Best Matt Seybold Podcasts (2025)

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Inside Slow Civil War with Jeff Sharlet 46:28

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6d ago46:28

46:28

A chance to reflect, with journalism professor Jeff Sharlet, on his book, "The Undertow: Scenes From A Slow Civil War," the looming threat of acceleration, the methods and media of lingering, documentary modernism, and monsters within. For a bibliography of this episode, please visit TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com/Lingering…

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Dr. Rachel Horst Talks Entanglement and Literacy in the Age of AI 47:48

1M ago47:48

47:48

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I explore the complex and contested terrain of AI literacy with Dr. Rachel Horst, a digital literacy and arts-based scholar whose framework for understanding entangled literacies offers a refreshing alternative to the polarized discourse surrounding artificial intelligence in education. Drawing from posthum…

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Cruel Futurism 1:29:06

1M ago1:29:06

1:29:06

The finale of "A Tale of Today," the eleventh season of "The American Vandal." Matt Seybold offers his journey of curiosity from the end of "Criticism LTD" to "The Technofeudal Text." Cast (in order of appearance): Matt Seybold, Nathan Wolff Soundtrack: DownRiver Collective Narration: Nathan Osgood & SNR Audio For more about this episode, including…

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"Ideology: Marx & Lukacs" by Fredric Jameson (1977 Institute On Culture & Society)

2M ago

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Remastered audio of Fredric Jameson's second lecture at the 1977 Institute On Culture & Society sponsored by the Marxist Literary Group and hosted by St. Cloud State University. For further context, consider listening to "The Jameson Tapes" episodes which precedes this episode in The American Vandal Podcast feed, as well as the first lecture in the…

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The Jameson Tapes, Side B 1:37:11

2M ago1:37:11

1:37:11

The second episode contextualizing Fredric Jameson's lectures at the 1977 Institute On Culture & Society begins with a discussion of Jameson's controversial efforts to resuscitate György Lukács. From this begins a conversation about moment of high theory into which the Institute was inaugurated and the connection of that moment to the more recent m…

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"Models of Ideological Analysis" by Fredric Jameson (1977 Institute On Culture & Society) 1:35:07

2M ago1:35:07

1:35:07

Remastered audio of Fredric Jamesons opening lecture at the 1977 Institute On Culture & Society sponsored by the Marxist Literary Group and hosted by St. Cloud State University. For further context, consider listening to "The Jameson Tapes, Side A" which precedes this episode in The American Vandal Podcast feed. For a bibliography, please visit or …

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The Jameson Tapes, Side A 1:35:32

2M ago1:35:32

1:35:32

The first of two installments contextualizing Fredric Jameson's lectures at the 1977 Institute On Culture & Society begins with a discussion of "Marxism & Historicism," followed by conversations about historicizing the lectures [8:00], the process of recovering them [33:30], a key passage about commodity as its own ideology [55:00}, and the long ar…

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Spitesgiving in Flyover Country 1:34:06

2M ago1:34:06

1:34:06

Analysis of the Gilded Age tropology of alienation precedes discussions of Hubert Humphrey & Tim Walz [9:00], the reception of "Hillbilly Elegy" and its aftermath [38:00], and "The Mismeasurement of Orcs" [78:00]. Cast (in order of appearance): Matt Seybold, Andie Tucher, Samuel Freedman, Douglas Dowland, Dan Sinykin, J.D. Connor, Robert Tally Soun…

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Literary Sociology a.k.a. The Institutional Turn a.k.a The Spreadsheet School of Literary Criticism 1:43:44

3M ago1:43:44

1:43:44

A so-called Spreadsheet Man responds. Does the institutional turn have a distinctly feminine ethos? [27:30] How is it rooted in the Post45 Collective? [49:00] What are its debts to New Historicism and Marxist Literary Criticism? [69:00] And to Fredric Jameson? [84:30] And what has become of Economic Criticism? [94:00] Cast (in order of appearance):…

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Marcus Luther Talks Leading and Learning in the Digital Teacher's Lounge 54:31

3M ago54:31

54:31

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Marcus Luther, a 13th-year high school English teacher and co-host of The Broken Copier podcast. After spending his first eight years teaching in Arkansas, Marcus recently returned to the Pacific Northwest, bringing with him a wealth of classroom experience and a passion for teacher-centered…

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The Mutational Romances of Silicon Valley Speculation 1:42:06

4M ago1:42:06

1:42:06

Our ideology critique of contemporary tech fascist SciFi begins with the first selections from Fredric Jameson's 1977 seminar at the Institute On Culture & Society, followed by a journalists narration of the tech fascist turn in Silicon Valley [10:00], ideological analysis of Alt-Right speculative fiction [37:00], and technofeudal yearning to conve…

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Vandal Live: Affordances of Enclosure & The Ends of Empires 1:00:34

4M ago1:00:34

1:00:34

Our inaugural installment of "live" podcasting was recorded with a small audience in the library at Quarry Farm. It features Caroline Levine and Jed Esty discussing their recent books, "The Activist Humanist" and "The Future of Decline," as well as responding to the themes of "A Tale of Today" and "Criticism LTD," and discussing the roles of humani…

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Solidarity & Speculation 1:17:31

4M ago1:17:31

1:17:31

The finale of our trilogy centered on Technofeudalism begins with the intersection of political economy with aesthetics and literary forms, followed by a synthesis of financial and fictive definitions of speculation [18:00], what can be done with the technofeudal thesis [27:30], the role of solidarity in the age of insecurity [33:00], the Panic of …

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From Technostructure To Technofeudalism 1:34:35

5M ago1:34:35

1:34:35

An exploration of the political economy of technofeudalism begins by defining the technostructure and introducing its personification, followed by testimony from a skeptic [26:00], competing periodizations of the present [48:00], and media praxis under the rein of the cloudalists [73:00]. Cast (in order of appearance): Matt Seybold, Yanis Varoufaki…

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Dr. Matt Seybold Talks Public Humanities & Podcasting 1:01:42

6M ago1:01:42

1:01:42

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Dr. Matt Seybold, host of the American Vandal podcast and scholar at the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College. Our conversation traverses the changing landscape of literary studies as it moves beyond traditional academic boundaries into digital spaces, revealing both new opportuni…

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Newspapers Worse Than Dead (But Print Is A Rent Strike) 1:28:42

6M ago1:28:42

1:28:42

Episode opens with journalism's "race to the bottom," described by a journalist who lived it, followed by what "The Facebook Files" revealed about social media's relationship to news [8:00], the tactics of parallel journalism [27:00}, the difference between fake news and fake journalism [38:00], the fate worse than death for periodicals, but not bo…

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The Facebook Files & The Gutenberg Parenthesis 1:34:30

6M ago1:34:30

1:34:30

A two-part meditation on the history of journalism and the fate of investigative journalism under tech fascism begins with the model of Ida Tarbell, the epochal Wall Street Journal reporting on Facebook in 2021 [6:00], the professionalization of journalism during the Gilded Age and interbellum periods [38:00], the relationship between Silicon Valle…

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The Gilded Network 1:36:38

6M ago1:36:38

1:36:38

Our 150th anniversary celebration of Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner's "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" turns to political economies of mass media, then and now, beginning with a close reading of the novel's title. We are then introduced to the tech fascist fantasy of the Network State [21:00], theories of post-capitalism [47:00], ways of rea…

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Dr. Remi Kalir Talks Annotation and Re/Marks on Power 1:07:50

6M ago1:07:50

1:07:50

In this thought-provoking episode, I sit down with Dr. Remi Kalir, the Associate Director of Faculty Development and Applied Research with Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education at Duke University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Center for Applied Research and Design in Transformative Education. He has also completely revolut…

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Drs. Jacy Ippolito, Christina Dobbs, & Megin Charner-Laird Talk Disciplinary Literacy 55:36

7M ago55:36

55:36

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I explore the evolving landscape of disciplinary literacy with three distinguished professors and teacher educators: Dr. Jacy Ippolito from Salem State University, Dr. Christina Dobbs from Boston University, and Dr. Megan Charner-Laird from Salem State University. Drawing from their collaborative work on th…

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A Journey of Curiosity 1:36:51

8M ago1:36:51

1:36:51

The second act of "A Tale of Today," focused on HBCUs and the political economy of education in Gilded Ages old and new, concludes with a journey of curiosity through the unschooling movement, a historicist close reading of Ruth Bolton's time at Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania [24:40], analysis of the transition from secondary schools to hi…

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Dr. Annie Abrams Talks Literature, Liberal Arts Education, and the College Board 51:16

8M ago51:16

51:16

In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Dr. Annie Abrams, author of Short Changed: How Advanced Placement Cheats American Students, to explore the complex relationship between policy, pedagogy, and the purpose of English education in America. Our conversation weaves between critiques of AP's corporatization of liberal arts educati…

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The First Curriculum Is Work Without Wages 1:26:52

9M ago1:26:52

1:26:52

Following Jelani Favors's description of how the second curriculum of HBCUs has been compromised since the 1980s, we look back at the origins of Howard University in the Freedman's Bureau [10:00], discuss the labor history of literature instruction [28:00], and mark the college football playoffs by discussing the dehumanization of athletic workers …

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Fake Work, Fucking Models, & The Archive of Empire 2:00:16

9M ago2:00:16

2:00:16

Archives, physical and digital, are suffering from austerity, enshittification, and censorship. In this episode scholars discuss the ambivalent impacts of digitization, what information matters in the data economy [8:30], an analogy involving European colonialism [23:00], the competition to document between corporations and universities [46:00], th…

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Half Castle 'Gainst The Scott Walkers 1:30:18

9M ago1:30:18

1:30:18

"A Tale Of Today" returns with an episode inspired by "The Teaching Archive." Its authors discuss the pedagogical innovations of HBCUs and strategies for teaching literary history, followed by the legacy of New Historicism in the classroom [14:00], the model of the Monks of Lindisfarne [24:00], the historical rivalry between professors and journali…

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The Education Gospel, Enshittify.edu, & The Expansion of Lower Ed 1:34:38

10M ago1:34:38

1:34:38

An episode built around an interview with Tressie McMillan Cottom covers what lessons the rest of Higher Ed can learn from HBCUs [3:00], the vectors of financialization in the New Gilded Age [19:00], the migration of the for-profit model into not-for-profit institutions [60:00], and how Modern Monetary Theory might invigorate the Black University C…

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Philanthrocapitalism U 1:33:37

11M ago1:33:37

1:33:37

A Morehouse college commencement speaker makes an extraordinary financial commitment, but there's a "profound story" to tell about the durable funding of HBCUs in the US since the Gilded Age [12:00]. How does philanthrocapitalism work? [42:00] What is the Double Tax? [48:00] How might EdTech extract "intellectual capital" from HBCUs? [54:00] Can th…

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The Black University Concept & The Second Curriculum 1:50:35

11M ago1:50:35

1:50:35

A brief history of HBCUs through conversations with five scholars about the second curriculum which informs movements for Civil Rights in the midcentury US, segregation scholars and the long withholding of postbaccalaureate education from HBCUs [40:00], the aspirational Black University Concept in W.E.B. DuBois and Vincent Harding [75:00], and the …

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BONUS EPISODE: "First at Farce: Structures of Feeling in The Gilded Age" by Nathan Wolff (2024 Quarry Farm Symposium Keynote) 45:47

11M ago45:47

45:47

As Nathan Wolff himself puts it, his recent keynote address at the 2024 Quarry Farm Fall Symposium is "very much in dialogue with The American Vandal." In this talk, Wolff not only summarizes Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner's "The Gilded Age" (1873), but further interpolates it with concepts like Lauren Berlant's cruel optimism, György Lukács'…

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The Historical Novel 1:43:32

12M ago1:43:32

1:43:32

Organized around a comparison of György Lukács's "The Historical Novel" and Mark Twain & Charles Dudley Warner's "The Gilded Age," in this episode we take a detour from Jameson to Lukács, question what realism means [8:30], whether "The Gilded Age" is a historical novel [19:30], whether historical novels are intrinsically conservative [33:30}, whet…

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Always Historicize? 1:38:54

12M ago1:38:54

1:38:54

From Fredric Jameson on why "the most important goal is history itself" follows a series of conversations about dialectical criticism vs. new historicism [5:00], the wisdom of "always historicizing" [17:30], the anxiety of influence between new historicism and literary fiction [34:00] as well as between literary fiction and history [53:00], hinge p…

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Strategic Presentism & Resistance History 1:26:39

1y ago1:26:39

1:26:39

What's the difference? The episode opens with defenses of presentism by two literary critics and a reception history of "The Gilded Age" [6:30] before turning to a critique of resistance history from within the discipline [12:30], a response from a prominent historian [44:30], a consideration of the standpoint of resistance history [67:30], and why…

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Fredric Jameson R.I.P 1:27

1y ago1:27

1:27

Earlier this Summer, Matt Seybold asked Anna Kornbluh what Fredric Jameson meant to literary criticism. On the occasion of his passing, we'd like to share her answer.

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Cruel Optimism & The Enclosure of the Commons 1:05:45

1y ago1:05:45

1:05:45

A new episode of "A Tale of Today" begins with an explanation of the forest charter and the enclosure of the commons through a revisionist version of a familiar story. The enclosure of the commons is then traced into The Gilded Age [8:00], before two scholars of the novel discuss its affective registers, as well as Mark Twain and Charles Dudley War…

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The Age of Insecurity 1:18:36

1y ago1:18:36

1:18:36

A new season inspired by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner's 150-year-old novel, "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today," launches with an introduction to Colonel Sellers; a discussion of Astra Taylor's "The Age of Insecurity" (2023) [10:00]; questions about the discipline of history in the contemporary moment [28:00]; and Walter Johnson reflecting on…

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Rod Naquin Talks Large Language Models & Dialogic Computing 1:03:47

1y ago1:03:47

1:03:47

For this episode I'm joined by friend of the show Rod Naquin, a Louisiana based education leader and doctoral student whose research and writing explores the intersection between dialogue, learning, and large language models. Drawing on thinkers and theories from his research, Rod invites educators to stop viewing artificial intelligence as a compl…

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Dr. Ashely Rogers Berner Talks Educational Pluralism & Democracy 1:05:09

1+ y ago1:05:09

1:05:09

To say we’re living through a moment of education polarization would be a mild understatement. Considering the digital echo chambers we all find ourselves in, I believe it’s more important than ever to engage with people who may move in different circles and have different perspectives, but share some foundational beliefs about democracy, wisdom, a…

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Dr. Andrea Gambino Talks Critical Media Literacy 1:00:04

1+ y ago1:00:04

1:00:04

One of the best things about attending conferences is the conversations, connections, and collaborations that emerge after the sessions are over. Last year, I was lucky to meet Dr. Andrea Gambino at NCTE 2023 in Columbus. Andrea earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA in 2023 and is an active co-organizer of the annual Critical Media Literacy Confe…

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Dr. J Palmeri Talks Multimodality & New Media Pedagogies 1:11:50

1+ y ago1:11:50

1:11:50

The emergence of ChatGPT has sent shockwaves through many secondary and post-secondary English departments. There’s no shortage of doomsaying and prognosticating about the future of writing instruction, even the discipline itself, in the wake of the large language model revolution. Luckily for us, my guest today is Dr. J Palmeri—Professor of Englis…

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Criticism LTD: Continuing The Dialogue (A Project Narrative Event) 1:26:42

1+ y ago1:26:42

1:26:42

Recorded at The Ohio State University, as part of the Project Narrative series, Matt Seybold reflects on the making of "Criticism LTD" [3:15], as well as ongoing Ponzi austerity, reassessment of close reading, and AI speculative euphoria since its conclusion [14:30]. James Phelan (Director of Project Narrative) argues for narrative theory's contrib…

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Close Reading Feudalism(s) in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with James Phelan (A Project Narrative Crossover Episode) 1:16:01

1+ y ago1:16:01

1:16:01

From the production studios of Ohio State University, American Vandal host, Matt Seybold, and James Phelan, the Director of Project Narrative, read aloud Chapter 18 of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain [3:40], then discuss it [30:00] with emphases on the opportunities the chapter presents for types of close reading. This episode is a c…

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2024 with Anna Kornbluh & J.D. Connor 1:23:21

1+ y ago1:23:21

1:23:21

The finale episode of our miniseries on corporate allegory was recorded the day after the publication of Anna Kornbluh's "Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late Capitalism" by Verso. With numerous allusions to the book, Matt Seybold asks Kornbluh and "City of Industry" blogger J. D. Connor to consider the potential "perfect storm" of media disruption …

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Dr. Sheena Mason Talks Raceless Antiracism & Literary Studies 59:51

1+ y ago59:51

59:51

For anyone who’s been tuned into Conceptually Speaking for a while, you know I love finding new approaches, perspectives, and frames to tackle complex issues. Despite the fact that’s a staple on the show, my guest for this episode, Dr. Sheena Mason, takes things to the next level. Dr. Mason is an author, professor, and creator of the theory of race…

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iLiberalism, The Morning Show, & The Sheeny Blandness of AppleTV+ with Anna Shechtman & Michael Szalay 1:12:02

1+ y ago1:12:02

1:12:02

Our series on corporate allegory continues with an extended discussion of Apple TV+, both its film and television offerings, as well as the relationship between such "content" and the corporation's primary business: selling iPhones and other hardware. Among the specific works discussed are "Severance," "Killers Of The Flower Moon," "Lessons In Chem…

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Close Reading, Conglomerate Authorship, & Qween Danielle Steel with Dan Sinykin & Johanna Winant 1:33:16

1+ y ago1:33:16

1:33:16

In an episode which operates as both coda to "Criticism LTD" and herald of 2024, Matt Seybold is joined by two scholars working on the complex history and sometimes conflicting methods of close reading. They also discuss the reception of Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed The Publishing Industry (Columbia UP, 2023) [31:00] and a bevy of novels…

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Netflix Necrocapitalism & The House of Usher with Jane Hu & Phillip Maciak 1:20:42

2y ago1:20:42

1:20:42

A new season on corporate allegory, business melodrama, and new releases from academic presses kicks off with a discussion of the recent Mike Flanagan adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall Of The House of Usher" for Netflix. For more about this episode, please visit MarkTwainStudies.com/Usher or TheAmericanVandal.Substack.com…

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Shawna Coppola Talks Literacy For All 51:02

2y ago51:02

51:02

Complaining about the theory-practice divide in education feels a bit cliche, but there’s a reason why it’s a constant source of conversation and consternation in classrooms, conferences, and academic journals. As someone with their feet firmly planted in both worlds, I’m always excited to connect with other educators who can bridge that divide—and…

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The Empire of Criticism (Finale) 1:23:39

2y ago1:23:39

1:23:39

"Criticism LTD" concludes its lengthy examination of the unanswerable questions about the state of literary studies with a lengthy consideration of "The Future of Decline" [8:00], the delusion of progress [16:00], the British model of declinist politics [22:00] and literary criticism [29:00], an insider's account of the long tail of "The Chicago Fi…

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The Empire of Criticism (Part Two) 1:24:13

2y ago1:24:13

1:24:13

In the second part of the finale of "Criticism LTD," we hear about the origins of Jacque Derrida's "Limited Inc." from its editor, the fraught alliance between criticism and history [17:00], the Center For The Literary Arts at Washington University in St. Louis [33.00], the transition from creative writer to working critic [62:00], and critical voc…

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The Empire of Criticism (Part One) 1:30:49

2y ago1:30:49

1:30:49

The tripartite finale of "Criticism LTD" begins with a the feud between Matthew Arnold and Mark Twain, followed by "Bed Glee" [14:00], "Outing Criticism" [40:00], and "The Fate of Professional Reading" [59:00] Cast (in order of appearance): Beci Carver, Kim Adams, Ryan Ruby, Ainehi Edoro, Jed Esty, Matt Seybold, Gerald Graff, Harry Stecopoulos Soun…