LEPHT HAND
LEPHT HAND is a channel for immersive philosophy, psychology, and politics. Created by Sereptie (Craig) from the Acid Horizon podcast, it offers informative essays, thought-provoking videos, and exclusive content from interdisciplinary coursework.
Episodes
Was Adorno Right (and Wrong) About Astrology? Irrationality, Imagination, and Epistemic Flight from Normalizing Power
Is astrology a harmless distraction or a pseudo-science opening a path to fascism? Or can it help us reclaim an imagination lost to the hyper-rationalism of modernity? In this episode, Sereptie and Emma trace the gendered and racialized dynamics behind astrology’s reputation as frivolous, unpacking why interest in the occult so often gets coded as feminine, queer, or "unserious". Drawing
Scandal, Shadow, and the Underworld: Where the Symbolic Meets the Political
Listen to the full episode here: Enroll in Bob's class at AHRC: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-courses/p/jung-and-spinoza-god-affect-destinyIn this Patreon exclusive episode, recurring guest and friend of the podcast Dr. Bob Langan returns to help unpack a scandal unfolding within the community of analytical psychology and Jungian media. It is one that sheds light on an already-perfo
AI as Anti-Politics: Daniel Stanley on Technopopulism, Data, and Rebuilding Collective Power
Enroll at AHRC: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesIs AI really the threat to democracy we've been told it is, or is it just democracy's own rot wearing a new face? Daniel Stanley of the Future Narratives Lab joins us to unpack his essay "AI as Anti-Politics," arguing the technology isn't an external assault on democratic life but the product of decades of shi
*PATREON EXCLUSIVE* Attention Fracking: How Big Tech Steals Your Mind with Henry Kramer
Emma's class on anti-civilization thought begins in August 2026: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-courses/p/anti-civilization-recovering-from-industry-and-progressAre we free to think, or has our attention already been excavated before we can conceive of thinking? In this episode, Serpetie welcomes Henry Kramer of the School of Radical Attention for a wide-ranging conversation on atten
Sacred Science vs. the Machine: Nasr on Nature, Technology & Modernity
Find Emma's course here: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesWhat if modernity's greatest crime isn't economic or political, but spiritual, a severing of humanity from the sacred language written into nature itself? In this episode, Serpetie and Emma dig into Seyyed Hossein Nasr's 1993 collection The Need for a Sacred Science, taking a critical look at his perenniali
How Can We Build Solidarity With Children? with Madeline Lane-McKinley
AHRC EVENTS: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/previous-courses-1Buy Madeline's book: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2610-solidarity-with-childrenWe live in a world that is profoundly against children—evident in the genocide in Palestine, the fascist targeting of trans children, and the blatant disregard for the lives of migrant children crossing borders and oceans. It is a world in wh
Logging Off, Opting Out, and Not Texting Back: The Ethics of Non-Response with Jana Bacevic
Enroll at AHRC Summer School 2026: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesWhat if you don't owe anyone anything? Not your attention, not your care, not even a reply to their message? That might sound like the philosophy of a sociopath, but sociologist and philosopher Jana Bacevic argues it's actually the foundation of a more honest and more just ethics. In this episode of LEPHT H
Prog Rock, Politics, and the Pathos of Distance: Is Progressive Music Elitist or Revolutionary?
AHRC Summer School: www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesVintagia is back! www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/vintagia-basecampWhat does it mean that the music most associated with wizards, capes, and sixteen keyboards also harbored some of the most radical left politics in rock history? In this episode, Emma and Sereptie are joined by writer, bassist, and WFMU radio DJ Dave Mandl for a deep dive into t
The PBS Unconscious: Childhood Wonder, Nostalgia, and the Collapse of Shared American Culture
What happens to a generation raised on the civic idealism of public broadcasting when the world it promised never arrives? In this episode, Sereptie is joined by Emma Stamm and Bob Langan to unpack his recent blog post Corduroy Psychedelia: Boards of Canada and the PBS Unconscious — an exploration of nostalgia, childhood wonder, and the shared cultural commons that neoliberalism quietly dismantled
Deleuze, Drugs, and Death: Psychedelic Thanatology at the End of Life
Enroll in classes now: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-coursesWhat if the psychedelic revolution in end-of-life care is less a liberation from the medicalization of death than its most seductive intensification? In this crossover episode of LEPHT HAND and Acid Horizon, SEREPTIE and Emma are joined by anthropologist Sujit Thomas, whose research on psychedelic thanatology cuts through therap
Can Machines Imagine? Fabian Offert on AI, Images, and 'Vector Media'
Can machines imagine, or do they merely recombine the vast archive of images and language we have already produced? In this episode of LEPHT HAND, Emma Stamm and Sereptie speak with Fabian Offert about his forthcoming book Vector Media and the philosophical stakes of machine learning. Together they explore machine vision, the politics of images, and the strange epistemology of vector space, where
Love Breaks This World: Power and Politics in Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold (Ring Cycle) with Phil Ford
Access Emma's archived course, enroll in Stuart's new course, and discover more: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-mainWhat happens when love is absent from the stage, yet remains the hidden force driving every act of power and betrayal? In this episode of LEPHT HAND, we sit down with Phil Ford of Weird Studies to explore Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold and the mythic machinery of t
From Weird Academia to Acid Communism: Meta-Politics, Community, and Holding Space for the Humanities
Emma and Sereptie debrief the 'Weird Academia' conference in Bloomington, Indiana, reflecting on what it means to make space for the strange within and beyond the academy. We explore animal consciousness, interdisciplinary research, and the “closet” of weird scholarship, asking how encounters that rupture established methods can open new forms of knowledge. The conversation turns toward
Deleuze and Simondon on Psychedelic Experience: Individuation and Immanent Spirituality with Aragorn Eloff
In this episode of LEPHT HAND, Emma leads a conversation with Aragorn Eloff on psychedelic experience through the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Gilbert Simondon, set against contemporary debates in cognitive science and computational theories of mind. Aragorn introduces his theory of the psychedelic, drawing on enactivism, complex systems theory, and theories of individuation and becoming. To
Philosophy After Academia: Public Thought, Digital Media, and the Attention Economy with Craig and Emma
Check out Emma's Substack: https://elftheory.substack.com/Join Emma for 'Acid Communism: A World That Could Free': https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/2026-classes/p/qny873rafa9ibhcyj2t2x1cwsuvtlnIn this episode, Craig is joined by Emma Stamm as LEPHT HAND begins a new chapter in 2026. Rather than centering on a single text, the conversation reflects on early encounters with philosop
AHRC 2026: A Brief Hiatus & A Reflection on Vattimo’s “Beyond the Subject
In this end-of-year installment, we’re sharing a conversation originally released on LEPHT HAND as we take a rare and well-earned brief hiatus from regular publishing. This pause marks a moment of transition rather than retreat, as both LEPHT HAND and Acid Horizon continue to evolve beyond the podcast form! Closing out the episode is a reflection on Gianni Vattimo’s essay “Beyond the Subject,” eng
Socialism, Spirituality and the Forgotten Occult Roots of the Left with Graham Jones
Can a genuinely liberatory politics survive without mystery, imagination, or the spiritual experiences that give life its depth? Sereptie speaks with Graham Jones about Jacobin’s article “The Forgotten History of Socialism and the Occult” and why its knee-jerk rationalism gets the history wrong. We explore the intersections of Marxism, mysticism, occult traditions, utopian thought, and the warm s
Why Rationalism Fails: Excess, Variation, and Ontogenesis as First Philosophy (with Timothy Jackson)
What happens when the very logic we rely on to understand the world becomes the barrier to understanding it? In this episode, Timothy Jackson joins us to rethink rationalism through the lenses of Darwin, Simondon, Deleuze, and Bataille, challenging inherited frameworks across science and metaphysics. We explore variation, excess, and ontogenesis as the forces that precede and destabilize every clo
Bergson and Weird Philosophy: JF Martel on Time, Subjectivity, and Weirding Realism
Have you ever felt reality glitch, as though the weird was peeking through the cracks of time or the Real? In this episode of LEPHT HAND, JF Martel joins to explore how Henri Bergson’s concept of duration and Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy of becoming invite a radically weird subjectivity, one that consumes rhythms, intensities, and habits across time. We discuss how this non-linear conception of tim
Writing as Exorcism: Dreams and Dissolution in the Work of Henri Michaux (with Garett Strickland)
Subscribe to LEPHT HAND for early access to episodes!Henri Michaux wrote as if to exorcise himself from existence. His poetry and prose traverse dream, delirium, and the slow undoing of identity, where language becomes both scalpel and spell. In this episode, Garett Strickland joins Sereptie to explore A Certain Plume, Darkness Moves (anthology), and Michaux’s hallucinatory experiments as acts of
The Body Without Organs: Artaud’s Last Writings with Stephen Barber
What does it mean to imagine a body freed from its organs, its history, and its limits? In his final writings, Antonin Artaud turned against Christ, psychiatry, sexuality, and language itself, while elaborating the concept of the “body without organs.” Translator and scholar Stephen Barber joins us to discuss A Sinister Assassin, a collection that gathers together these visionary late texts. Toget
Myth, Nostalgia, and Liberation: Federico Campagna’s 'Otherworlds: Mediterranean Lessons On Escaping History'
Can myth itself serve as a material force in struggles for liberation? Federico Campagna joins me to discuss how myth—too often dismissed as escapism or co-opted by reaction—can instead become a practice of imagination, solidarity, and survival. We look at myth’s place in anti-capitalist politics, its tension with materialism, and its role in resisting despair. What emerges is a vision of myth as
Gilgamesh: The Oldest Story Ever Told and Why It Still Haunts Us Today (with Stuart Kendall)
What ancient tale speaks of gods, grief, and the fall of heroes? In this episode, we descend into the dream-temple of Gilgamesh, guided by translator Stuart Kendall. We explore the epic’s broken verses, divine laments, and its resistance to modern humanist smoothing. What emerges is not just a story—but a fragmentary vision of mythic time and cosmic mourning.Stuart Kendall's "Gilgamesh&q
Undoing the Myth of the Father: Freud, Feminism, and the Symbolic Violence of Western Thought
What do ancient myths reveal about our unconscious fantasies of power, gender, and identity? In this episode of LEPHT HAND, Jessica Elbert Decker, author of Motherless Daughters and Female Monsters, joins us to explore the myths of Athena, Aphrodite, Pandora, and Ariadne through the lens of psychoanalysis and queer feminist theory. We examine the lingering grip of masculine mastery in culture, the
Did Aristotle Anticipate the Body Without Organs? Pneuma, Soul, and Formlessness
What if Aristotle had already conceived of something like a body without organs? In this special walking episode of LEPHT HAND, Craig (aka Sereptie of Acid Horizon) and returning guest Jack Bagby descend the old rail line in Lemont, Pennsylvania to excavate Aristotle’s theory of pneuma—the subtle, instrumental body that mediates between soul and flesh. Along the way, they connect Aristotle to thin
How to Read Philosophy Without Getting Lost: Practical Tips for Beginners and Beyond
Have you ever tried to read a work of philosophy and ended up feeling more confused than enlightened? In this video, Sereptie—also known as Craig, host of Acid Horizon and LEPHT HAND—shares practical, field-tested strategies for reading difficult texts with confidence. Drawing on years of experience as both a teacher and theorist, he offers a compassionate guide for anyone who’s ever struggled wit
Nietzsche and Klossowski: Consciousness, Parody, and the Origins of Thought
What if laughter, rage, or grief weren’t just emotional outbursts—but modes of knowing, ways in which being announces itself to us before thought arrives? In this short video, we descend into the tangled philosophies of Pierre Klossowski and Friedrich Nietzsche to ask: What if consciousness is not our origin, but our aftermath? Through Klossowski’s essay "Nietzsche, Polytheism, and Parody&quo
WOULD YOU LIVE THIS LIFE AGAIN?: Nietzsche, Deleuze, and the Eternal Return
(this is a narration only version of a video on the LEPHT HAND Youtube channel)What if you had to live your life exactly as it is—over and over again, forever? In this video, we dive into Nietzsche’s haunting concept of the eternal return, unpacking its psychological challenge and metaphysical implications. Along the way, we explore how thinkers like Deleuze reinvent the idea as a call to embrace
Individuation Explained: Gilbert Simondon, Carl Jung & the Evolution of Form in Philosophy and Depth Psychology with Timothy Jackson
Support the Vintagia campaign before it is too late! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acidhorizon/vintagia-i-ching-oracle-for-psychogeographers-and-creativesWhat if the self isn’t a fixed unity, but a process unfolding through tension, relation, and transformation? In this episode of LEPHT HAND, Sereptie speaks with evolutionary biologist and philosopher Timothy Jackson about Gilbert Simondon’
Play, Sovereignty, and the Refusal of Work: Bataille’s Challenge to Modern Thought
Support Vintagia: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acidhorizon/vintagia-i-ching-oracle-for-psychogeographers-and-creatives In this monologue, we reflect on Georges Bataille’s essay “Are We Here to Play or Be Serious?”—recorded off-grid during a spring power outage! The discussion explores Bataille’s critique of work, the concept of sovereignty, and the political and metaphysical stakes of play
Mysticism Without Transcendence? Laruelle’s 'Vision-in-One' with Jeremy R. Smith
Follow Vintagia: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acidhorizon/vintagia-i-ching-oracle-for-psychogeographers-and-creativesIn this special crossover episode of LEPHT HAND and Acid Horizon, we explore the radical mysticism of François Laruelle through his essay Vision-in-One or Unlearned Knowing. Laruelle proposes a mysticism stripped of transcendence and doctrine—one grounded in solitude, immane
The Image of Soul in Post-Jungian Thought: Giegerich, Deleuze, and Beyond
Sereptie's recent blog piece: https://splitinfinities.substack.com/p/crossing-the-line-the-repeater-booksIn this episode of LEPHT HAND, Sereptie is joined by Christian McMillan from the University of Essex to explore Wolfgang Giegerich’s provocative essay Why Jung?. Together, they investigate the image of soul as a conceptual battleground in post-Jungian thought, where Giegerich’s Hegelian re
Schreber’s Paranoia: Madness, Power and the Politics of Psychosis with Devin Gouré
In this LEPHT HAND interview, I am joined by Devin Gouré of Moral Minority for a deep descent into the world of Daniel Paul Schreber's Memoirs of My Nervous Illness. Together, they explore Schreber’s cosmic visions, divine persecution, and the "unmanning" at the heart of his psychosis—not merely as symptoms of mental illness, but as portals into theology, gender, philosophy, and pow
Dionysus in Exile: Nietzsche, the Dionysian, and the Modern World with Keegan Kjeldsen
Sereptie is joined by Keegan Kjeldsen of The Nietzsche Podcast to explore the exile of Dionysus in the modern world. They discuss the Dionysian as a force of ecstasy, self-forgetting, and excess, tracing its decline from ancient Greek rituals to the rationalized, surveilled, and moralized structures of today. Touching on Nietzsche, Bataille, and Orphic traditions, they consider whether Dionysus ca
Dionysus Decoded: Nietzsche, Deleuze & Depth Psychology Reimagine Myth
In this monologue, we explore the many faces of Dionysus, from mythology to depth psychology and continental philosophy. Drawing on Dionysus in Exile, the discussion highlights his paradoxical nature—not just a god of excess but also of stillness and transformation.Nietzsche and Deleuze provide insight into Dionysian becoming, especially through Ariadne’s myth as a break from heroic struggle. The
Lacanian Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism: What's the Connection? with Raul Moncoya
Contact Raul and discover his work here: https://www.raulmoncayophd.com/Buy the book: https://www.routledge.com/Lacan-and-Chan-Buddhist-Thought-Reflections-on-Buddhism-in-Lacans-Seminar-X-and-Beyond/Moncayo-Yu/p/book/9781032056975?srsltid=AfmBOooucogAZl7Z8szfzd1l8OhR8pTYQ0_F3vnxUL2G6Qw1TezclrYaIn this episode we explore the intersection of Lacanian psychoanalysis and Chan Buddhism with Raul Moncoy
On Melancholy and Mania: James Hillman and Gilles Deleuze meet Nosferatu
In this installment of LEPHT HAND, we delve into the James Hillman Uniform Edition on On Melancholy and Depression, exploring his archetypal approach to melancholy as a cosmic force and its critique of modern life under capitalism. Drawing connections to Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, we examine how longing and melancholy transcend individual experience to reveal a richer, imaginal world. Finally, we c
What is Freud's Metapsychology? with Taylor Adkins
Support LEPHT HAND in 2025: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHANDIn this episode, Taylor joins Sereptie to discuss Freud’s Metapsychology, exploring the conceptual underpinnings of psychoanalysis. From the topographical model of the mind to the dynamics of repression, we unpack the key essays that form Freud’s theory of psychic structures and drives.Support LEPHT HAND:Join the Patreon: https://www.pat
Jung and Spinoza: Passage Through the Blessed Self with Dr. Robert Langan
Jung and Spinoza: Passage Through the Blessed Self: https://www.routledge.com/Jung-and-Spinoza-Passage-Through-The-Blessed-Self/Langan/p/book/9781032851853In this episode of LEPHT HAND, host Serpetie aka Craig is joined by Dr. Robert Langan, author of Jung and Spinoza: Passage Through the Blessed Self, to explore the intersections between Carl Jung’s monistic philosophy—where spirit, matter, and p
The Active Imagination of Henry Corbin, Carl Jung, and James Hillman with Tom Cheetham
Help fund the Kickstarter campaign now: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acephalous/acephalous-the-erotic-tarot-of-georges-batailleTom's Substack: https://substack.com/@tomcheetham2In this episode of LEPHT HAND, we sit down with Tom Cheetham, author and expert on the intersections of imagination, spirituality, and psychology, to explore the concept of active imagination. Drawing from the
Deleuze, Symbols, and Sorcery: Synthesizing Insights on Deleuze's Hermeticism
The Kickstarter link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acephalous/acephalous-the-erotic-tarot-of-georges-batailleIn this interview, I am joined by c_o_L_L_a_g_e, a friend and colleague from our research community at Acid Horizon. Together, we explore the intersection of Deleuze's philosophy and the role of symbols within the hermetic tradition, drawing insights from texts such as The Herm
Destituent Power and the Reclamation of the Imagination with Serene Richards
Support the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acephalous/acephalous-the-erotic-tarot-of-georges-batailleBiopolitics as a System of Thought: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/biopolitics-as-a-system-of-thought-9781350412095/In this LEPHT HAND interview, we explore the themes of destituent power and political imagination in Serene Richards' Biopolitics as a System of Thought, situat
Bataille on War and the "Acéphalous" Project
The Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acephalous/acephalous-the-erotic-tarot-of-georges-batailleIn this episode, Adam C. Jones of Acid Horizon joins a recent livestream with Sereptie to dive into Georges Bataille’s complex relationship with war, exploring his shift from insurrectionary fervor to an uneasy advocacy for peace in the nuclear age. We examine Bataille's vi
From Bataille to Blanchot: The Negative Community and the Death of the Other
Support LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHAND 🔮 Introducing 'Acéphalous: The Erotic Tarot of Georges Bataille' 🔮 - Uncover the raw, provocative fusion of Bataille's philosophy and tarot in this daring new deck. Pre-launch is live—discover more and join us in this journey: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/acephalous/acephalous-the-erotic-tarot-of-georges-bataille?ref=disc
The Thought and Life of Simone Weil with Kenny Novis
Join the Patreon for early access to all new releases: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHANDIn this LEPHT HAND interview, Sereptie speaks with philosopher and researcher Kenny Novis about the complex and often contentious ideas of Simone Weil. The conversation explores the controversies surrounding Weil's life and work, while Kenny offers valuable insights into her thought, exploring her deep per
The Alchemy of Salt and Subjectivity: James Hillman and Jacques Derrida versus a Salty Jordan Peterson
In this monologue, Sereptie explores the fascinating intersections of alchemy, psychoanalysis, and poststructuralist philosophy. The discussion centers around the concept of alchemical salt, its significance in Renaissance alchemical traditions, and its appropriation in 20th-century psychological theories. This episode connects these ideas with the works of Carl Jung, James Hillman, and Jacques De
Fascism and Sovereignty: Examining Georges Bataille's "The Psychological Structure of Fascism" (Part 2)
Sub on your favorite podcast platform and listen to Part 1: https://pod.link/1758435793/episode/20f284ad4b81353d1d7db2a171e6196fIn the follow up to the very first episode of LEPHT HAND, we continue to delve into Georges Bataille's seminal essay, "The Psychological Structure of Fascism." We explore Bataille's analysis of the social and psychological dynamics underpinning fascist
Nietzsche and Irrationalism: Can Art Justify Existence? (Georges Bataille, Georg Lukács, and James Hillman)
In this first interview featured on LEPHT HAND, Sereptie dives into a thought-provoking discussion with Devin Gouré, co-host of the Moral Minority podcast and author of the Substack blog Methods of Madness. This conversation explores the intersection of Nietzsche's philosophy and Bataille's theory of fascism, focusing on the challenging question of how to justify existence in a world dev
Examining Georges Bataille's "The Psychological Structure of Fascism" (Part 1)
In this inaugural episode of LEPHT HAND, we delve into Georges Bataille's seminal essay, "The Psychological Structure of Fascism." We explore Bataille's analysis of the social and psychological dynamics underpinning fascist regimes. Key concepts discussed include: Marxism, anarchism, anthropology, political economy.Support LEPHT HAND:Join the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LE
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