Public Intellectual

Many of the odd social media arguments over the last couple years -- from Scorsese v Marvel to teach Harry Potter instead of Nathaniel Hawthorne -- can be understood as being actually about uncertainty about what art is …

We'll be returning to our regular weekly schedule starting January 11th. Until then, please enjoy this first entry in our series of bonus episodes …

On the darkest day of the year, and with Trent Reznor everywhere with two new scores, it seems an appropriate time to discuss the Nine Inch Nails masterpiece The Downward Spiral. How did someone with actually so few …

Chelsey Weber Smith runs the American Hysteria podcast, so who better to come on to discuss America's various conspiracy theories, cults, and moral …

We were promised great art under the Trump administration. Everyone said it: our suffering would lead to a Renaissance of art, literature, and music. …

Over the last four years under Trump, we've seen the emergence of a far right with militias, the alt-right, and other weirdo fascists, but we've also …

Talk about guns is now shorthand for a certain kind of American: white uneducated racists. But conversations and action around gun control often hurt …

It's election week in America, so of course we're going to talk about horror, ghosts, and watching violent death as a way of relieving anxiety. …

Who owns a cultural object? Who benefits from artistic production? Where is the line between looting and preservation? While museums have been …

Ladies love a fascist. In Victoria de Grazia's new book The Perfect Fascist, she tells the story of Lilliana Weinman -- a beautiful Jewish heiress, …

With the death of RBG and the Supreme Court once again in a position to overturn Roe v Wade, journalist Alissa Quart and Jessa attempt to complicate the abortion debate. We discuss how the pro-choice movement often …

Just a few days before the Pope release a barnfire of an encyclical about the evils of neoliberalism and capitalism, Eugene McCarraher (The …

In his new memoir Inventory, Darran Anderson recounts growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland, in the 80s, amid all of the humiliation and intimidation …

We continue our series on the stress the pandemic is putting on domestic spaces. Jen Howard, the author of the new book Clutter, talks to Jessa about pandemic hoarding, why Marie Kondo drives some (mostly white upper …

Mark Arax (The Dreamt Land) is one of our finest chroniclers of the American West, and he joins Jessa to discuss the wildfires, the mismanagement of resources like water, soil, and timber, and why California is our land …

Now that Samuel Beckett's "Fail Better" is a motivational poster in some Silicon Valley bro's office, what is the value of art in the neoliberal age? …

What is hiding behind your Instagram photos of perfectly baked sourdough bread? First of all, all of the labor and time and knowledge it took to create it. Second, the strained and in some places broken food supply …

Natalie Alford, a singer songwriter out of Chicago, started to feel sick in the spring. Now four months later, she's still sick. As a part of our conversation about the how health care in this country is going to have …

Often when we discuss health care reform, we're talking about issues of accessibility and affordability. It is assumed American medicine is great, top notch. The only problem is how expensive it is and how broken the …

Do we and should we have free speech or not? Why can't anyone agree on that? Bosnian-born writer Elvis Bego joins Jessa to discuss how free speech …

BU Professor Ashley Mears details the leisure of the wealthy in her new book, Very Important People, but also the men and "girls" who live in their periphery. Examining the nightlife of the moneyed, from the ecstatic …

With all the media struggles lately, a conversation has emerged: should the journalist strive to be an objective observer, or should they be the …

Somehow, the conversation around historical racism and bigotry and police brutality turned into a series of... resignations by white voice actors in …

While many cities and states offered protection from evictions during the beginning months of the pandemic, many of those protections have expired and people are losing their houses. Tara Raghuveer of KC Tenants speaks …

I know, we're all against voting and progress through elections right now, but the triumph of Brandon Scott over Sheila Dixon and assorted other …

What does a fully inclusive city look like? With issues like policing, housing, child care, surveillance, and education in the news, due to the …

Frank A von Hippel takes us through the surprising relationship of disease and war, from how the treatment of malaria facilitated colonialism, how …

Excuse the click-baity title. Caren Beilin had a copper IUD implanted, and was overwhelmed with health issues almost immediately. Six days later, the IUD was removed, but the damage, including the sparking of an …

Alec Ryrie, the author of Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt, joins Jessa to discuss how faith and doubt operate together, skepticism as a contagion, and the legacy of the New Atheists. 

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Ben Lerner's The Topeka School was recently shortlisted for the Pulitzer, and critics have been raving about its insight into Trump Country. But... …

For all of the think pieces about why Millennials aren't having as many children as previous generations -- maybe they are too selfish blah blah blah …

Tiger King was a sensation, so a million words had to be spilled in response. Most of those words accused the Netflix docuseries itself of being immoral, misogynistic, exploitative. Rather than just depicting …

Jason Pine (The Alchemy of Meth) joins Jessa to discuss the invisibility of America's drug crisis. Pine spent a year in Missouri to research his book on the overwhelming presence of meth, an extremely common and yet …

The shelter in place and work from home orders are straining domestic spaces, and it feels like the most professional and public feminist speakers are not up the task of imagining how to respond. What is the "feminist …

Anne Case and Angus Deaton released Deaths of Despair this year, the culmination of their study into how your education level determines how much …

Jim Behrle reports from the tumbleweeds of Time Square to discuss eco-fascism, why the bees should just take over, how to get through this …

Joe Kennedy, author of Authentocrats: Culture, Politics and the New Seriousness, swings by to talk about the parallels between the UK and US …

We're releasing this bonus episode from the Patreon vaults. Come subscribe to our Patreon and get content like this all the time! (Or, you know, on a …

Why are celebrity crushes so embarrassing? Critic and editor Jennifer Hodgson joins Jessa to overintellectualize their shared crush on Bill Hader, to think about female desire, how celebrity crushes are labor, and why …

JoAnn Wypijewski joins Jessa to discuss the Weinstein trial and conviction, after writing about it for the Nation. We discuss how trials for sexual …

Professor of Law at York University Heidi Matthews has been writing about "creepiness," particularly as it relates to gender relations. What causes a …

Jessa talks to writer Susan Ellen Finlay (Objektophilia) about the difficult position of small, independent publishers in today's cultural climate. 

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With all of the publishing scandals going on, I thought it made sense to re-up this conversation with novelist John Biguenet. Why is the standard narrative in American writing the narrative of victimhood? How do we move …

Richard Davies is the author of "Extreme Economies: And What They Can Teach Us." He visits places like Santiago, Chile to examine income inequality, …

Gerald Russello, the editor of University Bookman and conservative intellectual, joins Jessa Crispin to talk about the growing political divide in …

If the year in film went the way film critics said it was, Joker would have caused an incel uprising and Little Women would have solved misogyny. …

Poet and well known curmudgeon Jim Behrle talks to Jessa about this season of cheer, hope, and friendliness and how terrible all of that is. You …

The legendary cult expert and psychologist Robert Jay Lifton joins Public Intellectual to explain what the totalitarian experience shares with the …

Twitter is full of Nazis, Facebook is facilitating genocide, YouTube is, well, also full of Nazis but also child pornography. How did social media …

Jessa talks to Brandon Scott, currently the City Council President and hopefully the next mayor of Baltimore, to talk about how the language of …

With the revelations about the abuses of Harvey Weinstein and others like him came a scramble to uncover the misdeeds of other powerful men. Some …

What makes a feminist artist feminist? Is it just by being a woman and political? Is it something to do with the art itself, must it carry a specific …

Before DNA testing, the father was, ultimately, a question mark. Because paternity was always in question, there were legal, familial, societal, and …

Jessa speaks with Nathalie Olah about her new book, Steal As Much As You Can and the bland cultural landscape, created by upper classes and dominated …

Jessa speaks with cultural critic, academic, and leftist thinker Yasmin Nair about the exploitative, dumbed down, and click-baity hot take culture in …

Jessa speaks with Justin Ward about the disappearance of the working class journalist. With local, small, and alternative newspapers folding, there …

On the inaugural episode of “Public Intellectual,” Jessa Crispin invites writer & cultural critic Laura Kipnis to discuss her book, “Unwanted …

Jessa invites Breanne Fahs, Professor of Women and Gender Studies at Arizona State University and author of Out for Blood: Essays on Menstruation and Resistance, onto Public Intellectual to discuss Radical Feminism and …

Jessa invites Michelle Tea, author of “Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards” and “Black Wave,” onto the show to discuss Tarot’s relevance and application in the modern era. They …

Jessa made a joke on twitter saying that she wanted to write a book called “Heterosexuality is a Fucking Nightmare.” She received an e-mail from another user intrigued by the idea, Indiana Seresin, encouraging her to …

Jessa invites Zak Mucha, author of Emotional Abuse: A Manual For Self-Defense, onto Public Intellectual to discuss straight white men and the crisis …

Jessa invites author Bruce Benderson onto the show to discuss the disappearance of the spinster/grandma in film and how women’s roles have changed …

Jessa invites author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore (The End Of San Francisco) onto Public Intellectual to discuss the transgender military ban & …

Jessa invites Irish author Mia Gallagher (Beautiful Pictures of the Lost Homeland) onto Public Intellectual for a thoughtful discussion on what it …

Jessa invites Pamela Bannos, author of the upcoming book “Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife” to discuss Vivian Maier’s life, the exploitation of her work, and the manufacturing of her image after her …

Jessa invites writer Neal Pollack onto the show to discuss the opportunism and profiteering of #Resistance writers in the age of Trump. They talk …

As we approach the 20th anniversary of Tori Amos’s “Boys for Pele,” Jessa invites her friend, Common Gore, onto the show to discuss Tori Amos, the …

Recently, Jessa attended a fascinating exhibition of mysticism and art at the IMMA in Dublin called “As Above, So Below: Portals, Visions, Spirits & Mystics.” Pádraic E Moore, writer/curator/art historian from …

There is a strong market for witchcraft these days. As practices such as astrology, tarot, crystals, and herbal medicine enter the mainstream, the …

Jessa invites Jessica Stites, executive editor of In These Times, onto the show for a conversation about the institution of marriage and why it …

What does it mean to be a global citizen? What does it mean to be a global citizen as a Westerner, when so much of the world has been molded to work …

It’s the 500 year anniversary of the Reformation, so Jessa invites Adrian Shirk onto the show to talk about religion and her new book, And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Stories from the Byways of American Women and …

South Side bureau reporter for WBEZ Chicago, Natalie Y. Moore, joins Jessa for a candid conversation about Gentrification vs. Development and the specific situation in Chicago. What is the current state of things? And …

There's nothing like reading a hateful book review. And though it is certainly pleasurable to read (and write), the bad book review serves an …

It’s Part Two of “What The Christ Is Wrong With Straight White Men?” For the second installment of this series, Jessa invites writer John Biguenet onto the show to discuss the straight white male writer. What are his …

Jessa invites writer Indiana Seresin back onto the show as the first repeat guest to discuss the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, …

Jessa invites writer Leah Finnegan (The Outline) onto the show to discuss the “shitty media men” list, the power imbalances in media (and elsewhere), and the current structures that protect sexual predators. Together, …

The second part in a series about the films of David Fischer and Paul Verhoeven. Jessa invites author/cartoonist David Rees onto the show to discuss …

This week, Jessa invites Ciara Cremin, author of Man-Made Woman: The Dialectics of Cross-Dressing, onto the show for a conversation about …

The third part in a series about the films of Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher. Jessa invites writer, translator, and producer of erotic gay manga, …

Why are women attracted to violence and brutality? Laura Elizabeth Woollett wrote a collection of short stories about this phenomenon called “The …

The fourth part in a series about the films of David Fincher and Paul Verhoeven. Jessa invites writer, Tech StartUp employee, and Harvard Alum Austin …

The fifth part in a series about the films of David Fincher and Paul Verhoeven. Jessa invites Manan Ahmed, Professor of Medieval Studies at Columbia …

Jessa sits down with journalist, poet and filmmaker Alissa Quart to discuss the rising maternal death rates and the place limited abortion access has in those figures, and how we are in this position where abortion is …

if you wanted to gauge the state of straight white men in America in the 80s and 90s, you could just watch Michael Douglas movies. The sixth part in …

Over the last few years, there have been a lot of white dudes who’ve taken up the task of defending the enlightenment. But for decades, women and …

The seventh part in a series about the films of Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher. Jessa invites writer Melissa Gira Grant onto the show to discuss …

The eighth part in a series about the films of Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher. Jessa invites film critic Sheila O'Malley onto the show to discuss …

Remember when people were desperately trying to find a silver lining to the Trump presidency and what they came up with, aside from “at least we'll …

Pankaj Mishra’s book “The Age Of Anger: A History of the Present” is the antidote to the defenders of the enlightenment, like Jordan Peterson and Steven Pinker, who are suddenly so big now. It examines the gap between …

There’s something alluring about conspiracy thinking. A way of understanding and giving order to a world that is mostly chaotic and unknowable. Why is there pain and suffering? Well, either God is doing it or the …

The ninth part in a series about the films of Paul Verhoeven and David Fincher. Elle is a film about power dynamics, the way men treat women, sexual …

The first episode in a new series about life in Berlin -- not just Berlin, but the new urban age. We'll be speaking with academics, journalists, writers, and other figures about housing issues and income inequality, how …

In America and in Europe, the left has a problem. Unable to control the rise of populism and the extreme right, the left has become powerless and …

Today we understand science and religion as being two wholly separate pursuits. They are not only separate, they are often hostile to one other. Yet, …

There are consequences to travel. From the environmental impact of international flights, to massive displacement in trendy neighborhoods for air bnb …

There is always a myth about a city that may or may not line up with the reality of what it’s like to live in that city. For Berlin, the myth is that it’s incredibly cheap, with endless resources, and everyone there is …

The Love Witch is the feminine version of Fight Club. Not only in the sense of it being an exploration of the extreme expressions of gender and all the societal pressures to perform that gender -- but also because the …

In Suzanne Leonard's new book, Wife Inc, she looks at the pop culture industry based around the idea of what a wife is. From reality television, to …

We’ve already done an episode about Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, but there are a few more things left to say about this film: in particular, the radical …