Public Intellectual

Dianna Souhami has worked for decades as a chronicler of sexual subcultures in early 20th century Europe, and finally, she is allowed to deliver her thesis: without this network of lesbians, the parties they through and the lovers they supported, modernism would not have been possible. She speaks with Jessa about our limited ideas of creativity and genius, why rewriting history is still important, and the lifelong project of lineage.  (This will be the final episode with Jessa Crispin as host.) http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

This week's episode is hosted by Cameron Steele. The flag waving and feminist arguments for more war and scapegoating of service members prompted by America's withdrawal from Afghanistan proves we still have not learned the lessons from 9/11 or our policy of endless war. Roy Scranton (WAR PORN) talks to Cameron about cycles of violence, our imperialist fantasies, and why war is a force that gives us meaning.

Between Love Island, Love is Blind, FBoy Island, Sexy Beasts, Too Hot to Handle etc, we sure do love watching hot straight people be tortured for the possibility of love. Cameron and Jessa discuss why these properties are still considered "guilty pleasures" despite the harm they are doing and why they all seem to be designed by incels.  Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

After a couple thousand years of Christianity, some populations who had been suffering under Yahweh decided to give some other gods and goddesses a try. But did they create systems that were just as equally oppressive to others? You know, on accident? The journalist Ana Valens returns to PI to talk to Jessa about the difficulties in mixing biology and spirituality, religion as protest, and what to do with mystical feelings in a secular culture. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Amanda Knox is back in the news, as a film "inspired by" the story of her being accused of murder is in the theaters. Knox has compared telling stories of other people's lives to "cultural appropriation," and Cameron and Jessa try to untangle that particular mess. Who gets to tell a story? What is the divide between the private and the public self? And how can Henry James help us solve this quandary?  Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com

Both the Euros and Copa America saw the anticipated winners humiliated in their own homes. It was nice, a treat. Former soccer player and activist Nicolás R Melo revisits the highs and lows of the pandemic tournaments, the easy (and politically objectionable) narratives of sports), how England's "It's Coming Home" campaign angered so many outside of England, and why Italy defeating England and Argentina defeating Brazil was the best possible outcome.  Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

People keep holding funerals for the Girlboss, that figure of narcissism and disgrace, but aren't we all girlbosses now? Don't we all have to be to survive in late capitalism? Cameron Steele and Jessa discuss what distinguishes a girlboss, the adoration/cancellation cycle, the extremely revealing Man Repeller interview, and whether it's possible to have a career without being a careerist.  Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and JK Rowling have both been elected to a position where they are allowed and asked to speak for women. So what harm does it do when what they decide to say is anti-trans and harmful? Cameron and Jessa parse through these demands to be accommodated and in control of women's spaces, and they wonder if someone when ring a bell to let us know when we are no longer oppressed and can be kind and generous to others again. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

The recording industry is in a bind, with the big money going to intermediaries like Spotify, with little idea of what makes a star these days, and with a critical culture that no longer knows what it's talking about. Meanwhile, industrial knowledge about how to record music in a room, or even how to play instruments, is lost and ignored in favor of computers and algorithms. Zach and Jessa discuss the real world effects of prioritizing the plastic over the human and why most music sounds flat these days. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

From pearl clutching "think of the children" to terfdom to the reign of momfluencers, we've decided to get sentimental about the nuclear family again. This can be seen as heavily on the left ("social reproduction," my god) as on the right. Cameron Steele, writer and editor and mother, and Jessa, barely any of these, discuss the way we have decided to stop thinking about families and create halos around motherhood. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com