Philosophy After Hours

After an extended discussion on nostalgia, in this episode we consider the idea of "politicization". Does our culture too often bring politics into places where politics doesn't belong? Why can't you just watch a sports game without people kneeling in protest? Does politics need to be kept on the margins? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Hermann Hesse, Poems, trans. James Wright (New York, NY: Bantam Brook, 1974), 23.

In this week's Last Call episode we begin a reading series on Nnedi Okorafor's sci-fi, fantasy novel Lagoon (2014). Even though we only look at the first few pages of the book, we explore a series of interesting themes that Nnedi introduces, ultimately focusing on the morally vexed relationship between oppressors and oppressed. How can the oppressed at once claim that their oppressors are morally wrong while also acknowledging that the very struggle against one's oppressor must finally be affirmed as "beautiful"? Would such an affirmation subtly imply that oppressors can be let off the hook (i.e. because they play a role in creating something "beautiful")? We think the prologue to Lagoon offers some illuminating ways to think about that question.

In this episode we discuss Covid-19 and the possibility or impossibility of thinking of life "after" Covid. How will the time after Covid come about? Is having a vaccine sufficient? Can liberal reforms within a capitalist system save us? Hear what we think?

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Masatoshi Nakayama, Best Karate (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979), 9.

We're sorry we've been gone so long, folks. We'll get back on track in the next couple of weeks. For now, please enjoy this unlocked Last Call episode from our Patreon feed. Thanks for listening.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

In this episode we discuss the riots that have been taking place across the globe since the murder of George Floyd. We specifically discuss the role police should play in any vision of a better world. Is defunding enough? Are calls for the abolition of the cops "unrealistic"? Do police serve a good social function? Hear what we think?

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Aimé Césaire, The Collected Poetry, trans. by Clayton Eshleman and Annette Smith (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1983), 67.

This week we sit back and listen.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

James Baldwin, "A Report from Occupied Territory, " in The Nation, June 11, 1966.

In this second "shooting the shit" episode we discuss Shakespeare's King Lear and wax Hegelian about the protagonist, consider how overloading on tv during quarantine has ruined tv, and opine about "stoner culture". Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

P.S. "Groundlings" were people who could only afford the 1 penny admission cost to stand on the ground floor of certain London theatres to see Shakespeare's plays.

Text:

William Shakespeare, King Lear (New York: Dover, 1994), 107.

In this episode we discuss the madness of Nietzsche's madman. What's the madman (Nietzsche?) mad about? Can this madness be overcome? Are we today still ill-equipped to register the death of God? Has the madman still "come too soon"? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Texts:

Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings (New York: Penguin, 2012), 9.

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, trans. Josefine Nauckhoff (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 119-120.

In this episode we discuss protests. What function do they serve? Do they only ever express frustration or are they necessary and effective components of political transformation? How should we think about solidarity with those protesting for/against things that are not clearly related to our own interests? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, his us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Saying of Jesus, trans. Marvin Meyer (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 29.

In this episode we discuss whether or not blood ties have any significance. We often believe we have certain responsibilities or obligations to blood relatives because they are blood relatives. But why? Is it something mystical? Hear what we think.

If you want to contact us, hit us up at therilkeanzoo[at]gmail.com. Also, find us on Patreon at patreon.com/therilkeanzoo.

Text:

Nikki Giovanni, "400 Mulvaney Street," in The Prosaic Soul of Nikki Giovanni (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), 9-10.