The 3 Best Why Theory Podcast Episodes
1) Theories of Comedy
In this first episode, Todd and Ryan stamp out a provisional definition of theory (as we'll be employing it) and discuss Todd's new book, Only A Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy.
2) Blade Runner 2049
In this episode, Todd and Ryan discuss Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049. The conversation centers around how the film depicts ideology and what we mean when we say "ideology"; how the film conceiv...Show More
3) Heist Film
Ryan and Todd develop their theory of the heist film as a genre, which they see as structured through the opposition between desire and its object. They examine closely Rififi, The Killing, Heat, Ocea...Show More
4) Seminar 18
On this episode, Ryan and Todd continue their series of commentaries on Lacan's Seminars, this time bringing their attention to Seminar XVIII: On a Discourse that Might not Be a Semblance, which was r...Show More
5) Voice
In this episode, Ryan and Todd complete their Gaze & Voice duology. While gaze & voice both enter into psychoanalytic theory as objects through Lacan's work at the same time, voice has received less c...Show More
6) Gaze
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss one of psychoanalytic theory’s most influential ideas: the gaze. The hosts talk about how Laura Mulvey’s gloss on “the male gaze” made the idea widespread across...Show More
7) Robert Redford
In this episode, Ryan and Todd pay tribute to the recently deceased film actor, director, and producer Robert Redford. Working through dueling top ten film lists, the hosts draw out a political and mo...Show More
8) The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
In this episode, Ryan and Todd conclude their Marx duology by working through the excellent Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. The hosts focus on Marx's narrative and progressive understanding of...Show More
9) 1844 Manuscripts
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss Karl Marx's posthumously published Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, colloquially known as the 1844 Manuscripts. They begin by discussing how teachab...Show More
10) The End of History
In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the so-called "End of History" in Hegel's thought. Francis Fukuyama's 1989 essay "The End of History?" thrust Hegel unexpectedly into mainstream political conver...Show More