Episode 134: Natural Law

Episode 138 -- The Politics of Plagiarism-Hunting

In this episode, Adrian walks Moira through the strange politics of plagiarism hunting -- an (initially non-partisan) German preoccupation that became another line of attack in the right wing assault on higher education in the United States. The episode details how legitimate concerns about academic fraud were fused with a broader populist critique of "university corruption", which effortlessly fused with anti-woke and anti-"DEI" critiques of the university. NOTE: As he feared, Adrian was indeed incorrect on one particular point: German dentists do not have to write a dissertation, though a surprisingly large percentage of them do.

Episode 137 -- Catching Up with the Cinema of Cancellation

For a while now (though mostly on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/InBedWiththeRight]), Moira and Adrian have examined a strange canon of films and texts about. powerful people being taken down by forces of social justice. Many of these take place on college campuses or near them (Oleanna, Deconstructing Harry,The Human Stain, After the Hunt); others center figures of the art world (Tàr). There have been a few new entries in this genre, and they tell us a lot about where our culture and are politics are with regards to consequences, impunity and powerful men. The focus in this conversation is the HBO show Rooster starring Steve Carell and Outcome starring Keanu Reeves.

Episode 136 -- Marilyn Monroe

For this episode, Moira guides Adrian through the life, career and legacy of Marilyn Monroe, and the role gender played in all three. Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926 -- so her centennial is coming up in a few weeks. We touch on Monroe's suffering, her canny manipulation of her own image, and the political dimension of her public persona. Here are some of the books and articles we refer to in the episode: Joyce Carol Oates, "Blonde [https://archive.org/details/blondenovel0000oate/page/n3/mode/2up]" Norman Mailer, "Marilyn, A Biography [https://archive.org/details/marilynbiography0000mail_e4y4]" (NOT an endorsement) Gloria Steinem, Marilyn Monroe: Norma Jeane [https://archive.org/details/marilynnormajean0000stei] Jaqueline Rose, Women in Dark Times [https://archive.org/details/womenindarktimes0000rose_q8u1/] Lois Banner, "Marilyn Monroe: proto-feminist? [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jul/21/marilyn-monroe-feminist-psychoanalysis-lois-banner]"

Episode 134: Natural Law

In this episode Moira and Adrian discuss the natural law tradition -- its origins, its long varied history, the many uses to which it has been put, and the way conservatives are trying to revive it in our own day.

Episode 132 -- "Repeal the 19th"

In recent months, the call to repeal the 19th amendment and rescind American women's right to vote, has proliferated as a hashtag, meme and a shibboleth in certain far-right spaces. But how serious are those championing the cause? In this episode, Moira explains to Adrian that while we needn't worry that the 1920 amendment is going anywhere soon, this demand is about jockeying within the masculinist coalition that brought Donald Trump to power. While the supposed "arguments" for a repeal don't really bear engaging with, the history of the demand and its proliferation at this moment tells us a lot about gender and the (far) right: specifically about an alliance and a competition between tech bros and religious fundamentalists.