Why Theory

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Wretched of the Earth

On this episode, Ryan and Todd complete their Frantz Fanon duology by talking about his final completed work, Wretched of the Earth. The episode focuses on Fanon's "stret

Aug 30
1 h 12 min

Black Skin, White Masks

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss Frantz Fanon's decolonial classic, Black Skin, White Masks. The hosts work through the conversation surrounding his credentials as

Aug 17
1 h 22 min

Adaptations

On this episode, Ryan and Todd theorize the adaptation as a form of film. The episode takes its point of departure the continuing conversation over Nolan's Odyssey. Film

Aug 2
1 h 25 min

The Odyssey

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss Christopher Nolan's recent film. The conversation begins with Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey that Nolan consulted and ad

Jul 19
1 h 25 min

Theorizing the World Cup

On this episode, Ryan & Todd theorize the World Cup as a public event that enables the non-expert to see complex theoretical notions, such as Alain Badiou's conceptualiza

Jul 6
1 h 27 min

What Is Literature? (Literature and Existentialism)

On this episode, Ryan and Todd complete their Sartre inflected trifecta of episodes by engaging his 1947 essay series What Is Literature? The hosts begin by talking about

Jun 21
1 h 20 min

Michael Clayton

On this episode, Ryan and Todd cover writer-director Tony Gilroy's 2007 political thriller masterpiece, Michael Clayton. The hosts weave in Sartre's notion of committing

Jun 7
1 h 14 min

Existentialism Is A Humanism

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss Jean-Paul Sartre's 1945 lecture titled "Existentialism is a Humanism." In it, Sartre answers criticism that existentialism has rece

May 24
1 h 16 min

Impossible Professions

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss Freud's idea of the "impossible professions." First articulated in 1925, Freud is drawn to the idea that psychoanalysis is like gov

May 11
1 h 20 min

Avarice

Following up some of the discussion points introduced in the previous episode on Ambition, this episode takes a stab at the deadly sin of Avarice. Beginning first with a

Apr 26
1 h 14 min

Ambition

On this episode, Ryan and Todd tackle the fading specter of ambition as a tragic or negative quality. Far from being a minor rhetorical or social phenomenon, the two trac

Apr 13
1 h 11 min

Transcendental Analytic (Kant's Critique of Pure Reason)

On this episode, Ryan and Todd return to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to discuss the Transcendental Analytic section of the text. Topics include: form and content, Kant

Mar 29
1 h 20 min

Rob Reiner: An Overview

On this episode, Ryan and Todd take a short break from their Kant Odyssey to discuss one of the podcast's most admired filmmakers: Rob Reiner. Coincidentally being releas

Mar 15
1 h 28 min

Transcendental Deduction (Kant's Critique of Pure Reason)

On this episode, Ryan and Todd cover the next major idea in Kant's first critique: the transcendental deduction. While explicating the trajectory of Kant's argument, the

Mar 2
1 h 24 min

Transcendental Aesthetic (Kant's Critique of Pure Reason)

On this episode, Ryan and Todd return to Kant and discuss the Transcendental Aesthetic from his Critique of Pure Reason. The hosts work through a sketch of Kant's idea, w

Feb 15
1 h 14 min

Superegoic Enjoyment

On this episode, Ryan and Todd return to the topic of the superego to discuss--for the first time at length--the enjoyment particular to it. Superegoic enjoyment is an id

Feb 1
1 h 22 min

Structural Violence

On this episode, Ryan and Todd cover the topic of structural violence in both U.S. and global contexts. Beginning with an implicit debt to Slavoj Žižek's influential book

Jan 19
1 h 16 min

Pluribus

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the recently concluded first season of Apple's Pluribus. Taking on the ideas of duration, repetition, alienation, and isolation pre

Jan 4
1 h 11 min

Millennium Christmas

On this year’s exploration of the Christmas film genre, Ryan and Todd look to three films from the early-2000s: The Family Stone, Love Actually, and The Family Man (but n

Dec 21 2025
1 h 20 min

The Episode

On this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the episode--a fading television art. Beginning with a brief history of what early American Broadcasting aestheticized about televi

Dec 7 2025
1 h 11 min

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Been listening to this show for several years. The hosts have a way of explaining some pretty out there ideas in ways you can actually grasp even if you’re dumb like me. Also refining long familiar concepts you thought you understood but didn’t quite. And also go read Ryan’s piece on the techno feudal implications of streaming mentioned in the ep of 2/16/2025

hermannkarlovich · Feb 2025

You guys have made reading philosophy so much less overwhelming for me and helped me see how fascinating theory can be. I really appreciate the recommendations, especially the filmic ones, so keep them coming. <3

Umair56 · Sep 2023

McGowan and Engley are intelligent, intelligible, funny, informative, and entertaining all at once. If you guys ever made a Patreon, I’d be first in line to donate. Also I second whoever suggested an episode on Deacon Blues. Might be hard to wring an hour of content, but a theory approach to Steely Dan would be the coolest thing ever.

Pippin150 · Apr 2023

Love the podcast! I’m a psychoanalyst and philosophy professor so it was more or less made for me. Also, I got my undergraduate philosophy professor into the show and he’s loving it too. Only one weird thing and I don’t know if it’s Apple or some kind of internal resistance on my part but every time I subscribe to the show a few days later it’s gone and I have to add it again. This never happens with any other show, just this one.

healeywi · Aug 2022

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.