The General Eclectic

Rod and Kale sit down to discuss the conspicuous displays of the anniversary of January 6th, and the power of political liturgies to manufacture consensus. Should January 6th be mentioned in the same breath as Pearl Harbor and 9/11? What motivates the public displays of our media class? What really happened, and who controls what we ultimately think about it? They go on to discuss:

• the rhyming of January 6 with the Gunpowder Plot
• how do you know if you've been captured by your own script?
• what do our "priors" reveal and obscure to us?
• are these public scripts controllable, and how will the CCP fare?
• the "incentives code" and the Soviet Union and contemporary China
• scapegoating of the "unvaxxed" and the precursors to soft totalitarianism
• why isn't the gospel compelling to young ears?

If you have questions or suggestions, you can contact the show at [email protected]

Rod and Kale are joined by Sean Clifford, proud husband, father of four, and an anti-pornography advocate. He is CEO of Canopy, a company dedicated to the safety of families and children amidst the scourge of online pornography.

We discuss why many parents and leaders are not equipped to deal with the hyper-novelty of what Sean calls "new porn." In other words, this is not your fathers stash of girlie magazines. High def, ubiquitous, and easy access video porn is everywhere, and it has its design on our attention and ultimately our souls.

Sean talks about the ratchet effect, and the way in which new porn shapes your desires and dominates your attention. The science on online porn use is clear, and many are suffering.

They go on to talk about the "failure to launch" many young men are facing, and what possible role porn plays.

Are we equipped to deal with hyper-novelty in the virtual/sexual realm?

Sean has launched a company called Canopy.us, and the impressive AI they deploy to work with families struggling to utilize the good of technology, without the filth. Check it out.

Rod and Kale bring on writer and social critic Tim Stanley to discuss his book on Tradition. Tim argues for the dynamism of Tradition versus the bone-sifting endemic to various forms of "Traditionalism". They go on to discuss the notion that conservatism is more an instinct rather than a series of policy prescriptions. Tim's book: Whatever Happened to Tradition?: History, Belonging and the Future of the West: Stanley, Tim: 9781472974129: Amazon.com: Books

We open with this podcast with a discussion about good books, and why we read what we read, and in particular, how fiction can draw you in, grab you, and give experience. Reading fiction is no mere escapist cope, but rather an invitation into other worlds and broadened horizons, a kind of pilgrimage of the imagination. In the second half, Rod pivots to talk about the rise of DMT and other hallucinogens, and the coming mainstreaming of these kinds of "religious hacks." Are they "real," or are they mere phantoms of the mind. These questions move us into a discussion about spiritual realities, and the relative cultural naivete of the modernist delusions. We are participants in the meaning-deserts of modernity, and old books might provide a way to re-enter into the mysteries of creation. Links: Carl Trueman podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OulW5T-9pgY&t=11s Mary Harrington podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-PANVg0QR0&t=4s How God Becomes Real by T. M. Luhrman: https://www.amazon.com/How-God-Becomes-Real-Invisible/dp/0691164460/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1639595917&sr=8-2 That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/C-S-Lewis-Fairy-Tale-Grown-Ups/dp/B00HTK8EQQ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=ZOSQNBP0TBVM&keywords=that+hideous+strength+by+c.s.+lewis&qid=1639596153&sprefix=that+hide%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-4 R. L. Wilkins' "Church As Culture": https://www.firstthings.com/article/2004/04/the-church-as-culture Leon Kass' The Hungry Soul: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Soul-Eating-Perfecting-Nature/dp/0226425681 Charles Taylor's The Secular Age: https://www.amazon.com/Secular-Age-Charles-Taylor/dp/0674986911/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=charles+taylor&qid=1639596347&s=books&sr=1-1

Mary Harrington, contributing editor at Unherd, writer and self-professed "Reactionary Feminist", joins Rod and Kale today to discuss both her speech at NatCon 2 as well as her "conservatives in the mist" reportage of the scene in Orlando. Mary has coined several terms that are useful in the discussion of what is going on and where are we going: meat-lego memeplex, bio-libertarianism, and reactionary-feminism. She describes three basic approaches to the death of modernism: Trads, Cads, & RadFems. The wide-ranging conversation covers plenty of ground. In the second half, they discuss the return of the grooming gangs nightmare in the U.K., and the unwillingness of so many to look at the actual costs of our system built upon consent and sexual liberalism. They end up with an exchange on the purpose and direction of conservatism: is it enough to be "anti-woke", or is there something else necessary. Topics discussed: NatCon 2; Atheism of Progress; economic transitions and the ongoing sex wars; the limits of neoliberal transactionalism; satanism as self help; satanism and the puritans, bio-libertarianism; sex differences; sexual liberalism; consent; grooming gangs, bio-surveillance and meat avatars. Links:

• The American Right's civil war - UnHerd
• The sexual revolution killed feminism - UnHerd
• How Satanism conquered America - UnHerd
• Reactionary Feminist: Reactionary Feminist

You can find her at Unherd.com and on twitter.com @moveincircles

Rod and Kale are joined by Carl Trueman, professor and author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Carl gives a big picture overview of the book, particularly as regards the loss of the sense of a Sacred Order. Carl makes the claim that the battle for our time is one over the imagination, and the fallout over the disconnect with the real. They discuss the implications for our culture, the raising of children, and the future of our children. Topics and books discussed: Philip Rieff; Triumph of the Therapeutic; Hamlet; Dante; Reformations; Percy Bysshe Shelley; Paradise Lost; technology and the divorce from real relationships; Christianity and Pride Activism; Abigail Shrier; Schleiermacher; Integralism; Theonomism; Tom Holland's Dominion; mass psychosis; Michael Hanby; technology; the sexual revolution

In this episode Rod and Kale discuss Liquid Modernity as the acidic solvent upon the foundations of civilization. We are witnessing the pulling apart of the patterns of life, the ties that bind, the warp and woof of communities, all in the name of liberation. The implicit nihilism at the core of these modern ideologies must be challenged by a re-assertion of our divine callings. We must create life where we are. Jordan Peterson's unique ability to speak to those caught in the clutches of nihilistic despair should be built out and amplified.

Topics discussed:

• The Rittenhouse narrative
• Liquid modernity
• Queer theory and the transvaluation of value
• Church of England's contempt for a call for more babies
• The rise of NB's and the reprogramming of our social algorithms
• Jordan Peterson and the neutering of the male.

In this episode Rod and Kale discuss the surprising Republican victory in Virginia and his recent trip to the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando. In the aftermath, the questions arise as to what will a conservative coalition look like in the future. What kind of tent can be built to include the integralists on the one hand, and the "classical liberal" non-religious? What would a viable coalition look like? In the next section, they discuss the doubling down of progressive media in the wake of the pushback in Virginia. Is this the "Chris Rufo" citizen-activist election? Why can't the media admit that CRT is a real thing? They finish up talking about Ibram X. Kendi's tweet that gave away the game, and the new University of Austin.

Rod and Kale are joined by New York Times columnist (and friend) Ross Douthat to discuss his new book The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness & Recovery. His harrowing account opens up spaces for rethinking what we think we know, the limitations of official accounts, and the deep mysteries of the buffered and porous self. Links:

• Charles Taylor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Secular_Age
• Michael Specter's The Lyme Wars: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/01/the-lyme-wars
• Ross's Substack preview: https://douthat.substack.com/p/the-deep-places-a-preview
• Rod's Blog Post: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ross-douthat-the-deep-places-tick-bite-prophet-lyme/

Rod and Kale talk about Elizabeth Zerofsky's piece in the New York Times about the postliberal American Right. In the conversation, they wonder out loud if the "normie" reaction from center-right and center-left stems from a disgust-reaction to the Heretic. Rod and other writers like TAC's Sohrab Ahmari dare to critique the capital "L" Liberalism of American Conservatism, and look to someone like Viktor Orban who is not squeamish about the business of Statecraft. Despite Rod being called "An Aging Hipster," the piece is quite fair.And though Rod considers himself largely "un-cancelable" due to The American Conservative, he was initially nervous. Fortunately, she accurately portrayed what these figures on the postliberal Right think. Wokeness has become the default operating system of the Cathedral, and having a fair hearing in the most significant platform is a big deal. What leaves classical liberalism so vulnerable to the illiberal left? State power is a fact and conservatives need to take it seriously as Statecraft. The left has moved into "Error Has No Rights" territory, so that anyone in opposition to their desires is a Heretic, a kind of left-wing Integralism. Rod will be speaking about these topics at the upcoming National Conservatism Conference. Links:

• Zarofsky piece:The Viktor Orban Effect: Why U.S. Conservatives Love Hungary - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
• Christoper Caldwell: https://www.amazon.com/Age-Entitlement-America-Since-Sixties/dp/1501106899
• George Nash: https://www.amazon.com/Conservative-Intellectual-Movement-America-Since/dp/1933859121
• JD Vance piece: Stop Treating Left-Wing Advocacy Groups Like Charities | Opinion (newsweek.com) Shrier: When the State Comes for Your Kids | City Journal (city-journal.org)
• National Conservatism Conference: National Conservatism Conference
• Bari Weiss: Opinion | Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web - The New York Times (nytimes.com)