web01.fireside.fm Wed, 18 Mar 2026 21:49:48 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) ex.haust - Episodes Tagged with “Culture” https://exhaust.fireside.fm/tags/culture Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:00:00 -0800 Co-hosts Emmet and John plumb the depths of history, culture, and philosophy to understand why it is that despite calamities and rapid change nothing feels possible anymore. Guests include artists, scholars, and thinkers from all over the world. Subscribe to our Patreon to receive 2 extra exclusive episodes a month: https://www.patreon.com/exhaust en-us episodic A podcast about political, cultural, and psychological exhaustion and why nothing feels possible. Emmet Penney Co-hosts Emmet and John plumb the depths of history, culture, and philosophy to understand why it is that despite calamities and rapid change nothing feels possible anymore. Guests include artists, scholars, and thinkers from all over the world. Subscribe to our Patreon to receive 2 extra exclusive episodes a month: https://www.patreon.com/exhaust yes politics, culture, history, philosophy Emmet Penney emmetmpenney@gmail.com Episode 76: A Rape in Cyberspace ft. Default Friend https://exhaust.fireside.fm/76 5b9a3cac-3efa-4b55-8b25-1a616f3f116d Tue, 01 Feb 2022 20:00:00 -0800 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Default Friend returns to talk with Emmet about Julian Dibbel's famous essay, A Rape in Cybserpace, which presaged our digital social experience back in 1993. DF and Emmet talk about etiquette, digital governance, the weirdness of online life, the "distributed self," what it would mean to take the internet seriously, and more! 1:02:20 yes Default Friend (https://twitter.com/default_friend) returns to talk with Emmet about Julian Dibbel's famous essay, A Rape in Cybserpace (http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle_vv.html), which presaged our digital social experience back in 1993. DF and Emmet talk about etiquette, digital governance, the weirdness of online life, the "distributed self," what it would mean to take the internet seriously, and more! Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month! (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) Closing Song: The End of Love by Wimeanancas Cambodian Band. (https://littleaxerecords.bandcamp.com/album/wimeanacas-cambodian-band) rape, cancel culture, metoo, second life, internet culture, culture, internet, history, cyberpunk, 90s, metaverse Default Friend returns to talk with Emmet about Julian Dibbel's famous essay, A Rape in Cybserpace, which presaged our digital social experience back in 1993. DF and Emmet talk about etiquette, digital governance, the weirdness of online life, the "distributed self," what it would mean to take the internet seriously, and more!

Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

Closing Song: The End of Love by Wimeanancas Cambodian Band.

]]> Default Friend returns to talk with Emmet about Julian Dibbel's famous essay, A Rape in Cybserpace, which presaged our digital social experience back in 1993. DF and Emmet talk about etiquette, digital governance, the weirdness of online life, the "distributed self," what it would mean to take the internet seriously, and more!

Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

Closing Song: The End of Love by Wimeanancas Cambodian Band.

]]> Episode 68: All That Is Culture Melts Into Porn ft. Mary Harrington https://exhaust.fireside.fm/68 41ec93ea-6c96-47c4-b897-0d66220c0c40 Tue, 07 Dec 2021 23:00:00 -0800 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Contributing editor at Unherd Mary Harrington joins Emmet to talk about why everything feels like porn, the smooth hell of life online, the culture of fear in the time of COVID, how women get forgotten, and more! 1:00:25 yes Contributing editor at Unherd Mary Harrington (https://twitter.com/moveincircles) joins Emmet to talk about why everything feels like porn, the smooth hell of life online, the culture of fear in the time of COVID, how women get forgotten, and more! Read Mary Harrington's work at Unherd. (https://unherd.com/author/mary-harrington/) Mary's website. (https://reactionaryfeminist.com/) Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month! (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) cancel culture, feminism, porn, pornography, fear, covid, privacy, free speech, social media, culture Contributing editor at Unherd Mary Harrington joins Emmet to talk about why everything feels like porn, the smooth hell of life online, the culture of fear in the time of COVID, how women get forgotten, and more!

Read Mary Harrington's work at Unherd.

Mary's website.

Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

]]> Contributing editor at Unherd Mary Harrington joins Emmet to talk about why everything feels like porn, the smooth hell of life online, the culture of fear in the time of COVID, how women get forgotten, and more!

Read Mary Harrington's work at Unherd.

Mary's website.

Subscribe to our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

]]> Episode 54: "My Hand Is A Fleshgun": Culture Without Context Ft. Alexi and Sam from Nymphet Alumni https://exhaust.fireside.fm/54 9559f86e-c621-4549-ba37-91a751fbe59c Tue, 31 Aug 2021 20:00:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Emmet sits down with Alexi and Sam from the fashion and culture podcast Nymphet Alumni to talk about how culture does or doesn't get handed down, our contextless existence, the state of fashion, the absolute state of zoomers, and more! 1:09:40 yes Emmet sits down with Alexi (https://twitter.com/_4L3X1) and Sam (https://twitter.com/bloodgobbler)from the fashion and culture podcast Nymphet Alumni (https://nymphetalumni.transistor.fm/) to talk about how culture does or doesn't get handed down, our contextless existence, the state of fashion, the absolute state of zoomers and more! Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month! (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) Merch (http://tee.pub/lic/k8eEk8bR5-8). Closing Song: "Please Respect Out Decadence" by Algebra Suicide (https://algebrasuicide.bandcamp.com/album/feminine-squared). fashion, tiktok, culture, zoomers, milennials, gen z, gen x Emmet sits down with Alexi and Sam from the fashion and culture podcast Nymphet Alumni to talk about how culture does or doesn't get handed down, our contextless existence, the state of fashion, the absolute state of zoomers and more!

Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month!

Merch.

Closing Song: "Please Respect Out Decadence" by Algebra Suicide.

]]> Emmet sits down with Alexi and Sam from the fashion and culture podcast Nymphet Alumni to talk about how culture does or doesn't get handed down, our contextless existence, the state of fashion, the absolute state of zoomers and more!

Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month!

Merch.

Closing Song: "Please Respect Out Decadence" by Algebra Suicide.

]]> Episode 45: I Make An Honest Living!: Pain & Gain, Wolf of Wall Street, and the Financial Crash https://exhaust.fireside.fm/45 3ca7142b-8f4e-4d29-9e33-325bdc72598e Tue, 29 Jun 2021 21:00:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Josh Bregman comes back on the pod to talk with Emmet about two movies that came out in the same summer that sought to capture post-crash America: Pain & Gain and Wolf of Wall Street. 1:17:38 yes Josh Bregman comes back on the pod to talk with Emmet about two movies that came out in the same summer that sought to capture post-crash America: Pain & Gain and Wolf of Wall Street. They talk about what a shitty director Michael Bay is, analyze the main characters of each movie, and try to figure out just why it was so hard to narrativize a financial crash that almost ended the world economy over night. Join our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month! (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) Bibliography (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/ep45bib). Twitter (https://twitter.com/ex_haustpodcast). Closing Song: "Look At What You Did, You Little Jerk," by MANS. (https://mans.bandcamp.com/track/look-what-you-did-you-little-jerk) financial crash, 2008, martin scorsese, michael bay, film, politics, culture, american history, movies Josh Bregman comes back on the pod to talk with Emmet about two movies that came out in the same summer that sought to capture post-crash America: Pain & Gain and Wolf of Wall Street. They talk about what a shitty director Michael Bay is, analyze the main characters of each movie, and try to figure out just why it was so hard to narrativize a financial crash that almost ended the world economy over night.

Join our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: "Look At What You Did, You Little Jerk," by MANS.

]]> Josh Bregman comes back on the pod to talk with Emmet about two movies that came out in the same summer that sought to capture post-crash America: Pain & Gain and Wolf of Wall Street. They talk about what a shitty director Michael Bay is, analyze the main characters of each movie, and try to figure out just why it was so hard to narrativize a financial crash that almost ended the world economy over night.

Join our Patreon to get two exclusive episodes a month!

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: "Look At What You Did, You Little Jerk," by MANS.

]]> Episode 43: American Hardball: Scorsese's GoodFellas and McKay's Vice https://exhaust.fireside.fm/43 2273bb44-4c33-40c4-867b-35bc40cfa2fb Tue, 15 Jun 2021 20:00:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Emmet and John talk about America's delight in self-serving, cruel narcissists via the movies Vice and GoodFellas in addition to an essay by Jim Shepard. 1:02:43 yes Emmet and John talk about America's delight in self-serving, cruel narcissists via the movies Vice and GoodFellas in addition to an essay by Jim Shepard. The conversation ranges from the political culture during the Iraq War, the uncanny similarities between Dick Cheney and Henry Hill, what it means for the American government to be normatively strong, but administratively weak, and more! "No Regrets: Goodfellas and American Hardball (https://believermag.com/no-regrets-goodfellas-and-american-hardball/)" by Jim Shepard. Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust)! Bibliography (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/ep43bib). Twitter. Closing Song: "Dallas Beltway" by Chat Pile (https://chatpile.bandcamp.com/album/remove-your-skin-please). iraq war, dick cheney, martin scorsese, goodfellas, the big short, wall street, american politics, politics, history, culture, film Emmet and John talk about America's delight in self-serving, cruel narcissists via the movies Vice and GoodFellas in addition to an essay by Jim Shepard. The conversation ranges from the political culture during the Iraq War, the uncanny similarities between Dick Cheney and Henry Hill, what it means for the American government to be normatively strong, but administratively weak, and more!

"No Regrets: Goodfellas and American Hardball" by Jim Shepard.

Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month!

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: "Dallas Beltway" by Chat Pile.

]]> Emmet and John talk about America's delight in self-serving, cruel narcissists via the movies Vice and GoodFellas in addition to an essay by Jim Shepard. The conversation ranges from the political culture during the Iraq War, the uncanny similarities between Dick Cheney and Henry Hill, what it means for the American government to be normatively strong, but administratively weak, and more!

"No Regrets: Goodfellas and American Hardball" by Jim Shepard.

Subscribe to our Patreon for 2 exclusive episodes a month!

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: "Dallas Beltway" by Chat Pile.

]]> Episode 36: I Went Down to the Piraeus Yesterday with Robert Downey Jr.: Watching RDJ's Cocaine '92 Election Doc ft. Josh Bregman https://exhaust.fireside.fm/36 56174f75-6f8e-49de-98bb-49eb3ec51272 Tue, 27 Apr 2021 23:45:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Token Gen-Xer Josh Bregman joins Emmet to discuss Robert Downey Jr.'s documentary about the '92 election, The Last Party. They discuss what has and hasn't changed in the last thirty years. 1:37:50 yes Token Gen-Xer Josh Bregman joins Emmet to discuss Robert Downey Jr.'s documentary about the '92 election, The Last Party (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApvPKrHA37g). They discuss the NGO Industrial Complex, why the culture war is built to be endless, the handoff from the New Left to Gen X, and how RDJ accidentally made Twitter: The Movie in 1992. Subscribe to our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) for two extra exclusive episodes a month. Bibliography (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/ep36bib). Twitter (https://twitter.com/ex_haustpodcast). Closing Song: System of a Down - Lost in Hollywood x Young Thug - Power (KEIFERGR33N Remix) (https://www.keifergr33n.com/music) clinton, bill clinton, democratic party, pat buchanan, robert downey jr, rdj, politics, american politics, history, culture, oliver stone, mike ruppert, hollywood, george bush Token Gen-Xer Josh Bregman joins Emmet to discuss Robert Downey Jr.'s documentary about the '92 election, The Last Party. They discuss the NGO Industrial Complex, why the culture war is built to be endless, the handoff from the New Left to Gen X, and how RDJ accidentally made Twitter: The Movie in 1992.

Subscribe to our Patreon for two extra exclusive episodes a month.

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: System of a Down - Lost in Hollywood x Young Thug - Power (KEIFERGR33N Remix)

]]> Token Gen-Xer Josh Bregman joins Emmet to discuss Robert Downey Jr.'s documentary about the '92 election, The Last Party. They discuss the NGO Industrial Complex, why the culture war is built to be endless, the handoff from the New Left to Gen X, and how RDJ accidentally made Twitter: The Movie in 1992.

Subscribe to our Patreon for two extra exclusive episodes a month.

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Closing Song: System of a Down - Lost in Hollywood x Young Thug - Power (KEIFERGR33N Remix)

]]> Episode 29: After Virtue Pt. I: Emotivism and Its Discontents https://exhaust.fireside.fm/29 2c2cbf67-ca20-45d6-93cf-eb61ec9412fd Tue, 09 Mar 2021 20:45:00 -0800 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Emmet and John begin their reading series on Alisdair MacIntyre's classic work After Virtue. 1:17:45 yes Emmet and John begin their reading series on Alisdair MacIntyre's classic work After Virtue. This episode's a more granular look at MacIntyre's argument to make sure we've fully grasped its fundamentals before moving forward. The episode closes with a discussion of mourning in Anglo-Saxon poetry and Borges' "Borges and I." "Any Oligarchy of Sob Stories (https://dumbaristotle.medium.com/an-oligarchy-of-sob-stories-155299be27d7?source=your_stories_page-------------------------------------)" by Emmet Penney. Bibliography (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/ep29bib). Twitter (https://twitter.com/ex_haustpodcast). Subscribe to our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/exhaust) to get an extra two exclusive episodes a month! Closing Song: "Limp Bizkit - Take A Look Around x The Roots - Step Into the Realm (REMIX)" - KEIFERGR33N (https://www.keifergr33n.com/music) alisdair macintyre, after virtue, communitarianism, ethics, politics, culture, cultural decay, marx, marxism, christopher lasch Emmet and John begin their reading series on Alisdair MacIntyre's classic work After Virtue. This episode's a more granular look at MacIntyre's argument to make sure we've fully grasped its fundamentals before moving forward. The episode closes with a discussion of mourning in Anglo-Saxon poetry and Borges' "Borges and I."

"Any Oligarchy of Sob Stories" by Emmet Penney.

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Subscribe to our Patreon to get an extra two exclusive episodes a month!

Closing Song: "Limp Bizkit - Take A Look Around x The Roots - Step Into the Realm (REMIX)" - KEIFERGR33N

]]> Emmet and John begin their reading series on Alisdair MacIntyre's classic work After Virtue. This episode's a more granular look at MacIntyre's argument to make sure we've fully grasped its fundamentals before moving forward. The episode closes with a discussion of mourning in Anglo-Saxon poetry and Borges' "Borges and I."

"Any Oligarchy of Sob Stories" by Emmet Penney.

Bibliography.

Twitter.

Subscribe to our Patreon to get an extra two exclusive episodes a month!

Closing Song: "Limp Bizkit - Take A Look Around x The Roots - Step Into the Realm (REMIX)" - KEIFERGR33N

]]> Episode 15: The Jesus Campening of American Politics https://exhaust.fireside.fm/15 d29d5d00-9c17-4a96-974e-b3177c430d4b Tue, 08 Dec 2020 20:45:00 -0800 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney We revisit the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp to re-evaluate their perspective on the movie and to understand our current political moment. 51:06 yes We revisit the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, a film about a pentecostal Christian summer camp, to re-evaluate their perspective on the movie and to understand our current political moment. Unlike our experience when it first came out, we were more disturbed by the film makers than the documentary's content. We talk about how everything feels like Jesus Camp now--both form and content--and then talk about the deadlock of victimhood and moral license in American politics. Bibliography. Complaints Department: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. george bush, christianity, jesus, jesus camp, politics, culture, liberalism, conservatism, narcissism We revisit the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, a film about a pentecostal Christian summer camp, to re-evaluate their perspective on the movie and to understand our current political moment. Unlike our experience when it first came out, we were more disturbed by the film makers than the documentary's content. We talk about how everything feels like Jesus Camp now--both form and content--and then talk about the deadlock of victimhood and moral license in American politics.

Bibliography.

Complaints Department: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

]]> We revisit the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, a film about a pentecostal Christian summer camp, to re-evaluate their perspective on the movie and to understand our current political moment. Unlike our experience when it first came out, we were more disturbed by the film makers than the documentary's content. We talk about how everything feels like Jesus Camp now--both form and content--and then talk about the deadlock of victimhood and moral license in American politics.

Bibliography.

Complaints Department: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

]]> Episode 13: American Canon: Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" https://exhaust.fireside.fm/13 2eda25f4-4251-429b-b74a-668f6edcfb84 Tue, 24 Nov 2020 20:45:00 -0800 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney We begin our American Canon series with Emerson's famous essay, "Self-Reliance." 52:37 yes We've decided to begin a running series dedicated to the American Canon. We open the episode by talking about why we're doing this before launching into a discussion of our first entry in the series: Emerson's "Self-Reliance." Kojeve's animalization makes a come, Emerson's eternal present, we discuss the roots of American iconoclasm, John explains how Southern aristocrats saw themselves as the descendents of the combatants at the Battle of Hastings, and much, much more. This one was really fun to record and we look forward to expanding the series as time rolls on. Bibliography here (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/epthirteenbib). Complaints Department: exhaust.podcast [at] gmail [dot] com. Cover image: “Shroon Mountain, Adirondacks,” oil painting by Thomas Cole, 1838, a painter of the Hudson River school; in the Cleveland Museum of Art. emerson, american canon, self-reliance, religion, culture, history, theology We've decided to begin a running series dedicated to the American Canon. We open the episode by talking about why we're doing this before launching into a discussion of our first entry in the series: Emerson's "Self-Reliance." Kojeve's animalization makes a come, Emerson's eternal present, we discuss the roots of American iconoclasm, John explains how Southern aristocrats saw themselves as the descendents of the combatants at the Battle of Hastings, and much, much more. This one was really fun to record and we look forward to expanding the series as time rolls on.

Bibliography here.

Complaints Department: exhaust.podcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

Cover image: “Shroon Mountain, Adirondacks,” oil painting by Thomas Cole, 1838, a painter of the Hudson River school; in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

]]> We've decided to begin a running series dedicated to the American Canon. We open the episode by talking about why we're doing this before launching into a discussion of our first entry in the series: Emerson's "Self-Reliance." Kojeve's animalization makes a come, Emerson's eternal present, we discuss the roots of American iconoclasm, John explains how Southern aristocrats saw themselves as the descendents of the combatants at the Battle of Hastings, and much, much more. This one was really fun to record and we look forward to expanding the series as time rolls on.

Bibliography here.

Complaints Department: exhaust.podcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

Cover image: “Shroon Mountain, Adirondacks,” oil painting by Thomas Cole, 1838, a painter of the Hudson River school; in the Cleveland Museum of Art.

]]> Episode 7: Animalization, Anglo-Saxon Masochism, and Entrepreneurbrain https://exhaust.fireside.fm/7 11906494-d1b6-4786-872d-fee492be3c54 Tue, 13 Oct 2020 20:45:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney John and Emmet have a sprawling conversation about narcissism, how efficiency maximization can encourage pleasure obsession, and more. 1:10:08 yes John and Emmet have a sprawling conversation about narcissism, how efficiency maximization can encourage pleasure obsession, how we're all entrepreneurs of the self now, and end by talking about bullshit jobs and how the American worker got fleeced. This episode serves as an introduction to some of the issues and concepts we want to take on later on. Bibliography can be found here (https://exhaust.fireside.fm/articles/epsevenbib). Comments, questions, criticisms: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com. entrepreneur, narcissism, culture, politics, psychology John and Emmet have a sprawling conversation about narcissism, how efficiency maximization can encourage pleasure obsession, how we're all entrepreneurs of the self now, and end by talking about bullshit jobs and how the American worker got fleeced. This episode serves as an introduction to some of the issues and concepts we want to take on later on.

Bibliography can be found here.

Comments, questions, criticisms: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

]]> John and Emmet have a sprawling conversation about narcissism, how efficiency maximization can encourage pleasure obsession, how we're all entrepreneurs of the self now, and end by talking about bullshit jobs and how the American worker got fleeced. This episode serves as an introduction to some of the issues and concepts we want to take on later on.

Bibliography can be found here.

Comments, questions, criticisms: ex.haustpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

]]> Episode 1: Ground Zero https://exhaust.fireside.fm/1 870ac243-4886-4488-9f5f-93d7768c263c Sun, 06 Sep 2020 14:45:00 -0700 Emmet Penney full Emmet Penney Emmet and John introduce themselves and the podcast. 1:09:25 yes We discuss the major themes of the podcast and what brought us to create it. politics, culture, history, covid19, exhaustion We discuss the major themes of the podcast and what brought us to create it.

]]> We discuss the major themes of the podcast and what brought us to create it.

]]>