Why Theory

On this episode, Todd gives Ryan the floor to discuss my dissertation research on seriality. The conversation focuses on the effects of the serial form, the trouble with endings, and the unexplored resonances that the serial form has with psychoanalytic theory. A lot of these ideas are in development so listen to Ryan move from being totally articulate and professional to saying “like” as though it was machine gun fire while he tries to bridge one thought to the next. Again, thanks for listening. Hope you all enjoy the conversation.

In this episode, Todd and Ryan discuss Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be. After a brief-ish plot run through, Todd and Ryan talk about the radicality of Lubitsch's film and how it offers an effective and theoretically rich gloss on issues of the copy and authenticity(among other things). They attempt to justify the claim that this film is the greatest comedy in the history of cinema.

In this episode of Why Theory, a podcast that brings continental philosophy and psychoanalytic theory together to explain cultural phenomena, Todd and Ryan discuss "fake news"...without ever talking about fake news. More specifically, this episode looks at the psychic and philosophical structure that undergirds seeing certain news as fake, distrusting information outside of the self entirely, and what to do with "bias." (Apologies for the audio issues in the early part of this episode.)

In this "state of the theory" podcast, Todd and Ryan talk about the recently completed LACK conference held from October 19-21 in Colorado Springs. We discuss the major themes of the conference, which include discussions of the social tie, the master signifier, the universal and the particular (as it relates to race and sexuality especially), and a searing defense of Denis Villeneuve's Arrival.

In this episode, Todd and Ryan discuss Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049. The conversation centers around how the film depicts ideology and what we mean when we say "ideology"; how the film conceives of desire ensuring subjectivity; and how the relationship between police and capital in the film exposes a link to how the two function in everyday life.

In this first episode, Todd and Ryan stamp out a provisional definition of theory (as we'll be employing it) and discuss Todd's new book, Only A Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy.