PlasticPills Critical Theory & Philosophy
The Pill Pod is hosted by a group of PhDs offering their irreverent (and unsolicited) takes on critical theory, philosophy, culture, and politics.
Episodes
December 6, 2025 • 95 mins
From Zero to hero: Samantha Fulnecky has been honoured by the Oklahoma government and named "an American hero" for her paper submission to her Psych course in which she claimed it is demonic to believe in more than one gender. Still, the Pill Pod heats up over whether she deserved the grade she received…
More Pill Pod: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Read Samantha's essay and the instructors' comments here:
https://www.oklahoman....
More Pill Pod: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Read Samantha's essay and the instructors' comments here:
https://www.oklahoman....
Mark as Played
November 28, 2025 • 96 mins
It's the bi-yearly event in the ongoing race war between analytic and continental philosophy. Philosophers of all stripes invited themselves to partake in the latest and stupidest skirmish, and so we have undertaken a reading of the match that lit the powder keg: How Continental Philosophers "Argue": On the Unseriousness of the Discipline (https://benthams.substack.com/p/how-continental-philosophers-argue)
Mark as Played
November 14, 2025 • 63 mins
Access exclusive episodes https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
A Signifying Chain (or symbolic chain, or signifying web) is a structuralist concept developed by Jacques Lacan and others ("The Agency of the Letter"; https://amzn.to/4p6wx6l).
Signifying chains structure discourses and we believe, explain the growing rift in conservative politics.
A Signifying Chain (or symbolic chain, or signifying web) is a structuralist concept developed by Jacques Lacan and others ("The Agency of the Letter"; https://amzn.to/4p6wx6l).
Signifying chains structure discourses and we believe, explain the growing rift in conservative politics.
Mark as Played
October 31, 2025 • 73 mins
Have a look at our exclusive content https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
The Pill Pod reads Daniel Kolitz' anthropology of the gooners in Harper's Magazine https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/ and we find it's all connected man
Other sources cited included Lacan Seminar X, Freud Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and Baudrillard Transparency of Evil
The Pill Pod reads Daniel Kolitz' anthropology of the gooners in Harper's Magazine https://harpers.org/archive/2025/11/the-goon-squad-daniel-kolitz-porn-masturbation-loneliness/ and we find it's all connected man
Other sources cited included Lacan Seminar X, Freud Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and Baudrillard Transparency of Evil
Mark as Played
October 30, 2025 • 95 mins
Full Ad-free Lacan series: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
We conclude our Lacan series with what Fink says is the desired end of Lacanian psychoanalysis. And, the ends of psychoanalysis coincide with some valuable insights for Lacan's theorizing beyond psychoanalysis.
Works cited are Fink's Lacanian Subject (ch. 5; https://amzn.to/4qz1Fgx) and A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis (ch. 10; https://amzn.to/4hAIKh5)...
We conclude our Lacan series with what Fink says is the desired end of Lacanian psychoanalysis. And, the ends of psychoanalysis coincide with some valuable insights for Lacan's theorizing beyond psychoanalysis.
Works cited are Fink's Lacanian Subject (ch. 5; https://amzn.to/4qz1Fgx) and A Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis (ch. 10; https://amzn.to/4hAIKh5)...
Mark as Played
October 9, 2025 • 47 mins
Richard Ledes, director of the films Adieu Lacan and V13, explains his process, namely, adapting French plays about psychoanalysis into English-language films. He connects the seduction of nascent fascism in 1913 Vienna to the present moment a century later.
Find V13 on AppleTV, Prime Video
Find Ledes' catalogue at https://www.richardledes.com/
Always more content at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Find V13 on AppleTV, Prime Video
Find Ledes' catalogue at https://www.richardledes.com/
Always more content at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
October 6, 2025 • 72 mins
The Pill Pod looks at the structure of the perverts in Episode 5 of our series on Lacan. Find the other episodes at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Sources:
Jacques Lacan - Seminar X, "The Subversion of the Subject and the Dialectic of Desire in the Freudian Unconscious", Ecrits
Bruce Fink - Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Sources:
Jacques Lacan - Seminar X, "The Subversion of the Subject and the Dialectic of Desire in the Freudian Unconscious", Ecrits
Bruce Fink - Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis
Mark as Played
September 19, 2025 • 78 mins
The Pill Pod looks at the chatbot psychosis phenomenon and compares it to Lacan's clinical structure of psychosis.
This is Episode 4 of our series on Lacan. Find the other episodes Ad-Free at
https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Sources:
Jacques Lacan - Seminar III
Bruce Fink - Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis
"People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies" Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/cult...
This is Episode 4 of our series on Lacan. Find the other episodes Ad-Free at
https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Sources:
Jacques Lacan - Seminar III
Bruce Fink - Clinical Introduction to Lacanian Psychoanalysis
"People Are Losing Loved Ones to AI-Fueled Spiritual Fantasies" Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/cult...
Mark as Played
September 12, 2025 • 67 mins
1Dime joins Erik and Victor to discuss Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism. We cover the popularity of the book, the term, and then wonder whether left-populist electoral campaigns perform the same cathartic function as anti-capitalist TV shows.
See more from 1Dime: https://www.youtube.com/@1Dimee
All our public episodes are ad-free: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
See more from 1Dime: https://www.youtube.com/@1Dimee
All our public episodes are ad-free: https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
August 15, 2025 • 14 mins
We wanted to review some Lacan because everybody's still desiring, and Bruce Fink's Lacanian Subject (1995) is quite often touted as the best unofficial intro, and we can see why.
Get this and all our eps at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
This is the book: https://amzn.to/4oubPxQ
Get this and all our eps at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
This is the book: https://amzn.to/4oubPxQ
Mark as Played
August 11, 2025 • 57 mins
In a recent interview with the New York Times Peter Thiel, one of the world's most powerful men, gave ample evidence that he should be institutionalized before he hurts anyone else.
Link to the full interview https://youtu.be/vV7YgnPUxcU?si=qSLrUmKeEblb4jYS
Find all our episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Link to the full interview https://youtu.be/vV7YgnPUxcU?si=qSLrUmKeEblb4jYS
Find all our episodes ad-free at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
August 1, 2025 • 82 mins
Pill pod discuss the public media representations of Epstein and Gaza before a seamless transition into a discussion of Giorgio Agamben's concepts of 1) Sovereignty 2) Bare Life and 3) States of Exception.
The FULL OMNIBUS edition of homo sacer is here, but the sections are also available separately.
The FULL OMNIBUS edition of homo sacer is here, but the sections are also available separately.
Mark as Played
July 16, 2025 • 80 mins
Pills is away, so 1Dime Tony came present a thesis he's working at. Tony rejoins the pill pod to excavate the terms "woke right" and the semiotics of "woke" more broadly. We don't always agree, but we attempt to deduce which conservative faction is accusing which other of wokeness, although it is sometimes tough going figuring what they mean by the term. Articles:
Mark as Played
June 25, 2025 • 15 mins
According to Derrida, metaphysicians have spent 2000 years conceptually boxing-in metaphor because they don't want to admit their dependence on figurative language. This has allowed them to trick themselves into believing that fiction and non-fiction are fundamentally different; that one can be true and the other cannot. In White Mythology, Derrida discovers the metaphors buried in philosophy from Plato to Hegel, even as they try t...
Mark as Played
June 18, 2025 • 15 mins
We go deeper into Maurice Merleau-Ponty's insights in The Visible and The Invisible, e.g. The Flesh of the World, the Chiasm, and the Intertwining and what these mean for a meditative experience on the daily.
Get the full episode and tons of others at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Get the full episode and tons of others at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
June 16, 2025 • 79 mins
This week we looked into OG critic of fascism Wilhelm Reich, who wrote The Mass Psychology of Fascism right after the Nazis were elected in 1933. Reich was among the first "neomarxists", and believed that Marxists need to understand psychoanalysis to understand Fascism.
Link to text
Find our full episodes on philosophy and theory at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Link to text
Find our full episodes on philosophy and theory at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
June 12, 2025 • 15 mins
We compare Maurice Merleau-Ponty's insights in an unfinished work he wrote before his death to the meditations of Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna 18 centuries prior.
This episode and all the rest can be found at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
This episode and all the rest can be found at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
May 31, 2025 • 72 mins
The New York Times has claimed that three "fascism experts" are fleeing Trump and "going abroad". In truth, these are not (all) fascism experts, and they did not flee, in fact they have been in Canada for almost a year because they got jobs at the University of Toronto. We looked into their research, which is the same tired, lib, horseshoe theory bullshit that Nazism and Communism are the same thing.
Find this and our other episod...
Find this and our other episod...
Mark as Played
May 16, 2025 • 69 mins
We catch you up on Canadian politics by introducing you to our new Prime Minister via his book VALUE(S): Building A Better World For All (https://amzn.to/4dj1oYJ).
Bono called it ‘A radical book that speaks out accessibly' (lol)
Bono called it ‘A radical book that speaks out accessibly' (lol)
Mark as Played
May 8, 2025 • 66 mins
Yea we missed a lot of news, but we wanted to cover the Trump regime's war on higher education. As a group with a lot of university affiliations, we hate universities too, but here we try to diagnose the reasons for the recent clashes.
Get all of the content at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Get all of the content at https://www.patreon.com/plasticpills
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.