PODCAST · arts
EssayCast
by Dylan Manna
EssayCast is a podcast dedicated to critical essays which I've written. I will read them, talk about them, and discuss them with others. I am a physicist, composer, and author interested in looking at the narrative of the history of ideas on our planet. I encourage commentary, critique, and collaboration.
Episodes
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Schedules and Boundaries
When Benjamin Franklin wrote his autobiography, he made the interesting choice to include a graph that detailed his weekly schedule. In giving himself the solitude to work, he accomplished much. As we have grown accustomed to having fewer and weaker boundaries, interiority has declined. In this...
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Altruism and the larger self
Typically, people view altruism as the opposite of selfishness. If we reimagine our notions of self and other and imagine that one's sense of self is developmentally dynamic, altruism is simply as state of self so large that it encompasses more than the physical being possessed of consciousness....
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Documentary film as a tool for peace
For a long while, it seemed that there were two categories of homemade videos; cute videos of cats and babies and those that appeal to schadenfreude where bears fall from trees or people are hit by cars. The documentary, once marginal, has become the great usurper. Serial programming must now vie...
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Busking in the time of the Coronavirus
Public art, specifically street music, is an often under appreciated component of a rich urban culture. As many people are forced into a shelter-in-place lifestyles with the outbreak of COVID-19, busking has disappeared. However, in New York City, where the state's governor has implemented a more...
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Protocol and the human NPC
Non-Playing Characters, or, NPC's are a feature of video games. I suggest that there exist human NPC's who follow protocol rather than think for themselves. Here I discuss the what it is to live under the yoke of technology.
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secrets, image, and the end of interiority
Compartmentalization resulting from parsing public and private leads to a form a social bondage. Transparency becomes anathema as people ceaselessly monitor their public image. Interiority does not emerge as expression, but is locked in secret sadness.
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futbols from the sky and national mythology
A sport that merely requires a ball and a field may still be beyond the reach of many children too poor to afford food. Dropping footballs from drones to people all over the world may do great good for the disenfranchised. Further, these parcels from the air might be used to disseminate queues to...
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Twitter, the instrument of POTUS
With no moderation, the Twitter channel allows the president of the United States to command the attention of billions without filter. Never before has the unilateral dissemination of words been so extreme and so quick. The office of the POTUS would be far less effective in its destructive power...
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seven escapist systems in denial of science
With the fading of understanding in science in the past decades, many have turned to systems of belief which contradict facts and reason. Today's essay explores the narative of surrounding enlightened periods of time. Sonja Teszler is my special guest as we discuss the decline of civilization.
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Animals don't ask questions
Starting with the putative notion that animals don't interrogate, but rather express or plea, I look at the spectrum between meditative interiority and frantic banter. I argue that our culture demands tempo above truth and comfort over truth. I finally suggest that the pauses in dialog are the…
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Hammond and Musk: Jurassic Park and living on Mars
Elon Musk in an interview with Joe Rogen smoked marijuana and revealed willful ignorance regarding his vision of the future. Stocks dipped afterwards as investors had their confidence shaken. That he got high was far less a problem than what he revealed about his poor understanding of science. I...
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The Virtualization of the Heart
False notions of progress in the service of control through technology lead trajectories of destruction. Life as emergence as opposed to death made inevitable in an unhealthy adherence to the ideology of causality. The blurry line between machine and organic organism.
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Third Party Communication in the Digital Age
One party communication we know as meditation or thought. Two party is often a dialog or conversation. Civilization and writing come together and allow for a new medium to be the second party and the third party be the recipient of the new medium or second party. The great works and history of...
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Pod People
An essay I wrote in 2010 describing the social trends toward isolation in the era of individualized entertainment pods as well a discussion of the current manipulation of social media by corporate and political oligarchs. As well a small discussion of Jaron Lanier's work on the blackbox...
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Permission vs. Mutual Desire: The Constitution, Ben Franklin and Despots
As the world has become more concerned with the letter rather than the spirit of the law, litigiousness is favored above kindness. Benjamin Franklin's last speech written for the Constitutional Convention of 1787 remarks that the document as an instrument of government is only effective with good...
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Glass Ceilings and Sexist Skaters
An exploration into the entrance of women into the once male dominated arena of urban skateboard society along and a discussion with Christ Mary Artist, aka, @prettiestmess_ Christie DeJesu.
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Wall E: Stalker
Wall E is an animated film about a male robot who won't take 'no' from a female robot. I explore the deeper sadness surrounding the culture of cyber-stalking. Finally, I begin to address the horror of the relationship between silicon valley and wall street.
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EssayCast - Children of Fragmented Parents
In this episode of EssayCast, I read an essay I wrote in 2012 on the issues emerging in relationships between fragmented parents and developing children.
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EssayCast 3 - Apparent Choice in the Age of Globalization
Here I share an essay I wrote in 2005 about the nature of choice in an increasingly narrow existence given the rise of portable technology. Cole Porter sings as well. Hiawatha versus the modern person.
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EssayCast 2 - PLaCMaR
Essaycast 2, November 18, 2019. I read PLaCMaR, an essay about language, intimacy, etc.
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EssayCast 1 - Zero
Innaugural EssayCast - Episode Zero - Armistice Day - 101 years from the end of World War I - Autobiography - Dylan Manna
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
EssayCast is a podcast dedicated to critical essays which I've written. I will read them, talk about them, and discuss them with others. I am a physicist, composer, and author interested in looking at the narrative of the history of ideas on our planet. I encourage commentary, critique, and collaboration.
HOSTED BY
Dylan Manna
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does EssayCast have?
EssayCast currently has 21 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is EssayCast about?
EssayCast is a podcast dedicated to critical essays which I've written. I will read them, talk about them, and discuss them with others. I am a physicist, composer, and author interested in looking at the narrative of the history of ideas on our planet. I encourage commentary, critique, and...
How often does EssayCast release new episodes?
EssayCast has 21 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to EssayCast?
You can listen to EssayCast 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 EssayCast?
EssayCast is created and hosted by Dylan Manna.
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