Why Theory

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...

9 Nov 20251h 15min

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...

26 Okt 20251h 12min

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...

12 Okt 20251h 23min

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...

28 Sep 20251h 41min

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...

15 Sep 20251h 15min

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...

1 Sep 20251h 17min

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...

17 Aug 20251h 13min

In episode 201, Ryan and Todd work their lists of the Top 10 Television Series of the 21st Century. The hosts operated by the following rules: 1. Only completed series. No currently in production seri...

4 Aug 20251h 51min