
Theory Underground
Theory Underground aims to make challenging philosophical and theoretical work accessible, not by summarizing, but by aiding those who seek to engage in this work as a way of life. Keep up with everything at theoryunderground.com
Latest episodes

Sep 9, 2024 • 1h 19min
Todd McGowan on Hegel's Theory of Death in Phenomenology of Spirit vs. Nick Land's Fanged Noumena
Enroll for Mikey's seminar here https://theoryunderground.com/product/freemikey Enroll for Mikey's Intro to Zizek starting in September: https://theoryunderground.com/product/zizek-1/
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Sep 9, 2024 • 1h 4min
Christine Louis Dit Sully on Anti-Immigration Protests in the U.K. and Race
Dave and Nance are joined by Dr. Christine Louis Dit-Sully to talk about the Anti-Immigration Protests in the U.K. and Race.
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Sep 5, 2024 • 1h 13min
Lecture for TOTAL beginners: Marx, timenergy, alienation, and the mode of production vs. PMC RRR
Dive into the foundational concepts of sociological theory, particularly Marxism, while unveiling its relevance today. Explore the tensions around representation and identity through cultural lenses like 'The Little Mermaid.' Consider how societal expectations shape the career aspirations of graduates, highlighting generational disparities. Unpack the critical mode of production and its role in economic exploitation, advocating for structural change over mere representation. Collaboration and theoretical discourse are celebrated as essential tools for understanding and improving our social fabric.

Sep 4, 2024 • 1h 5min
Is this a theory of COSMIC drive!? Todd McGowan on Schelling's Theory of DRIVE!
Todd McGowan, a prominent theorist focused on Schelling's Theory of Drive, dives into the profound implications of this theory on modern philosophy. He explores the complexities of the death drive through Freud and Schelling, while dissecting German idealism's nuances. The discussion contrasts Schopenhauer's and Schelling's views on will and drives, shedding light on agency and freedom. Additionally, McGowan critiques democracy and populism, connecting economic conditions with philosophical insights. The conversation emphasizes community engagement in philosophical discourse.

Sep 3, 2024 • 3h 9min
THE PLAN: Introduction to Sociology and Critical Social Theory with David McKerracher
This is the FIRST in the series called Deep Dives with Dave (DDD Season 1 Episode 1) These are a PART of the ongoing research seminar Dave does with Ann, which is called the Snelgrove-McKerracher Synthesis Seminar... By signing up for that seminar as a subscriber, you become a member at TU and unlock access to all their past lectures AND the ongoing research seminar, which meets 2 to 4 times per month, usually on Sundays at 12 PM Eastern. https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers All TU Monthly Subscribers also get a PDF of Underground Theory.
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Sep 2, 2024 • 1h 13min
"Humorless cowards run the world." Nina Power on her cancellation
*The quotation in the title is not a direct quote, but is instead a paraphrase of a theme that comes up, put in a more clickable format. If you want a more forensic breakdown of what happened you can listen to Ann and Dave read the article by A Worker At Large here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsGhQjjjsQY
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Sep 2, 2024 • 47min
Žižek on Nick Land, Jordan Peterson, Piers Morgan, Gabriel Rockhill, Sublime Object of Ideology ETC
In this captivating discussion, philosopher and cultural critic Žižek delves into the complexities of ideology and its impact on modern society. He critiques Nick Land's views on accelerationism, highlighting the importance of engaging deeply with philosophical texts. The conversation shifts to a call for a clearer understanding of democracy amidst its dilution in contemporary discourse. Žižek also champions the emergence of Theory Underground, encouraging listeners to actively participate in critical theory discussions. Expect thought-provoking insights and a fresh perspective on societal challenges.

Aug 31, 2024 • 1h 4min
Matthew Stanley on the Business of Finding Your Audience Without Selling Out, School-Brain Syndrome, and Dying Without Regrets
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Aug 28, 2024 • 1h 18min
In Defense of M. Night Shyamalan's New Film TRAP - Fatherhood, Split Subjectivity, and Two Worlds
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk

Aug 27, 2024 • 1h 1min
Cutrone on Politics, Religion, and Generations delete end boomers, millenials, and the stages of
Cutrone's course at Theory Underground begins in October. You can sign up for it here: https://theoryunderground.com/courses/marxism-101/ Monthly subscribers at TU (tiers 2 or higher) get half off of this and all other courses - become a subscriber here: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
GET INVOLVED or SUPPORT
Join live sessions and unlock past courses and forums on the TU Discord by becoming a member via the monthly subscription! It’s the hands-down best way to get the most out of the content if you are excited to learn the field and become a thinker in the milieu: https://theoryunderground.com/products/tu-subscription-tiers
Pledge support to the production of the free content on YouTube and Podcast https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Fund the publishing work via the TU Substack, where original works by the TU writers is featured alongside original works by Slavoj Zizek, Todd McGowan, Chris Cutrone, Nina Power, Alenka Zupancic, et al. https://theoryunderground.substack.com/
ABOUT
Theory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social theory (CST). CST is the umbrella over critical media theory (CMT), critical doxology and timenergy (CDT), critique of libidinal economy (CLE), critique of political economy (CPE), critique of gender and sex (CGS), and critique of psychiatry and therapism (CPT), critique of science and religion (CSR), and many more. To get basically situated in this field you will have to know a handful of important figures from a bunch of areas of the humanities and social sciences. That would be a lot of work for you if not for the fact that Dave, Ann, and Mikey are consolidating hundreds of thousands of hours of effort into a pirate TV-radio-press that goes on tours and throws conferences and shit like that… It’s a crazyfun experiment, and you can enjoy a ton of the content here for free.
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
CREDITS / LINKS
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand via the membership. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
If you want to help TU in a totally gratuitous way, or support, here is a way to buy something concrete and immediately useful https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy Dave and Ann a coffee date: https://www.venmo.com/u/Theorypleeb https://paypal.me/theorypleeb
If Theory Underground has helped you see that text-to-speech technologies are a useful way of supplementing one’s reading while living a busy life, if you want to be able to listen to PDFs for yourself, then Speechify is recommended. Use the link below and Theory Underground gets credit! https://share.speechify.com/mzwBHEB
Follow Theory Underground on Duolingo: https://invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWKTP747NSNMAOYEI
See Theory Underground memes and get occasional updates or thoughts via the Instagram :
https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground
MUSIC CREDITS Logo sequence music by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode Mike Chino, Demigods https://youtu.be/M6wruxDngOk