Manifesto!

Epizodes

• Episode 90: Belonging in the Modern World 16.06.2026 1h 16min

  Phil and Jake are joined by the philosopher Ian Marcus Corbin, whose new book To Arrive Where We Started: Belonging in the Modern World, is out today. We discuss Nancy Fraser and bell hooks. The Manifesto: Nancy Fraser, "From Progressive Neoliberalism to Trump--and Beyond" https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2017/11/progressive-neoliberalism-trump-beyond/ The Art: bell hooks, "Habits of the Heart" https://www.amazon.com/Belonging-Culture-Place-bell-hooks/dp/041596816X Ian's new book: To Arrive Where We Started: Belonging in the Modern World https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300263626/to-arrive-where-we-started/
• Episode 89: Madame Murdoch 28.05.2026 1h 12min

  Jake and Phil are joined by Jenn Frey, a philosopher at the University of Virginia, to discuss Iris Murdoch and Madame Bovary The Manifesto: Iris Murdoch - The Sovereignty of Good https://eganphilosophy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Murdoch-The-Sovereignty-of-Good-Over-Other-Concepts.pdf The Art: Flaubert - Madame Bovary Manifesto! A Podcast is sponsored by Fairfield University
• Episode 88: Suprematism and the poetry of Ukraine 29.04.2026 1h 12min

  Jake and Phil are joined by Vladislav Davidzon to discuss Kazimir Malevich's The Manifesto of Suprematism and the poetry of Serhiy Zhadan. The Manifesto: Malevich, The Manifesto of Suprematism https://designmanifestos.org/kazimir-malevich-the-manifesto-of-suprematism/ The Art: Serhiy Zhadan https://poetrysociety.org/poems/three-poems-by-serhiy-zhadan https://www.wordsforwar.com/take-only-what-is-most-important
• Episode 87: The Information State 25.03.2026 1h 14min

  Jake and Phil discuss Jake's new book, THE DISINFORMATION STATE, where he argues that the technological infrastructure we've built to make society safer and more rational has steadily replaced democratic freedoms with systems of digital control. To buy the book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250363121/theinformationstate/
• Episode 86: Spacers, Fictosexuals and Freaks 03.03.2026 1h 18min

  Jake and Phil are joined by internet culture reporter Katherine Dee to discuss The Fictosexual Manifesto and "Aye and Gomorrah..." by Samuel Delany The Manifesto: The Fictosexual Manifesto https://vocal.media/humans/fictosexual-manifesto The Art: Samuel Delany, "Aye and Gomorrah..." https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fiction/aye-and-gomorrah/
• Episode 85: Zarathustra and Judge Holden 20.11.2025 1h 42min

  Phil and Jake are joined by Aaron Gwyn, an author and associate professor of English at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, to discuss Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. The Manifesto: Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1998/1998-h/1998-h.htm The Art: McCarthy, Blood Meridian https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/110472/blood-meridian-by-cormac-mccarthy/ Other Links: Aaron Gwyn's The Cannibal Owl https://bellepointpress.com/products/the-cannibal-owl
• Episode 84: Philip Roth and Ecclesiastes 27.10.2025 1h 4min

  Jake and Phil discuss Philip Roth's 1961 essay "Writing American Fiction" and the Qohelet, also known as the Book of Ecclesiastes The Manifesto: Philip Roth, "Writing American Fiction" https://www.commentary.org/articles/philip-roth/writing-american-fiction/ The Qohelet https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201&version=KJV
• Episode 83: Resist and Howl 29.09.2025 1h 20min

  Jake and Phil are joined by Amy Sohn, author of The Man Who Hated Women: Sex, Censorship, and Civil Liberties in the Gilded Age, to discuss the 1967 anti-war manifesto A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority and Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem Howl. The Manifesto: A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority https://vietnamwar.lib.umb.edu/warHome/docs/1967CallToResistIllegit.html The Art: Allen Ginsberg, Howl https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howl
• Episode 82: The Dark Mountains of Madness 28.08.2025 1h 40min

  Jake and Phil are joined by Roy Scranton, author of Impasse: Climate Change and the Limits of Progress, to discuss the Dark Mountain Manifesto by Paul Kingsnorth and Dougald Hine and The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft. The Manifesto: The Dark Mountain Manifesto https://dark-mountain.net/about/manifesto/ The Art: HP Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/fiction/cc.aspx Roy Scranton, Impasse https://www.sup.org/books/literary-studies-and-literature/impasse
• Episode 81: In the Moral Wilderness with MacIntyre and Camus 29.07.2025 1h 7min

  Jake and Phil discuss Alasdair MacIntyre’s Notes from the Moral Wilderness and Camus’ short story The Guest The Manifesto: Alasdair MacIntyre, Notes from the Moral Wilderness https://www.scribd.com/document/123091458/Notes-from-the-Moral-Wilderness-Alasdair-MacIntyre The Art: Camus, The Guest https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1957/12/the-guest/642533/
• Episode 80: Thomas Mann and Abraham Lincoln in Wartime 28.06.2025 1h 16min

  Phil is joined by Morten Hoi Jensen, literary critic and author of the forthcoming "The Master of Contradictions Thomas Mann and the Making of The Magic Mountain," to discuss Thomas Mann's 1914 "Thoughts in Wartime" and Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address The Manifesto: Thomas Mann, "Thoughts in Wartime" https://www.nyrb.com/products/reflections-of-a-nonpolitical-man The Art: Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address https://www.nps.gov/linc/learn/historyculture/lincoln-second-inaugural.htm To pre-order Morten's book: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300233742/the-master-of-contradictions/
• Episode 79: Kitsch, Pop, and Democratic Art 27.05.2025 1h 20min

  Jake and Phil discuss Clement Greenberg's 1939 "Kitsch and the Avant-Garde" alongside Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" and Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" The Manifesto: Clement Greenberg, "Avant-Garde and Kitsch" https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1606923282/slcschoolsorg/wumlyaskvhhzawsvbbzc/Avant-GardeandKitsch.pdf The Art: Taylor Swift, "I Knew You Were Trouble" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNoKguSdy4Y Leonard Cohen, "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWZo7UmCbBc
• Episode 78: Reflections on the Atom Bomb 30.04.2025 1h 5min

  Jake and Phil discuss Teilhard de Chardin's 1946 Some Reflections on the Spiritual Repercussions of the Atom Bomb and Charles Mingus' "Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me," off of his 1962 album Oh Yeah. The Manifesto: Teilhard de Chardin - "Some Reflections on the Spiritual Repercussions of the Atom Bomb" https://www.religion-online.org/book-chapter/chapter-8-some-reflections-on-the-spiritual-repercussions-of-the-atom-bomb/ The Art: Charles Mingus - "Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaeVLd4G1Zg
• Episode 77: Fascist Apologetics and the Memoirs of an Anti-Semite 27.03.2025 1h 37min

  Jake and Phil discuss David Jones 1939 essay on Hitler, courtesy of Thomas Dilworth's "David Jones and Fascism," alongside Gregor von Rezzori's "Troth," from his Memoirs of an Anti-Semite The Manifesto: Thomas Dilworth, "David Jones and Fascism" https://www.jstor.org/stable/3831437 The Art: Gregor von Rezzori, "Troth," from his Memoirs of an Anti-Semite https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1969/04/26/memoirs-of-an-anti-semite
• Episode 76: Against Poets 27.02.2025 1h 10min

  Phil and Jake discuss Witold Gombrowicz's "Against Poets" and Czeslaw Milosz's "Ars Poetica?" The Manifesto: Witold Gombrowicz, "Against Poets" https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.12987/9780300183399-006/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOopUFE9LX61sfmOAYszduQw78uOlvfHGgFOUPvi-0afjm9eQ2nhI The Art: Czeslaw Milosz, "Ars Poetica?" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49455/ars-poetica-56d22b8f31558
• Episode 75: American Honor and the Iliad 25.01.2025 1h 12min

  Jake and Phil discuss Phil's New York Times essay "Trump, Hegseth, and the Honor of the American Military" and Homer's "Embassy to Achilles" The Manifesto: Phil Klay, "Trump, Hegseth, and the Honor of the American Military" https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/opinion/trump-hegseth-military-morality.html The Art: Homer, "Embassy to Achilles" https://www.penguinbookshop.com/book/9780140275360
• Episode 74: Christmas Poetry and the Pogues 21.12.2024 53min

  Jake and Phil discuss Thomas Hardy’s The Oxen, TS Eliot’s Journey of the Magi, and The Pogues Fairytale of New York Thomas Hardy - The Oxen https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53215/the-oxen-56d232503c32d TS Eliot - Journey of the Magi https://poetryarchive.org/poem/journey-magi/ The Pogues - Fairytale of New York https://youtu.be/j9jbdgZidu8?si=AWYk4ya5bFPUyFtd
• Episode 73: Is America Ready for a Religious Revival? 26.11.2024 1h 30min

  Jake and Phil are joined by Ross Douthat, New York Times columnist and author of the forthcoming Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, to discuss Ross' essay "Is the World Ready for a Religious Comeback" and Christian Wiman's 2008 essay in the American Scholar, "My Bright Abyss" The Manifesto: Ross Douthat, "Is the World Ready for a Religious Comeback" https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/19/opinion/religion-atheism-books.html The Art: Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss https://theamericanscholar.org/my-bright-abyss/ Pre-order Ross' book https://www.zondervan.com/9780310367604/believe/
• Episode 72: Revolutionary Art and Coat-Snatching Ghosts 28.10.2024 1h 13min

  Jake and Phil discuss Leon Trotsky's "Communist Policy Toward Art" and Gogol's "The Overcoat" The Manifesto: Leon Trotsky - "Communist Policy Toward Art" https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1924/lit_revo/ch07.htm The Art Gogol - "The Overcoat" https://www.fountainheadpress.com/expandingthearc/assets/gogolovercoat.pdf
• Episode 71: Politics and Merciless Nature 27.09.2024 49min

  Phil and Jake discuss Joan Didion's "Politics in the New Normal America" and Robinson Jeffers "Fire on the Hills" The Manifesto: Joan Didion, Politics in the New Normal America https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2004/10/21/politics-in-the-new-normal-america/ The Art: Robinson Jeffers, Fire on the Hills https://ronnowpoetry.com/contents/jeffers/FireontheHills.html For more on Jeffers in Czechoslovakia, see The Warm Reception of Robinson Jeffers’s Poetry in Cold War Czechoslovakia, by Petr Kopecky https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/169/edited_volume/chapter/1524695/pdf