The Story of Nowhere

In Part 2 of "Myth, Empire, and Utopia: The Rise and Rule of Britannia," the pseudo-historical Golden Age Myth which was used to justify the creation of an expansive British Empire is looked at in detail. This study displays the importance of manufactured "court" history and Utopian rhetoric in modern imperial statecraft. For comprehensive Show Notes, please visit https://storyofnowhere.com/britan...

This episode begins a series of shows on the origins of history's largest empire, that of Great Britain. The historical, ideological, and mythical context in which the Empire was formed is discussed in detail in this episode, setting the stage for the next episode, in which there will be a thorough dissection of the bizarre and generally-unknown Utopian legend which was offered as a legal justific...

In this episode, I reflect on my time at the annual Midwest Peace & Liberty Fest, and the value I derived from it. Please visit https://storyofnowhere.com/peaceandliberty/ , and check out the official Midwest Peace & Liberty Fest website at https://mplfest.org/ !

British history has been brought to the big screen time and time again. In this episode, we look at a selection of films which summarize the approximate period of time between the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the birth of the British Empire near the end of the 16th century.  For a list of the movies discussed, please see the Show Notes at https://storyofnowhere.com/bigscreenbritons/ .

In this continuation of "The Realm of Isocrates," Kevin Cole and I explore the ripple effect Isocrates's educational philosophy had on subsequent history, through the lens of an article critiquing the mainstream view of the development of educational theory. Most scholars concerned with the history of educational theory have over-looked the influence of Isocrates, instead tending to credit Plato a...

This supplemental continuation of Episode 10 of The Story of Nowhere Podcast is a recording of a Great Books Club meeting hosted by Daniel and Alice, featuring Mike from Mexico and Ludger from Germany. The group discusses the attributes of Socrates's simple society juxtaposed to his grand metropolitan Utopia. In the course of this conversation, we touch on the natures of justice, community, war, a...

Everybody knows about the authoritarian city-state described in Plato's masterwork, "The Republic." What may not be so widely known is the fact that, before he outlined this metropolis, the philosopher set down his personal ideal for a city... and it was hardly anything like the more famous Utopia to follow. He describes a society stripped down to its essentials; a society free from war and politi...

Isocrates is one of the forgotten figures in Western Philosophy. Though he has been overshadowed by the likes of Plato and Aristotle, his use of the written word forever altered political realities in the ancient world, and influenced what would become the Liberal Arts Education System. In his work, he also advocated for Hellenic unity which foreshadowed the rhetorical creation of "Europe" as an a...

The Story of Nowhere Podcast is all about the varying forms and permutations of Utopianism, and how and why Utopias don't work. But what can be done when such a system actually does collapse? What can you do if you find yourself in such a scenario? In this episode, Stefan Verstappen goes over some strategies to survive and thrive when society finally goes the day of the Dodo. He also touches on wh...

"Propaganda," the 1928 book by Edward L. Bernays, is, in many respects, a manual on how the modern world really works. Bernays describes how, through continuous psychological projects, the masses are manipulated to fall in line and, in his words, "regiment" themselves to the benefit of (again, in his words) an "invisible government." He argues that this regimentation of the common mind facilitates...

This episode offers some reflections on the now-finished "Brief  History of Critical Thinking" Series, including a short but eclectic  list of critical thinking skills pulled from the past which can be  applied everyday. Then a rant ensues, regarding something called  "conceptual vernacular." Don't miss it! For comprehensive Show Notes, please visit http://storyofnowhere.com/lo...

This episode features an in-depth presentation on the co-optation of the classical American ideal of independent education and critical thinking, by those who wished to push a universal, neo-Medieval system in order to artificially create homogeneous federal and global polities. This presentation which acts as the grand finale of the "Brief History of Critical Thinking" series is delivered by fore...

Was the American Revolution a Utopian project? Or was it, in fact, the least Utopian political movement of all? The early Republic certainly afforded its citizens a great deal of political freedom, though it simultaneously suppressed the political freedoms of its non-citizen residents. Also, despite the theoretical constraints its Constitution put on governmental growth, the United States has grow...

Though it is typically associated with its spectacular art, the Renaissance which followed the Middle Ages also gave rise to a new philosophy. Many at the time thought that underlying all of the world's religious traditions was a thread of universal - "divine" - truth. Perhaps more importantly, there arose an idea that the physical world was bound together by some sort of rational "force" - a forc...

The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, fundamentally  changed how people think about society. Some even thought that society  itself could be remade into something based not on fealty to God and the  king, but on the virtues of liberty, reason, and property. In this  episode, the philosophy of the Enlightenment is discussed, in  preparation for a deeper look a...

Though the Middle Ages are often characterized as "Dark Ages," there was actually quite a bit of very serious critical thinking going on at the time. In this third instalment of the "Brief History of Critical Thinking" series, we will examine some of the important developments in human reason that occurred in the Medieval Millennium, and find that - arguably - the seeds of the Scientific Revolutio...

In the early 1600's, two very different images of Utopia were designed for the newly-discovered Americas. In this show, these two ideals - one religious and one scientific - are explored, as is the very mysterious (and perhaps misunderstood?) Bavarian Illuminati of the late 18th century. For Brett's work, visit https://schoolsucksproject.com For Daniel's work, visit https://storyofnowhere.com Orig...

This is the first episode in the series, "A Brief History of Critical Thinking," a survey of how logic and reason have developed over the span of a few millennia. In this episode, we look at the primeval origins of critical thinking, and see how rationality was venerated in early civilizations. For comprehensive Show Notes, please visit https://storyofnowhere.com/historyofthinking1

The complete "The Story of Nowhere" book, read by the author. https://storyofnowhere.com/audiobook/