Emancipations Podcast

A Marxist History of Slavery and Capitalism (feat. David McNally)

Was Atlantic slavery a capitalist system or a pre-capitalist system? If we understand Atlantic slavery (16th - 19th centuries) as a distinct capitalist system of dominati

Marxian Totality: Inverting Hegel to Expound Worldly Matters (feat. Kaveh Boveiri)

I'm joined by Marxist philosopher Kaveh Boveiri to discuss the concept of totality in Hegel and Marx. The center of our conversation is Dr. Boveiri's new book Marxian Tot

The Concept of the Drive in Psychoanalysis (feat. Andrew Flores)

I am joined by Andrew Flores, a Lacanian psychoanalyst in formation and host of The Parallax Viewer to discuss the psychoanalytic concept of the drive. In this wide-rangi

The Kojève We Never Read (feat. Igor Shoikhedbrod)

Alexandre Kojève's influence on intellectual life has been massive. His ideas have shaped major 20th century thinkers from Leo Strauss, Jacques Lacan to Georges Bataille.

The History of Materialism from Lange to Plekhanov (feat. C. Derick Varn & Daniel Tutt)

We begin a new three-part series on the history of materialism in Marxist thought by examining the 19th-century materialism controversy and the broader philosophical deba

Confronting Hyperpolitics and Its Limits (feat. Anton Jäger)

My guest Anton Jäger is the author of Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences, a provocative new polemic on the impasses of our political mom

Ernesto Laclau and the Making of Post-Marxism (feat. Oliver Marchart)

I'm very pleased to welcome the philosopher Oliver Marchart to discuss the thought of Ernesto Laclau and his book Thinking Antagonism: Political Ontology After Laclau. In

The Rise, Fall and Return of Lacan (feat. Judith Gurewich)

I am pleased to welcome Judith Gurewich, a pioneering figure in the introduction and development of Lacanian thought in the United States for a wide-ranging conversation

The Concept of Worldview Marxism (feat. Mathilde Chevallier)

I'm joined by Mathilde Chevallier to discuss the philosophical concept of "weltanschauung" and the importance of the concept in post-Kantian thought and Marxist philosoph

Ideology and Class After Althusser: An Introduction to Göran Therborn (feat. Mike McCarthy)

I am joined by Mike McCarthy for a discussion on "The Ideology of Power and the Power of Ideology" by the Marxist sociologist Göran Therborn. First published in 1980, thi

Mary Wild on the Art of Podcasting & Psychoanalyzing Horror Movies

I'm joined by podcaster and psychoanalytic theorist Mary Wild to discuss her new book, Psychoanalysing Horror Cinema. We discuss Mary's method of analyzing film through a

How Should We Read Nietzsche’s Politics? A Critical Dialogue

I’m joined by Keegan Kjeldsen, host of The Nietzsche Podcast for a critical dialogue on the politics of Nietzsche. This is the second discussion I have had with Keegan an

Vulgar Marxism and the Dilemmas of Worker Education (feat. Edward Baring)

I’m pleased to welcome intellectual historian Edward Baring to the show for a conversation on the concept of “vulgar Marxism” and the different theories of worker educati

A Lacanian Theory of Cinema (feat. Helen Rollins)

I'm joined by filmmaker and theorist Helen Rollins for a discussion on her new book on psychoanalysis and cinema, Psychocinema. In this book Helen argues there is a funda

How to Understand the Chaos of Donald Trump (feat. Paul Heideman)

How can we make sense of the logic behind Donald Trump and the spectacle of chaos that seems to follow him? What appears as disorder on the surface may in fact reveal dee

Critical Theory After Habermas (feat. Philipp Felsch)

Joining me for his second appearance, Philipp Felsch explores the life and thought of Jürgen Habermas, one of the most influential philosophers of the modern era and Germ

Pierre Bourdieu's Critique of the Intellectual

We discuss Pierre Bourdieu's legacy and its implications for understanding intellectuals. You can find C. Derick Varn at VarnVlog. In addition to going through some of Bo

Gaza and Revolutionary Philosophy (feat. Yanis Iqbal)

My guest Yanis Iqbal is the author of The Sword and the Neck, a militant work of philosophy that insists Gaza must be approached not as a humanitarian "exception," but as

Anti-Intellectualism in America (feat. C. Derick Varn)

We discuss the roots of anti-intellectualism in American life for the first episode in a four-part series co-created and presented with C. Derick Varn, "The Problem of In

Chinese Marxism (feat. Josef Gregory Mahoney)

I am joined by Dr. Josef Gregory Mahoney, Professor of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University and Concurrent Professor of Marxism with Jiang