In this solo episode, I explore Frantz Fanon’s ambivalence toward religion—how he wrestled with the sacred, the modern, and the so-called “primitive.” Drawing on Federico Settler’s thought-provoking essay, I reflect on Fanon’s complex relationship with Catholicism, Islam, and indigenous spirituality, and how those tensions shaped his vision of liberation and the “new man.”
I’m also excited to share some of the conversations coming up on the podcast, including Tyrique Mack-Georges on Fanon and Sartre, Todd McGowan on Fanon and Hegel, Donovan Miyasaki on Fanon and Nietzsche, and Matthew Beaumont on Fanon and Reich. I’m hoping to keep expanding this exploration—into Fanon’s engagement with Manichaeism, his possible connections to Alfred Adler, Simone de Beauvoir, and others who helped shape his revolutionary psychology.