Hemlock #39

Nuclear war, and nuclear risk, are still just as real and just as close as they have been during the tensest eras of the Cold War. I had questions about where suspected nuclear flashpoints were forming - in South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, and Iran - and wanted to review Trump's record of militarizing outer space, resuming nuclear testing, pre-emptively attacking Iran's nuclear reactor sites, and spending billions in a never-ending American quest for "Star Wars" or missile defense (in this latest iteration: not Reagan's SDI, but rather The Golden Dome). Which is why I invited Jack on the show.

Jack Kennedy is the nuclear risk editorial fellow for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. He is a doctoral candidate and research associate at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. His research focuses include strategic stability under conditions of multipolarity, extended deterrence, and coercive diplomacy. He previously worked at the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office, and as a journalist. He holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

You can read Jack's very insightful article Washington's neglect of South Korea's security concerns is a proliferation problem here. We had a wide-ranging and largely in-tune conversation about horizontal proliferation, nuclear latency, real policy wonk shit like specific treaties, and dug into the nuclear histories of the US, Iraq, Pakistan, South Africa, and North Korea.

All this to say: this is how you don't blow up the world.

References:

1981 Iraqi Osirak Reactor Bombing (Operation Opera)

Seymour Hersh Article about Iran's Nuclear Reactor Strike:

I sort-of misremembered this article - estimates vary on how much the US strike set back the program. I said 'sixty days' which I heard somewhere but can't recall. Sy Hersh suggests 'years' but others imagine less, given that the centrifuges were likely not destroyed but merely buried. The size of the setback is ultimately immaterial to the point being made, a question of tactics. The principle of the strike itself was what made the situation dangerous and destabilizing and ultimately unworkable.

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/was-it-obliteration?utm_source=publication-search

Buy Graham's book on Terence on Amazon!

Graham's website: https://www.edgecentral.net/

Reputable information about psilocybin and harm reduction:

https://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms.shtml

James Fadiman's book/manual: https://www.psychedelicexplorersguide.com/

"We are the inheritors of one million years of striving for the unspeakable"

-Terence McKenna

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A Creative Commons Zero "No Rights Reserved" free, open-source audiobook, narrated by William Engels. This is from Part 1, titled "The Window," Chapters 1-5.

One of the most beautifully written and mind-expanding works of modernist literature, Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse (1927) has recently entered the public domain. I wanted to celebrate by performing my way though the many "head-hops", metaphysical digressions, synesthetic collages, and iridescently shimmering prose passages that make up this short but potent work. Enjoy.

Support this work on Patreon

History of Philosophy Audio Archive, Episode #177

I have always loved Michael Sugrue, and I will never stop posting his talks. RIP to a legend (1957-2024). Always been curious about Goethe’s Faust (Parts I and II) and thought this was serve a good introduction. If looking for a physical copy, I have heard that the scholarly, complete, Princeton edition is really good.

Hear all the updates on where the channel is going on my (free!) Patreon (Link to Hemlock Patreon).

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References

• Stephen Skowronek // "The Politics Presidents Make" (1993)

• Rational Choice Theory (1955) "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice" by Herbert A. Simon

• The Nixon movie I couldn't remember was "Secret Honor" (Robert Altman, 1984)

• Abramowitz et. al study of Southern Republicans https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/366

• Goldsboro Nuclear Disaster (1961)

• Palomares Nuclear Incident (1966)

• Notable Esoteric Platonists: Leo Strauss and Allan Bloom

• Aspasia and Pericles the Younger

• Group 40/Project 40 and Richard Nixon

• Otto Ambros (Third Reich Scientist/Operation Paperclip)

Dialogues by Plato:

• Meno (Knowledge, geometry, 'rememberance')

• Republic (Justice, the Noble Lie)

• Laches (Instruction in courage)

• Symposium (Love, homosexuality, Diotima)

• Crito (Fidelity to the state, homeliness)

• Seventh Letter / Seventh Epistle (Esoteric Platonism)

GAZA LINKS:

Oxfam - https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/emergencies/gaza-and-israel-emergency-appeal/

MSF (Doctors Without Borders) - https://www.msf.org/gaza-israel-war

Palestinian Youth Movement - https://www.palestinianyouthmovement.com/

Support this work and unlock more of it (for free!) on Patreon

https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon

This is from Hubert Dreyfus' 2008 Berkeley undergraduate course Philosophy 7 "Existentialism in Literature and Film"

https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_461120622\

Course Description: The course will be organized around various attempts to reinterpret the Judeo/Christian God, and to determine in what sense, if at all, such a God is still a living God. We will study Dostoyevsky's and Kierkegaard's attempts to preserve a non-theological version of the God of Christianity, as well as Nietzsche's attempt to save us from belief in any version of God offered by our tradition. We will view and discuss three films that deal with related issues.

Those films are, for the record:

• Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)

• The Third Man (Orson Welles, 1949)

• Breathless, French: "À bout de souffle" (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)

The books being read are:

• Fear and Trembling & The Sickness Unto Death (Kierkegaard)

• The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky)

• Twilight of the Idols & The Gay Science (Nietzsche)

Cover art is Caspar David Friedrich, "Monk by the Sea"

Support Sabrina's work and educate yourself on Israel, Palestine, and the US while connecting with likeminded people:

Not only will you learn about the history, Zionism, US involvement and more, but it's a great way to connect with others who care about what's happening and learn ways that you can take action. The next class session starts January 10. Reserve your spot by December 12th and get a class journal (digital download) with space for notes, reflection questions, resource lists, an FAQ guide, and more!

Follow Sabrina on Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/notetoselfzine.bsky.social

SIGN UP LINK FOR THE CLASS:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6-week-course-on-israel-palestine-and-the-us-tickets-1809690195089

Demolishing the White House is just the beginning.

Subscribe to Will Sanchez on Substack!

https://substack.com/@philosophicalrebellion

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

First: we are going to be soon starting a new audiobook series - this time it will be To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - I will release it chapter by chapter, and the first chapter or two should be out within a week, if the Great Tao should accommodate. You can get updates on that and future open source audiobooks, narrated by me on the Patreon page.

Second is that as we approach the finish line with Hubert Dreyfus’s Great Books course, I am looking for suggestions about where to go next, in terms of content - so if you are on Spotify please check the audience survey in this episode and vote on the things you want - If you’re not on Spotify then just email me with your desires, fantasies, crackpot ideas, and degenerate art and I will respond to you there: williamengels@substack.com

Last is that this is an episode about politics in America, and William Sanchez and I leave no stone unturned, so if that’s not your cup of tea, then watch out for the fascism-free Virginia Woolf stuff that I’ll be making, as well as the more lighthearted project that I’m doing with my buddies Thomas and Richard over on Bad Role Models. But if it is your cup of tea, then you should support William’s work on Substack, and listen to my other interview with him. Links in the thing, as always.

REFERENCES

Paying for the Ballroom with Silicon Valley Tribute Money:

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/youtube-to-pay-24-5-million-to-settle-lawsuit-brought-by-trump-808f6823?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

$50K Signing Bonus for ICE Officers

https://bbc.com/news/articles/cqle5newg0no

Bipartisan Bill to Force Release of Epstein Files Being Jammed

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5482096-massie-discharge-petition-epstein/

Reagan and US Indicted by ICJ in 1986 for Terrorism Against Nicaragua

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua_vUnitedStates

Book: Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State by Garry Wills

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7254108-bomb-power

Bernie Sanders' Saving American Democracy Amendment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_finance_reform_amendment#Saving_American_Democracy_Amendment