PODCAST · education
Academic Edgelords
by Academic Edgelords
This is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflys, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is a leftist podcast that takes a second look at their peer-reviewed work, and tries to see if there’s anything we might learn from arguing with them. We are hosted by: Victor Bruzzone, Gordon Katic, Matt McManus, and Ethan Xavier (AKA “Mouthy Infidel”).
Episodes
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EP32: Should We Blackball People With Immoral Views? (Interview With Jason Brennan)
In this episode I spoke to Jason Brennan, philosopher at Georgetown University, likely best known for the provocatively titled Against Democracy. We discuss many topics, including fallibility, moral judgment, and what we owe each other across deep disagreement. We cover his case against…
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EP31: Should Random People Rule Us? (Interview With Alex Guerrero on Lottocracy)
After a long hiatus, we are back! This time Victor talks with Alex Guerrero about his recent book, Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections. According to Guerrero, elections systematically reward ambition, status-seeking, and elite competition rather than good democratic judgment. This, he argues...
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EP30: Is Surveillance Capitalism Really That Bad? (On Königs “In Defense of ‘Surveillance Capitalism”)
Critics like Shoshana Zuboff call Big Tech a parasitic system of control—but philosopher Peter Königs thinks that story is overblown. His 2024 Philosophy & Technology paper argues that the panic around “surveillance capitalism” exaggerates its harms and ignores its benefits. We discuss his case...
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EP29: Is Cultural Appropriation Really That Bad? (On Kershnar and Brey’s “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”)
In this episode, we read “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”, by Stephen Kershnar and Nathan Bray. In it, they argue that cultural appropriation is neither morally wrong nor socially harmful. They reject claims that it constitutes theft, disrespect, or oppression, insisting that no one owns...
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EP28: Is it Okay to be a Moderate? (On Marcus Arvan’s “Why it’s OK to Be a Moderate”)
Is moderation just fence-sitting, or is it a forgotten virtue? In this episode, we sit down with philosopher Marcus Arvan to discuss his new book Why It’s OK to Be a Moderate. We dig into why radicals often steal the spotlight, how moral certainty can slip into fanaticism, and why history may...
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EP27: Should We Use Violence To Protect Animals? (On Ivar Hardman’s “In Defence of Direct Action”)
In this episode, we explore a very provocative argument in contemporary animal ethics: the moral defense of violent direct action to protect animals. The pseudonymous philosopher Ivar Hardman challenges both mainstream liberal ethics and the cautious pacifism of figures like Peter Singer and Tom...
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EP26: Should We Defer To Marginalized Perspectives? (On Tilton and Toole’s Epistemology of Deference)
In this episode, we delve into Emily Tilton and Briana Toole’s forthcoming chapter, “Standpoint Epistemology and the Epistemology of Deference,” featured in the Blackwell Companion to Epistemology. We are joined by two guests: Michelle Charette, who recently completed her PhD in Science and...
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EP25: Is Liberal Socialism an Oxymoron? (On Matt McManus’ Liberal Socialism)
In this episode, we dive into Matt McManus’ The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism and ask whether the fusion of liberalism and socialism makes sense – or if it’s just a contradiction in terms. McManus argues that liberal values like individual rights and democracy can be reconciled with...
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EP24: Do We Need Nuanced Academic Theories (On Kieran Healy’s Article “F**k Nuance”)
In this episode, we read Kieran Healy’s provocatively titled essay, “F**k Nuance,” where he argues that an overemphasis on nuance can hinder the development of effective sociological theory. He argues that piling on distinctions can make theories more convoluted without making them more useful....
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EP23: Is Monogamy Immoral? (EP19 follow-up Feat. Harry Chalmers)
On this episode, we return for a sequel to EP19’s topic: the potential immorality of monogamy. On that episode, we discussed Harry Chalmers’ paper “Is Monogamy Morally Permissible?” This time, we interview the man himself to see where our discussion might have gone wrong the first time around. We...
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EP22: Should We Abolish Elections? (On Guerrero’s Lottocracy)
What if democracy isn’t broken, but its very foundation—elections—is the problem? In this episode, we unpack Alexander Guerrero’s provocative case for lottocracy: a system that replaces elected officials with randomly selected citizens. Guerrero argues that elections breed inequality, corruption,...
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EP21: Is There Space for Revolutionary Thought Online? (Interview with Mike Watson)
In this episode, we welcome Mike Watson, political theorist, artist, and author, to explore the intersections of digital culture, socialism, and existential thought. We read Mike’s new book, Hungry Ghosts in the Machine, where he explores how online culture shapes community, addiction, and...
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EP20: Are Humans Actually Irrational? (On Thaler and Sunstein’s Libertarian Paternalism) Feat. Gordon Katic
In this episode, we ask, how irrational are human beings really? To answer this, we read Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein’s classic essay on “libertarian paternalism” which argues that because human beings are easily manipulated by their surrounding “choice architecture”, governments should...
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EP19: Is Monogamy Morally Permissible (On Harry Chalmers’ Argument Against Monogamy)
In this episode, we examine Harry Chalmers’ provocative take: monogamy is morally suspect. Why should we treat restricting romantic partners any differently than restricting friendships? Since restricting our partner’s friends would seem pathological, so too, restricting sexual and romantic...
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EP18: Is Free Speech Actually Bad? (On Brian Leiter’s Case Against Free Speech)
On this episode, we dive deep into Brian Leiter’s “The Case Against Free Speech.” Leiter questions the sanctity of free speech, suggesting that not all speech deserves equal protection if it causes societal harm. Is it really a blanket right, or are we just covering up society’s harms? Tune in as...
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EP17: Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First? (Smilansky’s Designer Ethics) Ft. Ben Burgis
In this episode, we delve into Saul Smilansky’s provocative paper, “Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First?” which introduces the concept of “Designer Ethics” (DE). Smilansky argues that individuals’ moral views should influence how they are treated in moral dilemmas, suggesting that...
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EP16: Should Philosophers Stay Out Of Politics? (On van der Vossen’s Defence of The Ivory Tower)
On this episode, we read Bass van der Vossen’s “In defense of the ivory tower: Why philosophers should stay out of politics“. In it, van der Vossen argues that academic philosophers have a duty to avoid engaging in politics. On this view, philosophers should stay in their lane. That lane being…
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EP15: Is Zoophilia Morally Permissible? (On Bensto’s Defence of Zoophilia)
Hide your cats, hide your dogs, we’re talking about Zoophilia. In 2023, the very edgy Journal of Controversial Ideas published “Zoophilia Is Morally Permissible“. In it, Fira Bensto (pseudonym) attacks one of our most deeply entrenched social taboos: animal-human sex. We recorded this episode…
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EP 14: What if Moral Philosophy is Immoral? (On Brennan and Freiman’s Moral Philosophy’s Moral Risk)
We’re back! For our relaunch episode, we chose an article that helps us reflect on this podcast’s mission: “Moral Philosophy’s Moral Risk” by Jason Brennan and Christopher Freiman. The paper argues that there is a difficult dilemma at the root of moral philosophical inquiry: either philosophers...
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EP13: What if There’s No Meaning to Life? (On Benatar’s The Human Predicament)
This week we ask probably the most commonly uttered philosophical question: is there a meaning to life? To help us approach an answer, we read the first few chapters of philosopher David Benatar's The Human Predicament.
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EP12: Is Making Friends with the Far-Right a Good Way to Research Them? (ft. Benjamin Teitelbaum)
We interview Benjamin Teitelbaum about his controversial ethnographic methods and the unsavoury people he studies. "They go by many names: outsiders describe them as right-wing extremists, organized racists, or neofascists, and they tend to call themselves nationalists. I call them friends,"…
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EP11: Is Post-Truth Actually Good? (On Fuller’s Post-Truth as Power Game)
We revisit a curious academic debate in science and technology studies, or STS. After 2016, some claimed that leftist humanities scholars played a role in creating the post-truth moment. And Steve Fuller argued that there's nothing wrong with that.
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EP10: Is Equality of Opportunity Not Valuable? (On Stephan Kershnar’s Attack on Equality of Opportunity)
This week we have one of our first encounters with the Academic Edgelord final boss, Stephan Kershnar. We actually look at one his milder takes, which argues against equality of opportunity. We'll examine the case, and also ask what exactly Kershnar is in general: a useful gadfly, a dishonest...
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EP9: Are There Enough Conservatives in Academia? (On Whittington’s Case for Ideological Diversity)
On this episode, we debate whether ideological diversity on campus matters. We consider the extent to which it is even true that ideological diversity is a problem on university campuses, and if it is, what the best ways to solve it might be.
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EP8: Should the Knowledgable Rule? (On Jason Brennan’s “Against Democracy”)
On this week's episode, we read Jason Brennan's 2016 book, "Against Democracy". In it, Brennan offers a controversial argument for replacing democracy with an "epistocracy" - rule by the knowledgeable.
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EP7: Should We Support Affirmative Action? (On Pojman’s Case Against Affirmative Action)
On this episode, we read Louis Pojman's 1998 article, "The Case Against Affirmative Action". We debate whether any of his arguments against the practice of affirmative action have any merit from the perspective of left politics. We also consider whether class-based affirmative action is preferable.
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EP6: Is A.I. Going To Kill Us All? (On Richard Ngo’s A.I. Safety First Principles)
Might a future AI actually take over and dominate, or potentially even destroy humanity like some Skynet-like scenario? Some technologists worry it might, and so does Ethan. We debate how seriously we should take the AI safety discourse.
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EP5: Is Whiteness Parasitic? (On Donald Moss’ “On Having Whiteness”)
When psychoanalyst Donald Moss published his essay “On Having Whiteness” in 2021, it caused the right-wing media outrage machine to move into high gear. On our reading, they seemed to only react to what was in the abstract. We read the article.
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EP4: Is it Morally Wrong to Prefer Attractive Partners? (On ‘Lookism’ and William D’Alessandro)
If your partner is attractive, then you might be part of the problem. At least, that’s what one edgelord philosopher is suggesting. We discuss William D'Alessandro's forthcoming paper, "Is It Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners?" (in the Journal of the American Philosophical Association). Is this...
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EP3: 5 Years or 5 Lashes? (On Moskos’ & Brennan’s Defense of Flogging)
If you were offered the choice of a brutal whipping or an extended stay in prison, which would you take? Probably the former. Is that an argument for flogging? Today, we debate the ideas of two lash-wielding edgelords
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EP2: Did the Unabomber Have a Point? (on Anarcho-Primitivism & Ted Kaczynski)
The ultimate Academic Edgelord has died: Ted Kaczynski, the domestic terrorist. He indeed was a scholar, with a few peer-reviewed works in mathematics. On this episode, we read his manifesto: Industrial Society and its Future. Why do so many people think the Unibomber was right?
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EP1: Are We the Academic Edgelords?
This is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflys, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is a leftist podcast that takes a second look at their peer-reviewed work, and tries to see if there’s anything we might learn from arguing with them. But…
more
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflys, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is a leftist podcast that takes a second look at their peer-reviewed work, and tries to see if there’s anything we might learn from arguing with them. We are hosted by: Victor Bruzzone, Gordon Katic, Matt McManus, and Ethan Xavier (AKA “Mouthy Infidel”).
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Academic Edgelords
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Academic Edgelords have?
Academic Edgelords currently has 32 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Academic Edgelords about?
This is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflys, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is a leftist podcast that takes a second look at their peer-reviewed work, and tries to see if there’s anything we might learn from arguing with them. We are...
How often does Academic Edgelords release new episodes?
Academic Edgelords has 32 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Academic Edgelords?
You can listen to Academic Edgelords on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Academic Edgelords?
Academic Edgelords is created and hosted by Academic Edgelords.
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