Podcast
Literally Everything
Hosted by Max Staley and Ethan Pack · EN
Politics and Culture — History and Literature — With Max and Ethan
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 14: Idol Talk pt. 2
Jun 17, 202101:58:37Tap to summarizeWe complete our discussion of iconoclasm, monuments, and statues. How do symbolic and material inequalities interact in the public sphere? What is the relationship between statues of racist Americans and structural racism in America today? Ethan schools Max on structuralism in order to make it all make sense. This wraps up a yearlong journey for this particular topic — we are excited for you to hear this conversation, which has overcome many technical obstacles to reach your ears!Send us your thoughts at literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com
Transcribe →Episode 13: May Contain Putsch-Like Substance
Jan 13, 202101:17:45Tap to summarizeEthan and Max literally make a podcast about people literally storming the US Capitol Building instead of going to therapy.The triumphant return of Literally Everything is overshadowed by troubling events in Washington D.C. Continuing a debate we have had in private over the past four interminable years, we discuss how the "events" of January 6th put the alarming dynamics of the Trump movement in sharp relief. But what should we call these events, and how alarmed should we be? What is at stake, indeed, in debating terminology? "Coup," "Putsch," "White Supremacist Terror," and yes, even the F-word (you know which one we mean) make appearances. Listen up, and send us your thoughts at literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com.IG: @literally_everything_podcastTwitter: @lit_every_pod
Transcribe →Episode 12: Idol Talk pt. 1
Sep 3, 202001:03:17Tap to summarizeLiterally Everything is back with a two-part discussion of iconoclasm: the destruction of statues. The topic is in the news today, with monuments around the country and indeed the globe coming down, either toppled by protestors or removed quietly by local governments. But this phenomenon has deep roots in our history, which is what we discuss in part 1. We look at Jewish and Christian attitudes towards icons, the relationship between images and texts, and try to excavate the mysterious significance that public monuments hold, both for iconoclastic revolutionaries and the defenders of "preserving history."Music by George Floyd
Transcribe →Episode 11: Epistemological Contagion
May 17, 202001:44:02Tap to summarizeEthan and Max discuss the CoVid-19 crisis "as an epistemological event." Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that deals with knowledge — what do we know to be true? What criteria do we use to decide what is a fact? How do we organize our knowledge? We all have intuitive answers to these questions, but they have been put under tremendous pressure by the amount of often conflicting yet critically important information we are receiving about the pandemic. Our conversation touches on everything from telephoto lenses, to data visualization, Westworld, and the question of free will. And, of course, the Scientific Revolution. Send any comments to literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com.
Transcribe →Episode 10: Eschatological Fixation
Apr 8, 202001:17:41Tap to summarizeMax and Ethan discuss the history of apocalyptic thought, from its roots in post-exilic Hebrew literature, to its central place in early Christian thought, and finally its secularized modern form. To what extent is our understanding of contemporary crises shaped by religious ideas from thousands of years ago. We use climate change as an example, because we recorded this in February! Not a single mention of COVID 19 in the entire episode. Oops! Send any feedback to literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com
Transcribe →Episode 9: Our Favorite Topic
Feb 7, 202001:43:32Tap to summarizeIt's a supersized episode this week! First, Max and Ethan debrief after watching their hometown teams go head-to-head in the Big Game, the Literally Everything Bowl. Ethan's Chiefs won, but it's okay because Max is already over it — so over it, in fact, that he doesn't even bring up how problematic the Tomahawk Chop is. Then, we have a long conversation about antisemitism: is there any way to synthesize everything from right-wing message boards, to street-level altercations in Brooklyn, to criticism of Israel? Maybe! Is the answer the typical centrist pablum that "both sides are bad?" Probably not! Join us on this journey, draw your own conclusions, and send any screeds to literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com.
Transcribe →Episode 8: Canon Fodder
Jan 20, 2020Tap to summarizeWe're back! Max and Ethan discuss criticism of the literary canon. Is it worth it to read great books? Should we expand the canon to include authors who are not white men? Unsurprisingly, we think that the answer to both questions is yes. But there's much more to it than that! Give it a listen, and make sure to send any feedback to literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com.
Transcribe →Episode 7: Just the Tip
Oct 21, 201901:06:51Tap to summarizeA deep dive on circumcision! We talk about the various contexts that intersect on this highly sensitive issue — much more sensitive than other issues, to hear some people talk about it. From public health to religious freedom, we cover, or uncover (depending on your preference) it all. Most of all, we try to understand: why is it that European liberals, crunchy antivax-types, and online alt-rightists all agree that male circumcision is such a serious problem? Karin Neutel's article on the subject is discussed at length: https://tif.ssrc.org/2018/04/23/not-in-the-body/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lit_every_pod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/literally_everything_podcast/
Transcribe →Episode 6b: "The Secular Gaze"
Oct 14, 201900:48:37Tap to summarizeAt long last, the fabled second segment from our most recent episode! We discuss Mohammad Hassan Khalil's excellent book, Jihad, Radicalism, and the New Atheism. Khalil persuasively argues that the New Atheists — a group of "rationalist" critics of religion who hold that Islam commands its adherents to kill unbelievers — uncritically adopt the radical, aberrant understanding of key concepts like jihad and martyrdom put forth by figures like Osama Bin Laden. We talk about the book and then broaden the discussion: why is it that Western societies insist that a religion must be a list of beliefs backed by decontextualized scriptural citations? How might we complicate the secular understanding of religion? All that and more on this week's LITERALLY EVERYTHING.
Transcribe →Episode 6: Israeli Election Special
Sep 27, 201901:00:50Tap to summarizeIsrael is holding an election and we go deep on its implications for the future of the country itself, the occupation, and American Jews' relationship with Zionism. What is Netanyahu's position within the Israeli right? What abou the Israeli left — remember them? And what are American Jews supposed to think about it all? We go long on this topic, so we will be releasing the second segment of the episode (teased in the introduction) separately. Don't forget to send any feedback, questions, or angry diatribes to literallyeverythingpod@gmail.com. Also, there were some unexpected glitches in the version we first uploaded: some of our audio tracks fell out of the time/space continuum. The episode has been modified to minimize the disruption: for better or worse, it now ends with Ethan giving a kind of soliloquoy. Buckle up!
Transcribe →