
PlasticPills - Philosophy & Critical Theory Podcast
The Pill Pod is hosted by a group of PhDs offering their irreverent (and unsolicited) takes on critical theory, philosophy, culture, and politics.
Latest episodes

6 snips
Jul 14, 2023 • 1h 12min
Pill Pod 131 - Freedom Isn’t Free
A podcast delves into the concept of freedom, discussing its various definitions and limitations. Topics include the brain's decision-making process, strange Twitter retweets, Canadian politics, a movie about saving children from sex trafficking, Mormons and QAnon, Liam Neeson's role in movies and child trafficking, the complexity of freedom, different philosophical perspectives on freedom, and the reflective state's role in revolutionary change.

Jul 8, 2023 • 1h 21min
Pill Pod 130 - We Have Never Been Modern
The podcast discusses the theory island chain and actor network theory, emphasizing the complexity of reality. They explore linguistic differences between 'cottage' and 'cabin', trace the invention of tuberculosis, and challenge individualist theories of history and science. The speakers delve into actor network theory's application to science and human behavior, advocate for considering materiality in disciplines, and explore the role of documentary filmmaking in attracting settlers to Canada. They also discuss the relational nature of facts and knowledge, the experiments on air pumps and the division between politics and science, and the inseparable relationship between politics and science.

Jun 10, 2023 • 1h 16min
Pill Pod 126 - Based Rousseau
One of those guys we rarely think about but who single-handedly pulled the track lever in the history of philosophy, it's Rousseau. We read Discourse on the Origin of Inequality this week and appraised its significance. Get all our exclusive episodes at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Jun 9, 2023 • 16min
Pill Pod 124 & 125 - The Light of Reason and the Eye of the Mind (preview)
Pill Pods 124 & 125 cover a paper written by Pills, which argues that despite banishing figurative language for the sake of "clarity", Western philosophy has forgotten it was founded on a metaphor equating reason with vision, a metaphor we unknowingly reiterate on the daily. The episodes are available to patron subscribers at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

May 19, 2023 • 1h 17min
Pill Pod 123 - ”Western Civilization” According to Francis Bacon
We revisit Atlantis, the new one, in this Victor Hainagiu (Lit Vic) episode where we peer into the the early modern, colonial, proto-capitalist imagination. Find the short story here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2434/2434-h/2434-h.htm Follow Victor @HoratioVictor Get all our eps at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

May 13, 2023 • 12min
Pill Pod 122 - Mosh Pit Sociology (Preview)
Get the full episode, many others, and all the other exclusive content by supporting the podcast at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Apr 28, 2023 • 1h 15min
Pill Pod 121 - Obscurantism in French Philosophy: Searle on Foucault & Derrida
Today we discuss how to pet your professor's ego to get better marks, and review John Searles sassy attempt to take down Derrida by quoting Foucault gossip. Sources come from Reiterating the Differences: A Reply to Derrida and Limited Inc. https://amzn.to/3oIfJc0 More content—video and audio—at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Apr 14, 2023 • 1h 36min
Pill Pod 119 - Bernard Stiegler & Posthumanist Post-Marxism (ft. Diego Ruzzarin)
How many posts can be fit into a title? Diego's back is back and so are we to have a look at why Stiegler believes that the class war is over, the techno/grammatological pharmakon is in and proletarianization has been total. We looked at the first half of "A New Critique of Political Economy", which was suggested to us by a patron (thank you). Find Diego's work (mostly esp) on the internet (he's easy to find). The even-numbered episodes and video lectures are at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Mar 31, 2023 • 1h 30min
Pill Pod 117 - Baudrillard as Post-Marxist
We are still on the lookout for some worthwhile post-marxisms, we found a dude who is post-everything. Our reading is from "Ironic Strategies" from Baudrillard's Fatal Strategies (https://amzn.to/3ZqeDhS), and it turned out to be a pretty seductive text all around. All episodes: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills

Mar 24, 2023 • 15min
Pill Pod 116 - Guattari & Negri: Communists Like Us (preview)
New week, new book, and we're still on the hunt for a "post-Marxism" that hits. As usual, we were split on which ingredients we look for in the recipes of political theorists. This is a preview of our debate and all our arguments can be found at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills