The Interesting Times podcast

We are staring into an abyss, but we need not be sucked in. The vast majority (close to 80%) of Americans want NO part in a war with Iran. However, it is critical to mobilize to stop this reckless creep towards involvement by the Trump administration. After recording this, I saw the White House issued a statement declaring that they have no intention of entering the conflict directly. Right, just...

Back again with some thoughts and analysis as the conflict escalates and spirals. Recorded 9:00 am Sunday morning Japan time/8:00 pm Saturday east coast time US. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

Some thoughts and (hopefully) useful insights into this dark turn in global politics. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

It is our great pleasure to welcome back the one and only Dr. Ira Allen . He is Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies at Northern Arizona University as well as author of the recent book Panic Now?: Tools for Humanizing . As always, Ira adds so much to not only our understanding of ‘what’s going on,’ but more importantly provides a set of frames for (re)considering how...

My breakdown of the latest twists and turns in our post liberation tribulation day world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

It is our great pleasure to welcome Dr. Ann Pellegrini and Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou back to The Interesting Times podcast. As with our previous conversation , they offer a trove of important insights into the politics related to the trans community in the US. They are accomplished scholars, practitioners, and activists in this space and we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from...

Excited to bring you this fascinating discussion with my old friend Brandon Stahl who has spent years conducting business with Chinese manufacturers and has a trove of direct insights into how the tariffs are impacting global supply chains. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

Another installment on Liberation Tribulation Day and its many discontents wherein we ponder that indeed you cannot buy or sell stuff you that is not there and why Scott Bessent is terrible for multiple reasons. Also a May Day reflection on notions of ‘labor’ and ‘consumers.’ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit t...

Wherein I try to explain why my standing thesis that in many ways the White House’s historically botched trade gambit makes Trump’s actual CAVE far less significant than it may appear. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

It our great pleasure to welcome Dr. Marlene Daut , professor of French and African American Studies at Yale University. The focus of our discussion is her recent book, The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe . This book takes us on a fascinating journey into the life and times of the Haitian revolutionary who would go on to become its only king. We also delve into...

I think it is clear that the Trump team has lost control of the narrative. Not in any superficial horserace sense, but in the deep psychological sense of how actors in various key positions are framing and processing these still very fluid events. Thanks as always for listening. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...

Well, well, well. I am back and this time I do think with some important framings missing in the coverage. I think the reporting on this, especially by left of center media is way off, Trump most certainly did not CAVE. In important ways (while staving off the immediate looming financial meltdown driven by the bond sell off), he has escalated the situation immensely. I try to explain why I see it...

Another installment in my doom casting series. Heavy stuff, but things we need to consider. I know a lot of folks must me scared and confused, trust me, I am too. Sending this out with nothing but love and compassion to those facing the consequences for these squabbles among the rich and powerful. Sadly, same as it ever was. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other su...

Okay, back with one more tranche of analysis and hopefully some useful ways to think about and process a crisis whose scope I think we have yet to fully appreciate. Thanks as always for listening and supporting the show. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com

Warning: I get a bit saucy here and keep things loose so probably not good for listening around the young ones. Just some swearing, not that saucy! Well here is our first ‘emergency pod’ and my did we wait for a dozy to roll this out. Lots to talk about. Sadly it is just me, but I try to put forward some perspectives that hopefully offer new ways to think about what happened, the ‘rationale’ behin...

This episode is important—not for anything I have to say, but because of our guest, Prof. Roger Burrows . He brings a depth of knowledge and insight into the key strains of political ideology shaping this moment. Prof. Burrows has been thinking about, and writing on, neo-reactionary (NRx) thought for years, long before it captured ‘mainstream’ attention since Trump’s reelection. This is an outlook...

It is with immense pleasure that we welcome Dr. Stephen J. Farnworth to the show. Dr. Farnsworth was a professor of mine at the University of Mary Washington back in the latter half of the 1990s. More importantly, he is one of America’s foremost experts on the media and the presidency. Given his extensive background in these areas I can think of few better people to have on to discuss the election...

I know many people are fretting about the coming election. I understand as the implications of it going one way or the other are massive. However, I don’t have anything of value to add to the daily deluge of polls and takes. So what I wanted to do is release an audio version of an essay I posted here a few years back entitled, ‘ A Run on the Bank of Mass Democracy: modern 'participatory' governanc...

Excited to share our latest episode featuring a discussion with my colleague at Akita International University, Dr. Kyle Shuttleworth . We use his excellent book, The History and Ethics of Authenticity: Meaning, Freedom, and Modernity to center our discussion of the crucial, yet vexing, concept of authenticity. As becomes clear in the discussion, authenticity is simultaneously a dense philosophica...

We like to travel and so do others, but significant problems emerge when we all decide we want to visit the same places. Stories on overtourism and the stresses it places on these desirable locales have been a constant in the summer news. We are joined by my friend and travel writer extraordinaire, Chris Tharp, to dig into this issue as well as discuss his list of 5 do’s and don’ts for the intrepi...

For me, and I would guess for many others, the UK is a country we know well, but don’t really know, well. Thankfully, we are joined by Nick Bibby who brings of trove of experience in UK politics, society, and history to help give us a clearer picture of what is happening, not only in contemporary affairs, but the bigger social and historical forces that are shaping them. I am going to spare you th...

Very excited to release my conversation with a pioneer of the educational Tik Tok, or ‘edutok’ space, Mr. Patrick Jones aka Mr. Jones X. He has over 250,000 followers and his videos have garnered roughly 3.5 billion views. So much to learn from what Mr. Jones has to say on a range of topics, including how he grew his enormous following. Please be sure to check out his insightful videos and discuss...

We are excited to release our latest episode featuring a discussion with Dr. Donna J. Nicol of California State University Long Beach. We discuss her insightful new book entitled Black Woman on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action . Suffice it to say this was an exceptionally interesting conversation built around Dr. Nicol’s exploration...

So happy to welcome back Prof. Ira Allen (Northern Arizona University) to discuss his soon-to-be-released book (July 28), Panic Now? Tools for Humanizing ( Univ. of Tennessee Press). In short, Prof. Allen challenges us to consider what steps we must begin to put in motion now—i.e., to think boldly, but cooly, about what ‘world’ will replace the one driven by what he dubs CaCaCo (Carbon, Capitalism...

After a respite, the Interesting Times podcast is back with an illuminating conversation with Dr. Ann Pellegrini and Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou . They join us to discuss their fascinating and genuinely important new book entitled, Gender Without Identity . There is so much to say about this book, but I will leave it to the insightful observations shared by the authors in the conversation. However, I wi...