The Problem with Reading

We conclude our journey through expressive individualism and the modern self with the final two chapters of Carl Trueman's "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self." Also, Stephen watches the Exorcist (maybe a few of them) and Brevin and Sam have stressful family admin meetings.

We continue the journey through "The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self" by Carl Trueman in this penultimate episode covering chapters 8 and 9 documenting the twin triumphs of the erotic and the therapeutic. But also, Paganism! Have a listen...

It's summer at the movies as Jensen joins us to review the top three movies of the summer (by our count, at least): Oppenheimer, Barbie and Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. Plus, we pitch our own films to ruthless Hollywood execs. Have a listen!

Freud and the various species of 20th century thinkers downstream of him take center stage in chapters 6 and 7 of "Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self." How many double entendres can you spot? Also, Stephen waxes poetic about the edgy music of his youth, Brevin reveals the Age of Average, and Sam finds the best song on the internet. Article: alexmurrell.co.uk/articles/the-age-of-average

We dive into Chapter 5 "Plastic People" and blaze through everyone's favorite band of misfits: Marx, Darwin, and Nietzsche! Also, Stephen is sure the Boomers have cursed us all, Sam hates buying guitars, and Brevin wants to practice his new tourniquet skills in real life.

Chase joins Brevin and Stephen to discuss the looming AI threat. Robots can chat, paint, seduce lonely (mystic) programmers, and write their own code. So will civilization be ended by Terminators or overly friendly Chatbots? The answer will surprise you. Also--reminiscences about beating kids in card games, how to make a ham sandwich according to Pope Francis, and why you shouldn't buy new things. Articles: ~ibm.com/topics/artificial-intelligence ~youtube.com/watch?v=jPhJbKBuNnA ~science.org/content/article/ai-learns-write-computer-code-stunning-advance ~cbc.ca/news/science/ai-consciousness-how-to-recognize-1.6498068 ~theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-openai-artificial-intelligence-writing-ethics/672386 ~vice.com/en/article/akex34/chatgpt-is-a-bullshit-generator-waging-class-war ~mashable.com/article/microsoft-bing-ai-chatbot-weird-scary-responses ~wired.com/story/picture-limitless-creativity-ai-image-generators ~unherd.com/2022/05/the-anti-christ-now-rules-us-all/ ~medium.com/@lindynewsletter/is-culture-stuck-eb3171262f9e ~medium.com/@lindynewsletter/refinement-culture-51d96726c642 ~nytimes.com/2022/04/24/business/akihiko-kondo-fictional-character-relationships.html

Chase Makes a 7 Year Old Cry in a Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament (TPWR 411 Teaser) by The Problem with Reading

For the first podcast of the new year, we continue reading “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self” covering the Romantic Poets of Wordsworth, Shelley, and Blake. Also: gravity holes, American religious revival, and a snowless New York.

Part of our series of the Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, covering Rousseau's thought and the seeds it planted. Also, MacIntyre as anti-political historian, candles for Advent, and more!

A brief intermission featuring of a few of our favorite Walker Percy readings from "Lost in the Cosmos" and "Signposts in a Strange Land."