Seeking the Hidden Thing Podcast

An abiding frustration of mine is that so many--even people I like--get the "friend-enemy" distinction wrong, apply it wrongly, muddle it up, and in so doing miss much of the potency of the concept. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Aaron Renn wrote an interesting piece today observing that Evangelicalism does not seem to produce elites. In this piece I share some thoughts on why I think this is the case. Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the bor… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Athenian and I get together to begin working through the foundational concepts for Gadamer's argument that it is intuition and not method that give us access to understanding and thus truth. Athenian Stranger and I work through the first of these crucial foundational concepts for Gadamer as he works to establish intuition as the ground of understanding and thus truth. The first of these is Bildung or culture. How is it that we have access to something that transcends our particularity? Can we grasp the universal, that which transcends us and binds us into a whole? We begin this effort “from below” with this idea of culture, Bildung. [Note: our conversation is cut short because the Thanksgiving guests that Athenian was expecting arrived.] Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

In this episode I am joined by Todd Lewis who hosts the "In Praise of Folly" podcast. We talk about the factionalism problem on the right, why this problem exists, why it matters and what can be done. The interview between Benjamin Boyce and Nick Land that we reference throughout can be found here: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

You can find This Present World: Aphorisms for Knowing God here: Find more of Steven DeLay’s work on his website: https://stevendelay.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Giorgio de Chirico Here are the paintings we mentioned by de Chirico: Here is the article the Ben cites where de Chirico critiques offers an alternative to leftist art: G. de Chirico, Il ritorno al mestiere [translated] Here is the link to Ben’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RadioFreeHistory Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I had Ben Fleming on to talk about a subject that has occupied his focus of late, that of "art" and why it is so bad today. My apologies to the listener. I had to cut Ben off short when we were recording because something came up suddenly in this thing known as “real life,” whatever that is. We plan of finishing up the discussion next week focusing more exclusively on what happened to art in the 20th century. You can find Ben’s series on art here: https://www.youtube.com/@R… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Listen now | Athenian and continue the discussion of how to read Gadamer and then dive into the text with the important forward and the first section dealing with the problem of method as the grounding for truth. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kr… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I have Daniel Tyrie on to talk about the political project that he is heading up to bring the issues surrounding Canadian nationalism and remigration into the mainstream political discourse. You can find more information about Daniel’s organization here: The Dominion Society Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Gio recently wrote a thought provoking piece about the breakup of mass culture and what happens to us when we share no common anything with anyone? What happens and where do we go? The piece in question: https://gioscontentcorner.substack.com/p/lifeless-dead “Nature and Organization” by My Black Diary. The lyrics quoted at the beginning of Gio’s article come from this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onb8z0D2jAE This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I am joined again by Athenian Stranger to discuss another idea foundational for much of western thinking, that of "history," which is foundational for the notion of "progress." [Housekeeping note: I have gone back to an audio podcast post because for whatever reason, either on my end with my computer’s ability to process video properly or the upload process on Substack’s end, but there has been an ongoing issue with the video podcast format where the sound cuts in and out. There does not seem to be that same issue with an audio only posting. I will be going back and checking in on past editions with the video podcast format and re-uploading those with issues in audio only format.] Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I have Duncan on to discuss his recent piece on artificial intelligence and the holy. We delve into how the technological society society cuts us off from God. [Housekeeping: some of you have noticed audio problems later in the videos. I suspect that this has something to do with the process of compiling the longer videos from MP3 into MP4 as my laptop was purchased for spreadsheets, word processing and opening web pages, not video processing and so struggles to do these tasks. I have uploaded a separate MP3 file for podcast listening/RSS feeds. If the issues persist, let me know and I will go back to just audio.] If you have not already subscribed to Duncan’s Substack, you should rectify that oversight. Here is the piece we discuss. You should give it a read. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I have J on to just talk about the discourse. Note: The sound and connection might have been a little wonky. The waveform in the editing software looked different than usual but when I listened in Audacity it sounded fine. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Athenian and I discuss the origin of, and problem with the idea of "objectivity" and how it is a concept that works for the regime system, not against it. We also discuss the alternatives. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

I recently posted a Note saying that you can make home made Mac and Cheese in the same time as it takes to make Kraft Dinner. People asked for the recipe. There is none. I made a video instead. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

[Note: if you are listening in “video” format, you will discover that at around the 1h20 mark the sound will start cutting in and out. If you listen in “audio only” format — click the headphone icon to the left of the video to switch — you will not encounter these problems.] The “Man Question” is a big subject with no obvious starting point, so Johann and I waded in and came at this subject from various angles and vectors with Walter Ong’s book, “Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality and Consciousness” as the anchor while folding in insights from his other major work, “Orality and Literacy.” We hope you will enjoy this somewhat meandering conversation. Sponsorship Partners Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the Fox N’ Sons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

[Note: this is a re-upload in audio only podcast format to correct the issue with Substack where video format podcasts start cutting out around the 1h20 mark] Me doing conspiracy theory talk? Not really. Ron and I take a look at what "Talmudic thinking" is, its origins, its historical development, and its theological and political implications for today. Conspiracy theory thinking is a staple of the online right. It is seductive. It gives a clear enemy who is manipulating things behind the scenes to enact their sinister plans and designs. The problem with this type of thought is that it removes from us the obligation to examine ourselves and really understand what is actually happening. Often, reality is more subtle, nuanced and comes with goods and ills together, making it hard to easily grapple with. Reality is messy and complicated. In this episode, Ronald Dodson and I look at what we call “Talmudic” thinking and its influence on not just the modern administrative state, but also the patterns of thought that gave birth to American constitutionalism. It was instrumental in the rise of Scholasticism, both Catholic and Protestant and ultimately in systematic theology. We trace this idea back to its Old Testament origins in misunderstanding the nature and purpose of the law and its relationship to the wisdom tradition in the Old Testament up through the New Testament as it is fulfilled in Christ. With this foundation we follow the movement and influence of “Talmudism” through the middle ages, up through the Reformation and into modernity looking at its implications for the Christian faith as it is practiced in the modern era, especially in the New World, as well as the way it shaped modernity more broadly, especially in the form of the administrative state. “Talmudism” is a way of thinking that gradually was adopted in the west and genuinely contributed to technological mindset that produces such things as “the rule of law,” the administrative state, and even AI. We really think you will both enjoy this one and be deeply challenged by it. I have had a lot of really good conversations here at Seeking the Hidden Thing, but this is one of the best in my mind. Sponsorship Partners [Note: After some hiccups with adding the sponsorship partners after a post goes out to paid subscribers — I had one that refused to be mailed to free subscribers later — I am just going to make things easy on myself and put the sponsorship adds here right from the outset. You are welcome as paid subscribers to take advantage of the deals offered by both Fox ‘N Sons and Axios Fitness] FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Sponsorship Partners Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the Fox N’ Sons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of "our guys" and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

[This episode was re-uploaded in audio-only podcast format to correct a problem that listeners noted with the video podcast format wherein the sound starts cutting in and out around the 1h20 mark] Athenian and I get together to talk about the ways that Schmitt's foundational concept is misused and why it is important to get this idea right. Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the FoxNSons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! Seeking the Hidden Thing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

[This episode was re-uploaded in audio-only podcast format to correct a problem that listeners noted with the video podcast format wherein the sound starts cutting in and out around the 1h20 mark] Mark has been putting a lot of effort into thinking about social media, its effects on men in particular, and the sources of culture and creation. What are you, as a man, building? If you want to dive more deeply into the things Mark has been writing, his latest article over at IM—1776 is about being the kind of man who can seeks the heights. When Mark talks about “the book,” he is referencing the most recent print edition: IM-7 The Culture Stone. You can purchase it over at IM-1776: Sponsorship Partners FoxNSons Coffee Steve Fox is one of “our guys” and he sells coffee. Good coffee. If you live in the US — sorry Canadians…too much government red tape involved in shipping coffee over the border…my supply comes hand delivered — he can ship you your coffee right to your doorstep. Go to the Fox N’ Sons website now and use the promo code “kruptos” for a 15% discount. Axios Fitness Coaching JD is also one of “our guys” and he wants to help you get fit and stay fit for what is coming. Head over to Axios and get started today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Because of the Cold War dialectic, few who think of themselves as "conservative" or "right-wing" actually discuss Marx as if they could learn something from him. You should be reading him, though. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

Here is my reading of Colossians as a companion for this sermon series: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe

My reading of the text of Colossians from the NIV (1985): This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.seekingthehiddenthing.com/subscribe