Acid Horizon
Acid Horizon
Emerging from affinities with post-structuralism, abolitionism, biopolitics, communism, critical metaphysics, critical mysticism, and ontological anarchy, Acid Horizon is a philosophy and theory podcast committed to thought in motion and political struggle. While these are our grounding currents, each episode opens out onto a wider constellation: ethics, politics, phenomenology, decolonial thought, queer theory, post-psychoanalysis, disability/crip theory, anarchism, Marxism, feminism, and analyses of the emergence of the new right.Comprised of a decentralized collective of friends and comrades, Acid Horizon cultivates a terrain of militant inquiry. From readings that span 20th-century French communism to new perspectives on German idealism, the collective has also undertaken forays into aesthetic experimentation, philosophical heresy, and the history of revolt. We seek the concepts and intensities that gesture toward new forms of life.Acid Horizon pushes theory beyond the academy through live engagements, collaborative reading groups, and collective interventions.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 3, 2023 • 43min
The Politics of 'Hikikomori': Social Withdrawal in Japan and Beyond featuring Nicolas Tajan
Nicolas Tajan, author of a book on social withdrawal in Japan, discusses the phenomenon of 'hikikomori' and its implications in the neoliberal context. He explores the student-teacher dynamics in Japan, the global spread of social withdrawal, therapy modalities and non-profit organizations in Japan, theoretical foundations of social abnormality, and the relationship between 'hikikomori' and psychiatry, Lacanian psychoanalysis, and neoliberalism.
Oct 31, 2023 • 1h 5min
Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It with Joshua Dávila
Joshua Dávila, author of 'Blockchain Radicals', discusses how capitalism has ruined crypto and how to fix it. Topics discussed include unscrupulous marketing in the crypto space, the influence of marketing on public perception, power dynamics in internet infrastructure, politics and surveillance, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), NFTs and energy usage.
Oct 23, 2023 • 1h 3min
A How To Guide to Cosmopolitan Socialism with Matt McManus
Matt McManus, author and scholar of political theory, discusses cosmopolitan socialism, its historical origins, and its connection to socialism. They also reflect on the life and work of intellectual activist Michael Brooks, explore the concept of media spectacle and postmodern conservatism, and emphasize the importance of historicizing social conditions and creating social identities. They discuss the book 'How To Guide to Cosmopolitan Socialism' and pay tribute to Michael Brooks.
Oct 15, 2023 • 55min
No Platform for Fascists: Tactics and History of British Antifascism w/ Evan Smith
Historian Evan Smith discusses the history of No Platform, a tactic in British antifascism. Topics include the origin and expansion of No Platforming, the influence of the Revolutionary Communist Party and Spiked Online, defending minority rights, discerning discourse, and ongoing projects and research.
Oct 11, 2023 • 12min
"If you can't love yourself..." RuPaul and Hegel's Self-Consciousness in the Phenomenology of Spirit
Exploring the concept of self-consciousness and its relation to small shipping bondage in modern European philosophy. Delving into the dialectic of self-consciousness and the realization of dependence on objects. Exploring the relationship between self-consciousness and dependence, including the concept of surrender and becoming the master or the bondsmen. Examining the master-bondsmen relationship and the concept of mutual recognition. Highlighting the intricate relationship between transcendental and empirical selfhood, exploring historical stages of development and problematic aspects of recognition and domination in modern history.
Oct 8, 2023 • 32min
(music free) A Philosophy of Silence: Charles E. Scott's 'Telling Silence' (Nietzsche, Foucault, and Poeisis)
Delve into the concept of silence as distinct from the absence of noise and how it reveals aspects of experience. Explore the constant presence of noise even in solitude. Examine the disruptive nature of unreason on societal boundaries. Discuss the connection between silence, Foucault's work, and social exclusion. Hear poignant stories that highlight powerful instances of silence in life.
Oct 8, 2023 • 32min
A Philosophy of Silence: Charles E. Scott's 'Telling Silence' (Nietzsche, Foucault, and Poeisis)
Charles E. Scott, author of 'Telling Silence', explores the relationship between noise and silence, the concept of the middle voice in language, the distinction between rationality and irrationality, and profound examples of silence, including personal connections and uncertainty.
Oct 5, 2023 • 57min
Slashers, Serial Killers, and Deconstructing the 'Final Girl': The Graveyard Shift with Maria Lewis
Award-winning writer Maria Lewis joins the podcast to discuss her upcoming slasher novel 'The Graveyard Shift' and deconstruct the genre. They explore the lack of female stories in horror, the intersection of horror and hip hop, and the portrayal of victims in horror and true crime. They also discuss Black horror as a means of addressing systemic racism and conveying important messages.
Sep 30, 2023 • 51min
Gilles Deleuze's 'Nietzsche & Philosophy': Chapter 2, "Active and Reactive" and Hierarchy
French philosopher Gilles Deleuze discusses concepts from his text 'Nietzsche & Philosophy', including resentment, active and reactive forces, and hierarchy. They explore the transformative potential of reactive forces and the challenges of thinking in terms of individuals. The chapter also delves into the politics of becoming and the transformation of values within hierarchical systems.
Sep 26, 2023 • 1h 5min
Utopia, Resistance, and the Black Panthers: We Hear Only Ourselves w/ Bill Cashmore
Bill Cashmore, author and scholar studying the contradictions of utopia, discusses topics such as the interplay of philosophy, queer theory, and utopia, the dual nature of utopia and its significance, the relationship between utopia and hope, memory and utopia, the relationship between utopia and impossibility, and comparing Nietzschean moral philosophy and black studies.
