Public Intellectual

From the creators of Public Intellectual: a new weekly podcast exploring the state of our cultural institutions, norms, and failures. It's called The Culture We Deserve. Because it is. Hosted by Jessa Crispin, the author of My Three Dads, Why I Am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto, and The Dead Ladies Project. We'll be launching in November 2023 with the miniseries "A Fifth of Mahler," a look at the state of classical music in an age of poptimism. Join us at http://theculturewedeserve.substack.com

Dianna Souhami has worked for decades as a chronicler of sexual subcultures in early 20th century Europe, and finally, she is allowed to deliver her thesis: without this network of lesbians, the parties they through and the lovers they supported, modernism would not have been possible. She speaks with Jessa about our limited ideas of creativity and genius, why rewriting history is still important, and the lifelong project of lineage. (This will be the final episode with Jessa Crispin as host.) http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

This week's episode is hosted by Cameron Steele. The flag waving and feminist arguments for more war and scapegoating of service members prompted by America's withdrawal from Afghanistan proves we still have not learned the lessons from 9/11 or our policy of endless war. Roy Scranton (WAR PORN) talks to Cameron about cycles of violence, our imperialist fantasies, and why war is a force that gives us meaning.

Between Love Island, Love is Blind, FBoy Island, Sexy Beasts, Too Hot to Handle etc, we sure do love watching hot straight people be tortured for the possibility of love. Cameron and Jessa discuss why these properties are still considered "guilty pleasures" despite the harm they are doing and why they all seem to be designed by incels. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

After a couple thousand years of Christianity, some populations who had been suffering under Yahweh decided to give some other gods and goddesses a try. But did they create systems that were just as equally oppressive to others? You know, on accident? The journalist Ana Valens returns to PI to talk to Jessa about the difficulties in mixing biology and spirituality, religion as protest, and what to do with mystical feelings in a secular culture. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Amanda Knox is back in the news, as a film "inspired by" the story of her being accused of murder is in the theaters. Knox has compared telling stories of other people's lives to "cultural appropriation," and Cameron and Jessa try to untangle that particular mess. Who gets to tell a story? What is the divide between the private and the public self? And how can Henry James help us solve this quandary? Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com

Both the Euros and Copa America saw the anticipated winners humiliated in their own homes. It was nice, a treat. Former soccer player and activist Nicolás R Melo revisits the highs and lows of the pandemic tournaments, the easy (and politically objectionable) narratives of sports), how England's "It's Coming Home" campaign angered so many outside of England, and why Italy defeating England and Argentina defeating Brazil was the best possible outcome. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

People keep holding funerals for the Girlboss, that figure of narcissism and disgrace, but aren't we all girlbosses now? Don't we all have to be to survive in late capitalism? Cameron Steele and Jessa discuss what distinguishes a girlboss, the adoration/cancellation cycle, the extremely revealing Man Repeller interview, and whether it's possible to have a career without being a careerist. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and JK Rowling have both been elected to a position where they are allowed and asked to speak for women. So what harm does it do when what they decide to say is anti-trans and harmful? Cameron and Jessa parse through these demands to be accommodated and in control of women's spaces, and they wonder if someone when ring a bell to let us know when we are no longer oppressed and can be kind and generous to others again. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

The recording industry is in a bind, with the big money going to intermediaries like Spotify, with little idea of what makes a star these days, and with a critical culture that no longer knows what it's talking about. Meanwhile, industrial knowledge about how to record music in a room, or even how to play instruments, is lost and ignored in favor of computers and algorithms. Zach and Jessa discuss the real world effects of prioritizing the plastic over the human and why most music sounds flat these days. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

From pearl clutching "think of the children" to terfdom to the reign of momfluencers, we've decided to get sentimental about the nuclear family again. This can be seen as heavily on the left ("social reproduction," my god) as on the right. Cameron Steele, writer and editor and mother, and Jessa, barely any of these, discuss the way we have decided to stop thinking about families and create halos around motherhood. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com

Between Underground Railroad, Handmaid's Tale, Promising Young Woman, Them, and many others, we are asked to consume stories of trauma and images of torture as our entertainment. Trevor Beaulieu from Champagne Sharks and Jessa discuss how we got here, whether we can blame Jonathan Safran Foer, Adorno (?!), and why setting your story against the backdrop of an atrocity doesn't make it deep. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com

Colombia has once again called for a general strike and taken to the streets in protest. Government officials have resigned, proposed tax law reform withdrawn, and still people protest. Protestors have been murdered and disappeared by police, the president is giving speeches in English. Nicolas R. Melo explains the complicated history that tells us what is going on now, and why soccer might ultimately be the thing to bring it all down. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

The cancel culture discourse has been noisy lately, but what is it about this moment that makes it uniquely terrible to be a public person? To be on social media or to write or create, to say things out loud at all? Writer Cameron Steele joins Jessa to talk about surveillance, why everyone except those fully off the grid are justifiable targets for public rage (it is because of Gawker, kinda), and why reply guys should be relabeled circle of sycophants. support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

There was a rumor circulating on social media that Joe Biden was only going to allow US citizens four pounds of beef per year. People lost their minds. Food writer Alicia Kennedy and I pick apart the anxieties of meat eaters, why 'vegan' has become 'plant-based', and how the shift in omnivore and veg culture has shifted in the last few years. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Phoebe Maltz Bovy, writer of the essay "Straightness Studies," introduces us to the Tragedy of Heterosexuality. Can queer theory save the straights or are we/they doomed to be trapped in power imbalances and sexual suffering and bad interior decorating decisions forever? Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

Every few days or so, a conversation restarts on Twitter: books that are difficult, books that are assigned in school, books that are designated classics, are bad. And publishers, critics, and audiences that support so called "difficult" literature are disappearing. Mauro Javier Cárdenas, author of the new novel Aphasia, and Jessa discuss this change in the literary world and sing the praises of the difficult writers they adore. http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

The luxury housing boom is -- hopefully -- over, so what comes next? According to Diana Lind, author of Brave New Home, it's rethinking the single family home. We explore other options, from multi-generational housing, co-living, housing coupled with services, and we ask why Americans are so afraid of public housing. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual http://jessacrispin.com

Previously released as a bonus episode available only to patrons, following Britney Spears's statement that she felt "torn apart" by the NYT doc that is fueling her revival we thought it best to give it a wider release. Topics considered: a reassessment of the dark first decade of the century, treating Britney Spears like Q, the public likes it when our celebrities die, and stop trying to rehabilitate Paris Hilton, and more! Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellectual

While many conservative commentators have been in a panic about the pandemic's baby bust effect, they rarely look past personal choice to see the real reasons people are not having children. Fertility is a deeply felt personal issue, but it exists within a larger context and that context is filled with poisonous plastic. Dr. Shanna Swan, author of the new book Countdown, explains how chemical companies have been allowed to poison the whole country and the ruinous effects it has on fertility and health. Support this podcast: http://patreon.com/publicintellecutual http://jessacrispin.com