Concluding on "Culture and its Realm of Actuality," in Hegel's Phenomenology via sections 519-526.

We get into some of the ironic psychology here: In giving loyalty to the king, the nobles actually boost themselves qua givers. They should be grateful to the king to get wealth back from him, but being dependent on the king makes them resentful. The result is duplicitous people resenting those they claim to esteem, and moral language that is thus used inconsistently (the king is "good" when praised by "bad" when resented), which encourages jaded moral nihilism.

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We discuss the hard sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, which along with The Martian (2015) was based on a novel by Andy Weir and adapted by Drew Goddard. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al consider how hard we actually like our sci-fi, the directors of these films (by Lord/Miller and Ridley Scott respectively), how the books got adapted, Weir's other work (Artemis, some webcomics, etc.), and more. How does Weir make a series of scientific problems into an actual, enjoyable plot?

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Continuing on Hegel's Phenomenology, "Spirit" chapter, now up to sections 511-526, which finishes off the sub-section of "Self-Alienated Spirit" called "Culture and its Realm of Actuality."

Whereas in our last discussion, obeying the state (public power) ran counter to hoarding wealth (private power), at this stage, the two converge, because the state gets concentrated in a single monarch who both receives our power and doles out wealth to his supporters. So putting your effort into obtaining private wealth ironically requires surrendering your agency (and hence wealth) to the state.

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Bill is a singer/songwriter who recorded five albums of catchy tunes between 1989 and 1991, then retired but came back a vengeance in 2014. He's now just released his 13th album, Haunted, and we talk about "Perpetual Tourist" and listen at the end to the title track from that, "Trentham" from A Trip to the Coast (2014) and "Pigalle on a Tuesday is Charming" from Parce Que (1988). Intro: "Tommy & Co," from Three Months, Three Weeks and Two Days (1989). More at billprichardmusic.com.

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On an excerpt from Soren Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846) that critiques Hegel's idea of logic (dialectic) and then argues for his own conception of "truth as subjectivity."

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Continuing on the "Spirit" chapter (more specifically. "Culture and its realm of actuality") in Hegel's Phenomenology, now covering sec. 490-510. How exactly does the process of acculturation work?

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In this pitched, high-stakes battle, your hosts have it out about astrological biases, doing offensive accents, letting go of control in an improv scene, and group-based restrictions on who you feel you date.

Does Jesus have time to appear on your toast? Are all TV characters robots in a shared robot universe? Are zodiac signs based on serial killer characteristics? How does Pluto FEEL about not being a planet any more? So many vital questions definitively addressed in one meditation together...

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We talk about the Scream meta-slasher film franchise, from the original Wes Craven /Kevin Williamson 1996 debut starring Neve Campbell, and Courtney Cox to the new one (#7), still with three out of four of those participants (Wes Craven being dead).

Is the self-reflection about the horror genre in these films actually elevating, or just a permission structure to enjoy the base pleasure of seeing people murdered? Are these actually films that people who normally hate slasher movies still might enjoy?

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