OVERTHINK

In episode 143 of Overthink, Ellie and David explore the topic of degrowth. They discuss the imperial mode of living, Kohei Saito’s pillars of degrowth communism, and the iron law of capitalism. How does the degrowth movement build off of Karl Marx’s theory of capital? What are the differences between the Degrowthers’ criticisms of the Green New Deal and the greenwashing criticisms against it? And how can we build a post-capitalist world?

In episode 142 of Overthink, Ellie and David chat with Jennifer Banks about her book Natality: Toward a Philosophy of Birth. They think through the debate between pronatalism and antinatalism, and consider alternatives to these positions. They also discuss Hannah Arendt’s account of natality and what Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tells us about the relationship between birth and monstrosity. What is birth, and why does it seem to defy so many of our concepts and categories? What’s the difference between being-born and giving-birth? And how would our view of ourselves change if we saw ourselves through the lens of a “philosophy of birth” (as opposed to, say, “a philosophy of death”)?

In episode 141 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss femininity. They look to Simone de Beauvoir’s famous claim that one is not born but rather becomes a woman, and discuss how the process of feminization is crucial to this becoming. They explore the association between femininity, mystery, and docility. Is the return to traditional gender roles an attempt to move away from capitalism? How do contemporary beauty standards shape women’s self-understanding. And is there such thing as “feminine writing”?