Theory Underground

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Become a member of Theory Underground here: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

Tier 1 and higher get access to the courses and seminars going monthly throughout 2026: Intro to Theory by David McKerracher, The Philosophy of Stewardship by David McKerracher, and The Philosophy of Religion with Samuel Loncar.

Tier 2 and higher get access to a monthly writers or speaking workshop. Tier 3 includes the book or thesis writer's cohort. All members get access to the monthly Post Duopoly (de)Radicalization Starter Pack reading group, which is a collaboration between TU and 1Dime. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

David McKerracher is an organizer, theorist, husband and father (not in that order), and the founder of Theory Underground. McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek), as well as the chief editor of Underground Theory (Volumes one and two are available now, with volume three in the works). Office hours: The first Monday of every month at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, or if you wait around after lectures/seminars.

Theory Underground (TU) is dedicated to making challenging philosophical and theoretical work accessible for a non-college audience. TU emphasizes audio-based learning for real-world application of big ideas, operating both online and through an international tour that has hosted events in over 20 U.S. cities, 9 countries throughout Europe, as well as cities in Canada and Mexico. Mission: To provide accessible, rigorous, and wide-ranging educational material for three types of people:

Vision: A world that is timenergy-rich, meaning that parents and teachers have large, energy-infused, and reliably repeatable blocks of time throughout their day, week, and month. Such a world would construct and cultivate a culture of active leisure for the sake of discovering and stewarding one’s own talent and the talents of future generations.

Lectures: Ongoing and archived sessions on key thinkers and topics, including:

📚Intro courses: Intro to Theory (monthly throughout 2026), Intro to Marx, Intro to Heidegger, Political Theory, Intro to The Idea of the University, Intro to Žižek, Intro to Lacan, Intro to Land, Intro to Illich, The Philosophy of Nature, Intro to the PMC, Intro to Critical Social Theory, and The Philosophy of Religion (2026).

📚Advanced courses: Martin Heidegger's Being and Time, Emmanuel Levinas' Totality and Infinity, and Slavoj Žižek's For They Know Not What They Do, The Autistic Subject and the Clinical Structures of Psychoanalysis.

📚Seminars: Critical Media Theory (2 years), Critical Doxology & Timenergy (1 year), The Philosophy of Stewardship and Home Economics (monthly throughout 2026). Publishing: Underground Theory Volumes 1 and 2, Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy, as well as serial releases of chapters, original thoughts, and upcoming books. Community: Conferences, retreats, and international tour. TU’s hybrid and experimental grassroots (self-funded) tour events have occurred in prestigious private universities as well as people's garages and backyards, on campus quads or downtown in busy urban areas, as well as deep in the wilderness. TU is virtually everywhere and always on tour, but physically it is based on a small regenerative farm in North Idaho.

Distinguished guest professors at Theory Underground have included Slavoj Žižek, Benjamin Studebaker, Nina Power, John D. Caputo, Peter Rollins, Chris Cutrone, Iain Thomson, Alenka Zupančič, Leon Brenner; Todd McGowan, as well as lesser-known but nonetheless amazing lecturers such as Samuel Loncar, Tony Chamas, Bryan Weeks, Michael Downs, and Elton L.K. of the Working Class Intelligentsia and the Democratic Socialists of America education podcast called CLASS. Music Logo Sequence Music is always either by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... or “What's Left” Adam Leher. Thanks! If you are an artist who has something that might be good for TU's unique vibe, you can always send it to us a [email protected]

and where it's going!

After no new episodes for 10 months... Dave's back, by himself, to speak to the podcast audience and share about what has happened and where things are going. 

https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

If you're serious about doing theory, making art, changing the world, or living well, we invite you to join us. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe 

Theory Underground exists to cultivate the conditions necessary for a working class intellectual renaissance that goes beyond old political categories or other identitarian niches. At TU, autodidact workers with earbuds and professionals who see no future in existing institutions or movements are able to challenge their doxa and develop an understanding of the situation we are in. The aim of this work is to change the coordinates of thought, action, and organizing in American culture, so as to make possible large scale structural change for the sake of timenergy for all.

If you subscribe at https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe you'll get access to a package of courses, including:

12 Core Concepts with social theorist David McKerracher

The Fault-Line Theory with philosopher Michael Downs

12 Essential Political Theorists with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker

The Philosophy of Nature with philosopher Nina Power 

The way these all get woven together at a deeper and more meta level is through the ongoing research seminars led by David McKerracher, Benjamin Studebaker, and Michael Downs, where they engage with one another’s work by sharing developments from their own perspectives, theory, and research.

If you subscribe at higher levels and support our work, we'll support your development with bespoke teaching. Alone and unaided, we struggle to grasp our situation in its fullness and formulate a meaningful response. By working together and pooling our energies, we can do better. Join us at theoryunderground.com/subscribe

—

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED

Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

TU owns the rights to use the “What's Left” theme, thanks to its creator, Adam Leher. Thanks!

If you're serious about doing theory, making art, changing the world, or living well, we invite you to join us. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe 

Theory Underground exists to cultivate the conditions necessary for a working class intellectual renaissance that goes beyond old political categories or other identitarian niches. At TU, autodidact workers with earbuds and professionals who see no future in existing institutions or movements are able to challenge their doxa and develop an understanding of the situation we are in. The aim of this work is to change the coordinates of thought, action, and organizing in American culture, so as to make possible large scale structural change for the sake of timenergy for all.

If you subscribe at https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe you'll get access to a package of courses, including:

12 Core Concepts with social theorist David McKerracher

The Fault-Line Theory with philosopher Michael Downs

12 Essential Political Theorists with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker

The Philosophy of Nature with philosopher Nina Power 

The way these all get woven together at a deeper and more meta level is through the ongoing research seminars led by David McKerracher, Benjamin Studebaker, and Michael Downs, where they engage with one another’s work by sharing developments from their own perspectives, theory, and research.

If you subscribe at higher levels and support our work, we'll support your development with bespoke teaching. Alone and unaided, we struggle to grasp our situation in its fullness and formulate a meaningful response. By working together and pooling our energies, we can do better. Join us at theoryunderground.com/subscribe

—

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED

Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

TU owns the rights to use the “What's Left” theme, thanks to its creator, Adam Leher. Thanks!

If you're serious about doing theory, making art, changing the world, or living well, we invite you to join us. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe 

Theory Underground exists to cultivate the conditions necessary for a working class intellectual renaissance that goes beyond old political categories or other identitarian niches. At TU, autodidact workers with earbuds and professionals who see no future in existing institutions or movements are able to challenge their doxa and develop an understanding of the situation we are in. The aim of this work is to change the coordinates of thought, action, and organizing in American culture, so as to make possible large scale structural change for the sake of timenergy for all.

If you subscribe at https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe you'll get access to a package of courses, including:

12 Core Concepts with social theorist David McKerracher

The Fault-Line Theory with philosopher Michael Downs

12 Essential Political Theorists with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker

The Philosophy of Nature with philosopher Nina Power 

The way these all get woven together at a deeper and more meta level is through the ongoing research seminars led by David McKerracher, Benjamin Studebaker, and Michael Downs, where they engage with one another’s work by sharing developments from their own perspectives, theory, and research.

If you subscribe at higher levels and support our work, we'll support your development with bespoke teaching. Alone and unaided, we struggle to grasp our situation in its fullness and formulate a meaningful response. By working together and pooling our energies, we can do better. Join us at theoryunderground.com/subscribe

—

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED

Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

TU owns the rights to use the “What's Left” theme, thanks to its creator, Adam Leher. Thanks!

Nina's Philosophy of Nature course at TU starts in two weeks. It will take place on the fourth Sunday of each month, at 1 PM Eastern time. Recordings are available for subscribers after the fact. Subscribers also get access to the other courses and seminars (read more below).

Theory Underground exists to create the conditions necessary for rigorous thinking about the problems we face as humans. If you're serious about doing theory, making art, and living well, we invite you to join us. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

If you subscribe at theoryunderground.com, you'll get access to a package of courses, including:

12 Essential Concepts with social theorist David McKerracher

The Fault-Line Theory with philosopher Michael Downs

12 Essential Political Theorists with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker

The Philosophy of Nature with philosopher Nina Power 

You'll also get access to the seminars of McKerracher, Downs, and Studebaker, where we'll interface with each other's theories and work toward sharpening one another's understandings.

If you subscribe at higher levels and support our work, we'll support your development with bespoke teaching. At plus, you'll be invited to participate in discussions. At premium, we'll invite you to submit essays for detailed, comprehensive feedback.

Alone and unaided, we struggle to grasp our situation in its fullness and formulate a meaningful response. By working together and pooling our energies, we can do better. Join us, and together we'll try to do the best we can. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

—

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED

Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

TU owns the rights to us the What's Left theme, thanks to its creator, Adam Leher. Thanks!

Theory Underground exists to create the conditions necessary for rigorous thinking about the problems we face as humans. If you're serious about doing theory, making art, and living well, we invite you to join us. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

If you subscribe at theoryunderground.com, you'll get access to a package of courses, including:

12 Essential Concepts with social theorist David McKerracher

The Fault-Line Theory with philosopher Michael Downs

12 Essential Political Theorists with political theorist Benjamin Studebaker

The Philosophy of Nature with philosopher Nina Power 

You'll also get access to the seminars of McKerracher, Downs, and Studebaker, where we'll interface with each other's theories and work toward sharpening one another's understandings.

If you subscribe at higher levels and support our work, we'll support your development with bespoke teaching. At plus, you'll be invited to participate in discussions. At premium, we'll invite you to submit essays for detailed, comprehensive feedback.

Alone and unaided, we struggle to grasp our situation in its fullness and formulate a meaningful response. By working together and pooling our energies, we can do better. Join us, and together we'll try to do the best we can. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

—

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED

Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

TU owns the rights to us the What's Left theme, thanks to its creator, Adam Leher. Thanks!

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk Shout out to Adam - thanks for the What's Left song it's the coolest thing ever and having the rights to use this is both a privilege and now our property because I guess music works that way for now.

Benjamin's piece: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153650327

ABOUT / GET INVOLVED Looking to accelerate your way into a fresh understanding of our current situation? That’s what Theory Underground is all about. We are a seminar, lecture, and book publishing organism for workers with earbuds and professionals who see no hope in existing institutions. We're here to lay the conditions for doing theory and making art and having a life worth living in the 21st Century. If you don't know what it is already, then good luck! We're sure you'll figure it out if you're worth having around. In the meantime, enjoy this free content, all thanks to our patrons. You can always fund the free content at Patreon, but if you want to get involved at TU, then check out the membership tiers. And don't ask questions or make requests or give us advice, please. Take it or leave it. We guarantee our product meets a quality assurance check that none of your other content is capable of achieving, but you won't be able to tell the difference for a while. What we are rolling out in 2025 is a series of courses and ongoing seminars. Base subscribers at TU get access to the most essential of all that. The three tiers of membership grant certain very special privileges, most of which are not on the menu but you'll find out about. What IS on the menu though, for 2025, is a course on The Philosophy of Nature by Nina Power, 12 Essential Political Theorists with Benjamin Studebaker, The Fault-Line Theory with Michael Downs, and what I, the author of this copy, founder of this org, and main labor force for everything (production, socials, business, research, teaching, I'm a busy guy, guys) am coming out with a special series of Public seminars and Private seminars, as well as special introductory and deep dive courses. Never mind wading through the last two years of content. I'm here to be your tour guide through the most essential problems, concepts, and questions at Theory Underground. We're going to be talking about the method we've been developing between dialectics, phenomenology, and socioanalysis, in dialogue with Marxism, psychoanalysis, and French fried German theory (the fun pomo shit). Anyway, if you want to access all of that you better just subscribe right now: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe

MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk Shout out to Adam - thanks for the What's Left song it's the coolest thing ever and having the rights to use this is both a privilege and now our property because I guess music works that way for now.