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Two philosophers—or what comedian Mel Brooks fondly refers to as "bullshit artists"—from different generations join in deep yet casual conversation covering a wide range of topics, including especially politics and the human condition. Jack Crittenden—professor emeritus of political theory at Arizona State University—and Rory Varrato—PhD candidate in the Philosophy and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University—have known each other for more than ten years, first as teacher-student and later as friends. During that time, they have had countless conversations together (usually over coffee), and some of those chats have even been interesting. The purposes of this biweekly podcast, then, are to provide a new venue for these conversations (especially now, during the pandemic) and to enable these dialogues to reach an audience of more than two. Both interlocutors hope that—at their best—they can offer to each other and to their listeners something like the lighthearted verbal jousting of 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' crossed with the stimulating pleasures of a 'My Dinner with Andre'-caliber conversation: organic, cerebral, funny, unguarded, and chock-full of bullshit.
Episodes
Thursday May 27, 2021
Thursday May 27, 2021
In this episode, Rory starts by sharing with Jack that he has submitted a self-nomination to the Movement for a People’s Party, an emergent third party that is currently soliciting its first crop of candidates for the 2022 midterm elections. This initiates a conversation about the viability of third parties in the American political system, including a historical digression about how the party system last changed in the United States—a development in which Jack’s great-great-uncle, John Jordan Crittenden, the prominent politician from Kentucky, may have played some small role. From there, the conversation turns to the topic of reconstitution: why the current Constitution is deeply flawed, how it could be replaced by existing political mechanisms, and why this approach may be the last, best chance for thwarting America’s rapidly accelerating descent into neofascism. Finally, the duo circle back to the topic of third parties; they discuss the need for critical critique of the current system to be wedded with a positive vision for a future one, and Rory elaborates on how he thinks that something like the People’s Party could fill that two-pronged role in this ongoing moment of socioeconomic upheaval and protracted political crisis.
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