Critical Media Studies

#127: Luhmann - The Reality of Mass Media

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Niklas Luhmann’s 1996 book, “The Reality of the Mass Media”. After unpacking Luhmann’s model of modern media, they question the rol

#126: Rose Horowitch - The Age of Reading is Over

In the second part of their discussion Barry and Mike talk about Rose Horowitch’s ideas about reading and what it means to be post-literate in the digital world.

#125: Rose Horowitch - The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books

Barry and Mike begin a two-part discussion of Rose Horowitch’s investigation into post-literacy.In this episode we discuss her November 2024 article in The Atlantic Month

#124: Ted Gioia -What you Won't Learn About the Odyssey From the Movie

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Ted Gioia’s “What You Won’t Learn About the Odyssey From the Movie.” They debate the significance of the “magical mystery song” at

#123: Daniel Roher - The AI Doc: Or, How I Became An Apocaloptimist

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Daniel Roher’s 2026 documentary, The AI Doc: Or, How I Became An Apocaloptimist. They apply Bernard Stiegler’s concept of the pharm

#122: Louis Theroux - Into the Manosphere

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Louis Theroux’s “Inside the Manosphere” (March, 2026) and address the question: What does the Manosphere tell us about our current

#121: A repost of episode #99: On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Artificial Intimacy

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the idea of “frictionless” relationships in the age of artificial intimacy. ErikaHayasaki – “What Would a Real Friendship With A.

#120: Mark Fisher - Exiting the Vampire's Castle, pt. 2

In this episode Barry and Mike resume their discussion of Mark Fishers’s 2013 blog post, “Exiting the Vampire’s Castle”. They discuss the five laws that govern the castle

#119: Mark Fisher - Exiting the Vampire Castle

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss writer/music critic/cultural theorist Mark Fisher’s 2013 blog post, “Exiting the Vampire Castle”. They look at the essay, 13 years

#118: Althusser - Idelology and Ideological State Apparatuses

In this episode Barry and Mike conclude their discussion of Althusser’s seminal essay, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”. They focus on Althusser’s concept of

#117: Althusser - Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, pt. 1

This is the first of a two part discussion. In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Louis Althusser’s Essay “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” in relation to Sim

#116: Weil - On The Abolition of all Political Parties, pt, 2

In this episode Barry and Mike continue their discussion on Simone Weil’s essay, “On The Abolition of all Political Parties.” They discuss the opposition between the trut

#115: Simone Weil - On The Abolition of All Political Parties

This is the first of two episodes on Simone Weil’s 1943 essay, “On the Abolition of all Political Parties. In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the distinction Weil dra

Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle

This is a repost of the Guy Debord episode that was originally posted on 3/15/23. In This episode of the Critical Media Studies podcast we discuss Guy Debord’s The Socie

#113: Merenda - Reading Arendt to Rethink Truth, Science, and Politics in the Era of Fake News

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Federica Merenda’s essay, “Reading Arendt to Rethink Truth, Science, and Politics in the Era of Fake News”. They discuss Arendt’s d

#112: Kracauer - Photography

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the uncanny ways that Sigfreid Kracauer’s 1927 essay, Photography, anticipates the modern media landscape.

#111: Siegfried Kracauer - Cult of Distraction: On Berlin's Picture Palaces

Barry and Mike discuss Siegfried Kracauer's 1926 essay "Cult of Distraction: On Berlin's Picture Palaces." Written nearly 100 years ago, the essay is strangely relevant t

#110: Yudkowski and Soares - If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss “If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All” by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares. They discuss the ma

#109: Rachel Bitecofer -The Whole World Is Getting Dumber (And The Smartphone Did It.)

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Rachel Bitecofer’s substack article, “The Whole World is Getting Dumber (And the Smartphone Did It.)” We question whether her solut

#108: Alberto Romero - AI Video Should Be Illegal

In this episode we discuss Alberto Romero’s Substack article on AI video.  While Romero argues that perhaps we should seek legal remedies to the problems of deepfake vide