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The Nietzsche Podcast

by Untimely Reflections · English · Society & Culture

A podcast about Nietzsche's ideas, his influences, and those he influenced. Philosophy and cultural commentary through a Nietzschean lens. Support the show at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/untimelyreflections A few collected essays and thoughts: https://untimely-reflections.blogspot.com/

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 40 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 35 minNew

Untimely Reflections #48: Neema Parvini (Academic Agent) - Disenchanting Politics

Neema Parvini is well known on Youtube for his channel, Academic Agent, and for his para-academic work at the Academic Agency. He discusses a broad range of topics in political philosophy, and does not shy away from any topic, from elite theory to Marxism, from Julius Evola to Guy Debord. We discuss how he moved from literary theory to political philosophy; what politics really demands and why it is not the same as theorizing, the "take economy", or expressions of individualism; we discuss the difference between Evola & Nietzsche; and we try to come to an understanding of how it is that…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S7 · E8 · 7 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
Untimely Reflections #47: Melanie Coughlin - Nishitani, Nietzsche & The Kyoto School
Melanie Coughlin, a scholar whose work focuses on Nishitani and the Kyoto school, joined me for a conversation that will hopefully provide a nice conclusion to the recent focus on Buddhism. We discussed karma, the misleading nature of intentions, Nishitani's theory of affect, emptiness-as-affect, the important difference between Nietzsche & Feuerbach, and the insights of Nishitani regarding technology and the modern world. Melanie's latest article:…
S7 · E7 · 29 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 56 min
151: Julian Jaynes, part 2 - The Witness of History
How did the bicameral mind emerge, and how did consciousness eventually take its place? Join me for an exploration of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, in which Julian Jaynes traces the evidence over the centuries that suggest a disappearance of the gods and the emergence of subjectivity. The episode concludes with a brief tour of the shift to subjectivity found in the Old Testament.
S7 · E6 · 22 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 25 min
150: Julian Jaynes, part 1 - Hearing Voices
What is consciousness? Julian Jaynes rejects all of the popular answers: that consciousness is thinking, reason, memory, or the capacity for learning. Nor does he think it can be accounted for as a merely accumulative development of "sentience" through evolution. In his controversial work, Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Jaynes puts forward the hypothesis that consciousness is generated out of language, and therefore that language predates consciousness. Jaynes' argument has sweeping implications for human history and civilization, and he presents evidence…
S7 · E5 · 15 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 56 min
149: The Laṅkāvatāra Sutra
In this episode, we're going to discuss what is likely the founding text of the Zen tradition, the Laṅkāvatāra Sutra. According to some of the earliest sources on Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen in China, the "Lanka" was the teaching whose "abstruse principle" he passed down to his successor, Huike. Within the same story, Huike laments that within only a few generations, the sutra will pass into obscurity - which is exactly what has happened. Though few read this text today, during my time in Zen, I found the Lanka's philosophical presentation of the "mind only" teaching to be uniquely…
S7 · E4 · 8 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 26 min
148: Keiji Nishitani - Religion and Nothingness, part 2
This episode begins with an analysis of Baizhang's wild fox koan found in the Wumenguan, which we will use as a jumping off point for understanding the paradoxical relationship of the enlightened person with karma. This opens up into the general problem of discussing reality from the perspective of sunyata, in which samsara and nirvana become equivalent - because, so long as one approaches from the perspective of conceptual thought, they will remain forever unequivalent, and all such statements will be false or misleading. Join me as we discuss karma, the bodhisattva vow, "plucking out the…
S7 · E3 · 2 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 46 min
147: Keiji Nishitani - Religion & Nothingness, part 1
UPDATE: I accidentally uploaded part two to Spotify instead of part one. This has been fixed. To those who got to listen to the entire two-parter already already, lucky! But, the audio should now be part one. Join me for a deep dive into Nishitani's opus, Religion and Nothingness: an intersection of philosophy and religion, east and west, Heidegger and the Mahayana. The topics I choose to emphasize in my reading are: the "double exposure" whereby the two layers of reality (being and nihility) are simultaneously perceived; the mechanization of the world, which serves to objectify the…
S7 · E2 · 25 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 40 min
146: Extinction (Nietzsche vs Buddhism, pt. 2)
For all that is admirable in Buddhism, Nietzsche fundamentally opposes the movement towards the Last Man that Buddhism not only cannot oppose, but may even help bring forth. Why does the notion of a "European Buddhism" haunt Nietzsche's later writings? We will explore this question here: how a religion that is realistic, empirical, and achieves great practical success in the relief of suffering isnevertheless inevitably aimed at uprooting all action and delivering man to a state of passivity. Here we find another religion of pity, and another denial of the world - merely deprived of the…
S7 · E1 · 18 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 53 min
145: The Religion of Self-Redemption (Nietzsche vs Buddhism, pt. 1)
Welcome back to The Nietzsche Podcast, Season Seven! We're beginning with a two-part episode concerning Nietzsche's view of Buddhism. This episode, we will consider some of the basic teachings of Buddhism, and explore why Nietzsche viewed Buddhism with admiration. A repeated refrain in The Antichrist concerns Buddhism's superiority over Christianity. Why is it that Nietzsche considered Buddhism, a religion with a complex metaphysics and cosmology, to be a far more realistic and logical religion than Christianity? We are pointed in the direction of an answer in Nietzsche's description of…
S6 · E43 · 11 Aug 2026 · 2 hr 51 min
Q&A #16
Season seven begins soon! For now, enjoy a selection of fascinating questions.
S6 · E42 · 4 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 51 min
The Gay Science #25 (V.372-393)
We've finally arrived at the conclusion of The Gay Science. The theme of these final sections is perspectivism - we have opened up a "new infinite", penetrating beyond narrow, limited views of the world that have always made grand claims to universalism but have only ever trapped us in dogmatic certainties. Nietzsche sums up his new affirmative attitude as a quest for "the great health", which one does not possess, but must continually give up. This great health has for its image a kind of abundant playfulness that is both human and superhuman. By making all that was once sacred and serious…
S6 · E41 · 28 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 37 min
The Gay Science #24 (V.364-371)
We incomprehensible ones - how our thought branches in every direction, how willing we are to shed our bark, to grow, to change! In this episode, we discuss, among many other sections, important passages such as "What is Romanticism" - in which Nietzsche explains how he departed from the romantic pessimism of Wagner and Schopenhauer. He opposes the theater to music, fully breaking with his earlier views in Birth of Tragedy. Nietzsche also flips the script on some of his previous views regarding academics, and suggests that the scholarly specialist is a type of higher value than the so-called…
S6 · E40 · 21 Jul 2026 · 2 hr 22 min
The Gay Science #23 (V.356-363)
In this chapter of our readthrough, we confront "the problem of the actor". Nietzsche predicts that things shall become ever more "artistic" in Europe, as the actor's talent self-falsification becomes developed in all members of society. Whereas in the Middle Ages, the individual was bound to his role as an unchangeable identity, the modern person picks up and discards roles: he gives the appearance of being a given type, but is often obliged to change roles. Nietzsche continues to increasingly offer reversals of perspective, at times even differing with previous assertions in this very same…
S3 · E39 · 14 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 55 min
The Gay Science #22 (V.348-355)
The grand experiment continues with a series of naturalistic explanations for the origins of ideas or modes of life. The scholar's intellectual habits are inherited "in blood and instinct"; Spinoza's philosophy is sourced to his sickliness; Darwinian theories of evolution are a product of the "musty air" of English overpopulation; religious and moralistic perspectives are the post hoc rationalizations of the weak and the tame. In this episode we'll also discuss the very important section, "On the Genius of the Species", which treats consciousness as an organ of communication. Episode art:…
S6 · E39 · 7 Jul 2026 · 2 hr 6 min
The Gay Science #21 (V.343-347)
"You tremble, carcass?" After a long hiatus, we shall now fearlessly embark upon book V of The Gay Science, added to the text in 1887. In this final division of the text, we'll see Nietzsche's attempt to incorporate his late philosophy, as the conclusion of his middle period meditations. Some of the hardest-hitting sections in the book appear here. Join me on this quixotic journey for the truth... after all, we, too, are still pious! Episode art: Portrait of Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (1611–1675), as Marshall of France on horseback, by Charles le Brun
S6 · E38 · 30 Jun 2026 · 2 hr 50 min
Q&A #15
You know what it is. Questions get answered. The Gay Science readthrough begins in a week's time.
S6 · E37 · 23 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 44 min
144: Georges Bataille, part 2 - 1944 Diaries
"You, whoever you are, reading me - take your own chance. Just as, at the moment of writing, I gamble with you." The much-awaited conclusion to season six is here! The year is 1944, and we follow Georges Bataille through the months of February to August as he recounts the end of the Nazi occupation of France, while writing of his daily encounters, his inner experiences, first-hand accounts of the war, mad ramblings and poems - and astute, if sometimes confusing, commentary on the work of Nietzsche. In this episode we will explore the will to chance, immanence vs. transcendence, desire as…
S6 · E36 · 16 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 54 min
143: Georges Bataille, part 1 - On Nietzsche
The two-part conclusion of season six begins. We're delving into the work of Georges Bataille, with a focus on his book, "On Nietzsche". Bataille is one of the most interesting intellectual nodes of 20th century philosophy. For a long time, his work was obscure in the English-speaking world, often eclipsed by those he influenced, such as Derrida and Foucault. However, among the postmodernists, Bataille takes Nietzsche as his closest companion, and struggles most fiercely with him. On Nietzsche is written during the war years, and is a very strange book that defies categorization. We'll talk…
S6 · E35 · 9 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
Untimely Reflections #46: Stuart Kendall - On Georges Bataille
Today, I'm speaking with independent scholar, translator, and lecturer, Stuart Kendall. Stuart is responsible for helping to bring new translations of Georges Bataille's work into English, and he joined me for a conversation about Georges Bataille and his influence from Friedrich Nietzsche. We discussed the notion of expenditure, the metaphor of the potlach, the will to chance, war as an object of meditation, and the enigmatic work, On Nietzsche. Future episode's on Bataille's On Nietzsche will soon arrive as regular episodes of the podcast (in fact, as the two-part conclusion to season…
S6 · E34 · 2 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 37 min
142: Commands, Symbols & Games - Nietzsche, Cassirer & Wittgenstein on Language
In this episode we're going to explore three very different thinkers who nonetheless converge on their theories of language. We're going to see if we can't extract an intelligible whole out of the ideas generated by this trio: the Nietzschean theory of language as command, the view of Cassirer that man is a symbolic animal, and Wittgenstein's concept of the language-game.
S6 · E33 · 26 May 2026 · 1 hr 40 min
141: Ernst Cassirer - Language & Myth
In this episode, we're venturing into the life and thought of Ernst Cassirer, the last humanist of the Enlightenment tradition. Cassirer is widely known today for his debate with Heidegger at Davos, in which Cassirer appeared as the old style philosopher against the new world signified by Heidegger's radical existentialism. And yet, the very fact that this debate was taking as symbolic of the broader trends in philosophy is in some sense a vindication of Cassirer, who believed that mankind was properly undertsood as animale symbolicum: the animal who symbolizes. Thinking in the Neo-Kantian…
S6 · E32 · 19 May 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
140: Anti-Schmitt
This is an audio version of the first two sections of a planned series of political writings, gathered under the name Antipolitik: I. The Birth of the State at the End of Warre, and II. Anti-Schmitt. I've grouped them under the name Anti-Schmitt because these two sections form a polemical unity, against the philosophy of Carl Schmitt and his friend-enemy distinction. Enjoy!
S6 · E31 · 12 May 2026 · 1 hr 16 min
Untimely Reflections #45: Nick Nielsen - Philosophy of History
I spoke with Nick Nielsen (Geopolicraticus), who publishes a regular newsletter, and the series, Today in the Philosophy of History. We discussed Augustine's theory of history; the differing views of history of Hegel and Schopenhauer; the Renaissance and the Reformation; textual gaps in the Middle Ages; Nietzsche's "On the Use and Abuse of History for Life"; Nietzsche & Machiavelli as the monumental role models of our time; ideographic versus nomothetic knowledge; Peter Turchin's Cliodynamics. This was my first conversation with Nick, but it was lovely to meet him and I had a nice time…
S6 · E30 · 5 May 2026 · 1 hr 22 min
Untimely Reflections #44: Christopher Satoor (The Young Idealist) - Friedrich Schelling
Chris joined me for a conversation on Friedrich Schelling & German Idealism! In spite of his prominence, Schelling tends to be underdiscussed in popular philosophy circles when it comes to the German Idealist tradition. In this episode, we talk about his essay Philosophical Inquiries into the Essence of Human Freedom, the dialectic of potencies that develops out of nature-philosophy, and the relation of Schelling's ideas to those of his school friends at Tubingen - two gentlemen you may or may not have heard of, named Hegel and Holderlin. The three of them were enthusiastic about the French…
S6 · E29 · 28 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 26 min
139: Ludwig Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations, pt 2
In our continuation of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations, we'll discuss Wittgenstein's arguments against the possibility of a private language, which culminates in the position that all subjective experiences of sensations are not communicable. Thus, language must be doing something else, other than communicating inner experiences, with its words that seem to refer to these experiences. Of particular interest to Wittgenstein is the communication of pain, and sense perceptions. Finally, we'll consider Wittgenstein's arguments as concern meaning: presumably there is an inner…
S6 · E28 · 21 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 44 min
138: Ludwig Wittgenstein - Philosophical Investigations, part 1
In this episode, we're finally talking about a book near and dear to my heart, Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations" (this book took second place in a Patreon poll, and I decided it was time). What is language? How is the meaning of words determined? Wittgenstein initially proposed a pictorial theory of the meaning of sentences, but after his return to philosophy, Wittgenstein II put forward a new theory of language, as the "language-game". We will discuss Wittgenstein's life and career, and then focus on Philosophical Investigations, a work assembled from notes written over the span…
S6 · E27 · 14 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 24 min
Untimely Reflections #43: Joe Folley (Unsolicited Advice) - Camus & Absurdism
Joe Folley joins me for a conversation on Albert Camus and the absurdist response to the death of God. We begin by comparing and contrasting Camus and Nietzsche, and their differing approaches to the devaluation of values. Taking inspiration from Nietzsche, Camus searches for an attitude to life akin to amor fati, but defined by a defiance against dogmatic certainties and nihilistic abandonment of life's struggles. We also consider the influence from Descartes, the Stoics, and Schopenhauer on Camus' thought. In the latter half of the conversation, we explore the meaning behind philosophy's…
S6 · E26 · 7 Apr 2026 · 3 hr 38 min
Q&A #14
The longest Q&A so far! The beginning has a number of Patreon updates, most of which involve things that have already transpired on the podcast. If you want to be involved with asking Q&A questions, or voting in polls to decide future material for the podcast, join the Patreon!
S6 · E25 · 31 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 33 min
137: Philosopher as Spectator
In Marcus Tullius Cicero's Tusculan Disputations, he cites a story of Pythagoras, the man who created the term, "philosopher". His description of the philosopher is as one who comes into life not as a competitor, not in the pursuit of money or fame - but merely as a spectator, who observes and inquires into the nature of things. According to Pythagoras, this way of life is the best, by far; Cicero wholeheartedly embraces this way of understanding philosophy, as part of his consolatory project in which philosophy is seen as part and parcel with virtue. For Cicero, the worth of philosophy is…
S6 · E24 · 24 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 32 min
136: Pyrrho - Ancient Skepticism
There is nothing new under the sun: it was here, already, long ago. It was here before our time. This much must be said of the ancient skeptics, who put forward perspectival, relativistic, and moral anti-realist arguments during the Hellenistic age. The central figure is Pyrrho of Elis, who is only known through secondary sources, and whose life is surrounded by a number of fascinating anecdotes which speak to an of image life guided by indifference and the pursuit of ataraxia. In this episode, we'll discuss that concepts, as well as ephektos, adiaphoria, and the possibility of viewing…

About The Nietzsche Podcast

The Nietzsche Podcast is a English society & culture podcast from Untimely Reflections. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Untimely Reflections
Language: English
Category: Society & Culture
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 40 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
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