profiles as Conversation: Networked Identity Performance on Friendster"

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Website | overthinkpodcast.com
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On episode 10 of Overthink, Ellie and David debate the merit of New Year’s Resolutions. Only 8% of people keep the resolutions they set – so why do we continue to make resolutions? The duo discusses the importance of questioning the resolutions we make and desire. To understand the January 1st phenomena, they dive into Stoicism and Nietzsche.

 Interested in works discussed?

William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life
Epictetus and Sharon Lobell, The Art of Living
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

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Website | overthinkpodcast.com
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On episode 9 of Overthink, Ellie and David dive into the concept of parrhesia (speaking truth to those in power). They discuss its origin in Ancient Greece with Socrates and Diogenes, as well as its resurgence in Foucault. The two get into modern day truth tellers such as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Tristan Harris, Emma Sulkowicz, and more. 

Interested in the works discussed? Look no further:

Andreas Huyssen, “Foreword: The return of Diogenes as Postmodern Intellectual”
Michel Foucault, Fearless Speech
Gordon Hull, “The Banality of Cynicism: Foucault and the Limits of Authentic Parrhēsia”
Mary Anne Franks, “Fearless Speech”
“The Social Dilemma,” dir. Jeff Orlowski
Kurt Borg, “Foucault on Drugs: The Personal, the Ethical and the Political in Foucault in California”
Emma Sulkowicz, "Carry That Weight"

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Have you ever been ghosted? In episode 8 of Overthink, Ellie and David deconstruct this dating dilemma. The duo discuss what ghosting does to our emotions; how the Greek notion of akrasia can help us understand why people ghost; how ghosting leaves us feeling, well, haunted; and more!

Interested in the works discussed? Here you go!
Jacques Derrida,  Specters of Marx
Julia Kristeva, Strangers to Ourselves
“Derrida,” dir. Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman
Carl du Prel, The Philosophy of Mysticism

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In episode 7 of Overthink, Ellie and David dive into the sensation of empathy! The dynamic duo discuss mirror neurons, whether animals can feel empathy, nice boy syndrome, why the phrase “I feel your pain” is so annoying, and more!

Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here:
Frans De Waal, The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society
Hal Herzog and Mel Foster, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
Edith Stein, On the Problem of Empathy
Amy Coplan and Peter Goldie, eds. Empathy: Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives, ed.
Marco Iacoboni, Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others
Paul Bloom, Against Empathy

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In episode 6 of Overthink, Ellie and David look at millennials' obsession with homemaking through the lens of Epicurus and Mariana Ortega. The duo talk about the Danish word “hygge,” alloparenting plants, IKEA, how 10-step skincare regimens are definitely the reason why millennials don’t own homes, and so much more! 

Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here!
Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life
Mariana Ortega, In-Between: Latina Feminist Phenomenology, Multiplicity, and the Self
Malcolm Harris, Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials
Epicurus, The Art of Happiness

Support the show

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Website | overthinkpodcast.com
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In episode 5 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about the taste, smell, and function of nostalgia. They dive into al pastor tacos, cottagecore, teenage diary entries, old shampoo bottles, M.A.G.A and more!  

Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here!
Svetlana Boym, The Future of Nostalgia
Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings: An Asian-American Reckoning
Lauren Berlant, "Big Man" (https://socialtextjournal.org/big-man/)
Sigmund Freud, Mourning and Melancholia
Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time, volume 1: Swann's Way
Derek Walcott, Omeros
H.A. Kaplan, "The Psychopathology of Nostalgia"

Support the show

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Website | overthinkpodcast.com
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On episode 3 of Overthink, Ellie and David delve into the rise of Anti-Mask protests across the country. The two discuss American individualism in our conception of freedom, the role of breath in the Judeo-Christian tradition, how much freedom we actually have when choosing lunch, and so much more!

Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here: 

 G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right
John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
Simone de Beauvoir, America Day By Day and The Ethics of Ambiguity 
Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morals
The Bible
Kate Manne, Down Girl
Deep Throat (adult film)

Support the show

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Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
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On episode 4 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about existential anxiety, FOMO, Netflix’s Emily in Paris, The Good Place, and the difference between the medical and existential model of anxiety. Then the dynamic duo discusses how to deal with existential angst through resoluteness, mindfulness, and faith--or what David likes to call “embracing your ugliness!”

 Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here:
Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety
Martin Heidegger, Being and Time
Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
Gordon Marino, The Existentialist’s Survival Guide
American Psychiatric Association website,  “What are Anxiety Disorders?” https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/anxiety-disorders/what-are-anxiety-disorders Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity
Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis
The Good Place (TV show)
Jenny Odell, How To Do Nothing
Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life

Support the show

Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | [email protected]
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