Striving to be a lifelong learner, Ryder decided to get ideas out of his head, then realized trying to summarize and teach what he learns is the best way to retain knowledge and make it useable.
It’s a win-win… sort of.
The podcast is a DIY Masters degree of his own making. Mix some philosophy with some sociology and a pinch of behavioral science, and viola! Ryder created a lovely mess.
How did this Podcast Begin?
In 2019, during a residency in Japan, Ryder began a series of essays on the mental space from which a DIY amateur operates. Tied in with the philosophy and behavioral studies, Ryder rebuts the often alleged thrift of DIY in favor of a unique, dissatisfied mindset of rational rebellion and a desire for action/agency. The texts and podcast map out ideas, philosophy, and the political implications of a community that builds without drifting into the psychosis of prepper culture.
When the 2020 COVID-19 quarantine began, many projects and future plans collapsed. Not wanting to remain idle, the idea of recording insights gleaned over time or from texts became a way to keep the ole gray matter from going into complete drunken atrophy.
Current Books
Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
Japanese Proverb
Fresh Podcasts
Step 71: The Costume & Inscribed Violence
From fantasy into reality, the image has it’s own defenses and prophetic will.
Step 70: Scapegoating and Sacrifice
Reversing inner pressure outward requires a scapegoat to sacrifice in order to stabilize society.
Step 69: Memetic Desire
Wanting leads to rivalry, competition and violence.
The podcast formerly known as:
“The Will to DIY”
Nietzsche has a manuscript called “The Will to Power” and Foucault has a series of essays called “The Will to Truth” and “The Will to Know,” Schopenhauer has “The World as Will” and William James has “The Will to Believe.”
In a sardonic attempt to take a step sideways “The Will to DIY” (or Will to Die) investigates a space of frustrated attempts at autonomy, agency, empowerment, and truth. It is the amateur working against specialization. It is self-help and it is contrariness. It is working to push back existential angst, even if that push takes us further into a system we detest.
Interesting Note:
In Psychoanalysis, there are three Viennese schools: Freudian (the will to pleasure), Adlerian (the will to power or superiority), and Frankl’s (the will to meaning). Considering these simplistically, Freudian psychology looks to the past to find the perversions confounding normalcy, Adlerian looks to the present for you to choose happiness, while Frankl (logotherapy) looks to the future to find meaning for surviving today.
Ryder’s Book
“The Will to DIY”
A series of essays tracing a philosophical path for DIY.
Anticipated publish date: SPRING 2022
What is the best Philosophy Podcast?
Haha! What kind of question is that, grasshopper? I don’t know the answer.
But I can share the two that helped me get started, and one or two I listen to now.
The Partially Examined Life
Between 3 and 6 people participate in a conversation covering selected readings. Most of them have a degree in philosophy but don’t do it for a living, so their knowledge and depth of insight are great, but it is also clear they don’t share the same opinions, which helps keep it relevant.
Philosophize This!
Stephen West is my hero. Each one of his podcasts is beginner-friendly and breaks down complex topics in an understandable, often humorous way.
Acid Horizon
A critical theory podcast that references Hegel a lot, but focuses on the more edgy and difficult post-modern thinkers, such as Deleuze, Guattari, Bataille, Foucault, as well as more contemporary thinkers like Mark Fisher, Catherine Malibou, and Nick Land.