Existential Espresso: the most popular podcast now exceeds 700+ downloads

As one of the Theory Vortex projects, Existential Espresso continues to grow its audience. Here is today's post from the Existential Espresso blog:

Existential Espresso began with a simple concept: discuss ideas from an existentialist perspective while having an espresso and recording a podcast. Discussing ideas and drinking espresso are two of my favorite things. As an existentialist, I had no idea if anyone would listen, but I thought it would an interesting experiment to complement my experiments in theory and media: the film, Space Times Square, and the books, Zero Conditions, Crashing Into the Vanishing Points, Starry Skies Moving Away, and Slugging Nothing.

Since the launch in July, the Existential Espresso (EE) podcasts have continued to grow an audience, from zero to 700+ downloads for the most recent (December 6) and most popular podcast. In the grand media universe we all inhabit, the EE podcasts are mere fragments of digital stardust, barely visible in the bright glow of the billions of electronic galaxies. But, these podcasts are loaded with cosmic ideas about our culture and some intellectual travelers have discovered them -- I hope you continue your journey with the podcasts, whoever you are, wherever you are, whenever you are.

So, here is a big thanks to all the travelers, especially those who have forwarded the EE podcasts to friends and others via blogs and emails. Also, I want to offer thanks to Apple iTunes for the prominent display in the Philosophy section of their free podcasts. Steve Jobs, I guess you are still pretty cool, though I think you often overlook the deeper meaning of your famed "1984" Macintosh ad.

As of December 16, 2009, here are the three most popular podcasts from Existential Espresso:

1. The Zero Zero Decade, 700+ downloads

-- This is the most original discussion you will find about the meaning of the first decade of the millennium. This podcast explores the decade through the number zero and its amazing recurrence throughout the decade: Ground Zero, Coke Zero, Carbon Zero, and many others. Zero is a sign for countdown and blastoff ... and much, much more.

2. 9/11 and Nothingness, 650+ downloads

-- This is the most original analysis of 9/11 and its aftermath. Drawing from Sartre's three existential nothingnesses in Being and Nothingness, this podcast explores the meaning of 9/11 through the three nothingnesses that appeared on that fateful morning. First, there was the nothingness in the reality of NYC, perfectly expressed in the term Ground Zero. Second, there were the nothingnesses in consciousness, symbolized by the mouths ajar around the world. Third, there was the nothingness in the future; the Twin Towers were first and foremost skyscrapers of "the future," making their debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair, which was dedicated to the future of the space age and information age. It is revealing to see how these nothingnesses are now being filled ... and not filled.

3. Black Hole Media Theory, 525+ downloads

-- This podcast explores a new theory of resistance and representation for our 24/7, nonstop, all-everywhere, billion blog, multi-billion user, ever-expanding media universe. Drawing from media theory, cosmic science, and a string of films that share a strange pattern of exits from the electronic galaxies, this podcast presents a radical new twist on the "anarchist" scenario. In a media universe of total representation and surveillance, perhaps the only way postmodern or hypermodern humans can be real and free is to disappear, where existence as a private individual requires disappearance as a political subject. My thanks to Agreen Wang for joining me on this podcast and for her interest in black hole media theory. Of course, if this theory is plausible, then what can be said about the Existential Espresso podcasts?