The ultimate theological journey through the midlife crisis, presented by existentialist philosopher Bert Dreyfus in 2006 at UC Berkeley. (REPUPLOAD)

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Read more about Bert Dreyfus

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A nice change of pace for me as I am put on the hot-seat and forced to properly explain myself for once. Interview by Roubin Thind, a social media manager and podcast connoisseur, running down topics ranging from diplomacy to education and back.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:5, King James Version

This is Part Four of a multipart series on the Great Books of the Western Tradition by Berkeley Professor of Philosophy Bert Dreyfus, which you can begin here.

The source material is found here on Internet Archive.

Who is God? What does it mean to be anointed (chrīstós, in Koine Greek), emptied of self (kénōsis), or resurrected? What is the world, seen through the eyes of love? How does philosophy encounter Christianity? In this two-lecture episode, Dreyfus takes these concepts apart and analyzes them in the terms of Heidegger, literary theory, and the hermeneutic approaches of different Continental thinkers.

Please consider donating to support humanitarian relief and lifesaving medical care in Gaza. The links below are verified and reputable charities and individuals who are desperate for medical care, asylum, shelter, and safety in Palestine.

Fundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs:

⁠⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠

⁠⁠Rulin and Family⁠⁠

⁠⁠Sammar and her Husband⁠⁠

⁠⁠MSF (Doctors Without Borders)⁠⁠

⁠⁠Palestinian Youth Movement

Paul Thomas Anderson made this when he was 28. So did Richard and Will.

A celebration of the greatest movie of our greatest living director. Hats off to you, man.

advisory: child abuse, self-harm, suicide.

“Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.”
―Hafez

Music Credits:

Violin version of Habañera by Katy Adelson

Aria version of Habañera by Deutsch Opera Berlin

Tom Cruise Leaked Scientology Interview

Everything becomes its opposite.

cw: animal harm, general doom.

If this work is important to you, consider supporting my financial and creative independence on Patreon, for only $5 per month.

"All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" (1967) by Richard Brautigan

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.
I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.
I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

Poem: Batter my heart, three-person'd God by John Donne

Credits:

Richard Brautigan Reading "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace"

Palantir CEO Alex Karp Speaking in February 2025 in New York (End of Episode)

Rachmaninoff, Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C-sharp Minor performed by Mr. Forte (Creative Commons)

George Kennan, Memo PPS23, February 24th 1948. Declassified in June 1974.

Books:

The Assassination Complex by Jeremy Scahill and the Staff of The Intercept

The Power Elite by C. Wright Mills

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YouTube original video credit (Plum Village). Apparently first delivered in the "late 1980s".

Read more about Thích Nhất Hạnh here.

Music Credit: Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, performed by Max John.

The great Michael Parenti returns to HoPAA to enlighten us about capitalism's leading myths and legends. As the man says, 'brothers and sisters, WE own the airwaves'.

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This talk was uploaded in 2013, but the date of the lecture itself is unknown.

Music Credit: Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, performed by Max John.

Summary (Bot Generated):

This podcast episode, featuring political scientist Michael Parenti, offers a critical deconstruction of the self-legitimating myths propagated by "the one percent" and giant corporate capitalism. The central thesis is that no ruling class rules nakedly, and the powerful actively take "strenuous efforts to justify their rule" through themes like the rags-to-riches mythology, fair play, and equal opportunity. The discussion focuses on two core capitalist myths: that the system creates general material prosperity and that it bolsters democracy. Parenti challenges the prosperity myth by citing "consumer realities" such as the corporate-driven replacement of public rail transit with polluting auto systems and the industrialization of food supplies. He concludes that the history of capitalism is one of great wealth and great poverty, which exist in a "dynamic interrelationship," with the wealth of the few resting on the poverty of the masses.

Michael John Parenti (born September 30, 1933) is an American political scientist, academic historian, and cultural critic who writes on a wide range of scholarly and popular subjects. Known as a leading intellectual of the American Left, he has taught at numerous universities and is the author of over twenty books, including Democracy for the Few and Blackshirts and Reds. You can find more information about him on his Wikipedia page or his official website: The Michael Parenti Political Archive.

Keywords: Corporate Capitalism, Ruling Class, The One Percent, Myths, Prosperity, Democracy, Wealth Inequality, Poverty, Horatio Alger, Transnational Corporations, Public Transit, Pollution, General Motors, Tobacco Industry, Nicotine, Perjury, Corporate Crime, Consumer Realities, Third World.

This text was generated from a transcript by Gemini.