History of Philosophy Audio Archive

Support the Archive on Patreon! Follow William Engels's writing on Substack. Who do the Black Hills really belong to? Was George Armstrong Custer a hero, an idiot, or a fanatic? Who carved Mount Rushmore, and what was it supposed to represent (the "apotheosis of Western Civilization?") What happened at Wounded Knee (in 1890, and 1973) - and why does Secretary of War (sic) Pete Hegseth (sick) want to make sure that those Medals of Honor are preserved?My guest on Hemlock #40 was Matthew Davis, author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore available now in bookstores. You can read more about Matthew on his website, https://www.matthewdaviswriter.com/NOTESBooks:The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David TreuerAmerican Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World by David E. StannardDeath Sonnet for Custer by Walt Whitman (later titled "From Far Dakota's Canons" in Leaves of Grass:FROM far Dakota's cañons,Lands of the wild ravine, the dusky Sioux, the lonesome stretch, thesilence,Haply to-day a mournful wail, haply a trumpet-note for heroes.The battle-bulletin,The Indian ambuscade, the craft, the fatal environment,The cavalry companies fighting to the last in sternest heroism,In the midst of their little circle, with their slaughter'd horsesfor breastworks,The fall of Custer and all his officers and men.Continues yet the old, old legend of our race,The loftiest of life upheld by death, 10The ancient banner perfectly maintain'd,O lesson opportune, O how I welcome thee!As sitting in dark days,Lone, sulky, through the time's thick murk looking in vain for light,for hope,From unsuspected parts a fierce and momentary proof,(The sun there at the centre though conceal'd,Electric life forever at the centre,)Breaks forth a lightning flash.Thou of the tawny flowing hair in battle,I erewhile saw, with erect head, pressing ever in front, bearing abright sword in thy hand, 20Now ending well in death the splendid fever of thy deeds,(I bring no dirge for it or thee, I bring a glad triumphal sonnet,)Desperate and glorious, aye in defeat most desperate, most glorious,After thy many battles in which never yielding up a gun or a colorLeaving behind thee a memory sweet to soldiers,Thou yieldest up thyself.

Support this work on PatreonRead the full write-up on this archive on William Engels's Substack, Hemlock.Part 1 of 2:We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills the ice-cube tray, who unloads the clean dishwasher, who occasionally pees in the shower, whose eyelid twitches on first dates; that only we take casualness terribly seriously; that only we fashion supplication into courtesy; that only we hear the whiny pathos in a dog's yawn, the timeless sigh in the opening of the hermetically-sealed jar, the splattered laugh in the frying egg, the minor-D lament in the vacuum's scream; that only we feel the panic at sunset the rookie kindergartner feels at his mother's retreat. That only we love the only-we. That only we need the only-we. Solipsism binds us together, J.D. knows. That we feel lonely in a crowd; stop not to dwell on what's brought the crowd into being. That we are, always, faces in a crowd."-Westward The Course Of Empire Takes Its Way", Girl With Curious HairIn an act of desperate folly, I have collated (by my count, which could be wrong) twenty-nine different recordings of DFW, (29!) - and placed them in as strict a chronological order as the otherwise-degraded catalogues of 90s and 00s public radio metadata will allow. There are various (much older) DFW audio archive projects - which I have used to make this - but they are half the size/accuracy/detail of THIS behemoth. May its 14 hour bulk guide you through the 14-hour night of the Winter Solstice. Depending on latitude.If you listen to this, you are empowered to say with a straight face that you have heard every interview that David Foster Wallace ever gave. This is my holiday gift to all of you, and my sign-off for the year, as I head home for Christmas.Enjoy.Music Credits: Creative Commons: Chopin, Raindrop Prelude Op 28 No 15, CC-0 performed by Rousseau (YouTube)

Support this work on Patreon⁠⁠Read the full write-up on this archive on William Engels's Substack, Hemlock.⁠Part 2 of 2:We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills the ice-cube tray, who unloads the clean dishwasher, who occasionally pees in the shower, whose eyelid twitches on first dates; that only we take casualness terribly seriously; that only we fashion supplication into courtesy; that only we hear the whiny pathos in a dog's yawn, the timeless sigh in the opening of the hermetically-sealed jar, the splattered laugh in the frying egg, the minor-D lament in the vacuum's scream; that only we feel the panic at sunset the rookie kindergartner feels at his mother's retreat. That only we love the only-we. That only we need the only-we. Solipsism binds us together, J.D. knows. That we feel lonely in a crowd; stop not to dwell on what's brought the crowd into being. That we are, always, faces in a crowd."-Westward The Course Of Empire Takes Its Way", Girl With Curious HairIn an act of desperate folly, I have collated (by my count, which could be wrong) twenty-nine different recordings of DFW, (29!) - and placed them in as strict a chronological order as the otherwise-degraded catalogues of 90s and 00s public radio metadata will allow. There are various (much older) DFW audio archive projects - which I have used to make this - but they are half the size/accuracy/detail of THIS behemoth. May its 14 hour bulk guide you through the 14-hour night of the Winter Solstice. Depending on latitude.If you listen to this, you are empowered to say with a straight face that you have heard every interview that David Foster Wallace ever gave. This is my holiday gift to all of you, and my sign-off for the year, as I head home for Christmas.Enjoy.Music Credits: Creative Commons: Chopin, Raindrop Prelude Op 28 No 15, CC-0 performed by Rousseau (⁠YouTube⁠)

SOCIALSWill’s Patreon - patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonWill’s Substack (Hemlock) - williamengels.substack.comBad Role Models on YouTube: youtube.com/@hemlock-ytThe Big BRM Playlist on YouTubeBad Role Models is a co-production of Richard Sinex, Thomas Vanek, and William Engels.ERRATA:I said "Nicholas Drake" when I meant "Thomas A. Drake" the pre-Snowden NSA whistleblower who condemned Stellar Winds (I said "Solar Winds") and the Trailblazer Project as unconstitutional.REFERENCESThe Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West by Nicholas W. Zamiska and Alexander C. KarpThe Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State by Michael SteinbergerThe Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power by Max ChafkinNobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts GiuffreThe Collapse of Complex Societies: New Studies in Archaeology by Joseph A. TainterTotal Information Awareness (US Domestic Surveillance Proposal)Machines of Loving Grace (Hemlock Podcast Episode)

SOUND CREDIT: The Chamber Stage (YouTube)Support the boys (Thomas Vanek & Richard Sinex) and I on Patreon and YouTube:https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreonhttps://www.youtube.com/@hemlock-ytBecause someone will ask: the Nixon tape is from Feb 1st 1972 and features the Reverend Billy Graham giving his fascinating interpretation of the Jewish Question in the Oval Office. Nixon concludes (its' a little garbled on the tape) by saying "I believe it. I can't say it but I believe it."https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/662/conversation-662-004The books in question are "The Contrarian" by Max Chafkin (the better book, for the record) and "The Philosopher in the Valley" by Michael Steinberger.