Peter Rollins on the Tyranny of Happiness | The New Division (John Kunkel)

"You're in despair. You just don't know you're in despair." — Peter RollinsOn this episode of Podsongs, John Kunkel of The New Division takes the guest-host chair to interview Northern Irish writer, philosopher and theologian Peter Rollins as inspiration for a brand new song. John opens up on his influences — Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran Duran — before the conversation turns to Rollins' work: questioning certainty, exposing the contradictions we live by, and finding freedom from the relentless "tyranny of happiness," with Los Angeles cast as a spiritual "Mecca" selling wholeness to anyone who can afford it. Along the way Rollins unpacks desire, sacrifice, work and alienation, ideology, AI and the unconscious, the films that shaped him, and the parables behind his "pyrotheology" — and the talk becomes the seed of "Idols," a song about the things we all end up worshipping, good and bad.New single "Idols" by The New Division — out 26 June. Stream/pre-save: https://ffm.to/tnd_idolsTOPICSPeter Rollins on desire, contradiction, and ideologyThe tyranny of happiness and the demand to enjoyLos Angeles as a spiritual marketplaceLacanian psychoanalysis and the unconsciousWhy desire needs obstaclesSacrifice, meaning, and fulfillmentAI, consciousness, and the technological singularityFilms, storytelling, and creative inspirationJohn Kunkel’s influences: Depeche Mode, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Duran DuranWriting a song live on the podcastTIMESTAMPS00:00 Intro: welcome to Podsongs01:29 Why UK music hits different (New Order, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen)04:45 Keeping new wave alive06:18 Moving abroad: music logistics09:47 Writing 150 song demos14:41 Who is Peter Rollins?28:17 Peter joins the call31:50 LA and the demand to enjoy37:01 The tyranny of happiness38:35 The superego's demand to enjoy40:19 Why fulfilling your dreams can backfire41:53 The enjoyment hidden in sacrifice44:33 Why desire needs obstacles47:39 The unconscious and Lacan's "object a"52:56 Filmmaking and prohibition57:43 Negative universality and politics01:01:16 The church of contradiction01:05:29 AI, singularity and the unconscious01:12:42 Music tastes and influences01:14:08 Film picks: They Live and ideology01:19:49 Who inspires Peter now01:20:34 Writing the song live01:21:20 The Vegas parable and unknowing01:26:02 Where to find Peter Rollins01:28:43 The profane temple and lack01:34:51 Post-interview debrief01:39:07 "Idols" — song outroGUEST & MUSICIANPeter Rollins: https://peterrollins.comThe New Division: https://www.newdivisionmusic.comGet the newsletter, support the show, and download the song for just €/$1:https://podsongs.comWebsite: https://podsongs.comPodcast Episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodesMusic: https://podsongs.com/musicInstagram: https://instagram.com/podsongsTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/podsongsFacebook: https://facebook.com/podsongs#PeterRollins #JohnKunkel #NewDivision #Philosophy #Theology #Psychoanalysis #Lacan #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #Consciousness #Ideology #Desire #Happiness #Spirituality #Songwriting #SynthPop #NewWave #PostPunk #Podsongs #JackStafford