Globalization and the Managed Devaluation of the Western Social- Welfare Democracies

Real and raw economic insecurity is driving the electoral turmoil on both the left and the right. The anxiety is energized by the brutal awareness that the deep seated, Liberal-Enlightenment belief in perpetual economic prosperity and political influence is colliding with the emergence of a new economic and political paradigm characterized by rapidly diminishing human value and the end of the nation-state. In this free-wheeling episode, "Globalization and the Managed Devaluation of the Western Social- Welfare Democracies," we investigate what the new economic and political paradigm means for our sense of "value," our income potential, happiness, and political efficacy. Enjoy. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Globalization_and_the_Managed_Devaluation_of_the_Western_Social-_Welfare_Democracies.mp3

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/24/news/economy/china-us-trade/index.html

From the Panama Papers to the Primary Election Process

Headlines scream: On both the Left and the Right, the Election Process is Rigged. The Panama Papers have shone a bright light into the obscure and byzantine ways political leaders and the wealthy "steal" public wealth through tax evasion. And last week, thousands of protestors were arrested in an attempt to "take back the Democracy." What is going on? In our most recent episode, "From the Panama Papers to the Primary Election Process: The Re-Emergence of Aristocratic Governance," we examine the emerging crisis between the overt power and influence of the intellectual and economic aristocracy and the masses who are still committed to the mythos of representative democracy. Enjoy. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/From_the_Panama_Papers_to_the_Primary_Election_Process.mp3

From Thoreau to Foucault: Metaphysical and Postmodern Accounts of Resistance and Civil Disobedience

As the political season of discontent continues to heat up, we have a little fun investigating Thoreau's and Foucault's account of Resistance and Civil Disobedience. In our latest episode, "From Thoreau to Foucault: Metaphysical and Postmodern Accounts of Resistance and Civil Disobedience," we examine and compare Thoreau's metaphysical account of resistance and civil disobedience to Foucault's postmodern account of resistance and ethics. Despite very important philosophical differences between Thoreau and Foucault, we identify some very interesting and important similarities in the thought of these unique and fascinating political philosophers. Enjoy! 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/From_Thoreau_to_Foucault.mp3

Civil Disobedience and the Season of Political Discontent

In recent months we have listened to Donald Trump suggest there might be riots if he is denied the Republican nomination, witnessed several acts of political violence, and now we hear the emerging chants from a group called Democracy Spring promising the largest civil disobedience action in American political history. In our most recent podcast, "Civil Disobedience and the Season of Political Discontent," we examine the current political environment through the lens of Henry David Thoreau's and Martin Luther King's account of civil disobedience. We begin by investigating what Thoreau and King meant by civil disobedience, what makes civil disobedience civil, and how they differ. We conclude the episode by reflecting on the question of whether the coming season of political discontent will remain civil, or if it will slip towards something more ominous. Enjoy. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Civil_Disobedience_and_the_Season_of_Political_Discontent.mp3

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/16/anti-trump-groups-threaten-largest-civil-disobedience-action-of-the-century/

Foucault, Disciplinary Power, And Your Threat Score

In our most recent episode, "Foucault, Disciplinary Power, And Your Threat Score," we investigate Foucault's account of Disciplinary Power and the way the primary strategies of Disciplinary Power--the control of space and time, surveillance, and the examination--fabricate subjectivity. In addition, we identify the way these techniques and strategies write and document our "identity" and constitute the substance of our "identity." We conclude this discussion by examining the relationship between Disciplinary Power and what is now called our "Threat Score." Did you know you had a Threat Score? Do you know you what your Threat Score is? Enjoy. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Foucault_Disciplinary_Power_And_Your_Threat_Score.mp3

De- legitimization, Political Violence, and Lockean Revolution

The recent episodes of political violence, emanating from both sides of the ideological spectrum, shocked the nation. Rhetorically ratcheting up the tension, Donald Trump mused that there might be riots if he is denied the nomination, while a left leaning critic of Donald Trump characterized the billionaire-populist as an "existential threat" to America. In our most recent episode, "De- legitimization, Political Violence, and Lockean Revolution," we examine these events and words from the broader perspective of a Crisis of Legitimacy in American economic, social, and political processes and institutions. We conclude the episode by linking this Crisis of Legitimacy to Locke's account of Revolution. Enjoy. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Delegitimization_Political_Violence_and_Lockean_Revolution.mp3

Fear, Death, and the Collapse of the American Political Space

In a recent interview, Noam Chomsky said, "fear, along with the breakdown of society" is responsible for the ascendency of Donald Trump's political influence. In this episode we investigate Chomsky's claim by locating fear in a broader historical and philosophical context, and we discuss how fear is both constitutive of the Modern, Liberal political-philosophical experiment and a mechanism for the unraveling of it. We conclude by trying to measure the extent of Chomsky's claim that we are witnessing the collapse of the American political experiment.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Fear_Death_and_the_Collapse.mp3

Link to Chomsky Article:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/02/noam-chomsky-donald-trump-fear-219723

The Battle over Fillings Scalia's Seat

In our most recent episode, Walker and Professor Dungey wade into the emerging political and constitutional crisis surrounding the appointment of the next Supreme Court Justice. Has ideological conflict now made it impossible to function within the existing legal and constitutional framework? Are we lurching toward the dissolution of the philosophical, institutional and social commitments that hold the Republic together? 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/The_battle_over_fillings_Scalias_seat.mp3

Foucault in the Real World

Our most recent podcast, "Foucault in the Real World: Disciplinary Power and the Construction of Human Agency," is our final episode of a Four Part Series. In our last episode, we examined what a Nietzschean and Foucaultian account of Language meant for their interpretation of Power and Human Agency. In this episode we illuminate what these ideas mean in and through an examination of Foucault's critique of the Enlightenment. What is disciplinary power? And why, according to Foucault, are we simultaneously prisoner in and guard over our own consciousness? Enjoy! 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Foucault_in_the_Real_World.mp3

The Implications of the View that Language is Power: Foucault's account of Power and Identity

Our most recent podcast, "The Implications of the View that Language is Power: Foucault's account of Power and Identity," is Part III in an ongoing series investigating the debate between Orwell's metaphysical account of Language and Human Agency and the emergence of a Nietzschean and Foucaultian account of Language as Power. In this episode, we investigate what Nietzsche and Foucault's Post-Metaphysical account of Language means for how we conceive of Power and Human Agency/Subjectivity/Identity. In this episode we move beyond Orwell's Liberal and Enlightenment account of freedom, language, and politics. Enjoy! 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Orwell_Part_3.mp3

The Orwellian State Part 2 - Language as Power

Our most recent episode, "Language as Power: Transcending Orwell's account of language through Nietzsche and Foucault," is Part II in a Four Part series. In our last episode, we discussed Orwell's claim that powerful, authoritarian governments have stolen our freedom of thought, speech, and action. In addition, we examined Orwell's metaphysical accounts of human freedom, rationality, and language that presuppose Orwell's claim that something has gone terribly wrong in the late-modern intellectual and socio-political space. In this episode, we raise the question: What happens if we abandon Orwell's metaphysical account of freedom and language. What happens if we approach language and power from a Nietzschean and Foucaultian perspective? What happens if we view Language as an Exercise of Power? Enjoy.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/the_Orwellian_State_Part_2_-_Language_as_Power.mp3

The Truth about the Orwellian State

In a recent article in Salon magazine, the author claimed that the GOP has become the party of Orwell's nightmare. Is this correct? What is Orwell's nightmare? In this episode we examine the "Orwellian Mythos," and try to decipher whether current American politics, on both the left and the right, have become the stuff of Orwell's nightmare. We conclude by arguing that Orwell was right, but in the wrong ways! Enjoy.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/The_truth_about_the_Orwellian_state.mp3

Executive Power (repost)

With one year to go in office, President Obama has once again actively "transformed" the legal, political, and institutional relations of power in the United States.  Enacting several "Executive Orders" relating to gun control and ownership, President Obama has by-passed Congressional authorization and acted unilaterally. This has ignited a storm of controversy not only over the Second Amendment, but equally as important over the fierce debate about the increasing power of the Executive. But, what is an "Executive Order"?  Where does it come from? AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHAT IS THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND PHILOSOPHICAL ACCOUNT OF "MODERN EXECUTIVE POWER" THAT ENABLES THE USE OF "EXECUTIVE ORDERS"?  In light of these historic events, we are re-posting our third episode, "Executive Power." This is critical information. Enjoy.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Executive_Power_repost.mp3

Life as Art #1 Graham Elwood

Two years ago DSU did a podcast called "Life as Art." In this episode we explored the philosophical foundations and implications of thinking about our identities as works of art. The response to the episode was so overwhelming that we decided to turn the "Life as Art" theme into a series. Each month we will interview individuals who are putting the ideas we discussed in the episode to work. For our inaugural episode, we interview Graham Elwood, a comedian and documentary film maker who pioneered the podcast field for comedians and who has recently released a documentary film about the power of podcasts to enable individual artists to carve out their own aesthetic and professional paths.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Life_is_Art_Graham_Elwood.mp3

Money in Politics

In our most recent episode, Walker and Professor Dungey wade into the emotionally charged and highly "political" issue of "Money in Politics."  It is often argued that "money" has corrupted "politics," and that if we could just get "money" out of "politics," we would be much better off. While these are important and legitimate observations, what are the historical and philosophical influences that have led us to where we are?  A clearer understanding of our modern, Liberal political-phiosophical heritage will shed light on the co-extensive relationship between the economic and the political.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Money_in_Politics_.mp3

Where does the hate come from?

Responding to the recent episode of political violence, Ben Carson stated: “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of extremism coming from all areas. It’s one of the biggest problems that I think is threatening to tear our country apart. We get into our separate corners and we hate each other, we want to destroy those with whom we disagree.” In this episode we examine the historical and philosophical origins of what Carson called hate, the emergence of tolerance, and Liberal-Democracy's attempt to contain hate, reduce violence, and create free and open social and political spaces. 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Where_does_the_hate_come_from.mp3

America's thrust for the Political Outsider

In last week's podcast, we examined the deeper philosophical and historical origins of the very idea of the political "outsider." in this episode we examine the specific characteristics of modern politics and reveal why significant numbers of Americans are exhausted with mainstream politicians and the American political process. You want to know 'why" Americans are tired of being lied to, and "why" they know their interests are being sacrificed for corporate and economic power and wealth, listen to this show!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Americas_thrust_for_the_Political_outsider.mp3

The Political Outsider

With only 90 days until the presidential primaries, two political "outsiders," Ben Carson and Donald Trump, continue to dominate the Republican party nomination contest. By the term political "outsider," people typically mean a candidate who has no significant, or any, political experience and is not part of the political establishment. America has a long history of political "outsiders," but is there a deeper philosophical and historical story behind all of this? In this podcast, we examine the theoretical and historical context of the political "outsider."

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/the_Political_Outsider_.mp3

Economic Justice

During the last Democratic Party Primary debate, there was one theme ALL the participants could agree on: Something terribly wrong and unjust has taken place in the American socio-economic experiment. Governor O'Malley stated, "there is profound economic injustice" in America. Hillary Clinton wants to "save capitalism from itself," and Bernie Sanders stated that "the current system is totally unjust." Common to all the participants is the belief in "economic justice and injustice." But, what is "economic justice"? And, does it exist in the philosophical lexicon of Liberal- Capitalism? 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/economic_justice.mp3

Can an Anti-Capitalist Socialist be President

During Tuesday's Democratic Primary debate, Anderson Cooper asked Bernie Sanders if he thought it was possible for an anti-capitalist socialist to be President of the United States. In this episode, Walker and Professor Dungey dissect Mr. Cooper's deeply misinformed description/question and demonstrate how the United States has transformed beyond the traditional definitions and uses of the terms socialism and capitalism.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/urdsu/Can_an_Anti-Capitalist_Socialist_be_President.mp3