Comments on: Entitled Opinions, the smartest podcast

Entitled Opinions, the smartest podcast

colinmarshall — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:00:09 -0800

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.

By: lostburner

lostburner — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:28:15 -0800

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.

By: colinmarshall

colinmarshall — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:31:36 -0800

Well, you can't say you didn't get an up-front warning.

By: adamdschneider

adamdschneider — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:34:57 -0800

In any possible universe, huh. This is going to be pretty hard to verify, just MWI.

By: xmutex

xmutex — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:12:37 -0800

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?

By: lostburner

lostburner — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:40:15 -0800

It was a reference to the title of the show, but it was sincere. I'd call it a pun.

By: limeonaire

limeonaire — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:02:29 -0800

None of those topics are fascinating or particularly engaging to me, sorry to say.

By: Schnauzer

Schnauzer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:04:01 -0800

See (hear?) also: In Our Time.

By: LoneWolfMcQuade

LoneWolfMcQuade — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:18:11 -0800

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.