The Relentless Picnic

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 28 - Ragnarok Apr 03, 2018

Show notes

It’s time to talk about America. We’re looking at ways to deal with what’s coming, from that bug-out bag full of spare magazines, to terrifying self-sacrifice on South Carolina’s spiritual battlefield, to Hollywood’s last-ditch play for immortality with the forces of global capital. Join us on the beach to watch the blood-dimmed tide roll in. BONUS SCENE for our patreon supporters: https://bit.ly/2v5yF8x ; SOURCES: - "In A Dark Time" by Theodore Roethke (1963): https://bit.ly/2wYW33A ; - "Preppers are Crazy" by SensiblePrepper (03/2012): https://youtu.be/6_AJljHYww8 ; - "7 Worst Rookie Prepper Mistakes and How to Avoid Them" by SNO Multimedia (09/2014): https://youtu.be/byKqaGUiaFM ; - from Melville, Moby Dick: chapter XCIII, The Castaway ; - "I'm the Girl Who Clawed Her Own Eyes Out. This Is My Story: Twenty-year old Kaylee Muthart speaks out for the first time since the incident that made national news," by Kaylee Muthart as told to Elizabeth Narins, in Cosmo (Mar. 9, 2018): https://bit.ly/2FIMVbu ; - "Top 10 Sheep Dog Gangs That Will Form After The Collapse" by Reality Survival & Prepping (08/2017): https://youtu.be/EAUbsTQ-PPc ; - "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats (1919), as read by Dominic West: https://youtu.be/QI40j17EFbI ; - "Secrets of the Marvel Universe," by Joanna Robinson, Vanity Fair (Nov. 27, 2017): https://bit.ly/2iUyVyw ; - music from the episode: https://bit.ly/2GAWtCw ; - cover image: https://bit.ly/2GEwfiy .

Ep. 27 - The Wreckage Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

How did this happen? What went wrong? We obsess over the brokenness and try to eyeball the true nature of intimacy: fading, faded, and yet-to-fade. ft. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jordan Catalano, Don Draper, the miserable modern self, someone you once genuinely loved, and other dangerous creatures of the heart. SOURCES: - "How Friendships Change Over Time" by Julie Beck in The Atlantic (June 2015): http://theatln.tc/2mDBQxK ; - "Mimi O'Donnell Reflects on the Loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Devastation of Addiction," as told to Adam Green, Vogue (Dec. 13, 2017): http://bit.ly/2j1DUx6 ; - 'litost', Collins Dictionary: http://bit.ly/2ELkp8w ; - Episode image: “Pulse” by Jessica Lloyd-Jones, 2008 ; - music from the episode: http://bit.ly/2CmDokx .

Ep. 26 - This Is Marketplace Jan 17, 2018

Show notes

Like I always say, if the markets are a-singin', you better know how to make 'em dance. Today on the program, it's a deep dive in the shallow pond that is NPR's Marketplace. We'll ask the question: are there Nazis in-studio forcing them to be like this? Or is there a more covert kind of fascism within the neoliberal soul? I'm Kai Ryssdal, and this sinking ship is called Marketplace. SOURCES: - "Buying 450 Million Ripple? - $1Billion Ripple XRP Buy - XRP Ripple CryptoCurrency," by the right reputable Crypto Coin News: https://youtu.be/_TGELnePogs ; - "Is Amazon finally poised for a complete retail takeover?" (Oct. 27, 2017): http://bit.ly/2Dd9mku ; - "Why accountants can't wait for the new tax bill" (Oct. 30, 2017): http://bit.ly/2DJqfEw ; - "Does trickle-down economics make any sense?" (Nov. 7, 2017): http://bit.ly/2EOQiJP ; - "F is For Future: How to Think About Public Media's Next 50 Years" a Knight Foundation whitepaper by Melody Kramer and Betsy Odonovan (2017): http://kng.ht/2AFoCGp ; - Weekly Wrap: "What lowering the tax rate means for the economy" (Sept. 1, 2017): http://bit.ly/2mENxDo ; - "How will corporations spend their tax cuts?" (Dec. 1, 2017): http://bit.ly/2DbtByT ; - "How Kai Ryssdal, Radio Host, Does It," by Kai Ryssdal, as told to KJ Dell'Antonia (NY Times; May 29, 2013): http://nyti.ms/2rdDmLr ; - Vanity Fair profile of Kai Ryssdal, by Sarah Ball (Oct. 17, 2013): http://bit.ly/2mG6GEM ; - Kai on PBS NewsHour with Hari Sreenivasan (Oct. 18, 2016): https://youtu.be/gbMxKqUk02E ; - "A surprise viral hit: Income inequality, the movie" (March 8, 2013): http://bit.ly/2FLj13d ; - "Inequality: Capitalism's 'squeaky wheel'" (Jan. 29, 2014): http://bit.ly/2DmwvnY ; - sporadic Marketplace excerpts from 4/5/17–1/12/18 ; - music from the episode: http://bit.ly/2DmLtKu.

Ep. 25 - Drench the Spark Dec 18, 2017

Show notes

To die, to sleep — perchance to be judged no longer viable in society and sentenced to burn alive from within. Who is truly avenged by our cocktails of untested heartstoppers? Justices: why did we stop, then start, doing this again? Join us at the top of the scaffold of lies we tell ourselves, where we countenance barbarisms and watch the clock till it runs all the way out. SOURCES: - Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975): http://a.co/eerXzt2 ; - 60 Minutes, "The Execution of Joseph Wood" (Nov. 29, 2015): http://bit.ly/2kgmw8Z ; - Oklahoma's KFOR-TV on Clayton Lockett's botched execution (Apr. 29, 2014); reporter Courtney Francisco, eyewitnessing: https://youtu.be/d06awQ1L2TM ; - Furman v. Georgia (1972): http://bit.ly/2kIZ6bH ; - news clips on the decision in Furman v. Georgia: https://youtu.be/yeOykQHeRlY?t=2m23s ; - Gregg v. Georgia (1976): http://bit.ly/2kfGh0d ; - a cartoon on the case, produced (amazingly) by the Georgia State Bar: https://youtu.be/3-BNkWHmCqg ; - Bloody Code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Code ; http://bit.ly/2CB3Bwe - Two Treatises of Government, by John "Hornsbury" Locke (1689) ; - 30 for 30, Doc & Darryl (dir. Judd Apatow & Michael Bonfiglio, 2016): http://es.pn/2ASRfPt ; - Glossip v. Gross (2015): http://bit.ly/2oGy6Pc ; - J. Alito, for the 5-4 majority: http://bit.ly/2oBvBh0 ; - J. Breyer, dissenting: http://bit.ly/2CZtAOU (& published in handsome volume here: http://a.co/7M59QDr) ; - Nino, concurring: http://bit.ly/2Bxk19L ; - J. Thomas, concurring: http://bit.ly/2BIRZua ; - Audio & transcipts of oral arguments (argued Apr. 29, 2015) on Oyez here: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-7955 ; - Death Penalty Information Center: deathpenaltyinfo.org; fact sheet: http://bit.ly/2yiSHKz ; - Don Delillo, Americana (1989): http://a.co/bhyKIYp ; - music from the episode: http://bit.ly/2kHBjbX ; FURTHER READING: - McGautha v. California (1971), in which J. Harlan, writing for the court (6-3), said: "To identify before the fact those characteristics of criminal homicides and their perpetrators which call for the death penalty, and to express these characteristics in language which can be fairly understood and applied by the sentencing authority, appear to be tasks which are beyond present human ability." http://bit.ly/2kIHVqH

PATREON: The Announcement Nov 22, 2017

Show notes

There's a new channel for hot audio content from The Relentless Picnic. It's on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/relentlesspicnic Our episodes will still be released for free, and in the same way as always. But, as a Patron, you'll receive weekly "treats" from us, delivered to you via the Patreon. Among the "treats" you might expect from us each week are: ▪️ interviews, conversations, and informal chats with intriguing guests ▪️ question & answer sessions where the Picnic responds to your queries ▪️ special live-streaming shows ▪️ excerpts from in-progress dramatic works/short operas ▪️ recipes from @georgelazenby's personal stash ▪️ plus: cut scenes, discourse, conversation, and curated audio delights in our usual style. If you want to support what we’ve been doing, pledge a fin, and scoop up your weekly treats. https://www.patreon.com/relentlesspicnic

Ep. 24 - The Tightrope Nov 08, 2017

Show notes

Inspired by an O.G. paragon of male toxicity — Odysseus — this week we confront the meaning of our obligations, the phenomenon of gaslighting, and a certain typified masculinity near-feral in its ineptitude and shimmering in its self-denial. All in the space of a Homeric reverie. Special thanks to Sir Ian McKellan. SOURCES: Homer, The Odyssey, 12.30-200; 23.231-288 (tr. Fagles, read by Sir Ian) ; "Some Clinical Consequences of Introjection: Gaslighting" by Victor Calef, M.D. & Edward M. Weinshel, M.D., Psychoanalytic Quarterly 50:44-66 (1981) ; Three reddit tales from Keith Calder's tweet: "A weird part of toxic masculinity is not knowing how to poop properly." (https://twitter.com/keithcalder/status/918598272243126272) ; "From Theater to Therapy to Twitter, the Eerie History of Gaslighting," by Katy Waldman (Apr. '16): http://slate.me/1SV4KiE ; Episode photo by Hugh Holland ; Music playlist: http://bit.ly/2yJ6BJu .

Ep. 23 - Like This or Die Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

The medium is our message. We sleuth out data points along the demographic trendlines, and follow them straight towards the beating, gray heart of TV―and beyond. How does it all end? We jump off the edge and file dispatches from the abyss. SOURCES: "E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction," by David F. Wallace (Review of Contemporary Fiction 13:2, Summer 1993); _Network_, by Paddy Chayefsky, dir. Sidney Lumet (1976). _Within the Context of No Context_, by George W. S. Trow (Atlantic Monthly Press Books, 1980); _The Corrections_, by Jonathan Franzen (Picador, 2001). SPONSORS: https://youtu.be/mGs4CjeJiJQ ; https://youtu.be/jPybavTSjCc ; https://youtu.be/U7TM4M_PsOA ; https://youtu.be/9M1QF66dFzA ; https://youtu.be/mIuv_dYV498 ; https://youtu.be/m0-wtrC7Vmc ; https://youtu.be/W286CRPwBuo ; https://youtu.be/XLpDiIVX0Wo ; https://youtu.be/7GvYI4VdVEI ; https://youtu.be/HMLt7bSX3iE ; https://youtu.be/YMzh1YsSun0 ; https://youtu.be/MZaePKG543c. Cover art by Benoit Paillé: https://www.lensculture.com/projects/239884-alternatives-landscape

Ep. 22 - Shanksville Sep 19, 2017

Show notes

We hit the pavement to grapple directly with the National Park Service's Flight 93 National Memorial, and with 9/11. An album of photographs to aid your listening experience: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm4zgYqd SOURCES: - Flight 93 National Memorial, NPS Brochure: http://bit.ly/2hbF1g7 - Timeline for United 93: http://n.pr/2hcDZg4 ; - Flight 93 National Memorial Cell Phone Tour: http://bit.ly/2fgXSWh ; - Memorial Committee Jury Report: http://bit.ly/2x9LnD0 ; - Environmental Impact Report: http://bit.ly/2y9zMAK ; - Jean Baudrillard, "The Spirit of Terrorism," Oct. 2001: http://bit.ly/2woSjwB ; - Jean Baudrillard, "Hypotheses on Terrorism," an essay published with the above and two others as The Spirit of Terrorism (Verso, 2003); - The 9/11 Commission Report: http://bit.ly/2iwak0Q ; - A small plane crashes into the White House, 9/11*/1994: http://abcn.ws/1sVddp8 ; - Don DeLillo, Falling Man (2007). Audiobook read by John Slattery; - Dick Cheney on Chris Wallace, 9/04/2011: https://youtu.be/fir1N4mil3s ; - Denny Hastert's Congress sings to a battered nation, 9/11/2001: https://youtu.be/IH_6EUCILew ; - Luis Gonzalez saves the world: https://youtu.be/gNt3UuDTBz8 FURTHER READING: - "The Forgotten Memorial: How 9/11 Changed Shanksville, Pennsylvania," by Craig Fehrman in the New Republic (Aug. 2011): http://bit.ly/2y8zc6g ; - on Wally Miller, the Somerset County coroner: http://bit.ly/2w2WD08.

Ep. 21 - No World Aug 21, 2017

Show notes

Lose yourself in the wild-eyed fearsome shadow of totality. Come see what hippies the Moon made of our steely-eyed missile men. Plus—Elon Musk trips over his own simulated shoelaces, and the Moon Matrix is fully decoded. Join us, but only if you've got the right glasses. SOURCES: Quora queries: https://www.quora.com/topic/Elon-Musk Elon Musk speaks with Walter Isaacson at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit: https://youtu.be/fPsHN1KyRQ8 ; "Elon Musk: The Chance We Are Not Living In a Computer Simulation is 'One in Billions'," by Andrew Griffin in The Independent (June 2016): http://ind.pn/1TXY3zF ; On Elon Musk's mission to Mars: "Exodus," by Ross Anderson in Aeon (Sept. 2014): http://bit.ly/1N7gT0N ; Lo and Behold (2016), dir. Werner Herzog. David Icke coming out as the son of God in 1991, https://youtu.be/NapHiWsoFXI & https://youtu.be/4q9ncm2jotI ; David Icke's "Lion Sleeps No More" seminar, queued up to the moon part: https://youtu.be/VJorKZEbQsA?t=51m21s ; "Total Eclipse," by Annie Dillard (first pub. 1982). Available here, till 8/22: http://theatln.tc/2upvpQt ; For All Mankind (1989), dir. Al Reinert: https://youtu.be/FJiHAoAru54

Ep. 20 - Secret Teaching Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

This week from our special plans department, Leo Strauss: a guide for the perplexed. Politics, both ancient and modern; the allure of elite cabals; a whiskey spill Rorschach test; polemics, hermeneutics, and sex in the stacks. Plus—Iraq, intelligence, independence, and other declarations of the great atheist priest: Text. WORKS CITED: Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire (Yale University Press, 2004), by Anne Norton; The Enduring Importance of Leo Strauss (University of Chicago Press, 2013), by Laurence Lampert; Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence (3rd ed., Potomac Books, 2002), by Abram N. Shulsky and Gary J. Schmitt; "Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence (By Which We Do Not Mean Nous)," by Gary J. Schmitt and Abram N. Shulksy: http://bit.ly/2woEPwb ; "Sphinx Without a Secret," by M.F. Burnyeat, NY Review of Books (May 1985): http://bit.ly/2wp0DrH ; "What Is Liberal Education?" by Leo Strauss (June 1959): http://bit.ly/2u7v2xI ; Harvey Mansfield in conversation with Bill Kristol: https://youtu.be/t-gH7Waedtk ; "Leo Strauss: September 20, 1899-October 18, 1973," by Allan Bloom: http://bit.ly/2hqL5Rp ; "Leo Strauss: Friend of Liberal Democracy," by Jeet Heer (March '08): http://bit.ly/2u4kxaq ; Leo Strauss as Teacher, 2011 conference at U. of Chicago: https://youtu.be/vyaqZAwodeU ; "Seminar in Political Philosophy: Karl Marx," Leo Strauss (with Joseph Cropsey): http://bit.ly/2vsCjbd [excerpt is from 4/20/60; nice]. FURTHER READING: Profile of Abram Shulsky: "Selective Intelligence," by Seymour M. Hersh, New Yorker (May 2003): http://bit.ly/2o0t2mZ ; Jenny Strauss Clay, adoptive daughter of Leo, responds to his critics: "The Real Leo Strauss," NY Times (June 2003): http://nyti.ms/1i6Dj4I ; BBC documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis on Leo Strauss, from The Power of Nightmares (2004): https://youtu.be/FyKpjDup8Fw ; "Reading Leo Strauss," by Steven B. Smith, NY Times (June 2006): http://nyti.ms/2vsSHbr ; "The Pro-Trump Intellectuals Who Want to Overthrow America," by Jeet Heer, New Republic (Oct. 2016): http://bit.ly/2n6v6al.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected