Finneran's Wake
Feb 17, 2023
Nikki Haley Announces Presidential Bid; Fetterman Hospitalization; Train Derailment in Ohio | Our Thought Bubble
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My dad joins me to discuss Nikki Haley's announcement to run for President, John Fetterman's second admission to the hospital, and the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
More episodes from Finneran's Wake
3 days ago
Welcome to Finneran's Wake!
Welcome to Finneran’s Wake – where the ART OF CONVERSATION lives.
Here, no topic is untouchable, no idea inadmissible, and no one too heretical to be heard.
As the great French essayist Montaigne once said, “To my taste, the most fruitful and natural exercise of our minds is CONVERSATION. I find the practice of it the most delightful activity in our lives”.
It certainly is the most delightful activity in my life. I want it to be so in yours as well.
To that end, I humbly welcome you to my channel.
Here, we'll exercise our minds together. Here, we'll practice this delightful activity as friends. We'll engage, now and forever, in the art--the highest and most human art--of conversation!
With affection,
Daniel
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4 days ago
This Book Has Had the BIGGEST Impact On Me (So Far This Year!)
I realized, while reflecting on the last few conversations of which I partook, that I twice made reference to one special book:
“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera.
Kundera, a Czech-French author who is (at the time of this posting) an incredible 94 years of age, is an extraordinary man. Twice expelled from the Czech Communist Party, he’s a reform-minded liberal bohemian (in the best sense of the word) to whom my friend and prior guest, Noah Charney, introduced me.
In his 1984 masterpiece, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”, Kundera employed his capacious intellect and the full force of his literary talent to create an unforgettable book–of which I STRONGLY encourage you to purchase a copy!
The book begins with a contemplation of Nietzsche’s terrifying doctrine of “Eternal Recurrence”, by which I’ve always been fascinated. From this doctrine (or its alternative!) comes the “lightness” of being–the meaninglessness that attends to a life whose fleeting moments are brief, vanishing, and never to happen again.
Nietzschean philosophy permeates the work, but Kundera also explores political, sexual, cultural, and autobiographical themes.
A man of the Left, his criticism of the Left is shockingly candid, incisive, and deep. The “Grand March”, in which he himself participated as a young man, is still going on today. Indeed, it’s likely never to end.
And his idea of “Totalitarian Kitsch” aptly describes the strange advertisements and messages (I’m talking to you, Bud Light and The North Face!) with which our social media feeds are now awash.
Check your local library or bookstore for a copy of Kundera’s work.
This is the version I rented (and then purchased) from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Unbearable-Lightness-Being-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061148520/ref=sr_1_2?crid=BDHTWBV0CEMW&keywords=milan+kundera&qid=1685325408&sprefix=milan+kundera%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-2
With affection,
Daniel
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6 days ago
Escaping the Secret Police, Studying Ancient Greece, and Defending Human Rights | Svetlana Slapšak
Svetlana Slapšak is an author, editor, anthropologist, philologist, expert in gender studies and the history of the Balkans.
Born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1948, she now resides and works in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Svetlana is the type of person to whom I could talk for hours: the breadth of her experiences is exceeded only by the depth of her reading (which, I assure you, is unfathomably DEEP, indeed!)
In this conversation, Svetlana and I discuss:
Her upbringing in post-War, Soviet-controlled eastern Europe; Being raised by her grandmother and mother; Her early exposure to Western literature; Her “run in” with the Secret Police; Stalin’s children; Marxism; Communism; Feminism; Platonism; The Greek tragedians and comedians; Sexual politics in Ancient Greece; Athens v. Sparta; Aristophanes; Transgenderism; A (classical) Feminist’s view of biological men competing against biological women; Abolition of commercial sport; Cultural colonialism; Nationalism; the Balkans; Shakespeare; and MUCH MORE!
Look out for Svetlana’s forthcoming book on Slavic Myths, to which I’ll post a link once it’s in publication.
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As for me,
I can be reached at finneranswake@gmail.com
Website: finneranswake.com
Instagram (on which shorts from my longer episodes and other sundry things are posted): Daniel Ethan Finneran
Twitter: DanielEFinneran
MY WELLNESS, MEDITATION, AND **SLEEP AID** CHANNEL!
You have to check this out!
Pneumameditations.com
Youtube: @pneumabydanielfinneran
Available on all podcast streaming services. Search, “Pneuma by Daniel Finneran”
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