The Politics of Ghosting: Dominic Pettman on Absence, Intimacy, and Digital Life

from Acid Horizon · host Acid Horizon

What does it mean to live in a world where relationships can vanish overnight, without explanation or closure? In this episode, Acid Horizon speaks with cultural theorist Dominic Pettman about his new book Ghosting: On Disappearance (Polity Press). Together we explore how ghosting unsettles intimacy, accountability, and narrative finality, reaching beyond dating apps into friendships, families, workplaces, and politics. Along the way we trace ghosting as both a form of psychic violence and a survival tactic, a symptom of our digitally mediated lives and a mirror of deeper patterns of absence in contemporary culture.Get the book: https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=ghosting-on-disappearance--9781509569946#:~:text=%E2%80%9CGhosting%3A%20On%20Disappearance%2C%20takes,tend%20to%20no%20longer%20believe.%E2%80%9DDiscount code: GHO20Tickets for Durations Festival 2025: https://dice.fm/bundles/durations-2025-b5eo?dice_id=M7371ecc8865&_branch_match_id=1500447579897861230&utm_source=web&utm_campaign=visit_bundle&utm_medium=bundle&_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXz8nMy9ZLyUxO1UvL1fc1NzY3TE1OtrAwM7WvK0pNSy0qysxLj08qyi8vTi2ydc4oys9NBQDPsz4mOwAAAA%3D%3DSupport the showAHRCCurrent classes at Acid Horizon Research Commons (AHRC): acidhorizonresearchcommons.comAHRC Course Archive: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/ahrc-course-archivesSubmit your course proposal: [email protected] LinksWebsite: https://www.acidhorizonpodcast.com/Linktree: https://linktr.ee/acidhorizonAcid Horizon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidhorizonpodcastBoycott Watkins Media: https://xenogothic.com/2025/03/17/boycott-watkins-statement/Subscribe to us on your favorite podcast: https://pod.link/1512615438Merch: http://www.crit-drip.comSubscribe to us on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1512615438LEPHT HAND: https://www.patreon.com/LEPHTHANDHappy Hour at Hippel's (Adam’s blog): https://happyhourathippels.wordpress.comSplit Infinities (Craig’s Substack): https://splitinfinities.substack.com/Music: https://sereptie.bandcamp.com/ and https://thecominginsurrection.bandcamp.com/

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Sep 28, 2025

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The Politics of Ghosting: Dominic Pettman on Absence, Intimacy, and Digital Life

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