Overthink

• Black Women's Magic with Lindsey Stewart

  How did Black Women become magical? In episode 138, Ellie and David talk to Lindsey Stewart about her book, The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic. They talk about how the concept of ‘conjure’ shifted from its origin in the West African tradition to how it manifests in African American communities today. They discuss how Yoruba religion traveled to the US with slavery, as well as exploring the impact of historical images like the Mammy and the Voodoo Queen. What are the dangers of rhetoric of Black women being magical? How has Christianity influenced the ignorance that many Americans have around conjure? Is Beyonce magical? And does her album Cowboy Carter invoke the West African concept of Sankofa? In the Substack bonus segment, Ellie and David talk about magic on a larger scale, and parse out the differences between magic, religion and science. Works Discussed: Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards and Valerie N. Adams, “I am not (your) superwoman, Black girl magic, or beautiful struggle: Rethinking the resilience of Black women and girls”  Kim R. Harris, “Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ embraces country music, Black history and religious imagery” Lindsey Stewart, The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women's Magic Support the showSubstack | https://overthinkpod.substack.com/ Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | [email protected] | Overthink podcast

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• Post-Truth

  With conspiracy theories, fake news, and anti-science rhetoric everywhere, we are living in an age of post-truth. In episode 137 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the meaning of truth in our contemporary political and social landscape and how post-truth has increased in the recent years. How do phenomena like opinion overload, news fatigue, and information overload contribute to the spread of post truth? And are we really “post” truth, or do we simply live in an age of “many” truths? Ellie and David explore different conceptions of truth, the differences between misinformation and disinformation, and between lying and bullshitting. And what’s the connection between post-truth and postmodernism? Have so-called “pomo professors” contributed to the rise of political dishonesty and deception? In the bonus, your hosts talk about Michael Hannon’s article “The Politics of Post-Truth” and consider whether “post-truth” is even the right word for the crisis we’re facing.Works Discussed: Max Black, “The Prevalence of Humbug”Harry Frankfurt, “On Bullshit”Ralph Keyes, The Post-Truth Era Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern ConditionLee McIntyre, Post-Truth David M. Peña-Guzmán and Rebekah Spera, “The anatomy of a philosophical hoax: The politics of delegitimation in contemporary philosophy”Simon Truwant, De waarheid heeft vier gezichtenSupport the showSubstack | https://overthinkpod.substack.com/ Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | [email protected] | Overthink podcast

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• Burnout

  What makes burnout different from exhaustion or fatigue? In episode 136 of Overthink, Ellie and David look at the history of the term burnout and its surprising connection to social justice. They also explore Byung-Chul Han’s reading of burnout as a natural consequence of “achievement culture.”  How does our mindless scrolling on TikTok and Instagram reveal our inability to be bored and meditate? And how does this  contribute to our personal and collective run-ins with burnout? Why do so many people, academics included, fail to recognize their own burnout? And is it even possible to escape burnout in a capitalist society? In the bonus, your hosts talk about the shame surrounding burnout, errand paralysis, and the relationship between burnout and compulsive buying.Works Discussed:Herbert J. Freudenberger, “Staff Burn-Out”Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society Emily and Amelia Nagoski, Burnout, the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle David M. Peña-Guzmán and Rebekah Spera, Professional Philosophy and Its MythsAnne Helen Peterson, Can’t Even: How Millennials became the Burnout GenerationHannah Proctor, BurnoutSupport the showSubstack | https://overthinkpod.substack.com/ Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | [email protected] | Overthink podcast

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• Travel

  Aperol spritzes, ‘Euro summers’, and aesthetic beach pics. In episode 135 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss all things travel. They discuss the differences how travel changes our relationship to the place where we're from, the difference between travel and tourism, and the place of travel in the history of philosophy. They go from Plato’s views that young people shouldn’t travel to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that travel is essential for turning boys into men. They also explore the question, why do humans love to travel so much? In the bonus, your hosts debate over their relationships to phones and taking photos while travelling and dive deeper into what it’s like to experience culture shock. Works Discussed: Francis Bacon, “On Travel”Agnes Callard, “Against Travel”Paul Fussell, AbroadMichel de Montaigne, “On Cannibals”Plato, The RepublicJean-Jacques Rousseau, EmileGeorge Santayana, “The Philosophy of Travel”Joseph Shaules, The Intercultural Mind: Connecting Culture, Cognition, and Global LivingEmily Thomas, The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers AbroadSupport the showSubstack | https://overthinkpod.substack.com/ Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | [email protected] | Overthink podcast

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• Weirdness with Eric Schwitzgebel

  All metaphysical theories are…really weird. In episode 134 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with Eric Schwitzgebel about his book Weirdness of the World. They think through the difference between weirdness and bizarreness, the nonsensical nature of philosophical theories, and whether we should all just agree with Occam’s razor that the simplest explanation is always best.Is the recent theory that we’re all living in a simulation really that strange? Is it stranger than the idealist metaphysics of Plato or the atomism of Lucretius? And why are philosophical theories doomed to weirdness? Are we the weird ones, or do we just live in a weird world? In the bonus your hosts talk about the butterfly effect and the infinitude of the universe, and how neurodivergent traits can be rewarded in philosophy.Works Discussed:Graham Harman, Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy Eric Schwitzgebel, Weirdness of the WorldSupport the showSubstack | https://overthinkpod.substack.com/ Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail | [email protected] | Overthink podcast

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