Why Theory

In this episode, Ryan and Todd unpack Jacques Lacan's famous aphorism about the signifier--"the signifier represents the subject to another signifier." This aphorism focuses on the role of the desiring subject in signification and highlights the contrast between meaning and signification. Ryan and Todd contrast this definition of the signifier with the sign and explore what's at stake in this distinction. They wrap up the podcast by interpreting some current cultural signifiers and explain why we need to see them as signifiers.

In this episode, Ryan and Todd explore the problem of contradiction, especially as it appears in Hegel's philosophy. In doing so, they work through the argument of Todd's new book on Hegel, "Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution." They debate the thesis of the book--that the end point of Hegel's philosophy is reconciliation with contradiction--while pondering the ramifications of contradiction for politics.

In the third of a series of three special episodes featuring Slavoj Zizek, Ryan and Todd respond to Todd's interview with Slavoj concerning his relationship to Hegel. Slavoj brings up questions about Todd's interpretation of Hegel in his new book, specifically the claim about the end of history and the idea that Hegel argues for political freedom. Building on the interview, Ryan and Todd ponder how we might think of progress in Hegelian terms.

In the second of a series of three special episodes featuring Slavoj Zizek, Ryan and Todd respond to Todd's interview with Slavoj concerning his relationship to Lacan. They cover what Slavoj thinks is the key Lacanian concept and seminar, as well as Slavoj's assessment of trans theory. Ryan questions Slavoj's written interventions on this issue for not highlighting the way that the psychoanalytic theory of subjectivity speaks directly to the trans position.

This special episode includes Todd's discussion with Slavoj Zizek about Marxism, conducted just before his debate with Jordan Peterson. Todd and Slavoj discuss why one might insist on the moniker "Marxist" today and why one might call it into question. Ryan and Todd then delve into the issues raised by Slavoj's responses. They focus Marx's relationship with Hegel and the implications of this relationship for politics.

In this special episode recorded at the 2019 LACK Conference, Ryan and Todd talk with theorist Anna Kornbluh about the proliferating sense of immediacy in contemporary society. Building on her talk at the conference, Kornbluh sketches the growing absence of evidence of mediation in a heavily mediated world. Ryan, Todd, and Anna then speculate on the signs of this absence and how we might combat it.

Ryan and Todd are joined by theorist Paul Eisenstein to discuss the most appropriate signifier for the Left. They weigh several possibilities, including "progressivism," "socialism," and "communism," among others. They contend that the signifier for the Left must evoke contradiction and avoid the promise of future harmony.

We explore the theoretical resonance of the Jordan Peele film Us (2019), focusing particularity on the relationship between the individual psyche and collective politics. We also delve into what the film might have to say about fetishistic disavowal and commodity fetishism, key terms from Freud and Marx, respectively.

Cynicism functions as perhaps the most prevalent form of subjectivity in the contemporary landscape. In this episode, Ryan and Todd trace the origins of cynicism, locate its presence in today's society, and try to understand its appeal. The cynical position involves violating Jacques Lacan's famous aphorism, "The non-duped err." The cynic fails to believe in the symbolic fiction and imagines that it is possible to accede directly to the truth. This refusal to be duped results in an inability to recognize the necessity of political struggle and facilities disengagement.

Todd and Ryan discuss the structure of conspiracy theories, how their internal logic logic works and their ultimate reliance on imagining what Lacan would call "the other of the other."