07/22/2024
I’m sorry to break the news to some of you but Trotsky and Stalin aren’t so different when it comes down to what matters most. This, and episode 3 as well, throw a real wrench in worldview Marxism.
4. The Revolution Will Not BE... How the war against the Left was won
The goal of this series is not to make an argument so much as lay out a bunch of sources, to let them speak for themselves, and to empower critical thinkers ...
07/20/2024
I’ve been releasing parts of my book over time on Substack. So far there are 11 parts. I’ve compiled them all here. Part 12 comes out on Monday, and you can expect a new segment every Monday for the next two months at least!
Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy - First 11 parts
The serial release so far!
07/19/2024
Back in 2022 I took Ann on a European “graveside tour” where we went to some of my favorite philosophers and she asked me 1. Why this thinker matters, 2. Why it matters to me, and 3. How someone interested in the thinker might get started or go deeper into their work. This is the Emmanuel Levinas episode, finally released!
At the Graveside of Emmanuel Levinas - Theory Underground Graveside Tour
You can see the other Graveside episodes here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlcbaQ1cp2TKO-102Fve08P0pwQauGaLeSign up for the course on Emmanuel Levi...
07/17/2024
Amazing contradiction conversation between Samuel Loncar and Justin Murphy on Religious Atheism vs. Catholic Accelerationism
Religious atheism vs. Catholic accelerationism | Converdiction between Samuel Loncar x Justin Murphy
ABOUTTheory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social the...
07/15/2024
Michael Downs and I did a double lecture session yesterday and announced a new way of getting involved!
The Social Unconscious: The Superego vs. The Big Other - Field, Habitus, and Capital - Dave n Mikey
Dave will continue from last time on The Social Unconscious, setting Mikey up for a lecture on the two social agencies that must be understood to do ideology...
07/13/2024
Traveling, teaching, camping, and raising our furry little guy together. I've been getting to know Ann for over five years at this point. She's beautiful, intelligent, hilarious, and fiercely loyal to her family, friends, and principles. Our one year wedding anniversary is this month! I still can't believe it. It has gone by so fast! Over the last couple weeks we have slowed down a bit and really enjoyed this summer, swimming, camping, and going to see theater together. I've had time to reflect and feel grateful, a rare privilege indeed—largely only possible to the successes of Theory Underground, something that would have been impossible without Ann's support (in terms of co-instructing and accounting, but before that because she was down to move to Mexico so we could cut costs and I could focus on building it)
I never imagined I would find love like ours or get to do the kinds of things we do. We've traveled the world together and have given underground theory talks for the coolest people. For half a year we have trained jiu-jitsu together. We trained for and ran a relay race together. We adopted .thecat a year ago. Now we're getting a PUPPY soon. We're both teaching sociology courses at a university AND critical theory courses at Theory Underground THIS fall. Thanks Ann, for keeping me grounded, well-rounded, and accountable to our higher aspirations. I genuinely don't know what I would do, much less would have become, without you.
07/08/2024
Going live rn - hop in and say hi
The Revolution Will Not BE... How the war against the Left was won, pt. 2
The goal of this series is not to make an argument so much as lay out a bunch of sources, to let them speak for themselves, and to empower critical thinkers ...
07/05/2024
"At 8.30 I was eating delicious croissants as I waited for Bienenfeld." - Simone de Beauvoir
07/05/2024
There's too much to read and we've got no timenergy so we have to do the opposite of lowering the standards.
The Three Principles of Study as a Way of Life
Self criticism meets pep talk meets formula for countering the worst tendencies of the attention economy
07/05/2024
If you like writing you might like this
“Writer’s Block” and “The F**k It Button”
Feeling stuck? This might help
07/04/2024
The Krakow Event from the Theory Underground American Idiots tour is premiering now! Hop on in and check it out, play in the background of your 4th of July BBQ to annoy people, or bookmark for later in the week. Either way, this was one of our best events from the whole tour - a fantastic turn out, engaged audience, and really great interview overall. Thanks again Lukasz for making it happen!
the Krakow event
ABOUTTheory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social the...
07/04/2024
Starting soon
The Revolution Will Not BE... How the war against the Left was won, pt. 1
The goal of this series is not to make an argument so much as lay out a bunch of sources, to let them speak for themselves, and to empower critical thinkers ...
07/03/2024
Swol x Pleeb is where Eamon Stephen and I discuss our political journeys into, through, beyond, or still with Marx. Here’s where you can get a quick run through of my political journey to Theory Underground, as well as a sense for “Marxism” vs. some kind of “Post Marxism”
Swol x Pleeb - Marxism vs Marxish or Marxian - McKerracher and Swoletariat Pre-Converdiction
ABOUTTheory Underground is a research, publishing, and lecture institute. TU exists to develop the concept of timenergy in the context of critical social the...
07/01/2024
HOW TO READ Totality and Infinity (and really almost all difficult philosophy texts)
How to read Totality and Infinity - Emmanuel Levinas
ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKSBecome a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which includes past, ongoing, and upcoming courses, special events, offic...
06/29/2024
July is going to be insane - Lectures from Todd McGowan, Benjamin Studebaker, Michael Downs and I, as well as Andy for Theory Writing 101!!!
The Month of July @ Theory Underground 2024 - Todd McGowan, Benjamin Studebaker, and Michael Downs
The Sunday events at TU are made just for the TU membership. TU members also get half off all courses taught by other instructors and 90% off McKerracher's c...
06/27/2024
What did Levinas think of Heidegger?
How much do Heidegger’s later politics factor in to Being and Time? Why does it matter?
Heidegger and Levinas? Questions about their relationship and H.'s politics
In preparation for reading Levinas' Totality and Infinity in August, Siu booked an office hours session with McKerracher on the topic of Heidegger's politics...
06/26/2024
When this conversation originally happened it was on a 17 hour livestream marathon that we did towards the end of April. AS OF TODAY Chris Cutrone Cutrone x McGowan is available as a stand-alone episode on both YouTube and podcasts everywhere. A LOT of people are about to see it for the first time ever. Go drop a comment!
McGowan x Cutrone: Contradiction Conversation on Marxism and Psychoanalysis
Todd's course at TU begins next week and you can enroll here:https://theoryunderground.com/courses/mcgowan-1/Cutrone's course at TU begins in October and you...
06/26/2024
Some people think you're wasting all your time if you do anything that strays outside the extreme limitations of what is incentivized by the algorithms. Others think you've sold out and lost your soul the moment you make anything remotely click baity.
Both of these positions "make sense" because they're obvious and require zero reflection or critical understanding of the media situation we are in. That's why everyone should study critical media theory, which is only being taught at Theory Underground. The point is not to be pro or anti any of this stuff, neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but experimental. We mess with harnessing and countering different tendencies and we talk about it, while reading mainstream bestsellers and high theory from Marx and McLuhan through Baudrillard and Stiegler. There are currently two entire seasons of CMT lectures and discussions available to binge for monthly members at TU, and we've got some really awesome lectures coming up in the near future. Here's the one that kicked off our second season of this CMT research seminar:
Toward A New Theory of Subjectivity? - Intro to Critical Media Theory (CMT) at Theory Underground
We've made this one public so you can get a taste of what's going on behind the scenes at Theory Underground. The "Snelgrove-McKerracher Synthesis" is what w...
06/26/2024
We collaborated with Bram on tour. We went to his house and ate haggis that his wife made us. She even made Ann vegan haggis. They're some of the most down to earth people we met on tour. But that's not why we plug the book. It's because Bram read part of it at the event we did together and that s**t was 🔥. Stay tuned, as we plan to release the rest of the tour events over the next few months!
06/25/2024
Streaming with Chris Cutrone at 4 PM Eastern today
Chris Cutrone on his Upcoming Course + New book!
The course begins in October and you can enroll here https://theoryunderground.com/courses/marxism-101/Or you can pick up a copy of Cutrone's book The Death ...
06/24/2024
David Goggins and Pierre Bourdieu! Ann Snelgrove-McKerracher and David McKerracher pop theory lecture session!
David Goggins vs. Pierre Bourdieu: The Philosophy of STAY HARD!
To try to understand David Goggins, should we turn to psychology or sociology? What about psychoanalysis or critical social theory, e.g. Jacques Lacan vs. Pi...
06/24/2024
Stoked to teach the Levinas in August and January.
06/21/2024
Part three of this original piece by Slavoj Žižek is now out – only available at Theory Underground on the Substack or in TU’s Underground Theory: Coming to a city near you. Check it out!
https://open.substack.com/pub/theoryunderground/p/rightist-leninism-today-on-the-january?r=n7vv6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
06/19/2024
Pt. 2 of reading Ivan Illich, one essay at a time! Pop in and say hi. Keep this playing in the background even! We will serenade you!
Irrational Consistencies, Learning Webs, and Rebirth of Epimethean Man
Deschooling Society - Ivan Illich - exegetical stream pt 2 LEARNING WEBS
Let's gooooEnroll for the course here http://theoryunderground.com/courses/illich-1ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKSBecome a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to th...
06/16/2024
this was fire
"Here's where you begin with Lacan" Todd McGowan
Enroll here: https://theoryunderground.com/courses/mcgowan-1ABOUT / CREDITS / LINKSBecome a monthly TU Tier Subscriber to access to the TU HUB, which include...
06/16/2024
Premiering: An amazing conversation with film maker and theorist Helen Rollins about her educational journey and some crazy experiences that give her a unique insight into the miserable lives the of the (children of the) rich and famous.
"Critical Theory Now Serves Billionaires" Helen Rollins on Political Economy, Surplus Genius, & Lack
Helen Rollins visits Theory Underground to share experiences about her personal educational journey and experiences with anti-intellectualism. Along the way,...
06/14/2024
We’re making this lecture free and public because we think you’re going to dig it. Premieres in 14 minutes!
Lecture 1 of Introduction to Ivan Illich at Theory Underground with Bryan Weeks
It's here! Lecture 1 of Introduction to Ivan Illich at Theory Underground with Bryan Weeks, which took place on June 13th of 2024. You can access the rest of...
06/14/2024
A really great photo of Nance, from the U.S. tour in 2023, when we were collaborating with Phillip in Breckenridge, CO.