Entitled Opinions, the smartest podcast

October 15, 2008 11:00 AM

Stanford Italian literature professor Robert Harrison does a conversational show on KZSU, the university radio station, called Entitled Opinions (on Life and Literature), which is also distributed as one of the most fascinating, engaging podcasts in any possible universe. Choicest topics include mimetic desire, Proust, the inflationary universe, 1910, American writers in Paris and the history of the book.
posted by colinmarshall (8 comments total)

I subscribed to the podcast, listened to an episode on Epicurus and Epicureanism, and found the whole tone of the show far too entitled. I'm a university student who puts a high value on education and intellectualism, but I got the sense that the folks I was listening to were absolutely convinced that they had the whole "life, how to live it, and what is true" issue in the bag. They seemed to have nothing left to learn and everything to teach and instruct the rest of us.

I unsubscribed after that episode, so I may not have given it a fair shake.
posted by lostburner at 11:28 AM on October 15, 2008

Well, you can't say you didn't get an up-front warning.
posted by colinmarshall at 11:31 AM on October 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

In any possible universe, huh. This is going to be pretty hard to verify, just MWI.
posted by adamdschneider at 11:34 AM on October 15, 2008

I subscribed to the podcast, listened to an episode on Epicurus and Epicureanism, and found the whole tone of the show far too entitled.

Is your choice of word there at the end sarcasm?
posted by xmutex at 12:12 PM on October 15, 2008

It was a reference to the title of the show, but it was sincere. I'd call it a pun.
posted by lostburner at 3:40 PM on October 15, 2008

None of those topics are fascinating or particularly engaging to me, sorry to say.
posted by limeonaire at 4:02 PM on October 15, 2008

See (hear?) also: In Our Time.
posted by Schnauzer at 8:04 PM on October 15, 2008

this is by far my favorite podcast. i guess i can see where lostburner is coming from, but what i'd say is, give harrison more of a chance, and you will realize that he is an earnest, nice, and genuinely self-effacing guy, despite the intensity of his diction and statements of purpose. i'd also highly recommend his recent book, Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition, which expands on a lot of the themes from the Epicureanism episode. All in all, I think Harrison's all about how you CAN be both an intellectual and a heartful, genuine person, which is a tough sell in this day and age.
posted by LoneWolfMcQuade at 10:18 AM on October 17, 2008