New Discourses

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Traditional Versus Critical Theory Aug 21, 2026

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 178 Critical Theory originates in the formal sense from a 1937 essay penned by Frankfurt School director Max Horkheimer, bearing the title "Traditional and Critical Theory." In that essay, Horkheimer compares what he calls "traditional theory" against his neo-Marxist conception that he names "critical theory," thus organizing the approach behind the entire school of thought that is sometimes called Critical Marxism. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay breaks down the point of this essay and the nature of Horkheimer's comparison between these two ways of thinking. Join him for deeper clarity on this important topic. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #criticaltheory

The Foundational American View of Romans 13 Aug 17, 2026

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 219 The United States of America was founded on a very particular view of the people's right relationship to government authority that can be, and was, summarized by the famous phrase, "Resistance against tyrants is obedience to God." But, many have wondered, even in our present day, what about the injunctions of Paul's famous Romans 13, which demands we obey our civil authorities, for they are ordained by God for our good through that role? This crucial question loomed very large through the Covid-19 abuses and has ever since, including in the American churches. The definitively American answer to the question was given as a sermon (https://lc.org/PDFs/A%20Discourse%20Concerning%20Unlimited%20Submission%20and%20Non-Resistance%20to%20the%20Higher%20Powers%20-%20Jonathan%20Mayhew%20-%201750.pdf) in Massachusetts Colony in 1750, however, by a fiery young Congregationalist named Jonathan Mayhew, and this sermon laid bedrock under what would become the United States. "A Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission and Non-Resistance to the Higher Powers," he called it. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay reads the majority of this sermon to you with as much passion as he can muster so that you, too, can hear this incredibly important message, 276 years after it was first preached. You won't want to miss it. (Get Eric Metaxas's Revolution here (https://amzn.to/4wgxMDg) and Tim Sandefur's Proclaiming Liberty here (https://amzn.to/4cpyV4d)!) Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Romans

The Anatomy of a Critical Theory Aug 14, 2026

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 177 In 1969, Max Horkheimer gave an interview in which he was called to account for his development of the Critical Theory and its application through the Frankfurt School, which he had directed for decades. In that essay, he offers a straightforward explanation for why he formulated the Critical Theory and what it is for, saying it allows criticism of a system that is so comprehensive that it prevents even imagining a better alternative on its terms. This little segment of Horkheimer's thought allows us to dissect the Critical Theory and clearly understand its anatomy and consequences, and in this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay does exactly that. Join him for an illuminating discussion to see Critical Theory more clearly than you have ever before. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay

Traditional and Critical Theory According to Max Horkheimer Aug 10, 2026

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 218 The school of thought known as Critical Theory was born, as we understand it today, in an essay written in 1937 by Max Horkheimer, who was director of the infamous Frankfurt School. This definitive essay of Western Marxism makes it clear that what we think of as "theory" is only one side of the story, and it's the side that keeps reproducing our present society. Horkheimer calls this "traditional theory," and we call it "knowing what you're talking about and applying it to make the world a better place." He contrasts it against his own approach to Western Marxist thinking, which he calls "critical theory," which questions the very foundations of the society we inhabit in favor of an alternative we can't even articulate. In this important episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay brings you through some of the text of the first half of this historical essay so you can understand the Critical Theory from its birth, in the words of its own founder. Join him to hear the truth: Critical Theory has always been like this, from the very beginning. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #CriticalTheory

A Short Defense of the Moral Institution of Profit Aug 07, 2026

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 176 Profit is good. It is good practically, and it is good morally. Rarely today do we hear such a direct and clear statement or a thorough defense of these facts, but it's necessary. Our people, especially younger people, need to understand that they're not just participating in a successful system but also an intrinsically moral one: a fair one that creates opportunity and exchanges even human dignity itself. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay invites you to understand the goodness of profit and to start teaching it to others, especially our young people. Join him and take up the charge. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Profit

We, the Screamers Aug 05, 2026

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 217 A very relatable feeling today is that of having something incredibly important to say while nobody listens. We go on screaming about the nearly existential horror of the situation we are in while everyday life goes on beside us, ignoring us, denying us. It's incredibly frustrating. This now far-too-familiar circumstance was written about eloquently at a time when it mattered as much as it may ever have mattered, in January 1944. In that month, Arthur Koestler, writing in the New York Times, published a monumental essay titled, "The Nightmare that Is Reality," (https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/09/archives/the-nightmare-that-is-a-reality-the-grim-stories-of-nazi-atrocities.html) describing the madness of screaming the truth about the unfolding Holocaust in Germany. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay shares Koestler's landmark essay with you in full and then explores the unsettling question it raises: with so many "screamers," which ones, like Koestler, are crucially right, and which ones are cranks and fools, if not worse? How can we tell them apart? Join him for an important exploration. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Screamers

Resisting Welfare Mentality Aug 03, 2026

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 175 Welfare mentality is believing that you should be given things you haven't earned because you simply deserve them, whatever the excuse. Maybe it's entitlement; maybe you believe it's a "human right." It doesn't matter. It is to be contrasted with a mindset that understands, recognizes, and honors the dignity of work, of production and the fair trade of parties seeking to mutually increase their own held value by exchanging something they have for something they deem more worth having. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay presents a compelling X post (https://x.com/i/status/2078424564753682763 ) that introduces the term "welfare mentality" and peels back the dignified reality of free enterprise versus the dehumanization of socialism. Join him for an important lesson, especially if you are a young person. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Welfare

Edward Said and How the West Went Woke Jul 31, 2026

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 216 In the late 1970s, a Palestinian-American postcolonial theorist and Columbia University literature professor named Edward Said wrote a book that changed the Left forever. That book was called Orientalism (https://amzn.to/45eMnE2). In this book, he brought the postmodernist deconstructive tools of Michel Foucault to a variety of Marxist and Critical Theory analyses to criticize and transform the way scholars study "other" cultures. His basic thesis is that there is no way for a scholar embedded in an imperialist context to study another culture without bringing his imperialism (and preference for its benefits) into the analysis. Exploring his treatment offers us much today in terms of understanding Woke, including how it could be that so many of our central institutions caved in to the ideology. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay reads a section from Said's own introduction to Orientalism to explain. The Postmodernist, Critical Marxist, and broadly establishment-liberal mondialist projects share so much foundational overlap that they serve as not just parallel projects but an intellectual-cultural symbiosis that opened the door to the Woke takeover. Join him for yet another groundbreaking episode and insight into what happened to the West over the last century of Western Marxist incursion. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Woke

Reading the DSA Platform Jul 29, 2026

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New Discourses Bullets, Ep. 174 The Democratic Socialists of America are making a bid to take over the Democratic Party, echoing the grim historical chapter during which Lenin's Bolsheviks abolished the more moderate Mensheviks from the future of Russian politics. They, like their historical predecessors, from whom they take inspiration, are Communists, and they have a party platform. In this episode of New Discourses Bullets, host James Lindsay reads quickly through the entire DSA party platform (https://program.dsausa.org/) so that people can hear for themselves just how crazy it is. Join him for an eye-opening read, and check out his longer exploration of this platform on the New Discourses Podcast. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #dsa

The Myth of the Blood, Vol. 4: The Anti-Christian Foundation of Positive Christianity Jul 27, 2026

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The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 215 The Nazis had an ideological mission for their own Volk in addition to those we're all more familiar with from the dark stories of history: to transform a widely Christian Germany into a fully Nazi Germany, not just in practice and politics but in belief and commitment. That is, in the language of the Nazis, German Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, had to be transformed into people who accepted the racialist worldview and Fascist organizational principles of National Socialism. In practice, that would mean devastating the real foundations for their faiths, providing them an ersatz intermediate faith called "Positive Christianity," and using it to lead them to full-blown Nazism. The key man tasked with this endeavor was Alfred Rosenberg, the Chief Ideologist of the Third Reich, who wrote the book on it in 1930. The Myth of the Twentieth Century was arguably the Third Reich's second most important book after Mein Kampf, and it presents the "myth of the blood" that all Nazis were eventually to come to believe as an article of unshakeable faith like their leaders. In this episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay returns to the second chapter of The Myth of the Twentieth Century to outline Rosenberg's very New-Atheist-ish effort to undermine the foundations of German Christianity while retaining a mythological Aryan Jesus so that he could complete this task. Join him to see how Nazis really regarded Christianity, especially Catholicism. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Christianity

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