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

55 snips
Oct 15, 2022 • 1h 13min
Badiou
Ryan and Todd provide an introduction to the philosopher of contemporary French thinker Alain Badiou. They begin with his insistence on the importance of mathematics and then move on to his understanding of truth in relation to the event. They also discuss the contrast between Badiou and Hegel.

55 snips
Oct 2, 2022 • 1h 17min
Event
Ryan and Todd explore the philosophical concept of the event, tracing its trajectory through three thinkers--Martin Heidegger, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Zizek. They make this discussion concrete with an extended discussion of the current revolutionary feminist actions occurring in Iran.

66 snips
Sep 17, 2022 • 1h 21min
Neurosis
Ryan and Todd discuss the diagnostic categories of psychoanalysis, beginning with neurosis. They analyze the three forms of neurosis--hysteria, obsession, and phobia--while also focusing on the different manifestations of these three forms in the contemporary political arena.

74 snips
Sep 4, 2022 • 1h 20min
Hegel's Absolute Knowing
Ryan and Todd conclude their series on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit with a discussion of the Absolute Knowing section. They explore the relationship between this section and the rest of the book as well as considering what this section has to say about the relationship between mediation and immediacy.

52 snips
Aug 20, 2022 • 1h 16min
Hegel's Religion
In their penultimate episode on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, Ryan and Todd analyze the religion section of the book. They focus most on the comic work of art and the revealed religion sections as they try to make sense of why Hegel gives religion such a prominent place in the Phenomenology.
Ryan was recently a guest discussing graduate student conferences, which one can listen to here: https://soundcloud.com/lclcoralhistory
Barry Manilow’s “misunderstood” Dr. Pepper song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyonMvAh1Bw

15 snips
Aug 6, 2022 • 1h 27min
Screwball Comedy
Ryan and Todd begin a series of discussions about the classical Hollywood genres with the screwball comedy, a genre that centers on the sexual antagonism. They look at the film that kicks off the genre, It Happened One Night, as well as the high point of the genre, Bringing Up Baby, in addition to others.
Ryan was recently a guest discussing graduate student conferences, which one can listen to here: https://soundcloud.com/lclcoralhistory

18 snips
Jul 23, 2022 • 1h 28min
Mourning and Melancholia
Ryan and Todd are joined for the episode by James Godley, who recently organized a conference on mourning and the pandemic, entitled "In the Wake of the Plague" (which one can access here: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/wake-of-the-plague/), to discuss Freud's "Mourning and Melancholia." They probe the cultural resonances of the text and question the reasons for its massive popularity among Freud's writings.

28 snips
Jul 9, 2022 • 1h 21min
Wild Psychoanalysis
Ryan and Todd analyze Freud's essay "Wild Psychoanalysis" and delve into the problem of treating symptoms with knowledge rather than addressing the enjoyment that they offer. Even though this is a minor Freud essay, it provides one of the pillars for a psychoanalytic approach to politics.

29 snips
Jun 25, 2022 • 1h 21min
Abortion Theory
In this special episode, Ryan and Todd address the newly minted US Supreme Court decision that overturns the nationwide right to abortion access. They delve into the history of the famous decision granting abortion rights and theorize what has changed. During this discussion, they use the so-called abortion episode from the television series "Maude" as a reference point.
The works referenced in the episode can be found here:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e2rff
and here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv1bmY4Wd34

59 snips
Jun 11, 2022 • 1h 22min
Quilting Point
Ryan and Todd investigate the concept of the quilting point (point de capiton), as originally coined by Jacques Lacan and then in additional permutations. They attempt to develop this concept in further directions that challenge Lacan's original theorization of it in order to uncover its political efficacy.