Neil Vallelly (@NeilVallelly) joins Matt (@mattpolprof) for a cheery discussion of neoliberalism and futility, the central themes of Neil's new book, which can be found at https://amzn.to/32LjkLO or https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/futilitarianism.   Matt's full review is here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/12/neoliberalism-powerless-review-neil-vallelly-futilitarianism Some perhaps unfamiliar namedropping occurs in this episode, and a non-exhaustive list includes the utilitarians Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, and Henry Sidgwick, along with critics such as Herbert Marcuse, Wendy Brown, Mark Fisher, Byung Chul Han, Jessica Whyte, and Jodi Dean. Join us at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills if you want content+.

It's another literature corner episode, featuring The Purloined Letter and the interpretive stylings of the illustrious Lit Vic (find more of his utterances on Twitter @HoratioVictor). We discuss the short story as well as Lacan's psychoanalytic interpretation of it found in the seminar from Écrits.   Join us at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills if you like content.

This episode topic was chosen by our patrons. Get the episode and have your say on the next one over at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Is capitalism over? Whether or not it is, Friday is a good day to coin some new academic terms. We discuss making up words to advance your career and then a new term drop: techno-feudalism. Find the full interview with Zizek and Varoufakis here: https://youtu.be/XIgFnfHhcRc There are many vids and pods for you to consume at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills   Tell us what you think @podpill, @plasticpills, @victorbruzzone, @mattpolprof

Movie episode! This is more than a film, it's now a cultural event, and content is content and we are serious about that content. Please time your molly accordingly.  Get all our exclusive episodes, video lectures, and bonus CONTENT at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

The resurrection took longer than expected as the Pill Pod got COVID, but we're back with a sprawling 100 minutes of sex, drugs, and democracy: Chile elected a socialist (again); France failed to become a communist state in '68; and we ask whether an authoritarian turn the only way to prevent climate catastrophe, because we read an article which asks that. Find the article on our Patreon, even if you aren't a https://patron www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Kids be getting Tourette's from TikToK? This episode features Pills, Victor, and Erik taking on mass sociogenic illnesses from the phenomenological perspective, then a dash of psychoanalysis for good measure.    Get this episode and all our exclusive content by supporting us over at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Pills and Matt interview he who was once known as Cuck Philosophy, and who is now known as Jonas Čeika, author of How to Philosophize with a Hammer and Sickle. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/3Im0uuy

Here's 10 minutes of a 100 minute episode on how Merleau-Ponty's analysis of the Schneider case forever changed the philosophy of mind. Get all our exclusive eps, including this one, at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Phenomenology is sometimes viewed apolitically, today we try to get a handle on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological Marxism.   The sections of the text we read of this ep can be found on Patreon (even if you're not a patron). That's at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills