
Why Theory
Why Theory brings continental philosophy and psychoanalytic theory together to examine cultural phenomena.
Latest episodes

16 snips
Jul 10, 2023 • 1h 15min
Uncanny
Ryan and Todd analyze Freud's essay "The Uncanny" and the broader implications of this concept. They discuss the importance of the uncanny for understanding the horror film and focus on the difference between a psychoanalytic approach to the concept and the notion of the uncanny valley.
Links from the episode:
Žižek & So On podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6S0mig3K8TiuJoXHOG5VnT?si=6a55de55c2f24b22
Shibui (minimal groove quartet):
https://shibuimusic.bandcamp.com/
Joseph Aisenberg’s Brian De Palma’s Carrie: Studies in the Horror Film:
https://www.amazon.com/Brian-Palmas-Carrie-Studies-Horror/dp/B09NH3BCCP/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PCVQVVCQ49BW&keywords=joseph+aisenberg&qid=1689001285&sprefix=joseph+aisenber%2Caps%2C205&sr=8-1

72 snips
Jun 24, 2023 • 1h 18min
Poststructuralism
Ryan and Todd attempt to show why the term "poststructuralism" is inapt for describing any of the thinkers that it usually is thought to indicate. They go through the major theorists known under this moniker and reveal why poststructuralism doesn't exist.

Jun 12, 2023 • 1h 12min
Tribute to Mari Ruti
Ryan and Todd devote this episode to the memory of Mari Ruti, who died on June 8, 2023. They discuss her core theoretical ideas and work through her major works. In addition, they include a few memories of Mari's singular life.

38 snips
May 29, 2023 • 1h 25min
Succession
Ryan and Todd analyze the recently concluded television series Succession. They discuss it in terms of capitalist subjectivity, tragedy, the death drive, and the ideology of the family. There are spoilers at every point in this discussion.

7 snips
May 28, 2023 • 1h 24min
Bottle Episode
Ryan and Todd explore the concept of the bottle episode from the production and analysis of television. They discuss a variety of its manifestations along with its theoretical importance as a form.
Ryan's article:
https://www.academia.edu/82724525/The_Limitation_of_the_Bottle_Episode_Hegel_in_Community_preprint_

75 snips
May 15, 2023 • 1h 17min
Beyond Good and Evil
Ryan and Todd explore the important ideas from Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, focusing especially on Nietzche's historical critique of morality, his perspectivalism, and his notion of the will to power. They situate Nietzsche's breakthrough in relation to Freud's.

38 snips
Apr 30, 2023 • 1h 14min
The Racist Fantasy
Ryan and Todd discuss Todd's recent book The Racist Fantasy, which explores the psychic structure that underlies racism and that allows it to deliver enjoyment to those invested in it. They cover the role that fantasy plays in social life and the prospects for fighting racism.
https://forgeorganizing.org/article/building-resilient-organizations
https://www.baylorpress.com/9781602587359/trauma-and-race/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lacan-noir-david-s-marriott/1139152118
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8-VIi7tb44
https://fielddaylab.wisc.edu/

32 snipsTwitter
Apr 16, 2023 • 1h 13min
Ryan and Todd delve into the formal limitations that define the medium of Twitter. They analyze the politics of Twitter and the impact of the takeover by Elon Musk.
Ryan's article cited in the episode is available here: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol24/iss4/

Mar 31, 2023 • 1h 35min
The Radical Western
Ryan and Todd delve into the western in its most radical manifestation, but they use as a starting point, the paradigmatic western Shane. They then examine more contemporary films that turn from the individual hero into a collective one.

13 snips
Mar 18, 2023 • 1h 30min
Western
In their second episode devoted to the classical Hollywood genres, Ryan and Todd explore the western by focusing on some of the most popular and some of the most theoretically compelling. They discuss directors John Ford, Howard Hawks, and Anthony Mann, as well as devoting time to the western 3:10 to Yuma. Their theorization of the western stresses the way that the genre lays out the social antagonism between law and lawlessness, in which the western hero functions as a vanishing mediator.