web02.fireside.fm Tue, 21 Apr 2026 07:00:27 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Outsider Theory - Episodes Tagged with “Covid 19” https://outsidertheory.fireside.fm/tags/covid-19 Sun, 06 Feb 2022 16:00:00 -0500 Outsider Theory is an interview-based podcast exploring the mutations of theories outside of the authorized spaces of intellectual life as well as theories of that ever-alluring figure, the outsider, and related subjects. en-us episodic Theory on the outside, theory of the outside, outside of the theory Geoff Shullenberger Outsider Theory is an interview-based podcast exploring the mutations of theories outside of the authorized spaces of intellectual life as well as theories of that ever-alluring figure, the outsider, and related subjects. no critical theory, conspiracy theory, outsider intellectuals, outsiders, the outside Geoff Shullenberger gshullenb@gmail.com HR-Karenism and its Enemies with Malcolm Kyeyune https://outsidertheory.fireside.fm/hr-karenism 7e8904ef-f9e2-421a-a2eb-06158352c445 Sun, 06 Feb 2022 16:00:00 -0500 Geoff Shullenberger full Geoff Shullenberger Malcolm Kyeyune joins me to map out the contours of class conflict today. 2:31:16 no Malcolm Kyeyune (@tinkzorg) joins me to map out the contours of class conflict today. Beginning with a discussion of the Canadian trucker convoy and other recent challenges to biomedical authoritarianism, we explore the managerial class's demand for ever-expanding intermediation (diversity consultants, localized public health bureaucracy, etc) in response to the spectral threats it confronts, from "fascism" to "misinformation." We also examine elite overproduction theory, the crisis of meritocratic ideology, the questionable prospects of the populist right, and much more. class conflict, Canadian trucker convoy, covid-19, vaccine mandates, professional-managerial class, populism, misinformation, meritocracy, elite overproduction Malcolm Kyeyune (@tinkzorg) joins me to map out the contours of class conflict today. Beginning with a discussion of the Canadian trucker convoy and other recent challenges to biomedical authoritarianism, we explore the managerial class's demand for ever-expanding intermediation (diversity consultants, localized public health bureaucracy, etc) in response to the spectral threats it confronts, from "fascism" to "misinformation." We also examine elite overproduction theory, the crisis of meritocratic ideology, the questionable prospects of the populist right, and much more.

]]> Malcolm Kyeyune (@tinkzorg) joins me to map out the contours of class conflict today. Beginning with a discussion of the Canadian trucker convoy and other recent challenges to biomedical authoritarianism, we explore the managerial class's demand for ever-expanding intermediation (diversity consultants, localized public health bureaucracy, etc) in response to the spectral threats it confronts, from "fascism" to "misinformation." We also examine elite overproduction theory, the crisis of meritocratic ideology, the questionable prospects of the populist right, and much more.

]]> Plague and Myth with @fitnessfeelingz https://outsidertheory.fireside.fm/plague-and-myth 307313a3-ccbc-4905-ab4b-a41ed61f896a Wed, 22 Dec 2021 14:45:00 -0500 Geoff Shullenberger full Geoff Shullenberger @fitnessfeelingz joins me to explore what René Girard can teach us about the Covid pandemic. 1:57:17 no @fitnessfeelingz posted a recent Twitter thread arguing that Covid is a modern myth: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1465794640481857542.html By this he means not that the pathogen SARS-COV-2 is not real, but that the existence of the pathogen does not account for its manifold social and political impacts. To make sense of these, we turn to René Girard's understanding of myth as a social technology that binds societies together in response to a common enemy. We consider how Covid-19 has come to perform this function, and why its limited efficacy in this regard only spurs more ritualized responses to it. https://outsidertheory.com/girards-revelation/ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rene-girard-cancel-culture-and-the-logic-of-sacrifice René Girard, scapegoating, sacrifice, Covid-19, coronavirus, myth, ritual, religion, divinity, pharmakos, pharmakon @fitnessfeelingz posted a recent Twitter thread arguing that Covid is a modern myth:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1465794640481857542.html

By this he means not that the pathogen SARS-COV-2 is not real, but that the existence of the pathogen does not account for its manifold social and political impacts. To make sense of these, we turn to René Girard's understanding of myth as a social technology that binds societies together in response to a common enemy. We consider how Covid-19 has come to perform this function, and why its limited efficacy in this regard only spurs more ritualized responses to it.

https://outsidertheory.com/girards-revelation/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rene-girard-cancel-culture-and-the-logic-of-sacrifice

]]> @fitnessfeelingz posted a recent Twitter thread arguing that Covid is a modern myth:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1465794640481857542.html

By this he means not that the pathogen SARS-COV-2 is not real, but that the existence of the pathogen does not account for its manifold social and political impacts. To make sense of these, we turn to René Girard's understanding of myth as a social technology that binds societies together in response to a common enemy. We consider how Covid-19 has come to perform this function, and why its limited efficacy in this regard only spurs more ritualized responses to it.

https://outsidertheory.com/girards-revelation/

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/rene-girard-cancel-culture-and-the-logic-of-sacrifice

]]>