feminism | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel’s “Warspeak” on Strategies for Valuing (Part One)

February 15, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

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On Warspeak: Nietzsche’s Victory Over Nihilism (2020) with Dylan, Seth, and guests Michael Grenke and Jeff Black.

What’s a viable counter-ideal to the asceticism that Nietzsche thought is so pervasive? Lise’s book works out strategies for re-valuing that emphasize Nietzsche’s positive comments about the feminine and the power of words.

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Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel’s “Warspeak” on Strategies for Valuing (Part Two for Supporters)

February 15, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Continuing on Warspeak: Nietzsche’s Victory Over Nihilism with guests Jeff Black and Michael Grenke.

We get more into the “agonistic” relationship Lise describes between the feminine principle of Becoming with the masculine principle of Being, plus the role of comedy, the relationship between author and reader, and the sovereign individual.

Ep. 263: Lise Van Boxel’s “Warspeak” on Strategies for Valuing (Part One for Supporters)

February 15, 2021 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On Warspeak: Nietzsche’s Victory Over Nihilism (2020) with Dylan, Seth, and guests Michael Grenke and Jeff Black.

Pretty Much Pop #33: The Heroine’s Journey w/ Vi Burlew

February 27, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

How has Joseph Campbell’s “hero’s journey” as famously leveraged for Star Wars evolved with more female action heroes in film? Vi Burlew joins Mark, Erica, and Brian to talk not only about Rey, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Mulan, but also bring in Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Little Women, Jane Eyre, Working Girl, and of course Road House.

For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content for this episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.

This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life network and is curated by openculture.com.

Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Part Two)

January 27, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

Concluding Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): “The Woman in Love” and “Myths” with guest Jennifer Hansen.

We continue on the ailments of women under patriarchy as well as the existential problems that we’re all subject to. Are we doomed to isolation, or does existentialism allow for intimacy? Is marriage in “bad faith”? We also talk narcissism, abjection, and the film Marriage Story.

Start with part 1 or get the Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: “Easier than Leaving” by Michaela Anne, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #114.

Please contribute to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society through Mina Linsenmayer’s campaign at partiallyexaminedlife.com/cancer.

Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Part One)

January 20, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): “The Woman in Love” and “Myths” with guest Jennifer Hansen. What is love under patriarchy? We all want to achieve solidity in another’s eyes, but the Othered woman wants to live through the man, and the man sees the woman as his rejected corporeal character. Party time!

Don’t wait for part two; get the full, ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition now! Please support PEL!

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Ep. 234: Beauvoir on Romance in “The Second Sex” (Citizen Edition)

January 20, 2020 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment

On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): “The Woman in Love” and “Myths” with guest Jennifer Hansen. We explore the maladies of love, try to figure how B’s picture relates to modern romance and what her positive prescription for good love is, and use the recent film A Marriage Story as a case study.

End song: “Easier than Leaving” by Michaela Anne, interviewed on Nakedly Examined Music #114.

Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (Part Two)

December 29, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer 4 Comments

Continuing Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) with guest Jennifer Hansen.

How does one become a Subject and how do women traditionally get shut out of this process? We get into Vol. 2, “Lived Experience” where Beauvoir details how this drama unfolds in various stages of life. Also, religion, logic, the relation of biology to situation, and more. How do we modernize Beauvoir’s critique given the evolution in women’s positions since the book was written?

Start with part one or get the full, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: “Wrong Side of Gone” by Beth Kille as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #13.

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Ep. 232: Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” (Part One)

December 23, 2019 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

On Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949): the intro, conclusion, “Woman’s Situation and Character” and parts of “Lived Experience,” with guest Jennifer Hansen.

According to Beauvoir, Woman is historically conceived of by society (and herself) as “Other,” as not a Subject who creates and makes decisions. Her life is predetermined, revolving around marriage and child-bearing, and is so deformed by this situation.

Continue with part 2 or get the unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

Sponsor: Give effectively through givewell.org/PEL.

Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear, and the Self (Part Two)

November 12, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 1 Comment

Continuing on Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, ch. 1 and 2. We try to get clearer on Kristeva’s talk of “object,” the relationship between language and abjection, how Kristeva is advancing on Freud, how to be a mom that allows a kid to separate in a healthy way, and how abjection plays into religion and writing.

Listen to part one first, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, and don’t miss Mark’s Close Reading, available to Citizens and $1+ Patreon members. Please support PEL!

End song: “Eyes of Fire” by Jill Freeman, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #28.

Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Part One)

November 5, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 5 Comments

On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), ch. 1 and 2.

Kristeva writes about “abjection,” where we violently reject things like corpses, bodily wastes and other fluids, and the Lovecraftian unnameable that lurks at the edge of our awareness. Her book is also all about the self, suggesting modifications to Freud’s Oedipal complex and Lacan’s mirror-stage story. With guest Kelley Citrin.

Continue on part 2, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition, as well as Mark’s Close Reading, which we’ve made available to Patreon supporters at the $1 level. Please support PEL!

Ep. 202: Julia Kristeva on Disgust, Fear and the Self (Citizen Edition)

November 5, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 6 Comments

On Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980), ch. 1 and 2.

What is horror? Kristeva’s book is about a process she calls “abjection,” where we violently reject things like corpses, bodily wastes and other fluids, and the Lovecraftian unnameable that lurks at the edge of our awareness.

The book is also all about the self, suggesting modifications to Freud’s Oedipal complex and Lacan’s mirror-stage story. With guest Kelley Citrin.

End song: “Eyes of Fire” by Jill Freeman, as discussed on Nakedly Examined Music #28.

Watch out for Mark’s Close Reading/follow-up on this text, coming soon!

Ep. 188: Discussing “Lysistrata” and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part Two)

April 30, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

Concluding our discussion of Aristophanes’s play with Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins. We focus on trying to connect its lessons to the here and now: Is Lysistrata’s victory properly described as the ascension of some kind of “feminine spirit” over warlike values, and how does that actually relate to women’s struggles now to attain positions of power?

Listen to our performance and then part one of the discussion before listening to this (or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition). Please support PEL!

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Ep. 188: Discussing “Lysistrata” and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Part One)

April 23, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer 12 Comments

We are rejoined by actresses Lucy Lawless and Emily Perkins to discuss Aristophanes’s bawdy play. Listen to us perform it first.

Supplementary readings included Jeffery Henderson’s introduction to his 1988 translation of the play; “Sexual Humor and Harmony in Lysistrata” by Jay M. Semel (1981); and “The ‘Female Intruder’ Reconsidered: Women in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Ecclesiazusae” by Helene P. Foley (1982).

Continue with part two, or get the unbroken, ad-free Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

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Ep. 188: Discussing “Lysistrata” and Politics with Lucy and Emily (Citizen Edition)

April 22, 2018 by Mark Linsenmayer Leave a Comment