
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

Jun 27, 2024 • 48min
Heidegger and Levinas? Questions about their relationship and H.'s politics
In preparation for reading Levinas' Totality and Infinity in August, Siu booked an office hours session with McKerracher on the topic of Heidegger's politics and the relation between Levinas and Heidegger.
If you want to be a part of this course, you can either sign up here for full price https://theoryunderground.com/product/levinas-1/
or become a monthly membership subscriber right here for a 90% discount! https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/
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
ABOUT / 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

Jun 27, 2024 • 2h 26min
"Gabriel Rockhill's Anti-Imperialism is NOT Marxism" - Chris Cutrone goes IN on pro-Hamas activism
This was going to be a conversation mainly about Cutrone's new book and course, but after a certain point pretty early in, the focus became Palestine-Israel, Hamas, what a "real Marxist" position would mean, why anti-imperialism ain't it. Gabriel Rockhill kept coming up because he's big on that anti-imperialism is the Real Left Solution To The Riddle Of History or whatever, but TU does not necessarily endorse that view, knowing very little about Rockhill's actual positions. This was not about Rockhill so much as Cutrone's take on him and that tendency of the Left, which is interesting on its own. Share your own thoughts below!
The course begins in October and you can enroll here https://theoryunderground.com/courses/marxism-101/
Or you can pick up a copy of Cutrone's book The Death of the Millennial Left here: https://sublationmedia.com/product/the-death-of-the-millennial-left-interventions-2006-2022/
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
ABOUT / 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

Jun 26, 2024 • 2h 6min
McGowan x Cutrone: Contradiction Conversation on Marxism and Psychoanalysis (Todd of Why Theory and Chris of Platypus Affiliated Society)
Todd's course at TU begins next week and you can enroll here:
https://theoryunderground.com/courses/mcgowan-1/
Cutrone's course at TU begins in October and you can enroll here: https://theoryunderground.com/courses/marxism-101/
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
ABOUT / 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

Jun 24, 2024 • 11min
Totality & Infinity Course Promo | Levinas vs. Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, Butler, and Critchley
Course promo for Levinas' Totality and Infinity at Theory Underground. On sale today! Enroll ASAP https://theoryunderground.com/product/levinas-1/
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
ABOUT / 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

Jun 24, 2024 • 4h 32min
David Goggins vs. Pierre Bourdieu: The Philosophy of STAY HARD!
David Goggins, a former Navy SEAL and ultramarathon runner, shares insights on mental toughness and resilience, emphasizing the power of perseverance. He discusses transforming pain into motivation for personal excellence. Pierre Bourdieu's sociological concepts, like social capital, are intertwined, revealing how societal structures impact self-improvement and identity. The conversation explores the duality of Goggins's persona, navigating productivity, and the complexities of ambition in relation to broader societal expectations, encouraging listeners to embrace challenges and push beyond limits.

Jun 19, 2024 • 1h 12min
"Homeschool vs Schole" Lifelong Learning (for Moms too!) with Michelle Garner of the O.G. Theory Fam
Michelle Garner is one half of O.G. Rose, which is an underground education effort to show us all a different way of living. She joined us to talk about the ins and outs of homeschooling, being a woman in the theory scene, and lifelong learning.
ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKS Become a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, office hours, clubs, and critical feedback that will help you evolve your comprehension capacities and critical faculties, via the website here: https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/
Don’t have time for that but want to help anyway? Consider supporting the patreon here: Welcome to Theory Underground. https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
Theory Underground is a lecture, research, and publishing platform by and for working class intellectuals, autodidacts, and academics who want to do more than they are able to within the confines of academia.
Think of Theory Underground like a Jiu Jitsu gym for your brain. Or like a post-political theory church. It doesn’t matter. None of the analogies will do it justice. We’re post-identity anyway. Just see if the vibe is right for you. We hope you get something out of it!
If you want to help me get setup sooner/faster in a totally gratuitous way, or support me but you don’t care about the subscription or want to bother with the monthly stuff, here is a way to buy me something concrete and immediately useful, then you can buy me important equipment for my office on this list (these items will be automatically shipped to my address if you use the list here) https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy me some coffee: 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 here: https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground/ https://tiktok.com/@theory_underground
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
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

Jun 16, 2024 • 2h 8min
"Here's where you begin with Lacan" Todd McGowan
Todd McGowan of Why Theory? podcast is teaching Seminar 11 at Theory Underground in July 2024. It takes place on Saturdays at 12 PM Eastern Time. You can enroll here: https://theoryunderground.com/courses/mcgowan-1
ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKS Become a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, office hours, clubs, and critical feedback that will help you evolve your comprehension capacities and critical faculties, via the website here: https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/
Don’t have time for that but want to help anyway? Consider supporting the patreon here: Welcome to Theory Underground. https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
Theory Underground is a lecture, research, and publishing platform by and for working class intellectuals, autodidacts, and academics who want to do more than they are able to within the confines of academia.
Think of Theory Underground like a Jiu Jitsu gym for your brain. Or like a post-political theory church. It doesn’t matter. None of the analogies will do it justice. We’re post-identity anyway. Just see if the vibe is right for you. We hope you get something out of it!
If you want to help me get setup sooner/faster in a totally gratuitous way, or support me but you don’t care about the subscription or want to bother with the monthly stuff, here is a way to buy me something concrete and immediately useful, then you can buy me important equipment for my office on this list (these items will be automatically shipped to my address if you use the list here) https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy me some coffee: 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 here: https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground/ https://tiktok.com/@theory_underground
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
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

Jun 16, 2024 • 1h 4min
"Critical Theory Now Serves Billionaires" Helen Rollins on Political Economy, Surplus Genius, & Lack
Helen Rollins shares her journey with anti-intellectualism, touches on political economy, surplus genius, and lack. Topics include height perceptions, challenges in UK higher education, ambulance response times, Illich's critiques of schooling, intersection of Marxist and Freudian theories, and Theory Underground's goal of liberation.

Jun 15, 2024 • 1h 6min
Post-Left Psychology vs. Libertarian or Jordan Peterson tendencies with Elliot Rosenstock
Meme lord, psychoanalyst, and radical egoist author Elliot Rosenstock visits Theory Underground.
ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKS Become a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, office hours, clubs, and critical feedback that will help you evolve your comprehension capacities and critical faculties, via the website here: https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/
Don’t have time for that but want to help anyway? Consider supporting the patreon here: Welcome to Theory Underground. https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
Theory Underground is a lecture, research, and publishing platform by and for working class intellectuals, autodidacts, and academics who want to do more than they are able to within the confines of academia.
Think of Theory Underground like a Jiu Jitsu gym for your brain. Or like a post-political theory church. It doesn’t matter. None of the analogies will do it justice. We’re post-identity anyway. Just see if the vibe is right for you. We hope you get something out of it!
If you want to help me get setup sooner/faster in a totally gratuitous way, or support me but you don’t care about the subscription or want to bother with the monthly stuff, here is a way to buy me something concrete and immediately useful, then you can buy me important equipment for my office on this list (these items will be automatically shipped to my address if you use the list here) https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy me some coffee: 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 here: https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground/ https://tiktok.com/@theory_underground
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
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

Jun 14, 2024 • 3h 3min
Lecture 1 of Introduction to Ivan Illich at Theory Underground with Bryan Weeks
It's here! Lecture 1 of Introduction to Ivan Illich at Theory Underground with Bryan Weeks, which took place on June 13th of 2024. You can access the rest of the course here: https://theoryunderground.com/courses/illich-1
ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKS Become a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, office hours, clubs, and critical feedback that will help you evolve your comprehension capacities and critical faculties, via the website here: https://theoryunderground.com/product/tu-subscription-tiers/
Don’t have time for that but want to help anyway? Consider supporting the patreon here: Welcome to Theory Underground. https://www.patreon.com/TheoryUnderground
Get TU books at a discount: https://theoryunderground.com/publications
Theory Underground is a lecture, research, and publishing platform by and for working class intellectuals, autodidacts, and academics who want to do more than they are able to within the confines of academia.
Think of Theory Underground like a Jiu Jitsu gym for your brain. Or like a post-political theory church. It doesn’t matter. None of the analogies will do it justice. We’re post-identity anyway. Just see if the vibe is right for you. We hope you get something out of it!
If you want to help me get setup sooner/faster in a totally gratuitous way, or support me but you don’t care about the subscription or want to bother with the monthly stuff, here is a way to buy me something concrete and immediately useful, then you can buy me important equipment for my office on this list (these items will be automatically shipped to my address if you use the list here) https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2MAWFYUJQIM58?
Buy me some coffee: 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 here: https://www.instagram.com/theory_underground/ https://tiktok.com/@theory_underground
Missed a course at Theory Underground? Wrong! Courses at Theory Underground are available after the fact on demand. https://theoryunderground.com/courses
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