Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature)

Mar 26 2025 300 ep. 46 mins 17k
Entitled Opinions (about Life and Literature) Podcast artwork

Entitled Opinions is a literary talk show on Stanford University Radio, KZSU, in which Professor Robert Harrison interviews guests about issues that range from literature and philosophy to politics and sports.

  Society & Culture
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Cyber-Intimacy with Jeanne Proust

Mar 26 2025 44 mins  
A conversation about sex, intimacy, and human relations in the era of AI with Jeanne Proust, Vice President of the Public Philosophy Network. Songs in this episode: “Reckoner” by Radiohead, and “She’s Not There” by The Zombies.

The Destructive Character: A Cover

Feb 20 2025 6 mins  
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.

Carl Jung with Laura Wittman

Feb 11 2025 47 mins  
A conversation about Carl Jung, the Red Book, and Jung’s descent into the unconscious with Laura Wittman, Associate Professor of French and Italian at Stanford University. Songs in this episode: “Into the Night” by Julee Cruise, and “End of the Night” by The Doors.

What is the Virtual? with Jan Söffner

Dec 12 2024 46 mins  
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.

Language, Music, and Meaning with Julie Sedivy

Nov 12 2024 38 mins  
A conversation about the origins of language and everything in between with Julie Sedivy, a psycholinguist and author of Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love. Songs in this episode: “From the Beginning” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and “Belly Button Window” by Jimi Hendrix.

Rainer Maria Rilke with Alexander Sorenson

Oct 17 2024 53 mins  
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.

The Dark Places of Wisdom with Grant Bartolomé Dowling

Sep 19 2024 54 mins  
A conversation about the work of Peter Kingsley, the thought of Parmenides, and everything in between, with Grant Bartolomé Dowling, a PhD Candidate in Philosophy at Stanford University, who is currently finishing his dissertation on elenchus in Plato’s Socratic dialogues. Songs in this episode: “La nuit du rat” by La Féline and “End Of The […]

Vico, Rome, and the Rise of American Fascism with Julian Davis

Sep 03 2024 43 mins  
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 […]

Nietzsche and van Gogh with Brian Pines

Aug 16 2024 46 mins  
A conversation about the creative peak of Nietzsche and van Gogh in 1888 with Brian Pines, Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco. Song in this episode: “The Ghost” by Fleetwood Mac.

Bioregionalism and the Reinhabitation of Place with Mark Gonnerman

May 09 2024 48 mins  
A conversation about bioregionalism and reinhabitation with Mark Gonnerman, author of “A Sense of the Whole: Reading Gary Snyder.” Songs in this episode: “Comin’ Back to Me” by Jefferson Airplane and “Dear Mother Earth” by Canned Heat. PLEASE NOTE: In his introduction, Professor Robert Harrison misattributes the following passage to Gary Snyder: “reinhabitation mean