The Nietzsche Podcast

Nietzsche's break with Wagner and the beginning of his philosophical career coincide with an adoring appreciation for Voltaire. Nietzsche made a pilgrimage to Voltaire's home in Ferney; an anonymous friend sent him a bust of the philosopher; he dedicated Human, All Too Human to Voltaire, and released it on the centennial of Voltaire's death. What was the significance of Voltaire, on Nietzsche's thought, and why did the definitive French philosophe eventually become less important to Nietzsche's philosophy? Join me as we explore Nietzsche's reverence for Voltaire, the key contrast in Nietzsche's thought between Voltaire and Rousseau, Voltaire as standing for an aristocratic spirit of Enlightenment against the anti-Enlightenment of the Germans and the cult of sentimentality, and finally, how Dionysus versus the Crucified eventually overcome the Voltaire versus Rousseau dichotomy.
Episode art: Triumphant France encourages Science and Arts in the midst of the war - Charles Meynier (1768-1832)

Enjoy an early release of the episode slated for Halloween, including an extended meditation on the significance of Halloween, the "autumn feeling", the difference between horror & weird fiction, Ray Bradbury's philosophy concerning death, and a review of Bradbury's The October Country, featuring a survey of its overall themes and a closer (and spoiler free!) reading of four of my favorite stories from the collection. Happy early Halloween to all who celebrate! There will be two additional episodes of Becoming-Spooky, both Patreon exclusive: one for all tiers, and one exclusive to Freigeists. After this, the series will conclude. That is, until next year.

Join me for this foray into the work of Algernon Blackwood - theosophist, occultist, and writer of weird fiction tales. Blackwood tell us the story of Professor Mark Ebor: a man with a double life, but a wholesome one, split between the scientific and the mystical. He is an "incorrigible optimist" whose writings give hope to a weary world. Ebor has always believed it his destiny to find the divine and eternal truths of the cosmos and to become their messenger. Would you like to "find out" the most profound truths about the cosmos? To unriddle the universe and know the secrets inscribed on the indestructible Tablets of the Gods? Then listen in.... IF YOU DARE...

Welcome to Becoming-Spooky! This is the first of three episodes in this special, seasonal series. Join me and deterritorialize the domains of sanity, the familiar and the human. Patrons will receive two additional episodes!
The first half of the episode is my full reading of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. The second half includes my philosophical analysis, drawing on Lovecraft's essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature, as well as my own impressions about the story.

Do we live in the best of all possible worlds? Join me and find out as we explore the most famous novel of Voltaire, one of Nietzsche's most important influences. Candide is a satirical novel that lambasts the optimism of Leibniz, the hypocrisy of religion and tradition, and the pretensions of philosophy itself. We will examine the Lisbon Earthquake & the debates about it that form the background of the work, as well as the life of Voltaire, before an in-depth discussion of the philosophical insights of the novel.