Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature)

Entitled Opinions is pleased to air Robert Harrison’s interview with Masud Gaziyev, which aired on the YouTube channel of “Philosophy Everyday” earlier this month. Inspired by Robert’s book “The Dominion of the Dead”, the interview centered around the meaning of death in our time.

In this show Robert Harrison and Dr. Miles Osgood from The Ho Center For Buddhist Studies discuss the figure of Ulysses as he appears in Homer and many subsequent incarnations, especially in literary modernism. Songs in this episode: “Nausicaa” by Glass Wave, and “Calypso” by Suzanne Vega.

Mark Gonnerman received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Stanford University, has taught the comparative philosophy of religions, and is the author of “A Sense of the Whole: Reading Gary Snyder’s Mountains and Rivers Without End”. Songs in this episode: “On the Edge of Uncertainty” by Steve Hunter, and “Bold as Love” by Jimi Hendrix.

In this show Robert Harrison and Crystal Cassidy discuss the biology, spirit, and outcomes of meditation. Crystal Cassidy is a meditation master and founder of SoulPod. Songs in this episode: “Silence Must be Heard” by Enigma, and “The Voice of Enigma” by Enigma.

A conversation between Robert Harrison and Christy Wampole about the origins and history of Entitled Opinions.

In this show Robert Harrison and Michaela Hulstyn discuss various experiences of unselfing, focusing on the nature of its shapeshifting and the knowledge that unselfing delivers. Michaela Hulstyn is a Lecturer at Stanford and Associate Director of Stanford’s Structured Liberal Education program. She is the author of Unselfing: Global French Literature at the Limits of […]

A conversation about crystals and their mysterious quantum powers with Dr. Aaron Breidenbach. Songs in this episode: “From the Beginning” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and “Crystalised” by The xx.

A conversation about David Jones’ “In Parenthesis” with Tim Noakes, Head of Public Services, Special Collections at Stanford University. Songs in this episode: “A Fool No More” by Peter Green, and “Machine Gun” by Jimi Hendrix.

A monologue in which our host, Professor Robert Harrison, performs a “cover” of Walter Benjamin’s essay titled “The Destructive Character,” first published in 1931.

A conversation about the real, the actual, and the virtual with Jan Söffner, Visiting Professor in German Studies at Stanford University and Chair of Cultural Theory and Cultural Analysis at Zeppelin University. Songs in this episode: “Echo” by Glass Wave, and “Compared to What” by Ray Charles.

A conversation about the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke with Alexander Sorenson, Assistant Professor of German Studies at Binghamton University and author of The Waiting Water: Order, Sacrifice and Submergence in German Realism. Songs in this episode: “The Trampled Rose” by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, and “New Age of the Earth” by Ash-Ra Temple.

A conversation about the intersection of Giambattista Vico’s philosophy, Roman history, and the recent rise of “American Fascism” with Julian Davis, a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at Stanford University, who is also a well-known activist and attorney in San Francisco. Songs in this episode: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones and “Lotus Flower” by […]