Podcast
The Intellectual
Hosted by The Syllabus / Listen Notes · EN
A curated playlist of the best new podcasts on arts & culture. Powered by The Syllabus. (To see the articles, books, reports and videos that are also part of The Intellectual, check out our site: the-syllabus.com)
15episodes
Episodes
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Design for the Ineffable: Crafting a Flourishing world with Dr Jenna Mikus
6d ago01:06:27Tap to summarizePodcast: Accidental Gods (LS 51 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Design for the Ineffable: Crafting a Flourishing world with Dr Jenna MikusPub date: 2026-07-01Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationHow do we encourage human flourishing? How, in fact, do we make the thriving of all 8 billion humans and the More than Human World central to all that we are and do? It's a core tenet of this podcast, that if each of us were able to discover what's ours to do - and, more importantly, to be - and were supported in the inter-becoming that would arise from bringing the best of ourselves to the table…we'd be well on the way to the transformation we need to get us through the pinch points of the climate, cultural and technological apocalypses that are heading our way. So in today's episode, we're talking with someone who crosses many disciplines in search of eudaimonia - the concept of human flourishing, of 'finding our best self' proposed by Plato and expanded by Aristotle. Dr Jenna Mikus is an engineer and architect by training, and is now a consultant and strategic advisor who specialises in balancing architectural science with wellbeing science to promote flourishing health and wellbeing by design across a wide range of environments. As you'll hear, she did her PhD during lockdown in the ways it might be possible to help elderly people find meaning and purpose - in scientific terms, to attain self determination - in their lives. And now she is an academic and consultant who acts as an ideas "alchemist," helping companies curate environments & experiences for eudaimonia to support optimal health and wellbeing, precipitate ineffable emotions like delight & awe, promote meaning, inspire creativity, & catalyse belonging, and innovate. She's founder of the Eauda-Group and helped found the 'Flourishing by Design' (FxD) community of practice affiliated with Harvard's Human Flourishing Network. In a world where those who accumulate wealth are increasingly leaning towards mass extinction as if it were somehow going to be useful, it's so refreshing to explore the ways we can be differently human. Enjoy!Jenna on LinkedInJenna on Google Scholar—About Accidental Gods—We offer three strands all rooted in the same soil, drawing from the same river: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass Our next Open Gathering offered as part of our Accidental Gods Programme is 'BECOMING A GOOD ANCESTOR' which will run on Sunday 13th September 2026 from 16:00 - 20:00 GMT - details are here. You don't have to be a member of Accidental Gods to come along, but if you are, all Gatherings are half price.If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life. If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here. If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass, the details are hereManda and Louise both offer one-to-one Mentoring Calls. Manda is writing a book just now, but if you'd like to contact Louise, details are here.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Accidental Gods, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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How Egypt Used Theater to Fight British Occupation | Prof. Carmen Gitre
2w ago01:06:21Tap to summarizePodcast: The afikra Podcast (LS 41 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: How Egypt Used Theater to Fight British Occupation | Prof. Carmen GitrePub date: 2026-06-22Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationTheatrical stages often mirror the intricate evolution of the societies that build them. Professor Carmen Gitre explores the burgeoning performance culture of Cairo between 1867 and 1930. This era witnessed a shift from street storytelling and shadow plays to formal theater houses designed for an emerging class of Western-educated intellectuals. The discussion traverses the grand spectacle of the Suez Canal’s opening to the subversive nationalist songs of performers like Mounira al-Mahdiyya. Through this historical lens, the stage appears as a critical site for negotiating modernity, colonial influence, and Egyptian identity. 00:00 Introduction 01:28 The Evolution of Performance 03:56 Commissioning an Operatic Staple for a Global Stage 07:35 Street Storytelling & the Shadows of Earlier Traditions 12:02 Urban Redesign Mirroring a Parisian Vision of Modernity 18:46 Defensive Developmentalism & the Weight of Sovereign Debt 27:21 Syrian Practitioners & the Burgeoning Role of the Press 32:31 Efendi vs. Basha 39:01 Vernacular Choices for an Elevated Public Education 44:31 Satirical Observations through a Modernist Lens 51:14 The nuances of the women's movement 57:04 Disembodied Voices in the Era of Early Recording 58:00 Performances Spilling into the Nationalist Fervor of 1919 01:03:02 Cinematic Transitions and Legacies for the Everyman Carmen Gitre is an Associate Professor of Middle East History and Associate Chair of History at Virginia Tech University. She earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 2011. From 2011 to 2014, she taught in the International Studies and History Departments at Seattle University. Her academic interests include cultural history, imperialism, and the relationship between performance, identity, and modernity in Egypt. Her book, Acting Egyptian: Theater, Identity, and Political Culture in Cairo, 1867-1930, was published by the University of Texas Press in 2019. Other publications include 'The Dramatic Middle East: Performance as History in Egypt and Beyond,' and 'Nonsense and Morality: Comedy in Interwar Egypt.' Her current work delves more deeply into interwar art, performance, and cultural influence in Egypt. Connect with Carmen Gitre 👉 https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-history/faculty/carmen-gitre.html Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gbFOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=sharedABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from afikra, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Karl Whittington, "Queer Making: On Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe" (Pennsylvania State UP, 2025)
2w ago01:26:12Tap to summarizePodcast: New Books in Gender (LS 38 · TOP 2% what is this?)Episode: Karl Whittington, "Queer Making: On Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe" (Pennsylvania State UP, 2025)Pub date: 2026-06-15Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationKarl Whittington joins Jana Byars to talk about his new book, Queer Making: On Artists and Desire in Medieval Europe (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2025). What role does desire play in the making of art objects? Art historians typically answer this question by referring to historical evidence about an artist's sexual identity or to particular kinds of imagery. But what about anonymous artists? Or works whose subject matter is mainstream? We know little about the identities and personalities of most premodern artists, but this should not hold us back from thinking about their embodied experience. In this book, Karl Whittington contends that we can "queer" the works of anonymous makers by thinking about their embodied experiences creating art. Considering issues of touch, pressure, and gesture across substances such as wood, stone, ivory, wax, cloth, paint, and metal, Whittington argues for an erotics of artisanal labor, in which the actions of hand, body, and breath interact in intimate ways with materials. Whittington takes seriously the agency of materials and technical processes, arguing that they necessarily placed the bodies of artists and artisans into physical situations and psychological states that can be read through the lens of desire. Combining historical evidence with speculative description, this evocative set of essays broadens our understanding of the motivations and experiences of premodern artists. It will appeal to scholars and students of art history, medieval studies, gender studies, queer studies, and anthropology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studiesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New Books Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Do plants have personalities?
2w ago00:29:16Tap to summarizePodcast: CrowdScience (LS 58 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Do plants have personalities?Pub date: 2026-06-05Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationCrowdScience listener George is showing Alex Lathbridge around a small, dark, and extremely hot shed, just outside the city of Accra in Ghana. Inside are row after row of shelves, stacked high with bulging grow-bags. And out of some of them, gorgeous cascades of oyster mushrooms are bursting into bloom. We’re on George’s mushroom farm, and he’s noticed something interesting. Even though the conditions in his grow-shed are tightly controlled – they have exactly the same food, water, and light as each other – nevertheless, they respond differently. Some are more vigorous than others, some bloom quicker, others last longer, and some are more tolerant when the conditions change. And this got George wondering. Could ‘brainless’ lifeforms like mushrooms, and plants, have different ‘personalities’? Do they experience the world differently, and live their lives differently from each other? Alex Lathbridge is on the case. He visits the PGRRI, the Plant Genetic Resources Research Centre, for a quick lesson on genetic variation in the plant world. Plants are all different at the genetic level, and it’s those differences which can result in a tastier fruit, or a hardier crop. But would we call traits like these personality? In the Minimal Intelligence Lab in the University of Murcia in Spain, Paco Calvo thinks that we absolutely should. He studies plant intelligence, and points Alex to a whole host of examples of plants being smart in ways which might surprise you. Each one is an individual, and if we can only slow down enough to appreciate them properly, we’d be able to understand them better too. Back in Ghana, Alex meets plant physiologist Dr Acheampong Atta-Boateng, in the beautiful grounds of Aburi Botanical Gardens, to meet some of these plants for himself. And he discovers that there’s a whole world of smart, resilient, and resourceful little organisms in the plant world, full of personality, if you know where to look. Who needs a brain!? Presenter: Alex Lathbridge Producer: Emily Knight Editor: Ben Motley(Photo: Drawing of a face and smiling eyes on a sunflower flower - stock photo- Credit: Jose A. Bernat Bacete via Getty Images)The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC World Service, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Abbas Akhavan – Season 9, Episode 5
4w ago01:12:48Tap to summarizePodcast: Momus: The Podcast (LS 35 · TOP 3% what is this?)Episode: Abbas Akhavan – Season 9, Episode 5Pub date: 2026-05-27Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThis episode features Abbas Akhavan, a Tehran-born artist based between Montreal and Berlin, who is representing Canada at this year’s Venice Biennale. In a conversation recorded a few days before the opening, Akhavan discusses art as an ethics of encounter, the limits of language and representation, and the challenge of engaging non-human life without collapsing it into symbol or metaphor. Reflecting on institutional pressure, artistic refusal, and the importance of maintaining balance within one’s practice, he describes art as “a rehearsal, not re-enactment.” Framed by a reading from Charles Siebert’s 2016 New York Times Magazine feature “What Does a Parrot Know About PTSD?,” the conversation explores trauma, presence, and the possibility of holding intimacy without possession. Host Sky Goodden also reflects on attending a strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance during the Biennale’s preview week, during which the Canadian Pavilion was one of many that closed in solidarity. Momus: The Podcast is edited by Jacob Irish, with production assistance from Chris Andrews.Thanks to this episode’s sponsors, Coach House Books and Esker Foundation, for supporting our work.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Momus, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Conquistadors and Culture Wars
4w ago01:04:06Tap to summarizePodcast: The Sobremesa Podcast (LS 35 · TOP 3% what is this?)Episode: Conquistadors and Culture WarsPub date: 2026-05-28Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationLast month Madrid’s right wing regional premier Isabel Ayuso took it upon herself to travel to Mexico on an official visit so as to lecture the Mexican public about their own history - as she participated in a homage to the conquistador Hernan Cortes. Proving once again her reputation as a Trumpian figure within the mainstream conservative Popular Party, she even went as far as to insist on her return to Madrid that “Mexico did not exist until the Spanish arrived.” She and much of Spanish right have form on this. In 2021 as Pope Francis apologised for the Catholic Church’s role in the conquest of the Americas, she responded: “It surprises me that a Spanish-speaking Catholic would speak that way about a legacy like ours, which was precisely to bring Spanish—and, through the missions, Catholicism, and thus civilization and freedom—to the American continent,”Today on Sobremesa podcast we talk about Spain’s other memory war, that is: The Spanish right’s revisionist crusade to revindicate the supposed civilizational mission associated with the conquest of the Americas. To do so I am joined by the historian Juan José Ponce Vázquez, of The University of Alabama.Please remember if you like what we are producing, consider making a donation to our buy me a coffee page:https://buymeacoffee.com/thesobremeyThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Sobremesa Podcast, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Nayantara Srinivasan, "The Brick-and-Mortar Bookstore in Contemporary India" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Jun 1400:51:07Tap to summarizePodcast: New Books in Business, Management, and MarketingEpisode: Nayantara Srinivasan, "The Brick-and-Mortar Bookstore in Contemporary India" (Cambridge UP, 2025)Pub date: 2026-05-17Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThe Brick-and-Mortar Bookstore in Contemporary India (Cambridge UP, 2025) explores the landscape of anglophone trade bookselling in India, aiming to identify some key factors that have influenced the changing place of the brick-and-mortar bookstore over the last decade. The discussion focuses on a specific time period identified as a significant turning point, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic led to a series of developments in the field of Indian publishing: a newly emerging body of public discourse within the industry, highlighting the persistent marginalisation faced by brick-and-mortar bookstores; the temporary weakening of Amazon's near-monopoly; and bookstores' growing use of online platforms for sales, publicity, and activism. Drawing upon a range of primary sources and case studies, this Element explores how these developments altered what John B. Thompson calls 'the logic of the field' of contemporary Indian bookselling, transforming the brick-and-mortar bookstore into a newly revitalised space with possibilities for further expansion, growth, and diversity. Nayantara Srinivasan is a PhD researcher at the University of Münster. Her research examines debut literary fiction in contemporary American publishing. She has previously worked in publishing. Karishma Koshal is a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New Books Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The slow cancellation of the future: A Mark Fisher primer
Jun 701:35:01Tap to summarizePodcast: The Culture Journalist (LS 38 · TOP 2% what is this?)Episode: The slow cancellation of the future: A Mark Fisher primerPub date: 2026-05-08Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationCUJO is a podcast about culture in the age of platforms. Episodes drop every other week, but if you want the full experience, we recommend signing up for a paid subscription. Paid subscribers also get access to our CUJOPLEX Discord and The Weather Report, a monthly episode series where we take stock of where the cultural winds are blowing and tell you what’s rained into our brains.We are making a film about Mark Fisher. Or at least, that’s what artists Sophie Mellor and Simon Poulter say we are doing by interviewing them about We Are Making a Film About Mark Fisher, an experimental documentary about the late British intellectual Mark Fisher that is currently making its way in decentralized fashion through cities across the globe. (You can set up a screening in your town if you want). They made the film with the help of over 70 pro bono collaborators and produced it entirely via Instagram, with no budget, studio, or institutional support. We’ve never seen anything quite like it.Fisher was a political and cultural theorist, music critic, and philosopher who first gained notoriety blogging under the alias K-punk in the early 2000s, before becoming known for penning some of this century’s most clear-eyed and affecting analyses of capitalism, popular culture, and our collective political future (or lack thereof). That includes his wildly influential 2009 book Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?, which explores the idea that capitalism has become so dominant we struggle to even imagine alternatives. Fisher has been a big influence on us, so we decided to invited Sophie and Simon on the show to tell us about the film and offer us a little primer on his ideas. We dig in to concepts that were central to Fisher’s work, including hauntology, hyperstition, and capitalist realism; why his work seems to be having a moment right now, especially among Gen Z; and how it reflected both the utopian promise of the internet and its eventual descent into today’s commoditized, culture-war nightmare. We also discuss how Fisher’s working-class background and refusal to accept hierarchies between fields like critical theory and music blogging shaped his unique perspective on the world—and how this “decapitalized film,” and the larger art project of which it is part, doubles as an invitation to gather offline and imagine new artistic and political futures together.Follow the project on Instagram, or attend a screening near youCheck out more of Sophie and Simon’s work at Close and RemoteListen to our Hauntology retrospective with Simon Reynolds, Fisher’s friend and contemporary This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theculturejournalist.substack.com/subscribeThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Culture Journalist, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The 1990s Golden Era of Black Sitcoms
Jun 701:02:18Tap to summarizePodcast: After Words (LS 46 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: The 1990s Golden Era of Black SitcomsPub date: 2026-05-03Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationPBS Newshour co-anchor Geoff Bennett talks about the history of Black comedy in America and its impact on culture and politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from C-SPAN, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Science Fiction and the Far Right
May 900:59:58Tap to summarizePodcast: KPFA - Against the Grain (LS 48 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: Science Fiction and the Far RightPub date: 2026-04-27Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationFiction that imagines alternate futures is often associated with the left — with writers like Octavia Butler and Ursula LeGuin. But the tropes of science fiction are well-suited to the right and, as Jordan Carroll illustrates, far right authors and aficionados have populated the ranks of speculative fiction since its inception, like ardent science fiction fan and neo-Nazi party founder James Madole. Carroll discusses the right’s ongoing fight to claim the future. Jordan S. Carroll, Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right University of Minnesota Press, 2024 Photo by Robynne O on Unsplash The post Science Fiction and the Far Right appeared first on KPFA.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KPFA, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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