The General Eclectic

A new podcast from The American Conservative, presented by Kale Zelden and bestselling author Rod Dreher, exploring faith, culture, and public affairs.

"Reality Bites Back" The General Eclectic #3.6 02/17/2023

"Reality Bites Back" The General Eclectic #3.6 Rod and Kale discuss the seemingly chronic breakdown of infrastructure in a variety of fronts, from churches and schools, to literal infrastructure, namely, the derailment in Palestine, Ohio. Our leadership class is more concerned about addressing historical injustices than dealing with chemical spills and competency breakdowns. The house is on fire, and our leaders are fixated on window-dressings. Are these the new luxury beliefs? They then move on to talk about Peter Zeihan's The End of the World Is Just the Beginning. What happens economically and politically when a populace has lost faith in the future? If people in the culture no longer have the faith and commitment to sacrifice and even die for it, what happens to the future? discussed: -Synod in for the Church of England -train derailment in Palestine Ohio -Peter Zeihan -Genesis and "be fruitful and multiply" -McIntyre and Christian Smith -kids as a luxury good /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25967520

Strange Magic: The General Eclectic #3.4 with Rod Dreher 02/03/2023

Strange Magic: The General Eclectic #3.4 with Rod Dreher Rod and Kale discuss the retreat of Christianity and its replacement with Neo-paganism, which is really just old Paganism in a slightly different register. Too often people dabble in alternate spiritualisms, yet fail to account for the non-benign. Christianity's ascent was based on the power of miracles, more powerful than existing pagan magic. Modern Christianity has fallen in love with the idea. Ideas do not convert, but experiences do. The allure of psychedelics opens people up to a reality, but a reality that is unearned and thus dangerous. Topics and Links: Rod's post on Dark Enchantment: Robert Knapp's Dawn of Christianity: Edward Watt's Final Pagan Generation: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25826736

"Cardinal Screwtape is Not Obsessed with Sex": The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #3.3 01/27/2023

"Cardinal Screwtape is Not Obsessed with Sex": The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #3.3 Rod and Kale meet up to talk about two topics: Cardinal McIlroy's call for changes in the sexual teachings of the Catholic Church, and the horrific tragedy of a young woman killed after a night of drinking and debauchery. This is a two part show, but connected with our culture's continuing difficulty of making sense out of the sexual revolution. Topics and Links: -Cardinal McIlory's piece in America Magazine: -Rod's post on McIlroy: -What does "communion" mean? -Rod on Andrew Sullivan's Dishcast: -"In This House We Believe" at walmart: -Young Woman in Baton Rouge killed: -Louise Perry's Case Against the Sexual Revolution: -What we do with our bodies matters -Sex and the City is 25 years old! -Binge drinking is connected to the meaning crisis -Freedom in Chastity /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25751673

The General Eclectic #3.2 "The Disintegration Machine" 01/20/2023

The General Eclectic #3.2 "The Disintegration Machine" Rod and Kale record a conversation about the prophetic vision of Lewis' That Hideous Strength as a way into the notion of the Experience Machine, and the allure of the blue-pill versus the red-pill. See the links below for all the titles they discuss. Connecting Lewis with Iain McGhilchrist, they jump off into a discussion about Left Hemispheric bias and the turn towards madness in modernity. The stakes are high; no higher than humanity and the forces that would blithely take us into the post-human. Topics (in order) with links (affiliated): - That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis: - The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist: - The Matter With Things by Iain McGilchrist: - Hartmut Rosa on Resonance: - Rod on the Experience Machine: - Rod on Young Christian and Eager to Escape: - Churchill: "we build our buildings, and they in turn build us" - Homo Deus and the prophets of post-humanity - the idea of embodied reality in Crawford's Soulcraft book: - The World Beyond Your Head: - The Disintegration Machine vs. the Experience Machine - Hierophany at Chartres - Paul Connerton's How Societies Remember: - Is our "holy story" really profane? /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25671054

The General Eclectic #3.1 "The Death and Life of Benedict" 01/12/2023

The General Eclectic #3.1 "The Death and Life of Benedict" Kale and Rod kick off season 3 to discuss liminal thinkers and the breaking up of old frames to see through, and the emergence of new ones. Standing inside and outside affords new perspectives.They go on to discuss Rod's attendance at the funeral for Pope Benedict XVI, what he saw, and how to make sense out of this giant of the 20th century. Are we in the time of Antichrist? Jumping off from Seewald's magisterial biography of Ratzinger/Benedict, we talk about what he meant and what he means.topics and links (some of these are affiliate links, fyi): -Mary Harrington () and Louise Perry () as rethinkers from alternate priors: Mary's and Louise's . -Joseph Ratzinger's New Paganism address -Rod's 2002 NR Cover story on -the myth of the "Panzer Pope" and the gentle, monk-scholar -Rod's Benedict and -Robert Knapp's -Ratzinger and the rise of the -Sochi -NT Wright's -Benedict as katechon -Peter Seewald's and /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25591794

The General Eclectic #2.25 "Hope in the Darkness" 01/12/2023

The General Eclectic #2.25 "Hope in the Darkness" Rod and Kale sit down for a discussion looking forward to the coming year. The first half revolves around the war in Ukraine, the circus of Trumpland and his wobbling strength, the ongoing masque of the groomer clown shows and the "friend-enemy distinction" enchanting the Right.In part two, Rod and Kale tack to a discussion about the weak Christian response to the rising tide of neo-paganism. Is this the "final Christian generation?"They look to patterns, rather than outward signs, and see a hope in the coldest darkest days of the year.Links: -Freddie Sayers and John Mearshiemer: -NYT on -Kingsnorth's -Rod on /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25591761

The General Eclectic #2.24 "Knowing What Time It Is" 12/16/2022

The General Eclectic #2.24 "Knowing What Time It Is" Rod and Kale pick up their discussion from last week about the ancient substructure of Christendom, and how an understanding of the transformation from pagan to christion sexual morality altered the very concept of free will and the imago dei. Figuring out "what time it is" has become paramount. Topics: - Rod on "" - Last week's episode on the - Kyle Harper's , a book about the transformation of sexual morality - a discussion on "how we got here" and then "from where did here originate" - Freud and Rieff - Something is wrong with the cultural scripts - Yoel Roth as a condensed symbol of our cultural decadence /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25353903

The General Eclectic #2.23 "Real Apocalypse and the Land of Revelations" 12/09/2022

The General Eclectic #2.23 "Real Apocalypse and the Land of Revelations" Rod is fresh off a trip to Turkey, visiting the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation. Walking the places of the early church helps bring home the "realness" of these ancient lands. Topics: -Turkey and the Seven Churches -the early church as the challenge to the established order -touching real things in real places -Book of Revelations is written for us -Tish Harris Warren NYT piece on "getting along" -Edward Watts' -there is no such thing as "post-religious"; myth is not optional -Idol worship and worshipping in the metaverse -technologies blind us -NT Wright's -burden of being an image-bearer -Twitter is happening (minute 48), and Team Nothingburger is all over it -dark spirits of race resentment /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25281414

The General Eclectic #2.21 "We Don't Talk About Our Dark Hearts" 12/02/2022

The General Eclectic #2.21 "We Don't Talk About Our Dark Hearts" Rod and Kale engage in a conversation about the manifestations of the dark hearts of our culture. They discuss the repugnant ideas that result from a curated discussion about real things. The demons of white supremacy reemerge in the wake of the race essentialism ideology these past few years, along with other hauntings. What happens when you are not free to talk out loud? Can we step back from the darkness? Topics: -Thomas Achord and so-called -Broken cultures and a broken political discourse -Rocket Man bad -Ketman and call from hell -Douglas Wilson and bold conversation vs the soft, fuzzy, bougie chatter -Malcolm X and the -Balenciaga ad campaign to -Radical evil is real and all around us -S and the pattern of breakdown -Louise Perry's /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25202733

The General Eclectic #2.20 "The Hunger & Thirst for Story" 11/14/2022

The General Eclectic #2.20 "The Hunger & Thirst for Story" Rod and Kale meet up for their weekly check in to discuss the aftermath of the red-wave-that-wasn't. They focus their discussion on the sex and age delta and the strange case of abortion politics, post Roe. The truly post-Christian landscape emerges more clearly as the under 30 cohort show deep left preferences. Obama's "Life of Julia" campaign was a winning pitch. They tack from election talk to a discussion about cultural transmission, and the cut-off for the rising generations. People are more malleable the less they feel attached to an inheritance. Ultimately, stories and narrative are vital to any hope for a renaissance of enchantment. We must reconnect. Links: from Rod from Obama's re-election campaign Louise Perry's book on the Sexual Revolution Family and Civilization /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/25009302

The General Eclectic #2.19 11/09/2022

The General Eclectic #2.19 /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24955557

Season 2 Election Special—Midterm Election Preview 11/09/2022

Season 2 Election Special—Midterm Election Preview Rod and Kale preview the midterm elections. /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24955503

The General Eclectic #2.18: How Much Ruin Is There Left in a Nation? 11/09/2022

The General Eclectic #2.18: How Much Ruin Is There Left in a Nation? Rod and Kale talk about the shifting conversations about culture, authority, costs, and ruin. Rod learns how to read through an enchanted lens, and also gives up caring about being called a fascist. Topics covered: Live Not By Lies on Paperback; Communism's invisible crimes; uncounted costs; Hollywood goes ; woke preaching ; the loss of credible authority in public health; the Bulwark goes and unveils the truth; Chris Rufo and the ; Heather Heying's piece trying to wake up ; what is real in the wake of Dylan Mulvaney; Matthieu Pageau's ; the sexual revolution and the abuse of the real; Rod's ; meaning is intrinsic to matter, contra to modernity; ; Macintryre' crucial turning point; "Rod Dreher, "? /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24954900

The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #2.17 "Our Metaphysical Catastrophe and the Darkness Underneath." 11/09/2022

The General Eclectic with Rod Dreher #2.17 "Our Metaphysical Catastrophe and the Darkness Underneath." Rod and Kale kick off their weekly show with a discussion about the darkness hovering just below the surface. FBI chaplains, covering abuse, the compelling nature of the trans narrative and cultural boredom. We move on to discuss Hanby's Metaphysical Catastrophe and the need for real authority. -conversations with an FBI Chaplain and the darkness under the surface -the evil you fight works on you; you are changed by what you fight -the compelling nature of the trans narrative -power of sexuality outside of norms -affluence and boredom, and the preconditions for cultural collapse - -Hartmut Rosa's , and the limitations of the material -need to Struggle and the First Man and the Underground man - and the creation of idiots -the limits of conservative legalism -Hanby's and the lack of Authority -McGilchrist's Left Hemisphere temptation - -Matthieu Pageau and -Hopkin's and Hiedegger's Standing Reserve -Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: the balance of power and meaning -We must contend with the fact that our world is not Christian -the law absent spirit is tyranny; the Grand Inquisitor -are we all just LARPing? -Avatar Politics and senate races -Megyn Kelly and Trump's position of primacy -Statesmanship -Synod on Synodality and a defacto Vatican III -"good guys" and "bad guys" -Peter and Paul's listening tours /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24954657

The General Eclectic #2.16 "Culture Interrupted" 10/07/2022

The General Eclectic #2.16 "Culture Interrupted" Rod and Kale return to discuss the latest in the ongoing ferment of cultural churn. Rod is settling into his new digs in Budapest and they discuss notions of exile and disrupted homecomings. Taking Dante as a jumping off point, they go on to discuss Rod's departure from Louisiana and the tragic dimensions of life. Topics covered: -Dante -Exile, -Dante, and another man's stairs -Learning how to suffer -Learning how to love correctly -Erik Kaufman's on Political Demography -Kids and Culture: necessary transmissions -Philip Reiff -Need for "Friction" -Looming energy crisis -Ian McGhilchrist -Louise Perry -Crimes of Noticing Rod's Rod's Kale on Kale's Substack /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24619308

The Faith and Wonder That Build 08/25/2022

The Faith and Wonder That Build Rod and return after a hiatus to discuss: war continues in Ukraine, and a dark and cold winter awaits potential breakup of the European Union? do the elites truly believe that they "create their own reality"? institutions continue to lie and burn through cultural capital; what is left to trust? can the organs of cultural transmission be salvaged? English departments as one-time de facto theology departments Kale's trip to Oxford and the statements of faith St. Michel, or "The Wonder" learning to inhabit a space, and the appreciation of old things /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/24168894

Searching in the Dark Wood 07/14/2022

Searching in the Dark Wood Rod and Kale meetup to discuss all things TGE after Rod's travel sagas land him back in England and then Budapest. Topics covered, in order: - Oxford and Cambridge adventures; no more atheists - WEIRD folks are the outliers who must contend with the robustness of belief - insufficiency of pure materialism - snuff with Cardinal Muller - English Christianity, Malcolm Guite and Martin Shaw's conversion to the "true myth" - liturgies and Christian dreaming - Thin Spaces and Thin Experiences - "re-wilding" of Christianity - necessity for metaphysics and the insufficiency of mere politics - policy disputes as a substitute for real talk about what we are for - importance of attention - lost America and the return of the 80's - dignity done: Tiara Mack and performative senatorial twerking - Rod on the - divorce and the Dark Wood LINKS: Read and subscribe to Read and subscribe to Mary Harrington on /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23748368

Being Human in the Shadows of the Machine 06/23/2022

Being Human in the Shadows of the Machine Kale sits down with Tara Ann Thieke to discuss The Machine, Spirits, Technology and the struggle to be human. In the first half of the show they talk about what it could mean to be in a "post-Christian" world and the limits of the liberal order, and in particular what the implications are for people raised in this order and the reality of the meaning crisis. In the second half they talk about spirits. Topics covered: Ellul and Illich Edith Stein paying attention to the face as an antidote to memes human person as Icon rather than thing or instrument curating your own social media game Spirits and compulsion Millennials have been lied to Benedict Option for those who have "timed out" the spirit of Ahriman Buffered and Porous models no neutrality in the spirit world /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23523530

Eclipse of Authority, Myth of Control 06/15/2022

Eclipse of Authority, Myth of Control The guys discuss the aftermath of yet another mass shooting, the rush to assign blame and score it, and the need to create a sense of control in the face of American nihilism. They move on to talk about the world given to us by our elites, and the loss of the wisdom of "how to live." In the second part they get into things more personal, in the context of the breakdown of authority, and Rod's own "domicide." Links: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23441351

Matt Walsh: The Body Doesn't Lie 06/08/2022

Matt Walsh: The Body Doesn't Lie Rod and Kale are joined by filmmaker, podcaster, and best-selling children’s author Matt Walsh of DailyWire.com to discuss his new hit movie “What is a Woman?” The interview is the first half, followed by a debrief between Rod and Kale in the second. /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23370221

Yoram Hazony & The Next Conservatism 05/23/2022

Yoram Hazony & The Next Conservatism Rod and Kale have Yoram Hazony on to talk about his just released book "Conservatism: A Rediscovery." They discuss: - Can Conservatives learn to Conserve? - Post-fusionism and Cultural Transmission - Public and Personal realms - No real "Neutrality" - Honor creates a world - Freedom above all and the dissolution of Family - Woke as a placeholder for the loss of tradition - Post WW2 cultural trauma - The Bible's centrality - The successes of Enlightenment Rationalism - Institutional capture - False nazi smears and "postures versus arguments" - Fight for restoration not revolution - Yoram's personal turn to Conservatism through lived tradition Read Rod at his blog at The American Conservative More from Rod at More from Kale at /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23203937

The Return of the Eclectic 05/20/2022

The Return of the Eclectic Rod and Kale return after a 6 week sabbatical to cover what has been going on politically, culturally, and personally in the past six weeks. The talk: -Jerusulem -Russia and Ukraine -Orban -Media Class Blindness -Enemies as Parasites -our New Media Disinformation Tsar -Roe v. Wade -Spanish Civil War -Statecraft -Purity Politics -Pilgrimage and physical reality Kale has started "The Underneath," a new Substack at: Links: Prelude to a Tragedy: The Subversive Podcast: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/23179790

Waiting for the Barbarians 04/04/2022

Waiting for the Barbarians In their warm up, Kale and Rod talk about the Slap Heard 'Round the World at this year's Oscars and the snoozefest it has become. They move into a discussion of the deeper implications of the question: "what is a woman?" Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson professed her inability to answer the question at the confirmation hearings, and they talk about the deeper implications of why this matters, especially in our current moment. They then talk about the NatCon Conference in Brussels, and especially the bold speech of Eva Vlaardingerbroek as well as Alex Kaschuta, host of The Subversive Podcast and their critiques of Western Liberalism. The question is serious: will it hold? Have we lost Western Civilization's "default settings"? Or are we doomed to continue to toil in the world of Crowley? They move on to discuss Iain McGilchrist and his vision of purpose encoded in the natural world. Can we rediscover our purpose, or are we simply waiting for the barbarians to take us? Are we stuck in Necropolis? They finish up on a conversation about the prophetic role of the church, and the need for moral leadership. What do we do when these, too, are captured? Links: KJB and What is a Woman?: The Vicar's Wife's Lament: Subversive Podcast: TGE Show with Helena: The City in History: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22673333

Confusion Induced Complacency 03/24/2022

Confusion Induced Complacency In this episode of The General Eclectic, Rod and Kale talk about the spreading and manufacture of cultural confusion on several fronts: gender ideology and the culture war, surrogacy and the gaming of procreation, the corruption of institutional churches, and the confusion over the war in Ukraine. Rod attended a seminar with Eric Kaufman who argues that all conservative energy must be directed towards the culture war, as the demographic reality is staggeringly grim. The capture of "the kids" proceeds apace and there is no time for version of that old lie: "the kids will grow up when they enter the real world." Complacency is abnegation. Links: Swim Not By Lies: Woke at Disney: Eric Kaufmann speech: Judith Rich Harris: Mary Harrington: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22560101

Her Name Is Helena 03/10/2022

Her Name Is Helena Kale and Rod are joined by Helena, a young woman who has gone through a harrowing personal journey. Her testimony takes us into the world of Tumblr and the alternate reality of fandom, social justice ideology, and transgenderism. At 15 she begins the process of becoming a trans person online and decides to become trans in "meat space," fighting with her parents and making the decision through "informed consent" to begin a regimen of testosterone. After a drawn out spiral she acknowledges that she's made a terrible mistake and begins the process of making sense out of what happened. She's a witness and a prophet. Links: Helena's By Any Other Name: Our Episode on "Liturgies": /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22405091

Is Twitter a Spirit and Will it Become Flesh? 03/08/2022

Is Twitter a Spirit and Will it Become Flesh? Rod and Kale talk about the war in the context of the Anglo and Chinese polarity and the West's demand to be moral versus the Chinese demand to be obeyed. Why does the West have Billionaires, but Russia has Oligarchs? They go on to discuss the fragility of civilizational networks and the fragility of global economics. Will Twitter spark World War III? Lindsey Graham's takes to twitter and calls on a would-be Brutus. They go on to discuss technology and a post-human future, the logic of transhumanism, and John the Savage. They close on a discussion of Russian art and moral panic, and the simplified scripts we use to make sense of the complex world. Links: Orban Interview: Fifth Column Taibbi episode: Aaron Renn on Gen Xers: Matthew Crawford: Helena's Substack: Paul Kingsnorth: Kale's article "Things Are Broken": Scruton's Video Essay: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22380608

People Are Strange, but God Is Stranger 02/28/2022

People Are Strange, but God Is Stranger Rod and Kale are joined by Paul Vanderklay, pastor and YouTuber, to discuss Rod's latest project on Enchantment. Rod starts off with his story of Saint Galgano and the sword in the stone as a way of laying out his new project. These fantastic stories are the living testimony of the very strange God and the stories of those men and women called to bear witness. In Modernity, we have lost our ability to see fully and as a result we live in the disenchanted world that delimits and occludes the spirit. Any move towards re-enchantment must somehow include the enlightenment, and thinkers like Iain McGilchrist provide us a path back. In part, the recognition that "the whole story" or the "subtraction story" of Charles Taylor is, too, a myth. They talk about Jordan Peterson as "the unauthorized exorcist of the Gospel of Mark", Charles Taylor, Tonya Luhrman, Blaise Pascal, Sam Harris, Dallas Willard, Michel Houellebecq, BJ Campbell, Steve Skojec, and others. Links: Paul's YouTube Channel: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22281683

Teach Not By Lies with Paul Rossi 02/21/2022

Teach Not By Lies with Paul Rossi Kale is joined by Paul Rossi, independent school teacher turned activist. They discuss what is going on in our nation's most elite schools, and their radical transformation through critical race theory praxis. What is "religious" about the DEI training? Paul offers an insight from the inside out. As he says toward the end, "I want to start a revolution" in order to save the schools from capture. In between this conversation about schools and DEI, Kale and Paul talk about liberal learning and what schools are for, and how a solid education in the wisdom traditions can be a kind of inoculation. As Paul admits, "there are no secular solutions" to what we are going through. We hope you enjoy. Paul's piece on Bari Weiss' Substack: Paul's exposure of the People of Color Conference through NAIS: Communism Doesn't Know How: students learn to lie Polyanna curriculum: from the Golden Rule to the Platinum Rule private schools are not immune will the bill come due? meaning trumps non-meaning /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22205528

Fog of War, Fog of Kink 02/14/2022

Fog of War, Fog of Kink In this episode, Rod and Kale discuss the underlying issue of "telos"—the end or purpose of a thing—as a necessary guide for action, whether in the context of the military or schools or any institution. What can you ground a culture or civilization upon? Is self-definition enough? Is desire sufficient? They move into a discussion of curated narratives and then into Sam Brinton, the BDSM enthusiast and new Biden appointee. What are the grounds for us to object? They end with a discussion of liturgies. We all have liturgies—modes of scripted and often unconscious behaviors that "create" us or form us. What do our own personal and public liturgies create in and through us? Topics: War and Perspective "Critical Military Theory" Fog of War, and the myth of administrative control "We create our own reality" When ideals clash with the telos What is a School for? Sam Brinton Narrative Suppression Pageau and the Liturgies of Sin Liturgies form and imply telos Normalizing Kink Auden watches a movie with Germans Liturgies of the death works and classical liberalism the long spirits that form us Links: /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/22130024

Won't Get Fooled Again 01/31/2022

Won't Get Fooled Again In this episode of the podcast, Kale and Rod have a conversation in three parts: Russia and Ukraine, the use and abuse of Dialogue in Church and culture matters, and Rod's work on Enchantment. The first section is a discussion of the escalation of war rhetoric surrounding Russia and Ukraine, and the chorus of foreign policy voices seeming to cheerlead another conflict. It always seems to be Munich for a certain type of D.C. pundit. Kale presses Rod to discuss his loss of faith in foreign wars twenty years ago with the Iraq debacle. What are we left with when narratives collapse? Can we see outside of our own bubbles? The second section focuses on dialogue done in good faith versus dialogue with bad faith actors. Why does dialogue mask actual and important differences of not just policy, but arguments over the very basis of reality? In the third section, Rod discusses his work in enchantment, his reading of Hartmut Rosa and the idea of "resonance", and a podcast between Jordan Peterson and Chloé Valdary. /episode/index/show/general-eclectic/id/21964484

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