Really True Fiction

Welcome to the first foursome for Really True Fiction! A big thanks to Dan, Lydia and Graham for joining me to chat about the (best?) sixth Harry Potter book. In our conversation we cover such ground as:

Relationships as status vs feeling, the monster in the chest, Ginny's subtle art of not giving a fuck, being blinded by bias, humanized villains, evil downstream of fear, what happens when you refuse a tyrant, Malfoy starting in pride, standing up to optics and propaganda, scapegoating, solving problems as the actual best form of PR, navigating popularity, navigating management, Dumbledore's patience, and how women might not get along.

 

Thanks again for listening!

Jump on the Hogwart's Express! We are going to back school!

 

I'm very pleased to be joined by Dan Holder (who joined me on the Master and Commander episode) and Lydia Rollinson to talk about the fifth Harry Potter book. It was a total blast to have two Brits on to talk about a very British, as well as very archetypal, story.

Talking about Order of the Phoenix we discuss the clash between Harry Potter and Evangelical Christianity in the 90s, avoiding hard problems, anxiety in regards to bureaucracies, Harry's blindspots, what it would be like to see your memories like a movie, adopting multiple perspectives, paternal/maternalism, moral philosophy, adults apologizing to children and many more topics. Thanks so much for listening to Really True Fiction!

Additional spoilers:

The Farewell - 1:21:20

For this episode of Really True Fiction I am pleased to have Stuart Kaija and Graham King on as guests to discuss the 2013 novel The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (winner of the Pulitzer prize). I had never heard of this book before it being introduced to me for this episode and I thorougly enjoyed it. It is, broadly speaking, about the experiences of a young North Korean man through his rise, and fall, and rise again, and fall again in the North Korean's state apparatus. 

In this episode we discuss how the subconcious does the dirty work, how propaganda is never about the content of what it is talking about but rather a reminder that the government is always there, the lies of totalitarianism and how it corrodes the nature of an inner life, among many other facets. Enjoy!

 

Additional Spoilers:

Call of Duty Black Ops - 33:30

Fight Club - 35:55

Welcome back!

 

In the first new episode in over a year, I was very happy and enlightened with sit down and chat with my friend Dan Holder. When I asked Dan what story he would be most interested in talking about for RTF he quickly replied Master and Commander.

 

As I learned, Master and Commander is a 20+ book series on the adventures of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. As such, we condensed the series down to watching the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World; starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. I absolutely loved this film and can't believe I didn't see it when it first came out.

 

In this episode we discuss:

• The British fleet and what it meant to the British psyche
• The role of duty and how historical pieces help us view how people in the past had different mindsets than today
• Superstition at sea and how that affects people
• The beauty of the Galopagos Islands and how they engender a sense of secular spirituality in me
• Many other elements of the film and books.

 

A big thanks to Dan in joining me for this episode, and stay tuned for more!

In this episode we are discussing Franz Kafka's The Trial; written in 1914 but not published until 1925. This is an incredible and seminal work in modern literature and should be read by everyone. In this episode we talk about:

- The style of a story that puts the audience in touch with the feelings of a character

- If you don't know what you have done wrong than everything comes to mind and it is paralyzing and demoralizing

- Bureaucracy as modern tyranny

- The importance of trust in society

- The bullet or the knife are never relative

- Jostling and career maneuvering as the primary reason for people in these industries, not the betterment of the people they are "helping"

- Irrelevancy is the bureaucrats kryptonite; and they will do anyting to avoid that

- Why even have options?

We really appreciate everyone who listens. Please feel free to support the show by giving a rating or review on whatever platform you listen to it. 

Email:

reallytruefiction@gmail.com

Direct download:

https://reallytruefiction.libsyn.com/

 

Welcome to our second foray into the world of F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this episode we discuss his first novel This Side Of Paradise. We talk about:

- How it might feel to have peers die on mass, Eros and Thanatos, egoism vs. narrcacism, the resentment of educated people towards those who make more money than them, hedgehogs vs foxes, butthurtedness, definite optimism and pragmatism, speed and velocity, conformity, personality vs personage, the flywheel life, and cynicism. 

 

Thank you for listening to Really True Fiction, please tell your friends if you think they would be interested in this podcast. You can send us an email at:

reallytruefiction@gmail.com

You can listen to all episodes at:

https://reallytruefiction.libsyn.com/

May the force be with you!

 

 

For this eigthieth episode of RTF I am pleased to be joined by Alex Cormier to talk about the Kubrick film The Shining. Alex and I co-host a radio show called Full Spectrum Cinema, and you can find the link for that posted below. In this episode we discuss:

- Stephen Kings horror is better shown in his human monsters vs his supernatural ones

- The different ways Wendy and Jack fail as parents, and how Danny is scared to misbehave

- Jack's substance abuse, "how did it get to this Jack?"

-  How the ugly can destroy the creative

- Not facing hard things, undermining Jack's masculinity, Danny and Theseus, and the cinematic beauty of this film.

Thanks again to everyone who listens. All episodes of Really True Fiction can be found at this link:

https://reallytruefiction.libsyn.com/

And here is the mixcloud link for Full Spectrum Cinema:

https://www.mixcloud.com/lexacorm/

May the force be with you

 

A update minisode for RTF. This is all about why there haven't been as many new episodes and what the future will be. Part of the reason are the new creative projects David and I have embarked on. Please see links for those projects.

The Canadian Story

https://www.thecanadianstory.com/

The Liberal Soul

https://theliberalsoul87.libsyn.com/

Nothing To Fear

https://anchor.fm/nothingtofear

Full Spectrum Cinema

https://www.mixcloud.com/Lexacorm/

Welcome to our only tradition at RTF: a Christmas episode. For our third foray into traditional Christmas tales we tackle the Frank Capra classic It's A Wonderful Life. Additionally, as per our prerogative of doing a classic cartoon as well, we wax our thoughts on the Frosty the Snowman animation. In this episode we talk about imagination coming back to help us in hard moments, shifting perspective, defeating solipsism, the limits of markets to combat consumerism, how hard it can be to see what you are to others, and what the next existential frontier could look like.

We at Really True Fiction wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and we are very grateful that you listen to the show. 

https://reallytruefiction.libsyn.com/

Thanks for joining us into our first foray in Chinese Sci Fi. The Three Body Problem is a 2005 novel by Cixin Liu. It is the first part of a trilogy; which we will do eventually. This novel is partially about the three body problem in physics, and partially about many other things. Some of the things we chat about in this episode are: how cool it is to read a Chinese take on Sci Fi, what the ethos of science is, what physics could be like in other places, the weird optimism of science and humanity, meliorism and it's importance, the importance of religious freedom, the older generations letting the younger ones push them around, and science vs. ideology.

*The Ted Chiang short story we couldn't remember the title of in the recording is called Hell Is The Absence of God*

Thanks for joining us again. If you love the dulcet and mellifluous tones of David's voice, you can hear him more at The Canadian Story podcast at this link: https://www.thecanadianstory.com/

Welcome back once again to the fourth installment in the Harry Potter franchise. We all grow up a bit with this one. In this episode we talk about things existent and varied such as: the first time you travel and being to get over some of your inborn solipsism, the uncomfortability in knowing someone's fate when they don't, not needing universal popularity, finding the similarities between ourselves and not the differences, classic rights arguments, self-aggrandizement vs. actually helping someone, valuing the things in a person that they care about, thinking your way thru media, and older generations remembering historical evils. 

We hope you enjoy the new episode!

Welcome to a very special bonus episode of Really True Fiction. This bonus is a follow up to episode 73 where we talked about the novel Dune. With the release of the massive Denis Villeneuve film last month, we got the gang back together to give our thoughts on the movie as well as a few more broad perspectives on the story. David and Luke are super pleased to be joined once again by friend of the podcast Josiah Martinoski to talk all things Dune. Hilariously, we attempted a recording the week before this one but the audio was unusable, so we had to try again. But one of the great things about Dune is that even though we were talking about the exact same movie a week later, we ended up having a fairly different chat. 

Some of the elements of the film we discuss are its themes around isolation, environmentalism, fatalism, loyalty and culture, as well as all the usual cinematic and technical aspects that make Villeneuve films the stunning experience that they are. We hope you enjoy this bonus episode!

Additional Spoiler:

Donnie Darko - 28:05

We're back baby! After a lengthy hiatus we are super pumped to be bring you a new episode of Really True Fiction. In honour of the fact that The Matrix 4 is coming out this December, and also of the fact that this movie is just made for RTF, we are doing the 1999 film The Matrix. In this episode we discuss the importance of archetypal stories and the somewhat inscrutable human need to know things, The Matrix as a version of Plato's cave, the point of the Matrix as choice, the impossibility of actually being blue pilled, the need of belief post red pill and how that moment is ongoing and recursive.

PS. We are still figuring out recording logistics and as such you may hear a few dogs barking in the background. 

Once again thank you everyone who listens and enjoys the podcast. We are hoping to be bringing episodes again semi-regularly. If you are interested in the other podcasts that David and Luke have started, please check out the links included below.

David - The Canadian Story:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-canadian-story-david-parker-zach-gerber-MLvBPHITSFq/

Luke - The Liberal Soul:

https://theliberalsoul87.libsyn.com/

This episode is a little bit more personal than most of the previous solo ones. In this episode, I discuss the Greek myth of Prometheus. I subsequently talk about my concept of a Promethean and how they relate to the liberal soul. After, I relay a few honorable mentions, plus my top five Prometheans that have given me fire in my life. There is no source text for this episode (other than the myth itself), so it's a little bit more spontaneous than most of the solo episodes. I hope you enjoy it. Some of the specifics of this episode include:

- The fact that Prometheus translates to foresight

- Go through the Prometheus story; also noticing how great it is that he is saved by a human.

- The difference between a Promethean and a hero

- My top five Prometheans.

Happy Twentieth episode and thank you for listening!

Welcome back to another episode of The Liberal Soul. For todays episode I was happy to be joined by Alex Cormier. Alex and I cohost a show on local radio called Full Spectrum Cinema; and in every episode we choose a movie and talk about it for an hour. Naturally, Alex seemed like a perfect guest for the podcast. We talk all about movies; why we love them and what they have meant for us in our lives. Some of the specific things we discuss are:

- Some of the early films in our lives that were meaningful to us. 

- Films that made us feel new things

- Some of the factors that made us think about films as more than just entertainment.

- How great movies leave you thinking more about them, and how more context can help you appreciate them.

- Adaptations vs. original screenplays

- Our thoughts specifically on David Lynch and Richard Linklater

- How movies have made us think differently about the world

- And how our even getting together is an example of emergence and self made community.

Thank you for listening to the show. Please tell any friends who you think may enjoy it.

In this episode I give a very introductory opening to the idea of Pragmatism; the first American philosophy. I have come to think about Pragmatism and it's relationship to Liberalism by its adherence to reality and practical, real world effects. For this introduction, I discuss some of the lectures of Pragmatism by the great psychologist and philosopher William James. Some of the points I discuss in this episode are:

- How Pragmatism was the first philosophy given to the world by American thinkers

- Pragmatism - what do you practically mean?

- Layer of analysis and materialism as a basis for it but not always the most interesting part of it

- The truth as utility at not merely as principle

- How Pragmatism is a reality based philosophy that shifts the onus and responsibility of decision making and question asking back onto individual people

Here is a link to all eight lectures if you are interested:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5116/5116-h/5116-h.htm

I was pleased to be joined by some friends from high school, Russ Fountain and Eric Wahn, to discuss their love and affinity for all things mountain biking. We talk about how they first came to love mountain biking, some of the influences on that passion, the love/hate relationships they have with trail building, how mountain biking allowed them to go to Germany to help out with some trails there, and how the relationship with the bikes and nature affects their feelings about it all. 

Just a big thank you again to Russ and Eric for joining the podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing to The Liberal Soul on whatever app you use for your podcasts. Here is a link to the full podcastography:
https://theliberalsoul87.libsyn.com/

Here is the conclusion of my four part series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. This episode finishes up Popper's observations on Marx as well as his general overview on how we should best think about history. In this episode I discuss Popper's thoughts on:

- How upon success revolutionary leaders become the new ruling class - and how there are many different classes; not just two.

- How modern democracies are not what Marx knew as capitalism - political intervention as a less sexy but also less violent reform instead of revolution

- The impoverished conception of Marx's practical program

- Violence ended the exact moment it is not needed is the point of revolution

- The Left Wings ambivalence and ambiguity toward violence is something to be suspicious of - equality or table turning?

- The working class are realists and Marx had a lack of imagination in regards to Capitalism - the world today doesn't mean the world forever

- We can use our thoughts to change our environment - the ethos of The Liberal Soul is about reflection and being able to change your mind

- Honesty is making sure other people know what you mean by your words - traditions need to be analyzed before celebrated

- Rationalism vs Irrationalism 

- Equality before the law - not a fact but a political demand based on a moral decision

- One can only learn if you take others seriously

Thank you once again for listening to The Liberal Soul. If you enjoy the podcast please subscribe and leave a rating or review. 

*Mild spoilers for season two of House of Cards in this episode*

Welcome to part three of a four part series on the book The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper. If you haven't listened to the first two parts yet I would highly recommend that you do, as the book builds through the parts and I will make references in todays episode that will have more context if you are familiar with the previous two episodes. In part three, I discuss Popper's take on how Aristotle and Hegel have intellectually contributed to the closed society ethos; and also begin with how Marx did. In this episode I discuss:

- Teleology and its application to the forms from Plato - that it is process driven Essentialism, and that there is in fact no such thing as static reality.

- Competing arguments is how we live and it is necessarily so

- Hegel as a politically useful philosopher - he had ability to use language to his own ends. His contribution was beginning our sense of Nationalism in the modern sense, and how that always needs an enemy.

- Heroism as only being as good as the cause for which one is a hero in

- The "ya but how" heuristic

- How economies and ideas are a two way street

- How economic power is dependent on political and physical power.

Thanks again for listening, have a great day!

Just a couple of rebels sitting around trying to take down the Empire. In this episode of The Liberal Soul I am so pleased to be joined by my wonderful friends Alex Wan and Billie Schultz. The three of us also do the Nothing To Fear podcast where every week we watch a scary movie and talk about it so you don't have to! 

However, in today's episode we go back to our roots: Star Wars. The saga is one of the first things that bonded us and was one of the first movies that made us fall in love with movies. In this episode we talk about:

- Our first experiences with Star Wars (for both Alex and Billie it was The Empire Strikes Back, but not so for me)

- How it was all about adventure and very cleverly blew past the details

- How we view the original trilogy now and how you don't really need to care about the plot because of how charming the characters are

- Our relationship to the prequel and the sequel trilogies 

- And finally how meeting your legends is a hard thing to do.

Thanks so much for listening. Here is a link to the Nothing to Fear podcast if you want to check that out (which I highly recommend):
https://anchor.fm/nothingtofear