Nietzsche said of this work that it was “the best German book”. For the last nine years of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s life, Johann Peter Eckermann journaled about their conversations together. Goethe was a celebrity at the time, and destined to be remembered as perhaps the greatest writer of the German language, certainly of the 19th century. Eckermann, on the other hand, was a farmboy with a talent for copying - whether it was the artwork of Ramberg or the poetic style of Korner. When he met Goethe, who was in his seventies at the time, the young Eckermann looked up to him as the greatest of poets, and wanted nothing more than to record all of his wonderful memories with Goethe. In this work we find no narrative arc or rigorous structure, but simply a series of thoughts and feelings. It is a portrait of Goethe rather than a story about him, and offers a fascinating view into a different time and place.

Baruch Spinoza, a theistic philosopher, presents a metaphysical vision of the cosmos ordered by God. Nietzsche acknowledges Spinoza's highly influential ideas. Spinoza's work is difficult to grasp and his place in Western philosophy is unclear. The podcast explores Spinoza's life, work, and his perspective on God, morality, and determinism. It also discusses the parallels between Spinozism and Buddhism and the influence of Spinoza on Nietzsche.

The speaker shares an upcoming book based on their band's European tour, exploring philosophy, art, and autobiographical narrative. They discuss their unique perspective on Nietzsche's ideas about art. The author reflects on writing a book during the pandemic, despite having more experience touring America. They talk about the struggles of finding a literary agent and the impact of the coronavirus on the publishing industry. Finally, they announce the release of their book and encourage listeners to support them as free members on Patreon.

Explore the contrasting views on faith between Pascal and Nietzsche, their complex relationship, the death of Christianity, Pascal's conversion and struggle with doubt, his criticism of hubris and self-love, Pascal's Wager, the authority of scripture, and the connection between Pascal and Nietzsche.

Join us as we explore the works of Michel de Montaigne, the inventor of the essay, and his radical approach to education. We discuss his empirical approach to religion, his defense of Raymond Sebond, and his critique of human reason. We also delve into Montaigne's understanding of philosophy and virtue, his reflections on death, and his impact as the creator of the essay.

Devin Goure, a scholar with a philosophy background, discusses the relevance of Nietzsche's ideas to leftism and neurodivergent politics. They explore Nietzsche's evaluations of socialism, democracy, and social justice. They also delve into the relationship between cultural and material levels in revolution, Nietzsche's views on anarchism and power relationships, and the ascetic ideal tied to capitalist ideology. The podcast also touches on political conversions, misrepresentation of Nietzsche by Jordan Peterson, and Peterson's view of Nietzsche's thought.

Explore Nietzsche's perspective on memory and consciousness, the contradiction between Freud and Nietzsche, reactive forces and resultima, memory as a remembrance of the future, resentment and its role in revenge, Nietzsche's concept of parallelism and the resentful consciousness, the ascetic ideal and negative nihilism, the difference between Christianity and Buddhism in Nietzsche's view, and Nietzsche's ideas and Deleuze's interpretation.

Guests Andrei Georgescu, Vivienne Magdalen, and Mynaa Miesnowan discuss various topics including Nietzsche's changing perspective, unique elements in the portrayal of Mary, the concept of descent, the Renaissance as a transition period, the emergence of Italy, the significance of 'this too shall pass', women in the military, rejecting life versus affirming life, criticizing Einstein, the influence of the Roman aristocracy, and cyclical history.

Giles Deleuze, a significant figure in French postmodernism, discusses Nietzsche's philosophy and his critique of dialectics. Topics include Deleuze's interpretation of sense, value & genealogy, active and reactive forces, Nietzsche's typology, the eternal recurrence, and the triumph of reactive forces.

Andrei Georgescu, a writer, graphic designer, and podcaster, discusses the public reaction to AI-generated art and challenges the belief that creativity must come from a being with a soul. They explore the 'ugly duckling' theory of art and the dismissal of beautiful works produced by AI. The conversation moves to theories about art as communication, the origins of linguistic communication, and mapping the logical structures of language. They also touch on Nietzsche's perspective on consciousness and the limitations of perception.