“Our culture’s concern for victims is relatively new and radical in human history. Where does it come from? And how does understanding mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism make sense of the world?” David Gornoski recently appeared on Isaac Morehouse’s show to answer these questions while discussing Rene Girard’s sociology, and a political philosophy of […]
David Gornoski sits down with Andrew McLuhan, director of the McLuhan Institute and grandson of Marshall McLuhan. The two discuss the overlaps between Marshall McLuhan and Rene Girard; how Marshall McLuhan rose to fame; the relation between technology and language; pandemic mask-wearing as a theatrical gesture; how changes in technology impact desire; and more. How […]
What is mimesis and how do we understand it? How does it help us understand what’s going on in the West today? David Gornoski starts the episode by answering these questions and explaining why the best way to heal society is to imitate Jesus and concede the rivalry. Where did the western concern for animals, […]
David Gornoski sits down with podcaster Alex Kaschuta, host of Subversive–”the podcast for outcasts.” David and Alex discuss some of the important topics of our day such as the importance of Rene Girard’s work; growing undifferentiation; the redefinition of the outcast in current society; the mythology behind gender relations; Trump as a scapegoat for the […]
Shannon Braswell and David Gornoski return for another exciting episode of THINGS HIDDEN. The two address Kanye West’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, the concept of the holy fool, the cultural decline in France, the rise of suicide terrorism, the rise of troll culture, the need for distinctions and role models in society, and […]
In this THINGS HIDDEN conversation, David Gornoski and Shannon Braswell are joined by Jean-Michel Oughourlian, psychologist and author of The Mimetic Brain. Oughourlian starts the discussion with an insider’s perspective as Girard’s collaborator and how he found breakthroughs in the field of psychotherapy upon studying mimetic theory. “The mirror neuron is something fantastic,” Oughourlian remarks, […]
Shannon Braswell, in his first episode of Polymath’s Paradise, sits down with David Gornoski. The two resume their discussion on the works of Rene Girard. David takes us through his disillusionment with mainstream Christian talking points and his introduction to Rene Girard. “Jesus was basically an object for folks rather than the subject of your […]
How do we understand the growing undifferentiation–the breaking apart of traditional hierarchies–in western society? How can the church regain the gospel aesthetic of standing for the hidden victims of our society? The church must tell the stories of victims, David says, and in doing so, woke culture would evaporate in an instant. But then how […]
“Everything that you see in politics is based on a zero-sum frame of reality,” David Gornoski says. He points out how politicians rely on you to vote them into defeating your enemies without actually dealing with any of the core issues. “Excellence doesn’t require a savior; it requires skin in the game.” Amid social scandals, […]
Shannon: “Parents often say: ‘don’t discuss politics and religion at the dinner table.’” David: “But that’s what I always talk about at dinner; all politics and religion originate at the original dinner which is ritual cannibalism.” Shannon Braswell, a Girardian from Washington, sits down with David Gornoski to examine the historical and mythological narratives through […]