History of Philosophy Audio Archive
Curated lectures, interviews, and talks with philosophers, social scientists, and historians together in one place. Each week, we explore brand new research in history, economics, psychology, political science, philosophy, indigenous studies, and human rights while presenting the work of canonical scholars in a way that is accessible to newcomers while retaining interest for students and specialists. If you are an author in nonfiction or a scholar in the humanities/social sciences and are interested in being interviewed for the show please email me at williamengels@substack.com or @Bluesky.
Episodes
Hemlock #49: Three Passions feat. Bertrand Russell WARNING CONTAINS SOUNDS OF HUMAN BODY DRINKING
A few reflections on Bertrand Arthur William Russell, Third Earl and author of some of my favorite books.
Hemlock #48 Peace in Iran: Jack Kennedy from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists talks Strait of Hormuz, Petroyuan, Albert Camus, Strategic Bombing, French and Israeli Nuke Programs, Kissinger
Nuclear Risk Editorial Fellow Jack Kennedy https://jackkennedy.ie/about/ comes back for the second time to talk Strait of Hormuz, Israel's nuclear option, NATO proliferation risks, Nixon, Kissinger, and Vietnam. "Belt of radioactive cobalt" mentioned. By the way, ships are already paying in Yuan to access the Strait, and the IRGC has confirmed control of a working route through the S
Hemlock #47: Teaching Nagasaki feat. Franco Castro Escobar - Disaster Storytelling, Youth Antinuclear Education in Japan, Militarism and Nuclear Abolition, Iris Chang, & The Bells of Nagasaki
Hiroshima rages while Nagasaki prays. FULL EPISODE DESCRIPTION ON PATREONI'm joined for a second time by friend of the show Franco Castro Escobar, a PhD researcher at Keele University in the UK. This time we discuss life in Nagasaki before, during, and after the nuclear attack, trauma and education, the developmental origins of youth antinuclear activists, hibaku Maria and the destruction of t
#185: Eleusis in the Spring (Vernal Equinox Special) feat. Joseph Campbell - The Eleusinian Mysteries, the Rites of Orpheus, Fertility and Persephone, the Descent into Hades, and the Resurrection
Happy Equinox. The Beginning, is at last: beginning.Music Credit: Beethoven / Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" Gernot Schmalfuss / Music Director and Chief Conductor Gwhyneth Chen / Piano Evergreen Symphony Orchestra National Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan 13 Nov. 2020 (Creative Commons).Percy Bysshe ShelleyHymn to the Spirit of Nature (1820).from Prometheus Unbound (Act II, Scene V):Life of
#184: Gaza, or How to Normalize Genocide: Keynote Speech by Chris Hedges at The Sanctuary for Independent Media
You can find the full talk from March 2025, officially-titled "Normalizing Genocide and the New World Order" at the link below, via The Sanctuary for Independent Media, which Chris has lectured at for years. Chris also writes on Substack "The Chris Hedges Report" and has a podcast of the same name.Hedges also wrote something like 12 books, which I've read about 9 of, person
Hemlock #46 Congress: feat. Dr. Maya Kornberg - Citizens United, Steve Bannon, Jan 6, Gerrymandering, Watergate Babies & Her New Book: STUCK: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress
Full episode description on PatreonI am joined (just in time for the all-important Vernal Equinox on March 21st) - with the brilliant and timely Dr. Maya Kornberg https://www.mayakornberg.com/.Her new book STUCK: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress was released March 10th and can be purchased now. (Non-affiliate link). Personal Disclaimer: I was given a hardcover of this book
#183: Tribute to Jürgen Habermas (1929-2026) feat. Rick Roderick and Michael Sugrue
RIP Habermas. Rick Roderick and Michael Sugrue (both also gone, Sugrue earlier this year) remember the life and theory of Jürgen Habermas and the Frankfurt School."Don't think that this is some fancy-Dan academic exercise. A lot of people have died because they read a book the wrong way. "-Rick Roderick on Habermas and the importance of the humanities.
#182a - The Radiance of Perfection and the Mystic Ascent: Plotinus on the Good and the One, Plato's Symposium, The Myth of Psyche and Eros (Aphrodite), Socrates' Teacher Diotima, feat. Pierre Grimes
If you enjoy this work, please support the show on Patreon!Will (the host) writes a Substack page about various and sundry topics. Plotinus (204-270 CE) was a mystical philosopher who transformed Plato's metaphysical ideas about the Forms and the divine intellect or nous into a spiritual path. In this lecture, Pierre Grimes (1924-2024 CE) introduces Plotinus and his work as recorded by his stu
The Phoenix Program: PART ONE - ORIGINS
ADVISORY - Contains explicit description of warfare, killing, torture, and mutilation.FULL EPISODE DESCRIPTION ON PATREONMusic by Anapse.
Hemlock #45: Hannah Arendt and Natality feat. Guillermo Zapata
FULL EPISODE DESCRIPTION ON PATREONI, William Engels, write articles on Substack.Books Mentioned:Arendt: Origins of TotalitarianismArendt: The Human ConditionArendt: Between Past and FutureProgressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness by Ven. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche"Natality" as a conceptThe Heart Sutra2666 by Roberto Bolaño (review so far, on page 250 of 1000 - no exaggeration
Hemlock #44: Epictetus and the Stoics with Greg Sadler
I read Epictetus Discourses and Enchiridion with Professor Gregory Sadler https://gregorybsadler.substack.com/ - although we both started off by dunking a bit on Bertrand Russell.Full show notes with books/links for free on Patreon
#181 Facing Gaia: Lectures on the Political Theology of Nature by Bruno Latour, Gifford Lecture Series 2013
RIP Bruno Latour (1947-2022)Follow Will’s writing on his Substack page, Hemlock:https://williamengels.substack.comSupport the entire show on Patreon and get early access:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonIn 2013, philosopher Bruno Latour delivered his lecture series “Facing Gaia: Six Lectures on the Political Theology of Nature” at the St. Cecilia Hall inside the University of Edinburgh. These a
Hemlock #43 - Enframing the Future with Emma Stamm, Nuclear Weapons, AI, Martin Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology, Walter Benjamin, Fascism, Fantasy, and Simple Folk Tales
"Fascism is the desire for a simple folk tale" - Thomas Mann, I think.Substack's and LEPHT HAND's own Emma Stamm https://substack.com/@elftheory rejoins Will for a follow-up conversation on nuclear weapons technology, Martin Heidegger's Question Concerning Technology (1954), artificial intelligence, psychedelics research, and why becoming idiots might save us in the end.Follo
#180: Michael Parenti Tribute: The Darker Truths of Empire (November 2005)
RIP Michael Parenti (1933-2026). A brave, undimmed (sometimes controversial, of course) critic of that great juggernaut of death: the American Empire.HoPAA #180Watch the full video here from the College of DuPage here:https://youtu.be/OOF56wYTl1wREAD TRANSCRIPT AND POST MEMES ON PATREON:https://www.patreon.com/posts/151201440
#179 Martin Heidegger's "The Question Concerning Technology" (1954) Presented by Gregory Sadler, Enframing, Standing-Reserve, Aletheia, Aristotle's Four Causes, and the Destining of Revealing
Reading Martin Heidegger is tough. Here to introduce us to some core concepts in The Question Concerning Technology (1954) is Greg Sadler, whose YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@GregoryBSadler "That Philosophy Guy" has just racked up over 170K subscribers and whose podcast Sadler's Lectures (Spotify Link) is updated almost every day, including an ongoing discussion of Jeremy
Acid Communism: Philosopher Emma Stamm on Mark Fisher's Unfinished Manuscript, Capitalist Realism, the Slow Cancellation of the Future, Joe Rogan, Critical Theory, AI, and Life in Para-Academia
Hemlock #42 - Support the History of Philosophy Audio Archive on Patreon, and follow William Engels's writing on Substack.I am joined on this episode by independent writer and philosopher Emma Stamm to discuss the late, great, Mark Fisher. Emma is a member of the theory collective LEPHT HAND, and she has a new online course enrolling soon/now on Mark Fisher's "Acid Communism." Yo
Capitalism's Invisible Army (CIA) - Bill Yarborough on MKUltra, Operation CHAOS, Nixon & the Plumbers, the 40 Committee, Operation Gladio, Paperclip Nazis, Stranger Things, and Healing from Torture
For Hemlock #41 on the History of Philosophy Audio Archive I am joined by MKUltra survivor Bill Yarborough to discuss government secrecy, Cold War hijinks, the refinement of torture techniques over the years, and the history of domestic covert operations in the United States.This episode contains descriptions of torture and child abuse, so please be forewarned.Bill has recently published a book (a
Carved In Stone: Matthew Davis on Mount Rushmore, Wounded Knee & Medals of Honor, Deadwood, the Lakota, Stone Mountain and the Klan, American Aesthetics, Custer, Whitman, Jackson, and the Black Hills
Support the Archive on Patreon! Follow William Engels's writing on Substack. Who do the Black Hills really belong to? Was George Armstrong Custer a hero, an idiot, or a fanatic? Who carved Mount Rushmore, and what was it supposed to represent (the "apotheosis of Western Civilization?") What happened at Wounded Knee (in 1890, and 1973) - and why does Secretary of War (sic) Pete Hegset
#178a David Foster Wallace: The Complete Audio Archive of Interviews, Speeches, and Public Appearances (Winter Solstice Special - Part 1 of 2)
Support this work on PatreonRead the full write-up on this archive on William Engels's Substack, Hemlock.Part 1 of 2:We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills the ice-cube tray, who unloads the clean dishwasher, who occasionally pees in the shower, whose eyelid twitches on first dates; that only we ta
#178b David Foster Wallace: The Complete Audio Archive of Interviews, Speeches, and Public Appearances (Winter Solstice Special - Part 2 of 2)
Support this work on PatreonRead the full write-up on this archive on William Engels's Substack, Hemlock.Part 2 of 2:We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills the ice-cube tray, who unloads the clean dishwasher, who occasionally pees in the shower, whose eyelid twitches on first dates; that onl
SAURON, INCORPORATED: A Corporate History of Palantir - Part 2: CEO Alex Karp, or Evil Genius Adult-Baby Demands New Cold War
SOCIALSWill’s Patreon - patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonWill’s Substack (Hemlock) - williamengels.substack.comBad Role Models on YouTube: youtube.com/@hemlock-ytThe Big BRM Playlist on YouTubeBad Role Models is a co-production of Richard Sinex, Thomas Vanek, and William Engels.ERRATA:I said "Nicholas Drake" when I meant "Thomas A. Drake" the pre-Snowden NSA whistleblower who condem
SAURON INCORPORATED: A Corporate History of Palantir (feat. the Bad Role Models) Part 1: Peter Thiel Crawls Out of an Apartheid-Era Uranium Mine and into the White House
SOUND CREDIT: The Chamber Stage (YouTube)Support the boys (Thomas Vanek & Richard Sinex) and I on Patreon and YouTube:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonhttps://www.youtube.com/@hemlock-ytBecause someone will ask: the Nixon tape is from Feb 1st 1972 and features the Reverend Billy Graham giving his fascinating interpretation of the Jewish Question in the Oval Office. Nixon concludes (its'
Escape from the TechnoSphere feat. Jacob Ward: Sam Altman, AI Girlfriends, Karp and Thiel, the Dubious Hobbits of Palantir, Jevon's Paradox, and The Unstoppable Onslaught of Clanker-Made Slop
Looks like we're stuck with the Bad Elves, Frodo.You can find Jake’s work on his website, (The Rip Current) and you can find his podcast (same name) on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. His 2022 book The Loop: How Technology is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back is available on Amazon. He also writes under The Rip Current on Substack: https://theripcurrent.substack.com/Support m
Nuclear Cascade with Jack Kennedy - Nukes in South Korea, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, New Cold War with China, Russia/Ukraine, Deterrence, Iran's/Iraq's WMDs, NeoCons, and Missile Defense
Hemlock #39Nuclear war, and nuclear risk, are still just as real and just as close as they have been during the tensest eras of the Cold War. I had questions about where suspected nuclear flashpoints were forming - in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, and Iran - and wanted to review Trump's record of militarizing outer space, resuming nuclear testing, pre-emptively attacking Iran's
Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna - Graham St John on McKenna's Life and Work, Psilocybin and DMT, Psychedelic History, Alchemy, the Experiment at La Chorrera, +the Eschaton
Buy Graham's book on Terence on Amazon!Graham's website: https://www.edgecentral.net/Reputable information about psilocybin and harm reduction:https://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms.shtmlJames Fadiman's book/manual: https://www.psychedelicexplorersguide.com/"We are the inheritors of one million years of striving for the unspeakable"-Terence McKennaMore on Patreon:h
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (Part 1)
A Creative Commons Zero "No Rights Reserved" free, open-source audiobook, narrated by William Engels. This is from Part 1, titled "The Window," Chapters 1-5.One of the most beautifully written and mind-expanding works of modernist literature, Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse (1927) has recently entered the public domain. I wanted to celebrate by performing my way though t
Goethe's Faust - Michael Sugrue on the Worldly Gospel, German Romanticism, Intellect and Theology, Mephistopheles and the Spirit of Negation, Gretchen's Eternal Feminine, and Last Minute Salvation
History of Philosophy Audio Archive, Episode #177I have always loved Michael Sugrue, and I will never stop posting his talks. RIP to a legend (1957-2024). Always been curious about Goethe’s Faust (Parts I and II) and thought this was serve a good introduction. If looking for a physical copy, I have heard that the scholarly, complete, Princeton edition is really good.Hear all the updates on where t
The Lessons of History feat. Dr. Roy Casagranda - Henry Kissinger, the Iraq War, Esoteric Platonism and the Neocons, Cycles in Political Power, Education Reform, Hiroshima, Anarchism, and State Power
Follow Dr. Roy on Social Media:Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTubeReferencesStephen Skowronek // "The Politics Presidents Make" (1993)Rational Choice Theory (1955) "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice" by Herbert A. SimonThe Nixon movie I couldn't remember was "Secret Honor" (Robert Altman, 1984)Abramowitz et. al study of Southern Republicans https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/366Golds
What is Existentialism? - Bert Dreyfus on Sartre, Heidegger, Pascal, Camus, Kierkegaard, Philosophy's Struggle with Christianity, Dostoevsky, and the Road to Authenticity (HoPAA #176)
Support this work and unlock more of it (for free!) on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonThis is from Hubert Dreyfus' 2008 Berkeley undergraduate course Philosophy 7 "Existentialism in Literature and Film"https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_461120622\Course Description: The course will be organized around various attempts to reinterpret the Judeo/Christian
The "Ceasefire" in Gaza feat. Sabrina Jennings
Support Sabrina's work and educate yourself on Israel, Palestine, and the US while connecting with likeminded people: Not only will you learn about the history, Zionism, US involvement and more, but it's a great way to connect with others who care about what's happening and learn ways that you can take action. The next class session starts January 10. Reserve your spot by December 12th
The Ballroom feat. William Sanchez (Hemlock #34)
Demolishing the White House is just the beginning.Subscribe to Will Sanchez on Substack!https://substack.com/@philosophicalrebellionANNOUNCEMENTS:First: we are going to be soon starting a new audiobook series - this time it will be To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - I will release it chapter by chapter, and the first chapter or two should be out within a week, if the Great Tao should accommodat
HEMLOCK HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: HAUNTOLOGY - Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, Left Melancholia, the Arab Spring, Walter Benjamin, and the Slow Cancellation of the Future (H33)
Even the dead are not safe.“It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism.” This statement, deliberately provocative, was made first by Continental philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard before its later canonization by Mark Fisher in his 2009 theoretical masterpiece Capitalist Realism: Is there no alternative?. For Fisher, it is a call to action, and a struct
A Skeleton Key to James Joyce: Mythologist Joseph Campbell on Irish Literature and Joyce's Novels: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegan's Wake (HoPAA #175)
Support the perpetuity and integrity of this work for just $5 per month, or hang out in the Patreon for free.Originally published as "On Wings of Art" (1984)."In this six-part series, renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell introduces and explores the unifying themes and mythological symbolism in James Joyce's three greatest literary works--A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,
Dante's Divine Comedy: Professor Hubert Dreyfus on the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, Beatrice, Vergil, and the Beatific Vision (HoPAA #173e)
The ultimate theological journey through the midlife crisis, presented by existentialist philosopher Bert Dreyfus in 2006 at UC Berkeley. (REPUPLOAD)Please consider donating to support humanitarian relief and lifesaving medical care in Gaza. The links below are verified and reputable charities and individuals who are desperate for medical care, asylum, shelter, and safety in Palestine.Fundraisers,
The Practical Value of Philosophy: Will Engels Interviewed by Roubin Thind on Education, Spirituality, Guerilla Media, US-China Relations, Blue Collar Intellectuals, the Origins of HoPAA (Hemlock #34)
Support the show on Patreon!A nice change of pace for me as I am put on the hot-seat and forced to properly explain myself for once. Interview by Roubin Thind, a social media manager and podcast connoisseur, running down topics ranging from diplomacy to education and back.
The Gospel According to John: Hubert Dreyfus on the Logos, the Trinity, and the Ontological Transformations of Christianity (HoPAA #172d)
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.John 1:5, King James VersionThis is Part Four of a multipart series on the Great Books of the Western Tradition by Berkeley Professor of Philosophy Bert Dreyfus, which you can begin here.The source material is found here on Internet Archive.Who is God? What does it mean to be anointed (chrīstós, in Koine Greek), emptied of sel
Magnolia (1999): A Love Letter - Paul Thomas Anderson's Greatest Film, Fate, Freemasons, Intergenerational Trauma, Pick Up Artists, Aimee Mann, and Why It's Not Going to Stop (Til' You Wise Up) BRM6b
Paul Thomas Anderson made this when he was 28. So did Richard and Will.A celebration of the greatest movie of our greatest living director. Hats off to you, man.advisory: child abuse, self-harm, suicide.“Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.”―HafezMusic Credits:Violin version of Habañera by Katy AdelsonAria version of Habañera by Deutsch
Hemlock #32: Machines of Loving Grace - Palantir, Alex Karp, Alchemy and Science, Brute Force Mimetic Objects, Atomic Poetry, the Automation of Violence, and the Endless Empire of Perpetual Advantage
Everything becomes its opposite. cw: animal harm, general doom.If this work is important to you, consider supporting my financial and creative independence on Patreon, for only $5 per month."All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" (1967) by Richard BrautiganI like to think (andthe sooner the better!)of a cybernetic meadowwhere mammals and computerslive together in mutuallyprogrammi
#174 - Dealing with Hungry Ghosts: Thích Nhất Hạnh on Healing Intergenerational Trauma, Realizing Emptiness, Self-Compassion, and Living as a Transmission from Ancestors
Times are tough for everyone, but if you can spare $5 per month to support the History of Philosophy, my political writing, open source audiobooks, and simple intellectual entertainment, please consider joining my Patreon and helping me escape my day job.YouTube original video credit (Plum Village). Apparently first delivered in the "late 1980s".Read more about Thích Nhất Hạnh here.Music
#173 - The Myths of Capital: Michael Parenti on Rags to Riches Fables, Pacifying Propaganda, Wealth Pyramids and Perpetual Scarcity, Corporate Power, and the Socialist Response to the Ruling Ideology
The great Michael Parenti returns to HoPAA to enlighten us about capitalism's leading myths and legends. As the man says, 'brothers and sisters, WE own the airwaves'.Times are tough for everyone, but if you can pitch in $5 per month to support this project - a humanity and humanities-focused ad and spook-free education platform since 2023 - it would mean the world to me over on Patreon
BRM7: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - W. B. Yeats, Aleister Crowley, H. P. Blavatsky, Samuel Mathers, Victorian Magick, Theosophy, Kabbalah, Séances, and the Great Occult Poetry Larp
Keep this work free for everyone and unlock my entire corpus for $5 per month on Patreon!Samuel Mathers is Bane, not Wolverine.People Mentioned:Samuel Liddell MacGregor MathersH. P. BlavatskyWilliam Wynn WestcottAleister CrowleyJohn DeeEdward KellyA. E. WaiteErich Fromm and Wilhelm ReichReferences:Douglas Haig, the Battle of the Somme, and Séances"On 20th September 1906, Haig
#172c - Vergil and the Roman Tradition: Bert Dreyfus' Complete Course on the Aeneid, Augustus Caesar, Roman Propaganda, The Fall of Troy, Dido and Carthage, the Rise of Empire, and Latin Poetic Myth
The gates of hell are open night and day;Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:But to return, and view the cheerful skies,In this the task and mighty labor lies.-Vergil, AeneidYou can support the continuation of this effort, and get unlimited access to my entire body of work for$5 per month on Patreon.My favorite translation of the Aeneid is the Modern Library edition by Shadi Bartsch, which is
BRM6a: Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master, There Will Be Blood, American Grifters, Bloodoil, Scientology, Solvent Abuse, Time Travel, Brahms, Chopin, Johnnie Greenwood, Radiohead and Milkshake Drinking
Kick in on Patreon to support the both of us!This is the new work.Movies:The Master (2012)There Will Be Blood (2007)Magnolia (1999)Boogie Nights (1997)Music:Violin Concerto in D Major, Movement III Allegro Giocoso by Johannes BrahmsEnter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang ClanEtude Op 10 No 3 in E Major "Tristesse" Composed by Frederic Chopin, (Best) Performed by Maurizio PolliniSong:
Bad Role Models #5: Miyamoto Musashi - Japan's Greatest Samurai Duelist, the Book of the Five Rings, the Way of Combat Strategy, Dokkōdō, Zen, and the Strike from the Void
Come join the Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonThe best version of Musashi in English that I have found is the book The Complete Musashi translated by Alexander Bennett, which is available in audiobook form and is quite short and scholarly to boot. Goodreads link.Books and Movies:Silence, Martin ScorsesePi, Darren AronofskyIntroduction to Zen Buddhism - D. T. SuzukiLinks:Eleusinian Myst
Mission Accomplished: A Documentary Doctors Retrospective - Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, the War on Terror, Robert Fisk, Neocon Fear Bubbles, Saudi Connections, & Why It's All About The Petrodollar (DD8)
Documentaries:Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore)Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix)Citizenfour (Laura Poitras)Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nah'at)The Mauritanian (Kevin Macdonald)Books:Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical IslamAlfred W. McCoy: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug TradeJoseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes, The Three Trillion Dollar War:
BRM4b: The HST Bonus Show - Screwjack, Better Than Sex, Hells Angels, Flesh-Eating Snails, Mescaline, Radical Lawyers, Motorcycle Crashes, and Finding the Edge
A truly decadent and indulgent episode for the genuinely twisted wordheads and storyfreaks still crawling on all fives. Cheers, you beautiful bastards.Music by Anapse, track Bisector off Streamsafe EssentialsBooksHells Angels by Hunter S ThompsonFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S ThompsonScrewjack by Hunter S. ThompsonBetter Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S ThompsonFreak Powe
BRM4a: Hunter S. Thompson in Aspen - Fear and Loathing in the Sheriff's Office, Greedheads, Hatemongers, and Yellow-Eyed Hyenas, The Freak Power Ticket, Fat City, and the Death of the American Dream
With special guest Deputy Dick filling in (for) Richard Sinex.Music by Anapse, track Bisector off Streamsafe Essentials--Books--Hells Angels by Hunter S ThompsonFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S ThompsonScrewjack by Hunter S. ThompsonBetter Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S ThompsonFreak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph WatkinsDark Allianc
172b - Aeschylus: Bert Dreyfus on Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, the Furies and the Eumenides, Pouring Out of Libations, Athenian Tragedy, and the Pessimism of the Greeks
Music Credit: Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 30 performed by Paavali Jumppanen, available on Museopen.The Alan Shapiro translation of the Oresteia is my favorite.Another episode (Hemlock #5) I did about Aeschylus can be found here. It talks in greater depth about the metaphor of the net, and centers Clytemnestra as the hero/main character of the post-Trojan scene.For fun and profit: reading the Wikip
DD7 - Judas and the Black Messiah: Fred Hampton, the Black Panthers, FBI/COINTELPRO, J. Edgar Hoover, the Rainbow Coalition, MHCHAOS, MLK and Malcolm X, Gary Webb's Dark Alliance, and the CIA
Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying,Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.Matthew 26:48Watch Judas and the Black Messiah:https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/judas-and-the-black-messiahFollow Sabrina on Bluesky or Patreon:Note To Self // PatreonSabrina Jennings // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:Amjad Hamad and his FamilyRulin and Fami
#172a - The Odyssey: A Philosophical Analysis, Hubert Dreyfus on Artistic Worldmaking, the Attuning Gift of Greek Gods, Telemachus' Journey to Manhood, Autonomy and the Divine Inspiration
Support me on Patreon - or leave a review for the show.Hubert "Bert" Dreyfus (1929-2017) was a professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley who specialized in phenomenology, 20th century Continental philosophy, artificial intelligence, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, and the aesthetics/literature of existentialism from Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard to Terrence Malick. He is probably most famous fo
DD6 - 40 Years in Solitary: "Cruel and Unusual: The Story of the Angola 3", Solitary Confinement, Torture, Jim Crow, Black Radicalism, Private Prisons, Prison Labor, and Mass Incarceration
Watch "Cruel and Unusual" on Kanopy!https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/cruel-and-unusualFollow Sabrina and I on Bluesky or Patreon:Note To Self // PatreonSabrina Jennings // BlueskyHemlock // PatreonWilliam Engels // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:Amjad Hamad and his FamilyRulin and FamilySammar and her HusbandMSF (Doctors Without Borders)Palestinian Yo
DD5 Eichmann in Jerusalem: "Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt" Banality of Evil, Between Past and Future, Totalitarianism in Democracy, K. Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, the Third Reich, Fascism
Watch Vita Activa on Kanopy!https://www.kanopy.com/en/product/vita-activa-spirit-hannah-arendt-1?vp=newschoolFollow Sabrina on Bluesky or Patreon:Note To Self // PatreonSabrina Jennings // BlueskyFundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:Amjad Hamad and his FamilyRulin and FamilySammar and her HusbandMSF (Doctors Without Borders)Palestinian Youth MovementBooks and Sources Mention
Consolatio #6: The Finest Threads that Bind the Truth - Book 5 of the Consolation of Philosophy on Free Will, Higher Intelligence, History and Eternity, Hope's Epitaph
The final book in Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, on the compatibility of divine omniscience and human free will, the eternal and the continual, and the rarefaction of intelligence.Cheers! Virginia Woolf is next...Music: Beethoven, String Quartet No 13, "Cavatina", Orion String Quartet. I also recommend the Lindsay String Quartet version, and the Takács Quartet on Decca.English translation by
Hemlock #31: McNamara's Cold War: Pulitzer Prize-Winner Bill Taubman on Vietnam, the Domino Theory, Khrushchev & Gorbachev, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Tokyo Firebombing, Nuclear Abolition
McNamara at War is available September 23rd from Amazon! There's an audiobook as well for the audio-inclined...Summary (AI Generated, Model = NotebookLM)The podcast features an insightful conversation between host William Engels and Pulitzer Prize-winning historian William Taubman, co-author of the recent book "McNamara at War". Taubman, a distinguished Cold War expert, has also penn
The Art Life: A Tribute to David Lynch (BRM #3, Explicit) with Mr. Richard - Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, Blue Velvet, 50s Americana, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Mr. Eddy, Now It's Dark
Now It's Dark.Explicit Advisory: This episode contains potentially upsetting discussions of child sexual abuse/violence as well as addiction, domestic abuse, and human trafficking.Music Credit: Twin Peaks Theme (Cover) by Dehli MusikkCorrection: I said that Lynch married Rossellini. Actually they were just romantic partners and were never married.In this one Richard and I cover David Lynch'
Hemlock #30 - Kaila Yu: Orientalism (Old and New), WW2 Comfort Women, Disney Princesses, Imperialism and the Sex Trade, Okinawa Air Base, Asian Fetishization, Memoirs of a Geisha, Playboy, +New Book
(Pre-) Order Kaila's new book, out August 19th:Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and BeautySummary (AI Generated by Gemini 2.5 Pro):Author Kaila Yu joins the show to discuss her powerful new memoir, "Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty." The conversation unpacks the complex and often damaging ways Asian women are portrayed in Western med
Hemlock #29 - Welcome to the First Crusade Feat. American Prestige and We're Not So Different: Magic Spears, Starving Franks, Holy Massacres, Historical Himbos, and Why Only the First Crusade Worked
Check out the premium podcast Welcome to the Crusades: The First Crusade and unlock all ten episodes now. Click here for the full first episode.I am joined by Eleanor Janega and Luke Waters of the We're Not So Different Podcast (Patreon Page) and the fellas over at American Prestige podcast (Website) Derek Davidson and Daniel Bessner.My Patreon, fwiw~References, Citations, People, Assorted Wik
#171a - John Brown: Susan Neiman on One Man's Terrorist is Another Man's Freedom Fighter, Radical Ethics and Activism, Violence and Nonviolence, Battle Hymn of the Republic, & Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural
This episode is Lecture #3 of 6 in Susan Neiman's "Heroism for a Time of Victims" lecture series, part of the Gifford Lectures delivered in May 2022. The other 5 can be found in HoPAA #171.Read about Susan Neiman's May 2022 Gifford Lecture Series "Heroism for a Time of Victims" at the Gifford Lecture blog.View the original YouTube playlist with all six lectures (and
#171 - Heroism for a Time of Victims: Susan Neiman on Modern Myths, Odysseus, Albert Einstein, Paul Robeson, Adorno, George Eliot, Circe, John Brown and the Civil War, and Why We Need Heroes Today
Support me on Patreon!Read about Susan Neiman's May 2022 Gifford Lecture Series "Heroism for a Time of Victims" at the Gifford Lecture blog.View the original YouTube playlist with all six lectures (and a Q&A which I did not include) here.Music Credits:-Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major by Max John-Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major, Movement 2Lecture Table of C
#169b - Death: Shelly Kagan on the Living in the Face of Death, the Problem of Immortality, Suicide and the Value of Life, Loneliness, Overcoming and Confronting the Fear of Death
This is Part 2 of Shelly Kagan's course on YouTube/Yale Open Courseware. Part 1 is linked in the description, or you can just click here. You can support Professor Kagan by purchasing his book on Death. The original YouTube series can be found here. Support my work on Patreon and keep this stuff free and flowing for everyone:patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonMusic is Fauré Requiem, Op. 48, performed
Hemlock #28 Watchmen: A Cold War Essay (Part One) Ozymandias, The Doomsday Clock, Rorschach, Nukes in Vietnam, Berlin Pop, Rilke, Thomas Merton & the Unspeakable, and Confronting the End of the World
Support my work and get ad-free full episodes on Patreon:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonEarlier episodes (#1-27) up now, ad-free on History of Philosophy Audio Archive / Spotify.Music Credit (Cover of 99 Luftballons by NENA, performed by /millibeep)https://youtu.be/gTss-rBgUl8What the song means (Genius):[Verse 1]If you have some time for meThen I will sing a song for youOf ninety-nine
BRM #2b - Byron: Frankenstein's Monster, Ada Lovelace, Dodging Child Support, 19th Century Gossip Columns, the Greek War for Independence, Butt Issues, Hayao Miyazaki, de Sade, and David Lynch
Patreon Support:patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonPodcast Sources (AI Generated, May Contain Errors):Ada LovelaceSource: Wikipedia: Ada LovelaceSummary: Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She is often regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of a &q
Bad Role Models #2a: Lord Byron with Richard, Earl of Sinex - European Grand Tours, Childhood Trauma, Crappy 18th century Dads, the Elgin Marbles, Bad Teenage Poetry, Dodging the Coppers Like a Dandy
It's not easy being a gay brain-sex icon and a straight brain-sex icon at the same time but ya boi Byron did it. Part 1 of 2. Poll in the thing for the next topic. I will abide by the results.Come join the Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonAlso, I decided Richard and I's biographical series is gonna be called "Bad Role Models" since that seems to be the theme... Also "Behind the Bastards
DocDocs #4: The Riot Report: Lyndon Johnson, the Newark Riots, MLK/Malcolm X, the Kerner Commission, Redlining, Vietnam and Civil Rights, Militarized Police, Jimmy Baldwin, and the End of Jim Crow
Get full, official episodes of Documentary Doctors on the Shiny New Spotify Feed (coming soon) - you can watch The Riot Report on KanopySupport good causes:Please consider donating to Gaza relief through the Sameer Project: https://linktr.ee/thesameerprojectGaza Family Aid per Michael Scott Judge / Death Is Just Around the Corner Podcast:"Rulin and Amjad, and of course their families (including Am
Hemlock #27 - Alasdair MacIntyre (1929-2025): My Talk w/ Greg Sadler on Virtue Ethics, Zizek and Lacan, Modes of Rationality, Effective Altruism /Bentham, After Virtue, Thomism, Mill, & Heavy Metal
Alasdair MacIntyre's book After Virtue:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_VirtuePatreon for Supporters/Fans:https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonGregory Sadler:https://www.miad.edu/faculty/gregory-sadler
DocDocs #3 - Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat: Patrice Lumumba and the CIA, Dizzy Gillespie for President, Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, The Great Nina Simone, Frantz Fanon, Congo Liberation, Uranium, IMF, Jazz
Check out the Documentary!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RwLdIiZk_8Sabrina's Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/notetoselfzine.bsky.socialWill Patreon:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonBooks and Sources Mentioned:Black Skins, White Masks, and The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (Algerian Revolutionary Psychoanalyst)The Rebel's Clinic: The Revolutionary Life of Frantz Fanon by Adam
#170 - 2nd Biannual Report to the Shareholders: Roy Casagranda, Boethius, the American Terror Series, Virginia Woolf, Alasdair MacIntyre, Getting Emailed by Kn@tsies, Contrapoints, Gratitude
Contact: williamengels@substack.comSabrina's Stuff: https://bsky.app/profile/notetoselfzine.bsky.socialBoethius Critical Edition I Used (Although not the Translation)https://a.co/d/7qpk2BVMusic Credit: Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, performed by Max John https://youtu.be/icowasnkEqwPatreon:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon
#169a - Death: Shelly Kagan on Plato, Immortality, Physicalism versus Dualism, Individual Continuity Across Time and Space, Arguing the Existence of the Soul, Phaedo and Socrates, Memento Mori
Patreon/Tip Jar: https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonTable of Contents Below >>>Original Course Listing on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEA18FAF1AD9047B0Buy Prof. Kagan's Book on Death:https://a.co/d/8FnPcW1About the Course (Yale)There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues
Hemlock #26 - Targeting the Death Star with Guillermo Zapata: Palantir, ICE Camps, Peter Thiel & the Antichrist, Vaclav Havel, Star Wars and Rogue One, Maersk/BDS, Deporting Zohran, Melancholia, Gaza
Support the Rebel Alliance: https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonPeople Mentioned:Mahmoud KhalilMaria LugonesByung-Chul HanLars von Trier (dir. Melancholia, 2011)Hannah ArendtTyson YunkaportaConcepts:Kenosis (self-emptying)Books:Putnam, Bowling AloneNews/References:Zinc Mine in Georgia/https://thecurrentga.org/2025/06/20/okefenokee-mine-sale-conservation-fund/Minister of Loneliness UKhttps://www.sm
Hemlock #25 - Maturity: Taoism, Confucianism, Epicureanism, Kierkegaard's Aesthetic/Hedonistic Way of Life, the Origins of Evil, Ahimsa/Nonviolence, and Disputing the Tao
Patreon: https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonPhoto Credit:Morning Tai Chi by Shuolong MaMusic Credit:Music Copyright Kevin MacLeodhttps://youtu.be/qGAcClayOqkCoconut Tree Meme Musichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7_5nHIbsjoBooks/SourcesHans-Georg Moeller Daoism Explainedhttps://www.amazon.com/Daoism-Explained-Butterfly-Fishnet-Allegory/dp/0812695631Oliver Sacks, the Man Who Mistook His Wife for a
Hemlock #24 - Countdown: Journalist Sarah Scoles on Nuclear Weapons Safety, Jill Tarter and SETI, Nuclear LARPing, the Golden Dome and Missile Defense, and What Really Happens at Los Alamos
Buy Sarah's Book:https://a.co/d/6zROOvVSarah's Socials:Website: https://www.sarahscoles.com/books.htmlBsky: https://bsky.app/profile/sarahscoles.bsky.socialPatreon:https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonREFERENCES:Trump Golden Dome Cost ProjectionSDI / Star Wars in the 1980s with ReaganCosts associated with SENTINEL and ICBM UpgradesFallout and Downwinders, Thyroid Cancer, Nevada Test SiteCon
Consolatio #5 - For the Evil, Show Your Pity: Book 4 of the Consolation of Philosophy, All Things Depend Upon Will and Power, Virtue is the Health of the Soul, Our Aim Is To Be Unlike Those We Hate
At long last, Book 4 of the 5-book masterpiece, De Consolatione de Philosophiae by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius. Translated by W. V. Cooper, critical edition by Goins and Wyman.I would describe this one as "a comfy doozy slightly too close to home."Enjoy~
Hemlock #22 - Congratulations to the Neocons: We're Now At War with Iran - Also the Effective Altruist/AI Grifters, Because That's What I Wanted To Talk About Before The Bombing Began
Patreon: https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonBreaking News.....America has bombed 3 Iranian nuclear reactors.Happy summer solstice.ReferencesIraq 1981 Nuclear Reactor Bombing by Israelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Opera?wprov=sfla1Kissinger's Flip-Flop on the Iran Deal"Today, the standard claim is that Iran has no need for nuclear power, so it must be pursuing a secret weapons program: "
Hemlock #21 - Iran in the Modern World: Five Sideways Reflections, Operation AJAX, FDR and the Yalta Pact with Saudi Arabia, Oil and the AIOC, Mossadegh, Israel, Nuclear Blackmail, and the Great Satan
Come check out the Patreon, where this episode was held in special quarantine for a few months...https://patreon.com/hemlockpatreonNuclear weapons in Iran, Middle East environmental crisis, Israeli grand strategy, US covert action skullduggery, and a healthy reminder that it's all just oil at the end of the day.ReferencesFDR and Saudi King Abdul Azizhttps://www.history.com/articles/fdr-saudi-a
DocDocs #2 - The Act of Killing: Musical Theater, Politicide, Death Squads, Suharto/Sukarno, East Timor, Interviews with Mass Murderers, American Gangster Movies, and the Aesthetics of Violence
Sabrina is back for the second installment of the Documentary Doctors!As a reminder, you can sign up for her class on Palestine here. If you can't attend you can also donate! And if you can't donate you can still attend!This time we are watching (and curling up in a ball after viewing) The Act of Killing, a 2012 documentary about the massacre of the Indonesian PKI (communist party) in 1965
Hemlock #20 - Abuses of Power, Constitutional Reform, and the Gaza Holocaust, featuring William Sanchez
Art Credit: "Piece Offering" by Mr. Fishhttps://clowncrack.com/2025/06/10/piece-offering/Find William's writing on Substack:https://philosophicalrebellion.substack.com/References:Greta Thunbeg's interview on Al Jazeera youtu.be/OY38HjfrNGQDemocracy Now youtu.be/jkKRxD8D2kUBook about Ukraine War:Our Enemies Will Vanish- Yaroslav TrofimovBook about Israel Lobby: The Israe
Bhagwan Richard Presents: Osho (Complete Series) - Sex Cults, New Age Theology, Bioterrorism, Nurse Mengele, Dynamic Meditation, Tax Evasion, and Ten Weird Reasons You NEVER Leave a Cult Unsupervised
Osho, AKA Bhagwan, AKA Raj Rajneesh, AKA....we get it - mystic, con artist, cult leader, philosopher, terrorist, dupe? Your guess is as good as mine. Join Bhagwan Richard and myself as we explore the world of a man with 93 Rolls Royces and enough devoted worshipers to keep his toes permanently sucked and prescriptions filled. References and Citations:Building Utopia by Russell KingThe Golden Road
The Documentary Doctors #1: Sabrina Jennings and William Engels Review the Award-Winning Docs "The Bibi Files" and Al-Jazeera's Banned Documentary "The Lobby" - AIPAC, Jewish Voice for Peace, & Cigars
In this kickoff episode, activist and teacher Sabrina Jennings (links below) calls in to review two outstanding exposé documentaries, The Bibi Files, and The Lobby, both released 2024. Sabrina's critical class on the history of the Israel and Palestine conflict can be found right here - there are still a few slots left, so please sign up if you are interested in getting educated and getting ac
#168 - Kant: The Categorical Imperative, A Priori and A Posteriori, First and Second Critique, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kantian Ethics & Deontology, Enlightenment, and Perpetual Peace
Written by Professor A. J. Mandt (Wichita State University)https://philpeople.org/profiles/a-j-mandtVoiced by Charlton Heston. Original here:https://archive.org/details/thegiantsofphilosophyRemastered for clarity using thousands of dollars of gear, free for the Internet forever.
#167 - Edward Said's Legacy: Cornel West on His Colleague's Work in the Middle East, the Human Spirit in Poetry, Kendrick Lamar, John Coltrane, the Funk of Life, and the Truth of Radical Solidarity
Come join my Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonOriginal Video (SFU)https://youtu.be/gpkZRyXdmi0SummaryIn a passionate and wide-ranging lecture, Cornel West pays tribute to Edward Said, framing him not just as a brilliant academic but as a "poet" in the broadest sense—a human being of immense courage, imagination, and compassion who wrestled with complex truths. West emphasizes
Recommended
10 Minutes with Jesus
10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher
10 to Life
1128 MINISTRY
11 O'Clock Comics Podcast
1211 Podcast
123 GO! Food
1-2-3 Learn Spanish with Me!
128 Civics Questions for U.S. Citizenship Test
12 Hour Sound Machines for Sleep (no loops or fades)
#12minconvos
12 Minute Meditation
