Best Untimely Reflections Podcasts (2025)

1
124: Pierre Klossowski's Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle, pt 3 - The Most Beautiful Inventions of the Sick 1:15:47

Play Pause

2d ago1:15:47

1:15:47

Our series on Pierre Klossowski concludes with a look at some of the later chapters concerning Nietzsche's state of mind leading up to his breakdown in Turin, what Nietzsche's juvenalia reveals about him, and what insights we can glean from his family history. Above all, in this episode, I wanted to reverse our focus, and instead of understanding N…

1
Episode 102: Facing the Untimely Death of your Mom (Encore Episode with Cathy Brown) 42:21

3d ago42:21

42:21

On this encore episode with my dear friend of 36 years, Cathy Brown, you’ll get a glimpse into the difficulty of losing your mom too soon. Shortly after graduating from college, Cathy was at work waitressing when she got the awful news that her mom had died while traveling home from Paris. Cathy was my very first guest on the podcast and I’ve point…

1
123: Rust Cohle & The Flat Circle - Philosophy of True Detective 1:36:11

9d ago1:36:11

1:36:11

"Time is a flat circle." This famous quote from the series immediately calls to mind Nietzsche's Eternal Return, but it's an unusual connection to say the least, because it isn't clear that we have a "Nietzschean" plot in True Detective, nor are any of the characters of the show Nietzschean. So, what then is the philosophical content of the show? I…

1
Confucius: On Name & Actuality 31:04

12d ago31:04

31:04

The Rectification of Names is a Confucian reinterpretation of the function of language. Confucius is usually portrayed as a stuffy moralist, but there is an intriguing notion implicit in his use of language that borders on the postmodern. Confucius does not merely give definitions of things, but seizes for the philosopher the power to redefine name…

1
122: Pierre Klossowski's Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle, pt 2 - The Conspiracy of the Vicious Circle 1:58:27

16d ago1:58:27

1:58:27

Under the sign of the Vicious Circle, Nietzsche attempts to inaugurate a conspiracy. But how can this view of the Eternal Return - as part of his project of the revaluation - square with the "high tonality of the soul" in which it was first revealed? Pierre Klossowski argues, convincingly, that the Eternal Return makes all meaning and goal into an …

1
121: Pierre Klossowski's Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle, pt 1: The Semiotic of Impulses 1:32:00

23d ago1:32:00

1:32:00

Welcome to season 6! Part I of III. In this first episode, we'll lay the groundwork for Klossowski's critical reading of Nietzsche, beginning with the material from the first two chapters. Klossowski applies Nietzsche's own methodology to Nietzsche's works, and reads his philosophy as a sign-language of impulses. The valetudinary states that domina…

1
Q&A #13 2:12:00

1M ago2:12:00

2:12:00

1
Episode 101: Friendship in Grief (Encore Episode with New Intro) 51:17

1M ago51:17

51:17

On this encore episode, you’ll hear a conversation that I recorded with my friend Leanne Ballinger almost 7 years ago! Listening to us share, still early in our grief, I can hear the tears remaining right at the surface for both of us throughout our conversation. Its a little hard for me to go back to where we were then, but at the same time, I’m j…

1
The Gay Science #20 (IV.328-342) 2:25:34

1M ago2:25:34

2:25:34

The conclusion of the main books of The Gay Science! We'll cover some of the best aphorisms so far: the greatest weight, the dying Socrates, long live physics, and many more. Thus begins Zarathustra's down-going. Episode art: Nicholas Roerich - Zarathustra (1931)

1
Episode 100: Can Laughter Return in Grief? (Encore Episode with New Intro) 40:29

2M ago40:29

40:29

I believed from the start of our grief journey that our faith would allow us to fight for joy in the midst of our sorrow. But happiness? Laughter? It sure didn't seem possible, or even appropriate, for a long time. But today we share a little bit about how laughter HAS returned, even though our grief continues. And, because of all of the tears and …

1
The Gay Science #19 (IV.311-327) 2:14:36

2M ago2:14:36

2:14:36

More aphorisms concerning drives, the way that impulses appropriate thought for their own ends, "moral pluralism", means of finding happiness, pleasure and pain as means rather than ends, and experimentation as method. Episode art: The Two Crowns (1900) by Frank Dicksee

1
Episode 99: Season 8 Kick Off and Update 10:28

2M ago10:28

10:28

I'm so excited to be back for Season 8! Listen in for a quick update and what you can expect to hear on the podcast this fall. Have you tried Better Help yet? Don't forget that as a Fighting for Joy listener you can receive 10% off of your first month of counseling. Check out my Fighting for Joy link at betterhelp.com/fightingforjoy. Counseling can…

1
The Gay Science #18 (IV.299-310) 2:11:09

2M ago2:11:09

2:11:09

Continuing with our readthrough of The Gay Science, book number IV.

1
The Gay Science #17 (IV.289-298) 2:08:35

2M ago2:08:35

2:08:35

Embark, philosophers! Nietzsche hopes for the discovery of many new suns - many new suns - by the philosophical explorers of future ages. For what is needful is that man may learn to be satisfied with himself. Episode art: Fresh Breeze of Sandy Hook, 1860 by William Bradford

1
Untimely Reflections #37: PF Jung - Enlightened Centrism 1:27:35

2M ago1:27:35

1:27:35

PF Jung's channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PFJung If politics is in some sense determined by our psychological temperament, then from an evolutionary standpoint, perhaps there is social value to both the left and right wing perspectives. And yet, centrism remains a dirty word in online discourse, connoting a type of establishment position that fav…

1
The Gay Science #16 (IV.276-288) 1:56:16

3M ago1:56:16

1:56:16

Continuing with The Gay Science, and beginning with book IV, "Sanctus Januarius". Here, we encounter some of the most famous aphorisms: For the New Year, Preparatory Men ("Live Dangerously!") and Excelsior. Exciting times! Episode art: View of Genoa under the Snow - Eugenio Olivari (1882-1917)

1
120: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 2 - Burckhardt, Nietzsche & History 1:44:55

3M ago1:44:55

1:44:55

The conclusion of our two-parter on Erich Heller, and the conclusion to season five! We discuss Nietzsche's friendship with Jacob Burckhardt, and how Burckhardt's view of history can inform our understanding of Nietzsche's divergence from him. We also consider Goethe's four ages of intellectual culture, and Nietzsche's echo of Goethe in his history…

1
119: Erich Heller, The Disinherited Mind, pt 1 - Goethe, Schiller & The Symbol 1:39:04

3M ago1:39:04

1:39:04

Something happened to the human mind around the birth of modernity: the divorce of reality and the symbol. Once unified in eucharist, the symbolic and the real are now separate spheres of the human mind, and while it initially seemed that art and science might benefit by this separation, in the long run, both have ended up poorer thereby. In this e…

1
Q&A #12 2:24:59

3M ago2:24:59

2:24:59

Additional episode will release tomorrow. Erich Heller two-parter starts next week for the season finale!

1
118: Max Horkheimer & Theodore Adorno - Dialectic of Enlightenment, Part 2 1:47:08

4M ago1:47:08

1:47:08

An exploration of the chapter on Homer's Odyssey and on De Sade's Juliette. How enlightenment and the rationality of domination is contained in the Odyssey, and how the self-undoing of enlightenment morality is contained in Juliette.

1
117: Max Horkheimer & Theodore Adorno - Dialectic of Enlightenment, Part 1 2:03:31

4M ago2:03:31

2:03:31

Foundations of Critical Theory, and an exploration of the chapters, "The Concept of Enlightenment", "The Culture Industry". We analyze how myth and enlightenment both contain one another, and why enlightenment negates itself. We explore what this means in concrete terms by examining the culture industry and how the apparent democratization of cultu…

1
Special Episode: Nietzsche Podcast Reading Guide 16:42

4M ago16:42

16:42

Don't worry, we're still doing Dialectic of Enlightenment next week, but my tour schedule and personal demands on my time (I'm moving) prevented me from finishing a full episode before departing for another week. Thankfully, I had this reading guide finished and decided to release it now. Back next week with a full length episode. Cheers!…

1
116: Nietzsche’s Inaugural Address - Homer & Classical Philology 1:33:47

4M ago1:33:47

1:33:47

Nietzsche's inaugural lecture at Basel, given in 1869, provides an insight into the young Nietzsche's mind. Surprisingly, even here we find the groundwork laid for his later philosophical project. Nietzsche takes on the issue, rather esoteric and focused on the internal debates of classical philology, of whether or not Homer really existed, and wha…

1
Untimely Reflections #36: Tony of 1Dime - The Neoliberal Zeitgeist 2:01:07

5M ago2:01:07

2:01:07

I met up with Tony of 1Dime to discuss the neoliberal moment in American culture. We discuss what neoliberalism means, why there is a general discontent with it, the advantages of neoliberalism, and the potential of a vision for a future beyond neoliberalism as it inevitably comes to an end. We also psychologically analyze the left and the right fr…

1
Episode 98: Fighting for Joy 12 Years into Grief - Some Personal Reflections 1:07:01

5M ago1:07:01

1:07:01

A couple of weeks ago we hit the 12 year mark in our grief. 12 years without Jackson. Without Tyler and Trey. 12 years since we got “the phone call” and so many lives were forever changed. 12 years on this painful journey. And, it still hurts. It’s still hard. Sometimes I think, “of course our hearts still hurt”, and other times I’m completely surp…

1
115: Martin Heidegger, pt 3 - Will to Power as Knowledge & Metaphysics 1:51:45

5M ago1:51:45

1:51:45

Finally, we reach the conclusion of our exploration of Heidegger's lectures on Nietzsche. This time we consider another lecture on will to power, from Volume II of Heidegger's collected lectures on Nietzsche, in which will to power is considered instead as a framework for knowledge, and the principle of a new valuation.…

1
114: Martin Heidegger, pt 2 - The Will to Power as Art 1:34:34

5M ago1:34:34

1:34:34

Continuing with Heidegger, we consider his first lecture on Nietzsche, "The Will to Power as Art", in which Heidegger gives an unorthodox but very enlightening reading of will to power, then hinges the second half of his argument on a passage where Nietzsche describes art as will to power's most perspicuous manifestation.…

1
113: Martin Heidegger, part 1 - On Nietzsche & Dasein 1:58:15

5M ago1:58:15

1:58:15

In this episode, we begin a three-part series on Martin Heidegger and his reading of Nietzsche. The episode begins with a discussion of the background of Heidegger's life and ideas, as well as a brief tour of the content of Being & Time in which we look at Dasein, temporality, care, being-towards-death among other core concepts. In the latter half …

1
Untimely Reflections #35: Uberboyo - Politics as Neuro-Physiology 1:53:13

5M ago1:53:13

1:53:13

An Irishman named Stef visited Austin recently. We met for a discussion about the revaluation of values, strange brain experiments with magnets, Gnosticism and its relation to the politics of castration, the brain's threat detection matrix as creating the "hard times strong men" cycle, the possibility of neuro-physiological centrism, and how this a…

1
Episode 97: You Were Never Meant To Do It All: The Goodness of Being Human 1:03:21

6M ago1:03:21

1:03:21

Are you living under the constant pressure of feeling like you should be doing MORE? Or feeling like you should BE more? That you’re always letting people down. Or letting GOD down. If guilt and overwhelm have become a big part of your life, I’m glad you found this episode! As my guest today writes in his new book, You Were Never Meant to Do It All…

1
Response to Philosophy Tube 1:08:52

6M ago1:08:52

1:08:52

This episode is an upload to Spotify of my response to Abigail Thorn's "Was Nietzsche Woke?" video. This video was previously uploaded to Youtube. Watch me spend more time than the entire length of Abigail Thorn's video explaining why it is a superficial hit piece based on strained, bizarre arguments and outright false information. There are many "…

1
Wandering Above a Sea of Fog #4 48:50

6M ago48:50

48:50

I talk about philosophy & music, my history as a musician, my new album, and give some updates about the future direction of the podcast. Stream the album today: https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2025/05/slumbering-sun-on-starmony-an-interview-with-dooms-crazy-romantics.html Album comes out tomorrow, buy it here: https://slumberingsun.bandcamp.com…

1
The Gay Science #15 (III.176-III.275) 3:23:32

6M ago3:23:32

3:23:32

The lightning round! The final episode of The Gay Science book III. The 100 sections we cover in this episode are all rapid-fire, short aphorisms on morality, human nature, the social life, virtue, vice, really the whole panoply of human experience!

1
Episode 96: Re-release: The "Both/And" of Mother's Day - Five Practical Ways to Approach the Day 33:32

6M ago33:32

33:32

I thought it would be helpful to re-release this episode with Mother's Day weekend approaching. For many women, this is a complicated holiday that can hold a wide range of emotions. Celebration AND tears. Joy AND sadness. It's now been almost 12 years without Jackson and 5 years without my mom - continued grief. AND, since this episode originally a…

1
The Gay Science #14 (III.148-III.175) 2:05:29

6M ago2:05:29

2:05:29

Renaissance & Reformation, the critique of saintly virtue, the color we have thrown onto life and how it differs from that of the ancient world, and Nietzsche's attempt to "untangle the knot" of his moralization of the world by returning to the style of the moral maxim. Rapid fire epigrams finish out book III, we cover a large swatch of them in thi…

1
The Gay Science #13 (III.132 - III.147) 1:47:27

7M ago1:47:27

1:47:27

Discussion of the origins of Christianity as the apotheosis of sin, the Christian attack on the passions versus the Greek deification of the passions, as well as scattered remarks about German pessimism, and diet as the cause of one's metaphysics.

1
The Gay Science #12 (III.125-III.131) 1:53:58

7M ago1:53:58

1:53:58

Extended discussion of The Madman passage (#125), including analysis of the metaphysical and moral implications, the surrounding context, and other interpreters - Girard, Freud, Jung, Heidegger, and Deleuze; then, discussion of half a dozen more aphorisms that follow.

1
Untimely Reflections #34: Gnostic Informant 1:50:48

7M ago1:50:48

1:50:48

Gnostic Informant on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ We discussed the following topics: why the Torah is probably younger than commonly believed; the influence of Hellenism on Judaism as well as the New Testament; the Carpocratians (syncretists of Greek philosophy & Christian religion); the link between Platonism & Christianity; Nietzsche's argum…

1
The Gay Science #11 (III.114-III.124) 1:47:24

7M ago1:47:24

1:47:24

The text proceeds from epistemology to morality. Nietzsche suggests that value judgments are at the foundation of perception. Exploration of herd instinct & herd conscience. Suggestion that the moral skepticism of Christianity was turned against Christianity. Preparation for the Madman passage.

1
Episode 95: Fighting for Joy Without Your Mother 47:16

7M ago47:16

47:16

Today I’m privileged to bring you a tender story of grief from a local friend of mine, Mary Glowacki. Mary was only 15 years old when her mother died. There are not too many things for young girl to face worse than losing her mom and having to grow up without a mother’s distinctive instruction and special care. When you face a future without such a…

1
The Gay Science #10 (III.108-III.113) 1:31:05

8M ago1:31:05

1:31:05

Continuing with The Gay Science readthrough, and begin with book III. This book begins with the first passage to contain the saying, "God is dead", and Nietzsche then uses the metaphor of "the shadow of God" to refer to the falsification of our understanding of reality as a result of thousands of years of metaphysical error. These errors may in fac…

1
Reaction to Jordan Peterson on Lex Fridman 1:10:14

8M ago1:10:14

1:10:14

This is a special episode before we get into The Gay Science walkthrough analysis, and it is something of an experiment. I know the video is not perfect, I would have formatted it a bit differently, plus the my audio is quieter than I wanted it to be. But, I may do more videos like this in the future and plan to up my game. In any case, I think the…

1
112: Leo Tolstoy - "What is Art?" 1:33:44

8M ago1:33:44

1:33:44

I released a song today! Go check it out on Invisible Oranges: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/slumbering-sun-together-forever/ The new single is also live anywhere that you stream music, including spotify, apple, etc. You can also visit our bandcamp to pre-order the album or purchase the single now: https://slumberingsun.bandcamp.com/album/starmo…

1
111: Protagoras, The Sophists & The Art of Rhetoric 1:14:11

8M ago1:14:11

1:14:11

In this episode, we consider some of the philosophically insightful sections of Nietzsche's lectures on rhetoric & the Sophists. In particular, we examine the figure of Protagoras, of whom we have little information, but who is credited with establishing the Sophists as a philosophical school focused on rhetoric. The latter half of the episode conc…

1
Episode 94: Fighting for Joy Through Grandparent Loss 1:15:24

8M ago1:15:24

1:15:24

Well, guess who I have back on the podcast with me today? My favorite guest and yours, my husband Eric! Today we have a conversation about the grief that is experienced when you lose a grandparent. It’s a topic that I haven’t covered in depth on the podcast yet, but for many people a grandparent dying is their first experience with grief. One of th…

1
Nietzsche's Five Nos 26:27

8M ago26:27

26:27

Short form episode; audio version of a Youtube release. Additional content coming on Thursday! Creating a listicle of Nietzsche's ideas is always problematic, but thankfully Nietzsche occasionally provides us with one. In his notes, collected in Will to Power, Nietzsche records his "Five Nos": five ideas that he roundly rejects, and positions his p…

1
Untimely Reflections #33: Craig (Acid Horizon) - Deleuze's Anti-Oedipus & Lynch's Eraserhead 1:32:41

9M ago1:32:41

1:32:41

A rhizomatic discussion. Craig tells us his history with philosophy, and his journey through the work of Jung, Hillman, Deleuze and others. We then discuss Anti-Oedipus and some of the core concepts, such as the Deleuzian reinterpretation of desire and the unconscious, and the body without organs. Then, as a tribute to the late, great David Lynch, …

1
110: Nietzsche Contra Peterson - Yes, We Can Create Values 1:16:32

9M ago1:16:32

1:16:32

This episode is a polemic. While I have addressed Jordan Peterson's misunderstandings of the "God is dead" aphorism, or his bungling of Nietzsche's view of truth, here we address one of his most often repeated distortions of Nietzsche's philosophy. According to Jordan, Nietzsche said we can create our own values, but, in fact, this is impossible. I…

1
Episode 93: Fighting for Joy Through Sibling Loss 1:03:16

9M ago1:03:16

1:03:16

The topic of sibling grief is near and dear to my heart. Not only did I grow up in a home affected by the death of my sister, I've also watched my own children bravely grieve the loss of their big brother. It feels like we don't hear much about this unique kind of grief so I'm grateful for my guest today, Jena Sietz, and her willingness to share ab…

1
109: Carl Jung - Psychology & Alchemy, part 2 1:44:07

9M ago1:44:07

1:44:07

Today we continue with Psychology & Alchemy. This week, we'll spend the beginning of the episode considering the parallel between the lapis philosophorum and Christ, and the unusual claim of the alchemists that man can redeem God. The rest of the episode concerns Carl Jung's extended dream analysis of a single patient, which he found to be laden wi…