Episodes
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
Tuesday Aug 27, 2019
For a century, we have been subjected to ugly architecture. How did we get here, and what can be done about it? (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)
Sunday Aug 25, 2019
Sunday Aug 25, 2019
Steve Bannon loves this book. I don't. (The written version of this review was first published January 22, 2019. Written versions, in web and PDF formats, are available here.)
Friday Aug 23, 2019
On the “Dark Enlightenment,” and of Curtis Yarvin / Mencius Moldbug
Friday Aug 23, 2019
Friday Aug 23, 2019
My generally negative take on the lines of thought that fall under the umbrella of the "Dark Enlightenment." (The written version of this review was first published June 27, 2018. Written versions, in web, PDF and ebook formats, are available here. The web version also contains extensive comments, including responses from me.)
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
American Genesis: A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm (Thomas P. Hughes)
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
Wednesday Aug 21, 2019
This thirty-year-old book talks of a century of American technological progress that ended twenty years before it was published. What does that century of technological grandeur tell us about today? (The written version of this review, in web, PDF, and ebook formats, can be found here.)
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Eumeswil (Ernst Jünger)
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
Sunday Aug 18, 2019
This classic book, by the protean Ernst Jünger, is often taken to be a libertarian manifesto. That is entirely wrong. (The written version of this review was first published January 21, 2019. Written versions, in web, PDF and ebook formats, are available here.)
Friday Aug 16, 2019
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (James Fitzjames Stephen)
Friday Aug 16, 2019
Friday Aug 16, 2019
Today we offer thoughts about a contemporaneous attack on the "harm principle" of that avatar of Enlightenment and progressive thought, John Stuart Mill. (The written version of this review can be found here.)
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
On Battlefield V
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
Tuesday Aug 13, 2019
A complete analysis of the controversy surrounding the computer game Battlefield V. (The written version of this review was first posted January 16, 2019.)
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
The Language of the Third Reich (Victor Klemperer)
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
Sunday Aug 11, 2019
This book, Victor Klemperer's book "The Language of the Third Reich," appears to have been taken as instruction manual by a particular group today. (The written version of this review was first published January 11, 2019.)
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography (Robert Irwin)
Friday Aug 09, 2019
Friday Aug 09, 2019
A pause from the concerns of today, to discuss a famous polymath of yesterday. (The written version of this review can be found here.)
Wednesday Aug 07, 2019
Invisible Planets (Hannu Rajaniemi)
Wednesday Aug 07, 2019
Wednesday Aug 07, 2019
Thoughts on, and comparisons to, a bleak vision of the human future, that is not meant to be bleak. (The written version of this review can be found here.)