Rendering Unconscious episode 372.
Rendering Unconscious welcomes Alenka Zupančič and Todd McGowan back to the podcast!
In this episode, Alenka and Todd discuss their work On Comedy. Alenka’s book The Odd One In: On Comedy (MIT Press, 2008) and Todd’s Only a Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy (Northwestern University Press, 2017) are two of my favorite books by them, and I had the best time hosting them for this brilliant conversation.
The discussion centers on the nature and role of comedy. Alenka begins by highlighting the need for an updated version of her book on comedy, noting how contemporary politics often surpasses comic imagination. She emphasizes the importance of comedy in revealing the paradoxical finitude of human reality. Todd then argues that comedy arises from the encounter between lack and excess, using examples like the Black Knight from Monty Python. Both agree that comedy should challenge and disturb, not merely confirm existing beliefs, as they discuss the political and philosophical implications of humor.
Check out previous episodes with these guests:
RU45: ALENKA ZUPANČIČ ON PSYCHOANALYSIS, PHILOSOPHY, POLITICS & COMEDY
RU14: TODD MCGOWAN ON PSYCHOANALYSIS & PHILOSOPHY
RU178: TODD MCGOWAN ON BREAKING BAD, HITCHCOCK, PSYCHOANALYSIS, FILM, POLITICS, PHILOSOPHY
RU355: TODD MCGOWAN ON PURE EXCESS: CAPITALISM & THE COMMODITY
