Amia Srinivasan: The Impossible Patient
About this episode
Amia Srinivasan explores the intersection of psychoanalysis and politics in the context of contemporary authoritarianism and social issues.
Not for the first time, theorists of politics are turning to the unconscious and its strange workings – repression and fantasy, libido and death drive, disavowal and displacement – to understand the present conjuncture: a conjuncture of authoritarian strongmen, anti-democratic populism, regressive sexual morality and genocidal war. What form of knowledge does psychoanalysis give us of politics, and to what practical purpose can this knowledge be put? Does psychoanalysis merely describe the world, or could it also change it? This lecture was delivered as part of the LRB's Winter Lecture series in December 2025. Read more by Amia in the LRB: https://lrb.me/srinivasanwlpod From the LRB Subscribe to the LRB: https://lrb.me/subslrbpod Close Readings podcast: https://lrb.me/crlrbpod LRB Audiobooks: https://lrb.me/audiobookslrbpod Bags, binders and more at the LRB Store: https://lrb.me/storelrbpod Get in touch: podcasts@lrb.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Guest: Amia Srinivasan
Topics covered
- psychoanalysis
- politics
- authoritarianism
- populism
- sexual morality
- war
Keywords
- psychoanalysis
- politics
- authoritarianism
- populism
- sexual morality
- death drive
- repression
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The London Review of Books
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