Exciting news! For the first time Bloomsbury has published a book length overview and guide to Slavoj Žižek's 1989 text The Sublime Object of Ideology and we're talking with it's author Rafael Winkler about his reading of Slavoj Žižek's famous text. Rafael is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He’s the author of Žižek’s The Sublime Object of Ideology: A Reader’s Guide (London: Bloomsbury, 2024), Philosophy of Finitude: Heidegger, Levinas, and Nietzsche (London: Bloomsbury, 2019), Identity and Difference (ed.) (London and New York: Routledge, 2018), Phenomenology and Naturalism (ed.) (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), and Identity and Difference: Contemporary Debates on the Self (ed.) (London: Palgrave, 2016) More on the book from Bloomsbury. First published in 1989, The Sublime Object of Ideology was Žižek's breakthrough work, and is still regarded by many as his masterpiece. It was an iconoclastic reinvention of ideology critique that introduced the English-speaking world to Žižek's scorching brand of cultural and philosophical commentary and the multifaceted ways in which he explained it. Tying together concepts from aesthetics, psychoanalytic theory, cultural studies and the philosophy of belief, it changed the face of contemporary commentary and remains the underpinning of much of his subsequent thinking.This compelling guide introduces all of the influential thinkers and foundational concepts which Žižek draws on to create this seminal work. Grounding the text's many and varied references in the work of Peter Sloterdijk, Saul Kripke, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel, amongst others, helps students who are encountering this mercurial writer for the first time to understand the philosophical context of his early explorations. Each of Žižek's key arguments are unpacked and laid out, alongside an invaluable account of how The Sublime Object of Ideology impacted the critical terrain on which it landed. Enjoy!

Alright, this week on our PATREON we’re talking Fantasy & reading from Slavoj Žižek’s Plague of Fantasies. It’s coffin pillows, being there at your own conception, roguish reporters, and the most famous blanket in cinema.  HEAD TO OUR PATREON TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE! PATREON.COM/ZIZEKANDSOON Next week we have Rafael Winkler on to discuss the new Bloomsbury Reader’s Guide to Žižek’s Sublime Object of Ideology. Enjoy being dead, and we’ll see you in Paris.

Alright, we’re trying something different, a brand new monthly – or thereabouts – PATREON series on the podcast called SHORT SESSIONS…This week we're talking disaster films and the 2024 Netflix American adult animated apocalyptic comedy drama Carol & The End of the World. Is it subversive to NOT enjoy the end of the world? Through the usual suspects like Alenka Zupančič and Slavoj Žižek we discuss the ongoing Serial Crisis, Whistleblowers, the Biden v Trump debate, Bartleby Politics, Disavowal, the Production of Community, the Popular Attachment to Catastrophe...and why you should tell your loved ones you hate them when you're going to die in a plane crash. Big thanks to our Patreon @shitforbrains for the episode request, and if any of you out there have an idea for an episode email us at [email protected]  …Short sessions, variable length sessions, however you wanna put it, in these episodes we’ll wrap them up because of something that is said, rather than the tyranny of the clock… SUPPORT US ON PATREON! See you in Paris, Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! Welcome back...is it the Same Shit on a Different Day or Different Shit on the Same Day? This is PART TWO of our interview with ALENKA ZUPANČIČ on the undeadness of crisis, adaptation, Boredom, Bartleby Politics, the Right Words at the Right Time, Masters, Żiżek’s Frankfurt Book Fair Speech, Whistleblowers & Julian Assange, and if we can still Handle the Truth! LISTEN TO PART ONE HERE! Big thanks to all our PATREONS for their support, up next we have some really big interviews and so on and so on. Enjoy!

Alright, the End is Near and this week we're talking with Alenka Zupančič about her latest book Disavowal with Polity Press that came out this week. In this first installment we're talking serial crisis, the Fire Within the Fire, knowledge, belief, deception, and the indispensability of concrete analysis. HEAD TO OUR PATREON TO HEAR THE SECOND PART OF OUR INTERVIEW! See you in Paris. Enjoy!

Support the podcast on PATREON and LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! Alright, the podcast is back for a new season. Don’t wake up! This episode we’re talking Alenka Zupanċič’s latest book Disavowal. Father, can't you see that I'm burning? What is disavowal and why does it function differently today? We’re talking knowing, fear, nightmares, and deception. Catastrophe, serial crisis, immediacy, alienation, and the apocalypse. Next week we’re talking to Alenka, let us know if you have any questions for us to ask. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last few years and we have a lot of big interviews and episodes coming up! GET THE BOOK HERE! See you in Paris. Enjoy!

This week we're joined by Slavoj Zizek! We discuss his new book, Christian Atheism, Judith Butler, the mafia, and where to find a good diner in New York. To support the podcast and gain access to many more episodes, join our Patreon Enjoy!

To access the full episode and support the podcast, join our Patreon! This week we're joined by Slavoj Zizek! We discuss his new book, Christian Atheism, Judith Butler, the Mafia, and where to find a good diner in New York. Enjoy!

This week, the second half of our conversation with Mladen Dolar. We talk about the early days of the Ljubljana school, the structuralist revolution, the choice to read Hegel through Lacan, and the Frankfurt school. Mladen was there for it all. Thank you to all our Patrons! Up next we have our interview with Slavoj Žižek from our time with him in New York. Listen to the first interview we had with Mladen here!

This week we're joined by Russ Sbriglia to discuss Zizek's upcoming events in the tristate area. Slavoj will be at Seaton Hall University in New Jersey on Monday April 11th! Zizek will also be in New York City, at NYU and the New School (sign up online for those events!) After technical updates we discuss Russ' recent essay, "Enjoy Your Trump". We talk politics of enjoyment, the upcoming election, and yes he's back again, Trump. To support the podcast and gain access to many more episodes, join our Patreon Enjoy!

This week, the second half of our conversation with Mladen Dolar. We talk about the early days of the Ljubljana school, the structuralist revolution, the choice to read Hegel through Lacan, and the Frankfurt school. Mladen was there for it all. For access our full conversation and to support the show, join our Patreon! Thank you to all our Patrons! More to come soon. Make sure you book your spot in the upcoming Zizek events in New York in early April!

This week, we present the third episode in our series of interviews with the Troika — after Slavoj Žižek, and Alenka Zupančič . We’re speaking with Mladen Dolar, Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Ljubljana. Dolar is the co-founder of what has become known as ‘the Ljubljana School’. His principal areas of research are psychoanalysis, modern French philosophy, German Idealism, and art theory. He has lectured extensively at universities in the US and across Europe, and he is the author of over a hundred papers in scholarly journals and volume collections. Apart from ten books in Slovene, his book publications include most notably A Voice and Nothing More and Opera’s Second Death. We’re talking the voice, May 68, the early days in Ljubljana, Lacan, rumours and gossip, what’s in a name, and the decline of paternal authority.    For access to many more episodes, join our PATREON!   Thanks Mladen!

⁠FULL EPISODE HERE⁠ This week, we present the third episode in our series of interviews with the Troika — after Slavoj Žižek, and Alenka Zupančič . We’re speaking with Mladen Dolar, Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy, at the University of Ljubljana.    Dolar is the co-founder of what has become known as ‘the Ljubljana School’. His principal areas of research are psychoanalysis, modern French philosophy, German Idealism, and art theory. He has lectured extensively at universities in the US and across Europe, and he is the author of over a hundred papers in scholarly journals and volume collections. Apart from ten books in Slovene, his book publications include most notably A Voice and Nothing More and Opera’s Second Death. We’re talking the voice, may 68, the early days in Ljubljana, Lacan, rumours and gossip, what’s in a name, and the decline of paternal authority.    Please consider supporting us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ for access to extra episodes and the ongoing production of the show! 

This week, the fellas are back with Anna Kornbluh. When we spoke with Alenka Zupančič recently, she told us we should interview Anna about her new book Immediacy, or The style of Too Late Capitalism. So we did! We’re talking mediation, the negative, Van Gogh immersive experiences, Sartre, Žižek’s early work on film, and the end of futurity. Enjoy!

This week, the fellas are back with Anna Kornbluh. When we spoke with Alenka Zupančič recently, she told us we should interview Anna about her new book Immediacy, or The style of Too Late Capitalism. So we did!   We’re talking mediation, the negative, Van Gogh immersive experiences, Sartre, Žižek’s early work on film, and the end of futurity. This is a PATREON preview of our 90 minute interview, for the full episode and to SUPPORT the podcast LISTEN HERE! Our next interview is with MLADEN DOLAR... Enjoy!

This week, the fellas scroll through Zizek's new substack. Tying together three articles, we move from 'tech talk' (Elon Musk, Apple Vision, the profound suffering of microchimpanzees), to a Zizekian theory of sexuality, and finally to the fine art of smoking (and other surplus enjoyments). To stay up to date and access many more episodes, join our Patreon (we'll be speaking to Anna Kornbluh and Mladen Dolar very soon!) Zizek's Substack articles: ELON MUSK RUINED MY SEX LIFE NOTES TOWARDS A HEGELIAN SYSTEM OF SEXUALITY SMOKING CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS

⁠FULL EPISODE HERE This is an excerpt from this week's Patreon episode. We're talking the inherent transgression of the law. Michael buys tickets for the big apple, Peter is freezing in a field, and Will reviews Stalker and the Third Man. Enjoy! Please consider supporting us on Patreon for access to extra episodes and the ongoing production of the show!

Move your Buridan's Ass! This is an UNLOCKED PATREON episode demanded by the listeners wherein the fellas discuss Žižek's new book on Freedom. They touch on the freedom of philosophy, the philosophy of freedom, the pitfalls of Anarchism, Wittgenstein, Sartre, and Canadian Thanksgiving. Support the podcast on our ⁠PATREON for all of our Patreon episodes, interviews, reading groups and so on. Enjoy!

FULL EPISODE HERE This week the gang are talking Mladen Dolar’s “On Rumours, Gossip and Related Matters” from Objective Fictions as we prepare for the big interview!   Mladen Dolar is a Slovenian philosopher, psychoanalyst, cultural theorist, and film critic. He is one third of the Troika with Alenka Zupančič and Slavoj Žižek and the co-founder, together with Slavoj Žižek of the Society for Theoretical Psychoanalysis Rumours brought down old mate Socrates and there’s one going round that the big Other doesn’t exist.    In the beginning there was – not the Word, logos, as in the Bible, not the act, as with Faust – in the beginning, there was a rumour.    Will combats 5G with a Feng Shui mirror, Michael covers his windows in aluminium foil, and Peter defends himself against the metric system.    Enjoy!

It's 2024 and we’re back! We're talking what happens when you mean one thing but say amother. What role do jokes have throughout Žižek's work? This week we’re taking a look at Žižek’s Jokes via Todd McGowan, Jamil Khader, and Broderick Chow. In pod news, the final jewel of our Ljubljana crown…we’re talking to Mladen Dolar! Keep an eye out for upcoming episodes on his work as we prep for the interview. Thank you to everyone for being with us over the last four years, support us on Patreon to keep the Žižek & So On Podcast going! Read along: Broderick Chow , Alenka Zupancic, Zizek's Jokes -Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE!⁠ That's right, we're talking Godzilla Minus One this week. Also, the fall, the good, Schindler's List, Lacan and his (Hegelian) concept of empty speech, and what's new in the movies. Thanks everyone!Enjoy! This is a preview of this week's episode. For full access, please think about joining our ⁠Patreon⁠!

This week, the second half of our conversation with Alenka Zupančič; focusing on the different modalities of conspiracy theory, desire, drive, and her forthcoming work on disavowal.   Special thank you to our Patreons and all listeners who have reached out over the last four years asking if we could speak with Alenka.    To support the pod, and to find access to many more episodes, join our PATREON ! Enjoy!

This is a PREVIEW of the second conversation we had with Alenka Zupančič, focusing on the different modalities of conspiracy theory, desire, drive, and her forthcoming work on disavowal.   To listen to the full episode here over to our Patreon. Special thank you to our Patreons and all listeners who have reached out over the last four years asking if we could speak with Alenka.    Enjoy! To support the pod, and to find access to many more episodes, join our PATREON !

This week, we're speaking to Alenka Zupančič, author of many texts, including What IS Sex, and Let Them Rot: Antigone’s Parallax. Zupančič. As a member of the "troika" (along with Mladen Dolar and Slavoj Zizek) Alenka is a central figure of the Lacanian-Hegelian Slovenian school we all know and love.    We’re talking the early days of the troika, What IS Sex, the modalities of conspiracy theory, desire, drive, and disavowal.   To listen to the full episode here over to our Patreon. Special thank you to our Patreons and all listeners who have reached out over the last four years asking if we could speak with Alenka.    Enjoy! To support the pod, and to find access to many more episodes, join our PATREON !

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE Today we have the PATREON preview of PART ONE of our interview with Alenka Zupančič, author of many texts, including What IS Sex, and Let Them Rot: Antigone’s Parallax. Zupančič, as a member of the "troika" (along with Mladen Dolar and Slavoj Zizek) is a central figure of the Lacanian-Hegelian Slovenian school we all know and love.    We’re talking the early days of the troika, What IS Sex, the modalities of conspiracy theory, desire, drive, and disavowal.   To listen to the full episode here over to our Patreon. Special thank you to our Patreons and all listeners who have reached out over the last four years demanding and wondering if we could eventually speak with Alenka.    Enjoy!

This week, the fellas are back discussing Alenka Zupančič's Problemi essay, 'Lying on the Couch'. How does the psychoanalytic framework allow us to make sense of culture and lying, what is the asymmetry of a truth and a lie, and what did we think of the new Beatles song? Mike is hot (again), Will has moved (again), and Peter kind of liked Killers of the Flower Moon. Enjoy! For access to many more episodes, check out our ⁠PATREON!⁠ Thank you to all of our Patrons! See you again soon

Alright, we’re back with another UNLOCKED ⁠PATREON⁠ episode and we’re talking ⁠Jacques Derrida⁠, the difference between parallax and différance, How To? with John Wilson, Krzysztof Kieślowski, documentary and fiction cinema, a deconstruction of Smash Mouth’s All Star, and the (w)hole in the picture.  Thank you to all of our Patreons, we have our interview with Alenka Zupančič coming up soon! Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! This week the fellas discuss Zizek's new book on Freedom. They touch on the freedom of philosophy, the pitfalls of anarchism, Wittgenstein, Sartre, and Canadian Thanksgiving. Enjoy! This is a preview of this week's episode. For full access, please think about joining our Patreon!

Žižek & So On Podcast LISTEN: https://www.tinyurl.com/zizekpodcasts This is PART TWO of our interview with Slavoj Žižek for the official book launch with Bloomsbury Publishing of Žižek’s latest book Freedom: A Disease Without A Cure. We’re talking the the wired brain, the Opium wars, freedom and politics, quantum physics and determinism, fate and the role of Subject, concrete and abstract freedoms, the ontology of sex, and why we need an authentic master today. Thanks to Bloomsbury and all our new Patreons, next up we’re speaking with Alenka Zupančič. Purchase the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/freedom-9781350357129/ Enjoy!

Žižek & So On Podcast Today we’re speaking with Slavoj Žižek for PART ONE of the official book launch with Bloomsbury Publishing of Žižek’s latest book Freedom: A Disease Without A Cure.  For PART TWO join our Patreon, where you can hear it now!  On this episode, we’re talking freedom, knowledge as a fetish, global warming, why the struggle for freedom is always the struggle for what freedom means, Jean Paul Sartre, Wittgenstein, Foucault, Kant and Hegel, contingency and necessity, and the strange temporality of freedom. We’re also about to start our READING GROUP on Freedom: A Disease Without A Cure in our Discord which you can sign up for through our Patreon! Thanks to Bloomsbury and all our Patreons, next up we’re speaking with Alenka Zupančič. Purchase the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/freedom-9781350357129/ Enjoy!

Unlocked from our patreon: this week, we're joined again by Jack Black, Associate Professor of Culture, Media, and Sport at Sheffield Hallam University. We're talking football, melancholy, and English football anthems. How does football, or 'soccer', serve as an emblematic example of the Freudian/Žižekian concept of drive? Jack explains! For access to many more interviews and other episodes, check out our PATREON! Thank you to all of our Patrons, we have some VERY SPECIAL guests coming up, so stick around.   Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! This week, we're back for a joined again by Jack Black, Associate Professor of Culture, Media, and Sport at Sheffield Hallam University. We're talking football, melancholy, and English football anthems. How does football, or 'soccer', serve as an emblematic example of Freudian/Zizekian concept of drive? Jack explains. Give a listen! For access to the full episode, and access to many more interviews, check out our PATREON! Thank you to all of our Patrons, we have some VERY SPECIAL guests coming up, so stick around.   Enjoy!

Alright, it's our 100th episode and we're talking masks. From Jim Carrey's The Mask to the Kardashians it's an important concept that crops up throughout Žižek's work where he emphasises that the truth is in your mask, the truth is in what you are doing. The intimate stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, are usually a fake... We're running the official book launch with Bloomsbury Publishing for Žižek's new book Freedom: A Disease Without A Cure in early October with an interview, events...and some special guests over the following few weeks! Thankyou to everyone for listening over the last 100 episodes, support us on Patreon to keep the Žižek & So On Podcast going! Enjoy!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! Alright, we’re back with another PATREON episode and we’re talking Jacques Derrida, the difference between parallax and différance, How To? with John Wilson, Krzysztof Kieślowski, documentary and fiction cinema, a deconstruction of Smash Mouth’s All Star, and the (w)hole in the picture. Thank you to all of our Patreons, we have some VERY SPECIAL guests coming up, so stick around.   Enjoy!

This week the fellas read through Žižek’s Looking Awry. We’re talking anamorphosis, Shakespeare, Zeno’s Paradoxes and the end of the world. Will is in the woods, Peter is at a gathering and Michael’s cat is out of the bag. Thank you to all our fellow Thespians, Ž&… For access to many more episodes, and to support us, check out our Patreon! PODCAST YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM

FULL EPISODE HERE This is a PREVIEW for PART TWO of our conversation with professor RUSSELL SBRIGLIA and we're talking Lacanian theory and Moby Dick, the Kantian and Hegelian Sublime, Master Signifier and the Thing, the Whiteness of the Whale, and Orca attacks.  We have some big interviews coming up and some SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. Thank you to all of our PATREONS and everyone who listens and supports us. Enjoy!

Part 1 of our interview with Russell Sbriglia on his book Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Literature but Were Afraid to Ask Žižek. We're talking Lacanian psychoanalysis as a way to interpret literature, Žižek's bad taste in novels, toilets, the object from inner space, why Beckett is better than Joyce, and what Tony Soprano's major was. Join our ⁠Patreon⁠ for extra episodes, and the back catalogue of dozens of extra episodes. Buy Russell's book here!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! This week, since everyone else is, we're talking Barbie and Oppenheimer. We talk the role of fantasy in ideology, and the culture war as a distraction from class antagonism. Along the way we chat about Indiana Jones, Paul Verhoeven, and Michael's favourite Australian actors. Thanks for listening! ⁠zizekandsoon⁠

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! This is a PREVIEW of PART TWO of our conversation with Adrian Johnston, you can hear the whole thing and support us on our Patreon getting access to all of our Patreon episodes, the Discord and our courses. The gang is back for the final part of our conversation with Adrian Johnston. It's a big one! We're talking Žižek's relationship with Kant, Schelling and Hegel, the Roberts (Pippin and Brandom), Quantum Physics, the genesis of subjectivity, materialism, Catherine Malabou and Plasticity, nature, biology and neuroscience, cognitive science, Badiou, Althusser and Spinoza. Big thanks to our Patreons for all of your support! Got some cool things coming up over the next few months, so stay tuned! ⁠zizekandsoon⁠

It’s summer and the fellas are back! Today we're talking with Adrian Johnston, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of New Mexico. In this first part of a series we’re talking the philosophical foundations of Žižek’s work, the equivalence between negativity and Death Drive at the core of Žižek’s theory of subjectivity, Transcendental Materialism, and Johnston’s efforts toward changing the reception of Žižek’s work. Adrian has published and co-edited a number of books notably his essential trio on Slavoj Žižek in “Žižek’s Ontology”, “Badiou, Žižek, and Political Transformations: The Cadence of Change”, and “A New German Idealism” and his groundbreaking work in the Prolegomena series and soon to be published "Infinite Greed: Money, Marxism, Psychoanalysis".  To ⁠LISTEN⁠ to ⁠PART TWO⁠ of our interview head to our ⁠PATREON⁠ where you can gain access to all of our previous episodes, interviews, courses, and the Discord community and our Reading Groups. Enjoy! ⁠zizekandsoon.com⁠

In this wide-ranging second part of our interview, Ryan talks Seinfeld, Peep Show, Sartre and seriality, Batman, Barbie, and Tom Cruise. This is where the conversation really gets going, folks. Don’t miss it! Join our ⁠Patreon⁠ for 2 extra episodes per month, and the back catalogue of dozens of extra episodes. Subscribers can also sign up for our brand new reading group on Lacan's Seminar XI - The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. $5/month! You will also get access to our Discord server, a thriving community of Zizekians. ⁠YOUTUBE⁠ ⁠INSTAGRAM⁠ ⁠WEBSITE

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! In this wide-ranging second part of our interview, Ryan talks Seinfeld, Peep Show, Sartre and seriality, Batman, Barbie, and Tom Cruise. This is where the conversation really gets going, folks. Don’t miss it! Join our Patreon for 2 extra episodes per month, and the back catalogue of dozens of extra episodes. Subscribers can also sign up for our brand new reading group on Lacan's Seminar XI - The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. $5/month! You will also get access to our Discord server, a thriving community of Zizekians. YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM WEBSITE

This week, the fellas speak to Media Professor Ryan Engley of 'Why Theory'. We talk Freud, Lacan, the correct spelling of Todd McGowan, and how Seinfeld reveals the existential concept of seriality. Enjoy! To support the podcast and find access to many more episodes, join our PATREON YOUTUBE OUR WEBSITE

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! Join our Patreon for 2 extra episodes per month, and the back catalogue of dozens of extra episodes. Subscribers can also sign up for our brand new reading group on Lacan's Seminar XI - The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. $5/month! You will also get access to our Discord server, a thriving community of Zizekians. This week we're talking Mary Shelly, myth & monstrosity, family, Freud and Frankenstein. For this episode, we've read "History and family in Frankenstein” in Zizek's In Defense of Lost Causes. Why are stories so often posed through the motif of the family drama? Does the myth of the family distract from the real historical frame of the novel? Who coined the term capitalist realism? Is the mistake of calling the monster "Frankenstein" like calling a soda "Coke"? Enjoy! YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM WEBSITE

UNLOCKED - Ž & So On is back with part two of our conversation with Austrian philosopher, and lovely guy Robert Pfaller. We’re talking les non-duped errant, interpassivity and soccer, delegated enjoyment, cuckholds and drinking games. Will is breathing mould in Paris, Peter’s drinking coffee without cream and Michael gets bitten by a spider. Big thanks to our Patreons for all your support. We have some cool interviews and episodes lined up, stick around!  If you missed PART ONE listen here: Ž&... https://www.zizekandsoon.com  https://www.instagram.com/zizekandsoon  https://www.twitter.com/zizekand  https://www.youtube.com/zizekandsoon

UNLOCKED: Today we're talking Žižek's chapter in his book Absolute Recoil called "The Violence of the Beginning". The reading begins with the notion that there is "nothing prior to the loss" of the sense of lost origins. Žižek then sets into play the idea of the self-alienation of spirit in the realm of translation to show the original brokenness of God Himself. We also question who the real James Bond is, hystericize Eliot's Prufrock, and discuss Emmanuel Carrere's novel The Moustache, all the while wondering—if we really meant what we said.  Dig it! SUPPORT THE PODCAST: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! This week the fellas read through Žižek’s Looking Awry. We’re talking anamorphosis, Shakespeare, Zeno’s Paradoxes and the end of the world. Will is in the woods, Peter is at a gathering and Michael’s cat is out of the bag. Thank you to all our fellow Thespians, Ž&… PODCAST YOUTUBE INSTAGRAM

This week, the fellas speak to Clint Burnham, professor at Simon Frasier University, and author of "Does the Internet Have an Unconscious? Slavoj Žižek and Digital Culture". We get into Žižek & the internet, perversion and technology, and viral psychoanalysis. Clint Burnham is the author of The Jamesonian Unconscious: The Aesthetics of Marxist Theory (1995), Fredric Jameson and The Wolf of Wall Street (2016), Does the Internet Have an Unconscious?: Slavoj Žižek and Digital Culture (2018), Lacan and the Environment (2021) To support the podcast and find access to many more episodes, join our PATREON YOUTUBE OUR WEBSITE Thanks everybody

To hear the rest of our discussion head to our PATREON. In which the fellas dish on the recent developments in AI technology, the Žižek-Herzog (bad) "infinite conversation", coffee without cream, the interpassivity of artificially generated emails, learn what a billabong is from the resident Australian, that Will doesn't know how to use a mic, and get Peter's version Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai. WEBSITE INSTAGRAM TWITTER YOUTUBE Articles: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-post-human-future-by-slavoj-zizek-2023-04 https://www.sublationmag.com/post/chatgpt-says-what-our-unconscious-radically-represses https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-an-endless-conversation-with-werner-herzog-can-teach-us-about-ai/

This week, the fellas chat with Austrian philosopher Robert Pfaller, Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Theory at the University of Art and Design in Linz, and a founding member of a Vienna based psychoanalysis research group. We’re talking Illusions without Owners, Interpassivity, delegated enjoyment, What Life is Worth Living For and of course the sexual practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Will is in Paris, Peter is enjoying live music interpassively and Michael is subject to a gag order. To hear the rest of our discussion head to our PATREON for PART TWO, Discord access and many more episodes! Thank you to everyone for all of your support! WEBSITE INSTAGRAM TWITTER YOUTUBE

Alright, this week we’re speaking with the Austrian philosopher Robert Pfaller, Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Theory at the University of Art and Design in Linz and a founding member of a Vienna based psychoanalysis research group. We’re talking Illusions without Owners, Interpassivity, delegated enjoyment, What Life is Worth Living For and of course the sexual practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Will is in Paris, Peter is enjoying live music interpassively and Michael is subject to a gag order. To hear the rest of our discussion head to our PATREON and stay tuned for PART TWO! Thank you to everyone for all of your support! WEBSITE INSTAGRAM TWITTER YOUTUBE

This week, &... talks Hegel's influence on Lacan. Working off Zizek's Most Sublime Hysteric, the fellas find themselves in Germany, a dance club in Argentina, and experience a perfect day with Lou Reed and Pavaratti To support the podcast, join us on our PATREON zizekandsoon.com  Youtube Channel @zizekandsoon

This is a preview of a full episode available on our patreon. Today we're talking Žižek's chapter in his book Absolute Recoil called "The Violence of the Beginning". The reading begins with the notion that there is "nothing prior to the loss" of the sense of lost origins. Žižek then sets into play the idea of the self-alienation of spirit in the realm of translation to show the original brokenness of God Himself. We also question who the real James Bond is, hystericize Eliot's Prufrock, and discuss Emmanuel Carrere's novel The Moustache, all the while wondering—if we really meant what we said.  SUPPORT THE PODCAST  zizekandsoon.com  Youtube Channel

Alright, the gang is back and this week we're talking the newly published book "Žižek Responds!" where we focus on Todd McGowan's entry in the collection: "Slavoj Žižek Is Not Violent Enough". Is the violence of the death drive and its self-sabotage the first emancipation that subsequently establishes the pattern for all later political acts of emancipation? Can Will grow a moustache? Does Žižek play classical piano? Stick around to the end to hear the fellas talk about their recent meeting with Žižek, Todd McGowan & Russell Sbriglia. We've got some very interesting interviews coming up, please support us on Patreon to keep us going! SUPPORT US ON PATREON FTKNWTD COURSE

We continue our conversation with Dr. Flisfeder on his book "Algorithmic Desire, Toward a New Structuralist Theory of Social Media". Matt also gives us the behind the scenes scoop on the 'Debate of the Century' with Jordan Peterson.  Enjoy! TO SUPPORT US AND LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE https://matthewflisfeder.com/  Buy the book here zizekandsoon.com  Youtube Channel

This is part one of our interview with Dr. Matthew Flisfeder, associate professor at the University of Winnipeg, and writer of books on Žižek and film theory, postmodernism and Blade Runner, and most recently, "Algorithmic Desire, Toward a New Structuralist Theory of Social Media".  Dr. Flisfeder taught a four month course on Žižek's book "For They Know Not What They Do: Enjoyment as a Political Factor" with us which you can access through our Patreon and Discord here: FTKNWTD COURSE Big thanks to Matt for taking the time to talk to us and stay tuned for part 2! SUPPORT THE PODCAST  https://matthewflisfeder.com/  Buy the book here zizekandsoon.com  Youtube Channel

This is a preview of part two of our conversation with acclaimed director Sophie Fiennes about her Pervert's Guide series. We discuss the Pervert's guide films, William Shatner, space and the abyss of freedom, as well as the recent Rockhill hit piece on Slavoj. Special thank you to Sophie Fiennes for giving us so much of her time and to everyone who has supported us over the last three years. Share the episode if you can as it really helps both the podcast and getting the final Pervert’s Guide out into the world. We have some great interviews and episodes coming up so stay tuned. Enjoy! SUPPORT US AND LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE! zizekandsoon.com

Alright, we're back! Today we're talking with acclaimed director Sophie Fiennes about her Pervert's Guide series.  We discuss film, ideology, AI, politics, Slavoj's close encounters and the early stages of the third instalment of her series: The Pervert's Guide to Utopia.  Special thank you to Sophie Fiennes for giving us so much of her time and to everyone who has supported us over the last three years. Share the episode if you can and keep an eye out for part two coming soon! Check out the FTKNWTD course with Matthew Flisfeder and our other Patreon episodes here: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Though we've been busy working through the ongoing reading group with Matthew Flisfeder on Žižek's For They Know Not What They Do: Enjoyment as a Political Factor we managed to get together to do an episode on enjoyment and prohibition as it is developed in FTKNWTD. Peter talks schoolyard pornography, Michael lost his job and Jake is back, what more can I say?  Thanks to Lorelai Gilmore. Žižek & So On Podcast Presents For They Know Not What They Do: A Reading Group with Matthew Flisfeder The audio recording of the first four sessions are now available for you to listen to on our Patreon which can be found here: FTKNWTD AUDIO SESSIONS Get on the Discord with us as we continue to prepare for the sessions together! Patreon Website Instagram Youtube

Today we're discussing Zizek's 2005 book "Interrogating the Real", and his afterword on Lacanian ethics.  What does not giving way relative to one's own desire mean? How does Lacan's maxim on desire contrast with Buddhism, and its conception of desire? Join us on our Discord by subscribing to the Patreon! We've got ongoing book and film-clubs, and our upcoming reading series with Matt Flisfeder on Žižek's "For They Know Not What They Do", beginning in October.  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This is a clip from the full episode, available on our patreon.  Today we're talking about Žižek's new book "Surplus-Enjoyment: A Guide For The Non-Perplexed", as well as an essay by him on the same topic. We touch on political correctness, surplus value, and the obscene drive of football. Enjoy! Listen to the full episode here. Also, subscribe to join our message board on Discord, our book and film-clubs, and our upcoming reading series with Matt Flisfeder on Žižek's "For They Know Not What They Do", beginning in October.

This week we discuss friend of the podcast Todd McGowan's 2013 essay, The Capitalist Gaze.  As Todd explains it, "Although the structure of capitalism is not homologous with the structure of the visual field, thinking about capitalism in terms of the gaze follows from the apparent neutrality that both structures share".   Peter has lost a finger, Michael is sick and Will cannot remember The Usual Suspects.  Take a break, have a Kit-Kat and find the essay here: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/527298  For access to many more episodes and our Discord, please support us on our Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon  https://www.zizekandsoon.com

On this week's patron ep, we talk the relation between form and content. Zizek suggests that, "the very gap between content and form is to be reflected back into the content itself, as an indication that the content is not all, that something was repressed/excluded from it". For Zizek, both form and content are incomplete; form itself becomes part of its content.   For access to the full episode (and many more), join our Patreon!   https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, the fellas talk through Žižek's 2002 essay, 'The Actuality of Ayn Rand'. For Žižek, Rand's over-orthodoxy to the capitalist ideal (unintentionally) undermines the ruling ideological edifice. Will has a haircut, Peter has a t-shirt, and Michael's roof is leaking. Subscribe to our Patreon for more content! https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

The fellas are back, working through Zizek's writing on the Freudian concept of melancholy in his 2001 work, 'Did Somebody Say Totalitarianism?'. The conversation orients around the melancholic as an expression of postmodern ideology, the function of objet petit a as a lost object, and where melancholy as a political orientation finds its limits. This patron ep is a bit short, but cut us some slack, Peter is baking in the sun on some farm. Enjoy! Žižek & So On Podcast New episodes every week — Join the Patreon for Discord access and Patreon exclusive episodes. zizekandsoon.com patreon.com/zizekandsoon

To hear the whole episode, subscribe to our patreon: patreon.com/zizekandsoon Just when we thought we were done with covid, it pulled us back in. Peter's got no mic. We're talking Pascal's Wager, freedom, Sartre's "No Exit", Hell (is other people), and scientific determinism. Thanks to all our patrons for your support! Today's reading is from Sublation Mag

This week the fellas talk Žižek's use of the Möbius strip. Žižek writes that "the Möbius strip stands for the basic dynamics of the order of being, for what was traditionally called the dialectical 'coincidence of opposites'". While working through the concept, &SoOn talks art, Top Gun, and Midnight In Paris. For access to more episodes and our discord, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Website: https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

Yes, folks, Jake's in the house and Will is in the Hamptons (???). Michael thinks it's winter, and Peter's super(calafragalisticexpialadoshus). More importantly—we're talking Zizek & Communism, the contemporary political deadlock, and why we need a third (red) pill. Enjoy! We read from Zizek's recent article "Last Exit to Communism" from https://www.philosophy-world-democracy.org/articles-1/last-exit-to-communism Head to zizekandsoon.com or patreon.com/zizekandsoon for the Žižek & So On Podcast New episodes every week — Join us on our Patreon for Discord access and many more Patreon exclusive episodes.

Our new Patreon episode: A long-overdue topic, for an overdue episode (sorry about that). We're talking jouissance, the contemporary political scene, and the coming winter in Australia. Enjoy! The reading for this week is Jodi Dean's essay, "Why Žižek for Political Theory?". Head to zizekandsoon.com or patreon.com/zizekandsoon to access the episode!

This week, the fellas talk the Lacanian notion of 'the Gaze' as discussed in Todd McGowan's 'Looking for the Gaze: Lacanian Film Theory and Its Vicissitudes'. Join our Patreon for more episodes! https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Website: https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

All the way back in our first episode we said we needed to do an episode on Zizek and Hitchcock. And here it is! This week we read "The Hitchcockian Blot" essay in Looking Awry. Along with this text, we talk about Rear Window, Psycho, and The Birds &... Enjoy! For the full episode (and many more), visit our patreon.

This week, the fellas are talking shit: subjectivity, the secrets of the Egyptians, and the Anal Object. Join our Patreon for more episodes! https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Website:  https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

Join our Patreon for the full episode! We dive into the first part of The Sublime Object of Ideology (again) and discuss Marx, Freud, the Symptom, and the Commodity Form. Enjoy! Instagram Youtube Website

We're talking Freud's essay "Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through". How does remembering come to be replaced by repetition in analysis? Why did Tony Soprano fix Dr. Melfi's car? And how does Nietzsche's concept of eternal return compare with Freud's notions of repetition and working through? Sign up to our Patreon for extra episodes, and to join our Discord: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Youtube https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

All work and no play makes Jake a dull boy and now he’s back to talk Žižek’s book "How to Read Lacan" and the empty gesture. Join our Patreon for the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Unlocked from our Patreon We're live with They Live—our episode on Žižek's famous interpretation of John Carpenter's wonderful 1988 film. We touch on Ž's points concerning "the glasses" of the critique of ideology versus the conventional notion of ideology—the rose colored glasses. We also think about the film as a Žižekian example, and push an interpretation of the film's alien beings as the "figure of" ideology. For more episodes and access to our Discord, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Oh, theres's a website too: https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

On this week's Patreon episode, the fellas talk the concept of the Beautiful Soul in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, it's political position, and place in Zizek's work. Sartre, Anne Frank, and Neil Young come up too For access to the full ep and our Discord community, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Also, Mike won't shut up about our new website: https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

Unlocked from our patreon:  Welcome to the desert of the Real. We're talking the Matrix, and the much discussed new installment, The Matrix Resurrections. For more episodes and access to our Discord, join our pateron.  We read this article for this episode.  as well as this.

This week, Matt Christman (of Chapo Trap House) joins us to talk hinge points, the experience of history, and the impasse of electoral politics. Thanks Matt! Join our Patreon for more episodes and access to our Discord:   https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Micheal wants you to check out our new website: https://www.zizekandsoon.com/

Subscribe to our patreon for the full episode: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon  Welcome to the desert of the Real. We're talking the Matrix, and the much discussed new installment, The Matrix Resurrections.                           We read this article for today's episode: https://www.lacan.com/zizek-matrix.htm as well as this: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-muddle-not-a-movie-slavoj-i-ek-reviews-matrix-resurrections

Listen to the full episode on our patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon We're back with Jack Black. More on Lacanian theory and comedy, with examples ranging from the Black Eyed Peas to Philomena Cunk. We begin with discussing celebrity and false comedy, and later engage (again) with covid and conspiracy theory. We also get the dish on Jack's favourite premier league team, interpassivity and sports, and decide, once and for all, that the Matrix surpasses Blade Runner as the paradigmatic film for Žižekian theory. More on that soon.

This week, the fellas are joined by Jack Black, Senior Lecturer at Centre for Culture, Media and Society, Sheffield Hallam University. Oriented around Jack's new book, 'Race, Racism and Political Correctness in Comedy' (Routledge), we talk 'true' and 'false' comedy, the concrete universal, the Office, and racist jokes. Thanks Jack! Get the book: https://www.routledge.com/Race-Racism-and-Political-Correctness-in-Comedy-A-Psychoanalytic-Exploration/Black/p/book/9780367508937 Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackstblack

We're talking Jesus Christ, Žižek's Christian Atheism, and Christmas. How do Christ and God figure in Žižek's work? Is God Dead? Also, the Big (m)Other. From the pod to you, merry Christmas—especially to the atheists. Thanks to all our listeners.  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Reading this week:  "The Deposed God" from Disparities 

This week, reading through Rex Butler's 'Slavoj Zizek: Live Theory,' the fellas talk the Master Signifier and Jaws, and somehow devolve into a Lacanian interpretation of Austin Powers.  Join our Patreon for more eps! https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon The Book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/slavoj-%C5%BEi%C5%BEek-live-theory-9780826469953/

For our patreon subscribers: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon After a harrowing month, we reassemble to reassess the assemblage of today's capitalism. But first, have you seen the new Beatles doc? In a recent article, Zizek has used the term "neofeudalism" to describe new dynamics of capitalism. We go back to the source for this terminology—an article by Jodi Dean—and discuss whether the term is more useful in diagnosing features of political economy than (a critique of) capitalism. Then we move on to Zizek's recent article in Philosophical salon and talk about water fountains, Bane, China, and continuing a critique of capitalism that keeps up with new and emergent forces. More to come very soon! Thanks to all our patrons for supporting and listening. Articles: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/neofeudalism-the-end-of-capitalism/ https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/beyond-a-neoconservative-communism/

This week, the gang discusses Zizek’s 2008 work Violence: wherein a girl gets a dragon tattoo, Pete gets mystical, and it rains again in Australia. For access to our patron episodes and to join our Discord server:  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

We're live with They Live—our episode on Žižek's famous interpretation of John Carpenter's wonderful 1988 film. We touch on Ž's points concerning "the glasses" of the critique of ideology versus the conventional notion of ideology—the rose colored glasses. We also think about the film as a Žižekian example, and push an interpretation of the film's alien beings as the "figure of" ideology. To hear the full episode, subscribe to our Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

For this week's episode the gang discuss Alenka Zupančič’s recent work on freedom-as-a-possibility, repetition, and The End. Jake gets a haircut, Will touches Marx’s chair, it rains in Australia and Pete has a lousy connection.  To subscribe to this and other patron episodes, and to join our powerful Discord server: click here

For the return to the patron episodes the fellas discuss Žižek’s writing on Lacan’s notion of “the letter always arriving at its destination”. For Žižek, the letter’s destination becomes a descriptive model triad of the Imaginary, the Symbolic, and the Real, and how the three concepts interact. In this episode, & So On explore’s the subject’s interpellation and misrecognition, contemplates Moby Dick, and questions the actuality of the dental dam. To subscribe to this and other patron episodes: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon To read along: https://www.lacan.com/symptom16/why.html

The fellas are back—and are accompanied by a new member. We dive into two recent articles from the Philosophical Salon. The first is by Fabio Vighi, who charges Žižek with capitulating too easily to new forms of social domination with his acceptance of lockdowns. Vighi argues that we now live “in a neo-feudal inferno where our Lords enslave us in order to protect us, and protect us in order to enslave us.” In his response, Žižek charges Vighi with missing the crucial lesson that the “brutal reality of the pandemic [is] a contingent event,” not some mega-plot knowingly developed and orchestrated by the establishment. The argument laid out by Vighi is, Žižek argues, dangerously close to a paranoid conspiracy theory. Following Žižek, we discuss how Vighi’s position is maintained by the fantasy of a consistent ordering of the antagonism at the heart of the social and the symbolic order. Yes, we’re back. Thanks to all our listeners, new and old, and our patrons who have stuck with us during our hiatus. More to come! Episode reading: Vighi: SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK, EMERGENCY CAPITALISM, AND THE CAPITULATION OF THE LEFT ; Žižek: LES NON-DUPES ERRENT

The lads compare notes on Freudian-Lacanian-Zizekian concept of the death drive.  For access to the full episode and many more: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU&ab_channel=carrieunderwoodVEVO

This week, we talk Žižek’s concept of the Neighbor. In contrast with Levinas’ ethics of the Other, Žižek understands the neighbour to be the site of a kind of inhuman monstrosity. We ask: who are we to speak, who are you to listen? Žižek’s text: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/N/bo16265666.html For more episodes, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

UNLOCKED patreon episode: Žižek on the politics of psychoanalysis—with reference to Gabriel Tupinambá's new book "The Desire of Psychoanalysis", the limits of Lacan, the crazy philosophy of the Ljubljana school, women and Hegel, and his upcoming works: ecology and Marx (and Hegel), and living and dying in a topsy-turvy world etc. Then some final remarks on television shows and Rammstein. Join us on patreon for extra episodes and a happening discord server: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Part 1 of our interview with Slavoj Žižek. Covid & philosophy; why we need "war communism" &... Join us on patreon to hear more episodes, and the upcoming second part— https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Patreon Preview - Better late than never, we take on Zizek's 2019 book "The Relevance of the Communist Manifesto''. We discuss how the Manifesto falls short in diagnosing the antagonisms of capitalism in its current iteration, yet also retains its ability to open up a relevant critique of capitalism. The limitations of the text identified by Zizek are problematized by contemporary features of capitalism he insists are crucial for understanding our predicament today—namely, the problem of (the privatization of) the commons, and the failure of the revolutionary subject to present itself.  Also, Foucault is cancelled. https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

The andSoOn crew lays the groundwork for understanding how and why Žižek uses examples. With reference to Robert Pfaller’s chapter in “Interpassivity” on Žižek, and relying on Matthew Flisfeder’s idea that materialism and idealism coincide in Žižek’s examples, the hosts discuss the exampling that supports Žižek's idiosyncratic style of intervention and analysis; and, how “the example” is ultimately what makes Žižek “enjoyable”. This week kicks-off a series of future episodes that will unpack and treat specific reoccurring examples throughout Žižek’s work. (See also our episode on the Antisemitism example, episode 34). Subscribe to our patreon here

We are back this week with a Patreon exclusive episode on the concept of Interpassivity. We locate the origin of the term somewhere in-between the thought of Žižek’s and Robert Pfaller. Referring to texts of each, we  define interpassivity within the scope of Althussier’s influence in the 90s, as the immanent response/critique to the prevailing ideology of “interactivity”. We discuss a few infamous examples of interpassivity from Žižek’s texts like “canned laughter” and “TiVo”, and consider how interpassivity structures the subject’s relating to the Other as the subject supposed to know, believe, and enjoy.  We also try to think through the constitutive role interpassivity plays in the subject/object relation, and how this might furnish an anti-ideological position – or, a secondary ideology that does not rest on becoming a subject, and liberates us from the injunction to “enjoy!”    N.B. This episode marks the anniversary of &SoOn. We want to thank all of you – and especially our patrons – for listening, supporting, and engaging with us this past year. The three of us agree that working on and producing the show has been the best and most redeeming part of an otherwise bizarre 12 months. We have already lined-up what will be some terrific interviews and collaborations over next few months, so we hope you stay tuned. Please like and share our episodes on whatever platform, and if you want to support us materially, you can subscribe to our Patreon. Stay safe out there, and enjoy your symptoms!  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon https://www.lacan.com/zizek-pompidou.htm https://www.robert-pfaller.com/20-years-of-interpassivity

Essential to Zizek's thinking on ideology is his denunciation of antisemitism. In this episode, &SoOn discusses how Lacan's 'pathologically jealous husband' is a key to understanding the true evil of antisemitism.  For access to the full episode and our discord, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

In our conversation with Todd McGowan we discuss his 2016 book Capitalism and Desire. Todd brings us through what he argues is the essential role of desire in capitalism—not as something which is repressed by the system, as many have argued, but rather how capitalism perpetuates itself through the very structure of desire. Without coming to terms with this, he says, any attempt to formulate a new system, or find the exit from capitalism, plays into the terms capitalism lays out in the form of “the promise.” Get the book here. Check out Todd McGowan’s podcast Why Theory, and his youtube channel. If you want to listen to extra episodes and join in on the discord group, visit our patreon page.

Today we discuss the parallax, one of the fundamental concepts of Žižek’s project. Parallax is “the apparent displacement of an object” wherein the observed difference is not simply relativized, but rather inscribed as a gap into the relation between subject and object. We find examples of the parallax view in the Coen brothers’ film Burn After Reading, and Coppola’s The Conversation; and consider Kant’s designation of phenomena and noumena as setting the framework through which to consider the parallax shift in Hegel’s notion of the subject. We also touch on Heidegger’s “ontological difference”, Lacan’s objet petit a as a parallax object, and the parallax as the very method by which these figures are read by Žižek. The reading material for the episode can be found here: https://www.lacan.com/zizparallax.htm And if you want to support us on patreon ($5 USD/month) and join the discord reading group, visit: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

A Coup d’etat? Unambiguously, NO. Terrorism? Let's think about why that term would be advantageous for the state to use. Insurrection? The right deed for the wrong reason.    Patrons: “We love you. You’re very special” To gain access to the full episode and our Discord, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

On the podcast this week we interview Agon Hamza, the author and editor of a number of books, including “Reading Marx'', co-written with Frank Ruda and Slavoj Žižek, and “Repeating Žižek”, in which he contributed “A Plea for Žižekian Politics”. We discuss the situation in Kosova, the EU—eurocentrism, and the remainder of the Balkans—the “problem” of Politics, the “borromean knot” of Žižek’s political theory, theory vs. practice, communism, and alienation. https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Hamza and Ruda’s Interview with Albin Kurti: https://crisiscritique.org/2020/2020kurti.pdf @Agonhamza @zizekand

In this episode we take a second pass at Žižek’s new book “Hegel in a Wired Brain”, and further discuss the concept of the wired brain and its limitations. Other topics include poetry, Winston-Churchill-Heidegger, the status of Spirit and subject, the signification/meaning distinction, and how singularity can’t take a joke. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hegel-in-a-wired-brain-9781350124417/

This week, we take a dive into Žižek's new book: Pandemic! 2: Chronicles of a Time Lost. Thanks for joining us this year, everybody! See you in 2021— To hear the full episode and many others, join our patreon @ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Season 2 soft-launch: The boys are back with a discussion on a 2019 interview with Alenka Zupančič in Crisis and Critique. This piece brings us back to thinking through the importance of psychoanalysis for philosophy, and also opens the door to talking about the ontology of sexuality from the Lacano-Hegelian perspective. article: https://crisiscritique.org/april2019/zupancic.pdf

In this Patreon exclusive episode & So On discusses the superego and the act. How does Zizek understand authentic action within the context of the symbolic order, capitalism, and the superego injunction to enjoy? How does an act break the symbolic co-ordinance and bring about an Event in subjectivity? Jake, Peter, and Will take a stab at it.  For access to this exclusive episode and others, go to: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon https://zizek.uk/the-superego-and-the-act/

This week, we take on Žižek’s concept of the Event and ask: what happens when something happens? Join our Patreon for more exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

In this Patreon exclusive episode, Jake, Peter, and Will pull back the veil of Samsara and chat about the limitations of mindfulness, whether meditation is better than a walk, and contemplate translation issues while Peter eats a piece of bread. For access to the full episode and much more exclusive content, join our Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, we discuss Zizek's approach to Buddhism. From the first Noble Truth, Buddhism describes human existence as an endless cycle of suffering, and posits the path towards enlightenment as the severing of attachment, and the cessation of desire. From a psychoanalytic standpoint, Zizek emphasizes that, in contrast, we enjoy our suffering (as when we fall in love, for example), and that desire cannot be simply done away with. After discussing the finer points of a Lacano-Helgelian critique of Buddhism, the fellas get into Zizek's other major critiques of Western Buddhism; its associations with science and capitalism. Towards this, Zizek writes that Buddhism is perhaps the ideal religion for capitalism and for the CEOs of Silicon Valley, since it's prescription to withdraw from the world, and to see it and one's self as illusory, does little to change the system of oppression itself, and assures the passive acceptance of hegemonic realism. To hear the second part of this discussion and access many more exclusive episodes, join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

On this week's episode, we get into Žižek's semiotic triangle of German, French, and English/American toilets. We discuss the metaphysical stance of the German toilet, the revolutionary posture of the French, and the utilitarian and pragmatic sensibility of the English toilet. We also talk about the waterless urinal, the austerity politics of low-flow taps, and many other excremental subjects. Take a seat and have a listen!

In this patreon-exclusive episode, we take a second pass at Žižek’s new book “Hegel in a Wired Brain”, and further discuss the concept of the wired brain and it’s limitations. Other topics include poetry, Winston-Churchill-Heidegger, the status of Spirit and subject, the signification/meaning distinction, and how singularity can’t take a joke. to hear the full episode and other extra content join our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, we take on Žižek's recent book, "Hegel In A Wired Brain" in what will be become an ongoing series. By way of introduction, we discuss: our animosity towards Elon Musk, Neuralink, the Singularity and the future of cyborg/human relations, and as always, the Matrix and the Simpsons. https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Twitter: @zizekand https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/hegel-in-a-wired-brain-9781350124417/

Patron Preview: our 9/11 episode where we talk the WTC, the passion of the real, the interior of capital, and conspiracy theories. Also featured: drones, the Iraq War, and Building 7. For the full episode:  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, the fellas discuss two recent articles concerning the ongoing pandemic, “The Will Not to Know,” by Slavoj Zizek, and “Social Distancing and its Discontents,” by Matthew Flisfeder. Using the articles as a starting point, we talk: the idea of “protest,” neoliberal ideology, the disruption of the symbolic order, and how the virus compels us to enjoy in different ways. "The Will Not to Know,” by Slavoj Zizek  https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/the...  “Social Distancing and its Discontents,” by Matthew Flisfeder  https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/soc... https://matthewflisfeder.com/ become a patron @ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Episode 20, a Patreon exclusive, is all about toilets. We discuss Žižek’s three examples of toilets (the German, French, and Anglo thrones) that form an ideological tripartite, each demonstrating different ways of dealing with the excrement of the Real. We also talk the austerity politics of waterless urinals and low-flow taps, “green” toilet paper, and how ideology permeates what we consider the most elemental and excremental. Take a seat, and have a listen join our patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon twitter: @zizekand

This week, we return to topics we discussed previously with Dr. Russell Sbriglia, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Literature Studies at Seton Hall University. We get Russell's take on Graham Harman's recent essay written in response to his book “Subject Lessons”, and get into the weeds on the debate between Object Oriented Ontology, and the Ljubljana school.   "Subject Lessons: Hegel, Lacan, and the Future of Materialism" Edited by Russell Sbriglia and Slavoj Zizek: https://nupress.northwestern.edu/cont...  "The Battle of Objects and Subjects: Concerning Sbriglia and Žižek’s Subject Lessons Anthology" by Graham Harman: https://www.degruyter.com/view/journa...  Join our patreon for extra episodes: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon  twitter: @zizekand

This episode, we take another stab at our failed attempt to talk about Žižek and film. Earlier in the week we spoke to Dr. Matthew Flisfeder, the author of the 2012 book The Symbolic, the Sublime, and Slavoj Žižek's Theory of Film— but we did not record the conversation. So, in our second attempt to tackle this crucial topic in Žižek's work, we talk about Matthew's book, as well as "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema", the choice between reality and illusion, the third pill, Hitchcock's MacGuffin, the parallax object, and wonder why film? Music at the close ("Stromboli") is by Matteo Ciambella https://matteociambella.bandcamp.com/ Dr. Matthew Flisfeder: @MattFlisfeder on twitter, https://matthewflisfeder.com/ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon  :  @zizekand : https://www.facebook.com/Zizek-and-So-On-126096985581365

An excerpt from our most recent patreon-exclusive content. This episode, we take another stab at our failed attempt to talk about Žižek and film. Earlier in the week we spoke to Dr. Matthew Flisfeder, the author of The Symbolic, the Sublime, and Slavoj Žižek's Theory of Film— but we forgot to record the conversation... So, in our second attempt to tackle this crucial topic in Žižek's work, we talk about Matthew's book, as well as "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema", the choice between reality and illusion, the third pill, Hitchcock's MacGuffin, the parallax object, and wonder why film? Join our patreon @ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

In this Patreon exclusive episode, we discuss our evolving thoughts on the covid crisis, then turn to a post-op on the Ben Burgis interview. We wonder how formal logic could be given a Hegelian twist, via Todd McGowan's book, "Emancipation After Hegel". https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

This week, we speak to Ben Burgis, professor at Georgia State Perimeter College and author (and co-author) of recent Zero Books publications "Give Them an Argument" and "Myth and Mayhem". Our discussion ranges from the Žižek v. Jordan Peterson debate, to the state of the Left (after its recent social democratic failures), the difference between formal and dialectical logic, and many other topics. patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

On this patreon-exclusive episode we discuss Žižek's eurocentrism. For Žižek, Eurocentrism isn't to be understood as a nationalist idea, but instead as an opening for truly universal political and philosophical horizons. In this excerpt from our Patreon exclusive episode, the fellas discuss Eurocentrism and multiculturalism; and how a return to 'authentic tradition' is an effect of, rather than a challenge to, the capitalist economic system.  Join our Patreon for full access to this and other episodes.  https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon

Patron-exclusive content @ https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon On this episode, we talk about Žižek's intro to Lenin 2017, as well as his 2009 book First as Tragedy, Then as Farce. Our discussion focuses on the idea of communism, especially as it relates to Žižek's Lenin, as well as the included and the excluded, resistance and working through, socialism/communism, the universal and the particular, and some fucked up dreams. 

Check out our patreon page for extra content: https://www.patreon.com/join/zizekandsoon On this episode, we talk to German philosopher Frank Ruda, senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Dr. Ruda is the author of a number of books, including Hegel’s Rabble, The Dash, and, the focus of today’s episode, Reading Marx—co-written with Slavoj Žižek, and Agon Hamza. We discuss Frank’s essay in the book “Marx in the Cave”—a short circuit between Plato’s myth of the cave, and Marx’s analysis of political economy. We touch on a range of topics, including the concept of an “experimental” reading of Marx, the links between emancipation and myth, Plato’s cave allegory as a depiction of the worker under capitalism, as well as the role of appearance and abstraction in understanding capitalism, the dynamics between the worker and time and freedom, the worker (un)animal, and the subject supposed to revolutionize.

On this patreon-exclusive episode, we talk about Žižek's June 22nd article "POWER, APPEARANCE, AND OBSCENITY". We touch on the topics of populism, political correctness, covid, the current protests, and object oriented ontology. To hear the full episode and to hear more content, check out our patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zizekandsoon Here's the link to the article: https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/power-appearance-and-obscenity-five-reflections/

This week, we speak to Dr. Russell Sbriglia, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Literature Studies at Seton Hall University. Our conversation orients around his new collection, “Subject Lessons”, edited with Slavoj Žižek. We talk Žižek, Hegel, subjectivity, and the “Ljubljana School’s” critique of New Materialism and Object Oriented Ontology.

This week’s episode of Žižek and So On, includes an interview with Slavoj himself, conducted on February 1st of this year. In the interview Žižek parses out what he calls the “post-modern deadlock.” This theoretical and political impasse, specific to the epoch of post modernism, is the product of a tension between what he identifies as the broad realist approach and the transcendental. In exploring this deadlock, Žižek speaks about the limits of Marx’s historical materialism, Judith Butler’s gender theory, and Lacanian psychoanalysis, each as separate examples of transhistorical ontology. Beyond this impasse, and in response to the current global situation, Žižek proposes historicizing historicism, in the practice of Hegel, so that we might see the emergence of an immanent, yet entirely new version of utopia, and that in the event of the catastrophic, there is something at work which is both potentially emancipatory, and universal.

A preview of the upcoming episode, a patreon exclusive, where Peter and Jacob discuss their interview with Eliran Bar-El; Žižek’s newest book PAN(DEM)IC; Communism and his role as the “sacrificial intellectual”.

This week on Zizek and So On we spoke with Eliran Bar-El (PhD), researcher at The University of Cambridge for Sociology. We discovered Eliran in reading his article titled “Anti-Anti-Zizek: Public Intellectuals and Global Pandemic” which is his response to the criticism regarding Zizek’s book PAN(D)EMIC!, his most recent work on the COVID-19 crisis. Eliran explains that the style of criticism surrounding Zizek evidences the uniqueness of his public interventions, and with reference to his background in sociology, we explore in conversation the notion that Zizek’s form of dialectic is best described as a kind of performance: that of the sacrificial intellectual.

https://www.patreon.com/join/zizekandsoon A preview for our first exclusive patreon content where we talk off the cuff on postmodernism, and upcoming guest Matt McManus' proposal for a thinking of postmodern...conservatism. The episode is our thinking-through topics relating to contemporary politics, postmodern philosophy (is it conservative?), Žižek's universalism, the pretensions of Neil deGrasse Tyson, and much more—in preparation for our conversation with Matt later this week. 

This week on Žižek and So On, the hosts talk the 1989 English publication of The Sublime Object of Ideology. Access to this complicated and great work is gained by way of the book’s title, as it denotes a synthesis of Marx, Lacan, and Hegel that allows Žižek to perform a nuanced analysis of ideology. Our reading of the book discovers in this new form of analysis, a connection between Žižek’s understanding of ideology and the ontological project at hand in his later work.

This week, on Zizek and So on, we interview Todd McGowan, professor of English at the University of Vermont. Todd’s thought centralizes on the likes of Hegel, Lacan, Freud and Marx, and he is the author of several books, most notably, “Capitalism and Desire: The Psychic Cost of Free Markets”, and last year's “Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution.” His newest book “Universality and Identity Politics” is set to come out this July.    Todd also co-hosts a terrific podcast with Ryan Engley called "Why Theory?" And we encourage you guys to seek it out.   Todd spoke with us this week about the unity of Hegel and Lacan that is present in both his work and Zizek’s, about post-structuralism, the concept of contradiction, and the problem of the subject.

The second half of our conversation with Slavoj Žižek in which he talks to us about love, jokes, examples, and the meaning of life. 

Our conversation with Slavoj Žižek about his work, and the most pressing questions which are occupying him.