Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything
210 episodes - English - Latest episode: 13 days ago - ★★★★ - 1.4K ratingsPersonally connecting the dots. All of them. Benjamen Walker’s Theory of Everything is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Louis Menand and the Cold War
June 10, 2021 14:30 - 26 minutes - 54.7 MBYour host talks with Louis Menand about his new book “The Free World, Art and Thought in the Cold War” Radiotopia is a network of creators who are able to follow their curiosity and tell the stories they care about the most. Show your support for my fellow Radiotopia shows during our Spring Fundraiser. Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
The Return
May 26, 2021 13:03 - 22 minutes - 45.2 MBYour host escapes the island, and returns to New York. Plus writer Tim Kreider on Vaccine side effects. Radiotopia is a network of creators who are able to follow their curiosity and tell the stories they care about the most. Show your support for my fellow Radiotopia shows during our Spring Fundraiser. Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
Broken Windows revisited
May 07, 2021 15:11 - 26 minutes - 54.7 MBModern Policing owes a lot to the idea of Broken Windows theory, in this ToE we examine the roots of where this idea came from and the individuals who pushed it. We revisit CRIME FILES a Police Foundation TV show from the 80s to better understand where Broken Windows comes from. PLUS 30 years ago falling glass from a Trump Tower window struck and killed one of two pedestrians. We go looking for the one who survived.
Stages on Life’s Way (r)
April 13, 2021 21:19 - 33 minutes - 71.5 MBBack in the day, your host took a pilgrimage to Copenhagen to walk the streets the great Dane Søren Kierkegaard once walked. He wanted to understand the meaning of Kierkegaard’s religious stage so he decided to ask the experts at the Kierkegaard research center. Also Photographer Dina Litovksy tells us about the history and some of the secrets of the modern bachelorette party. And Michael Holmes tells us about life’s final stage – death.
UTOPIA: the Callaway Cut
March 24, 2021 16:06 - 57 minutes - 50.1 MBPermaculture! Anarchy! Pagan Sex Dungeons! ToE's Andrew Callaway revisits his 2017 tour of intentional communities for our five part Utopia Series. We are calling this one UTOPIA: The Callaway Cut
Withdrawal
March 11, 2021 09:40 - 28 minutes - 58.7 MBAfter one year of island confinement, your host joins AlamoFort - a clubhouse alternative, and discovers a new community in the #covid1984 room. Plus the true meaning of the Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Convolution
February 16, 2021 20:47 - 37 minutes - 79.9 MBThis year your host wrote an original crime thriller for Audible Originals. Listen to the first chapter here, then go to Audible.com search for Convolution and you can listen to the rest of the story. Rhea Seehorn leads an incredible cast as cybercrimes detective Sydney Birch. This 10-part police drama begins in Los Angeles with an investigation into a group of con men using machine learning to improve their scams and ends in Tibet with a long con involving reincarnation and an evol...
Only the lonely (toe remix)
February 02, 2021 17:43 - 29 minutes - 61.8 MBA couple of years ago.. Long before I even knew what a coronavirus was I produced one of my favorite episodes ever.. On loneliness. So many of us are now dealing with the long term effects of loneliness. And these long term effects are not going to just go away when we emerge from this crisis and our bunkers. I’ve got a lot to say about that in an upcoming episode called Withdrawal. But first, let’s revisit When you are lonely, life is very long.
Émigration Intérieure
January 19, 2021 12:11 - 27 minutes - 56.5 MBAs the Trump years finally come to an end, your host contemplates collective guilt and shame.
The longest Shortest Flight of Rudolf Hess (2020reprise)
December 02, 2020 13:38 - 58 minutes - 129 MBOn May 10th 1941 Rudolf Hess flew from Germany to Scotland. He hoped to bring the Nazis and the British together. He failed. But the details behind his flight remain one of the greatest mysteries of World War II. Historians and Amateur scholars have spent decades trying to unravel this mystery. On this episode we look into one of the strangest theories of them all.
Exile on Pain Street
October 06, 2020 12:41 - 26 minutes - 54.1 MBSix months later and still in France your host tries to make sense of his situation: Refugee? Exile? Retiree? Plus a conversation about the writing life with novelist Todd London whose new book was published just as the Coronavirus shut the world down.
More Broken Windows
September 15, 2020 13:30 - 54.7 MBBroken Windows policing is one of the reasons so many people are out protesting in the streets right now. We revisit CRIME FILES a Police Foundation TV show from the 80s to better understand where Broken Windows comes from. PLUS 30 years ago falling glass from a Trump Tower window struck and killed one of two pedestrians. We go looking for the one who survived.
Going Karura (r)
August 09, 2020 20:04 - 30 minutes - 63.6 MBMy good friend Sean Cole guest hosted TAL this week and we spoke about my trip to Kenya for Going Karura so I am going to post the original again to the feed for the folks who may find their way here. While reporting in Nairobi, Kenya a group of striking Uber drivers turn your host on to a revolutionary strategy of resistance. Plus: stuck in a broken elevator!
Man Without A Country (2020 remix)
July 08, 2020 16:28 - 1 hour - 203 MBCurse the USA and America will strike you up. That’s what happened to the Man Without a Country. They stuffed him in a hot air balloon and sentenced him to ride sea to shining sea for the rest of his days. I made my own version of Edward Everett Hale’s classic tale back in the early aughts. It was one of the first long form audio fiction pieces I ever wrote. Sadly, like many items in the ToE vaults the relevance is increasing with age. Here is a condensed remix for your summer 202...
New Statues
June 23, 2020 11:12 - 25 minutes - 51.9 MBAs statues of slaveholders and Confederate War losers come down, we imagine what could go up in their stead, revisiting a conversation with artist and rememorialization expert Chris Vargas. And since the Trump administration has banned any official raising of the rainbow flag to commemorate Pride month we revisit our audio memorial to the artist Henry Darger.
Herd Immunity (Social Distance Learning part v of v)
June 11, 2020 10:40 - 29 minutes - 62.2 MBAs the island (and the world reopens) your host tries his best to join the celebrations, Dr. Lauren Powell explains the risks of protesting during a pandemic and ToE’s special correspondent Chris brings us inside the COVID19 task force!
Making The Best Of It (Social Distance Learning part iv)
May 22, 2020 15:48 - 27 minutes - 58.2 MBAs the weeks turn into months, one man decides to learn how to cook for himself even though he can no longer taste or smell. ToE’s Andrew Callaway decides its time to get in shape, and your host and Arthaud try to figure out Computer school.
Lurking (a conversation with Joanne McNeil)
May 06, 2020 11:50 - 36 minutes - 78.8 MBJust before the Coronavirus upended our lives I recorded a conversation with writer Joanne Mcneil about her new book Lurking, a book about the internet. Its actually one of my now favorite books ever written about the internet. I had the show all ready to go for the week of March 15th and then… well everything changed, even our dependence on the internet. Joanne Mcneil’s book feels even more relevant now. Get Lurking here from Bookshop.
Countryside (Social Distance Learning part iii)
April 17, 2020 13:45 - 26 minutes - 55.1 MBUrbanites are fleeing cities for beach communities and small country towns! Tensions are spreading faster than the Coronavirus. Your host turns to the last exhibition he saw in New York (Countryside the Future! from Rem Koolhaas) and the first dystopian film he watched in confinement (Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf) for answers. Plus a beach to beach chat with Helen and Martin from the Allusionist!
14 days later (Social Distance Learning part ii)
April 01, 2020 13:48 - 33 minutes - 71.4 MBYour host keeps a diary for his first 14 days of Coronavirus confinement. Special appearances from the family, Andrew Callaway, and a old ToE standby!
Escape From New York (Social Distance Learning part i)
March 23, 2020 14:33 - 28 minutes - 58.4 MBCoronavirus Evacuation! Your host decamps New York for a quiet isle in France and ToE’s Andrew Callaway flies home to San Francisco to look after Mom. Is this the end? No! Just the beginning of a new Theory of Everything series: Social Distance Learning.
The longest shortest flight of Rudolf Hess
February 28, 2020 15:34 - 59 minutes - 130 MBOn May 10th 1941 Rudolf Hess flew from Germany to Scotland. He hoped to bring the Nazis and the British together. He failed. But the details behind his flight remain one of the greatest mysteries of World War II. Historians and Amateur scholars have spent decades trying to unravel this mystery. On this episode we look into one of the strangest theories of them all. This episode is part of a network-wide project to welcome Over the Road, Radiotopia’s newest show, into the family. Ov...
The Cultural Marxism Industry (Russia Hospital 2020 Update)
February 11, 2020 13:32 - 30 minutes - 64.8 MBJordan Peterson’s daughter took to YouTube to announce that her father, Jordan Peterson (one of the subjects of our 2019 Failure Maxiseries) is convalescing in a Russian Hospital. We check out her video and return to Martin Jay and his attempts to debunk the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory. In the 1930’s, Theodor Adorno fled Nazi Germany. In America, he studied the Authoritarian Personality. On YouTube, he’s the object of study in a massive conspiracy theory that many have trie...
Desert Lies
January 22, 2020 18:02 - 32 minutes - 69.6 MBBenjamen Walker the podcaster often receives emails meant for Benjamin Walker the actor. A few weeks ago your host received an email inviting Benjamen Walker to Saudi Arabia.
The Great Divide
December 20, 2019 03:59 - 24 minutes - 49.2 MBMan on the street divides couple in a car. Your host is triggered by a flag pole and writer Chris Arnade explains why America is so polarized. PLUS Joseph Roth on the difference between great and mediocre talents. Make your mark. Go to radiotopia.fm to donate today
ToE 2019 Radiotopia Fundraiser Spectacular!
December 18, 2019 12:07 - 13 minutes - 24.4 MBEvery Radiotopia podcast created a special episode for the 2019 Fundraiser. Many of these gems focus on the idea of a dream show as in what would your dream show be? well I am already making my dream show and that is thanks to you dear listener. Yes, sometimes there are sponsors but the majority of the support for this podcast comes from listeners who donate to the Radiotopia annual fundraiser. In fact it is thanks to you that I have the freedom to say no to particular brands and p...
Wake up and smell the coffee!
December 04, 2019 15:37 - 72 MBYour host chases a great cup of coffee from Paris to Copenhagen and Kenya. Make your mark. Go to radiotopia.fm to donate today
Guided By Voices (r)
November 12, 2019 15:03 - 33 minutes - 42.7 MBPhilosopher Daniel Heller-Roazen tells us the story of Pythagoras and the fifth hammer and how Kant and Kepler both tried (and failed) to record the universal harmonies Pythagoras once heard. Your host sets out to make some money doing experimental medical testing, and gets the chance to record the voice in his head.
Deep State Revisited
October 24, 2019 17:43 - 24 minutes - 50.9 MBOn this episode we dig down into the substratum of the ToE archive to better understand the true meaning of the Deep State.
Going Karura
October 10, 2019 13:26 - 30 minutes - 63.6 MBWhile reporting in Nairobi, Kenya a group of striking Uber drivers turn your host on to a revolutionary strategy of resistance. Plus: stuck in a broken elevator!
The boy who cried wolf
September 24, 2019 16:13 - 21 minutes - 43.1 MBThe boy who cried wolf crosses paths with the Emperor with no clothes and little red riding hood. Plus Computer Pinocchio. A remix of the Fairy tales from last year’s False Alarm series.
Epstein's funeral
September 12, 2019 13:38 - 30 minutes - 63.5 MBA million conspiracy theories are launched when Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his jail cell on August 10th 2019. Your host wonders if this is “the big one.” ToE’s special correspondent Chris attends a secret Coney Island funeral. PLUS: Epstein Brain.
1984 (the BOOK not the year)
August 20, 2019 14:42 - 33 minutes - 70.2 MBYour host has always wanted to talk to someone about 1984 the book and Dorian Lynskey totally delivers. He just published The ministry of Truth a biography of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Dorian tells us why and how this book has helped generations of readers to decode the world.
Influencers (complete told you so version)
July 22, 2019 14:15 - 25 minutes - 52.3 MBA couple of years ago I wrote a story for the truth podcast, Radiotopia’s one-of-a-kind audio fiction show. Part One ran on the Truth and Part Two ran here. Now that there are actual camps I believe this story warrants another listen.
YouTube's Inferno
June 19, 2019 20:56 - 21 minutes - 43.9 MBYouTube insists it is not liable for the hate speech in its platform. This is also what YouTube said about the copyrighted material back when it was a start up in 2006. We revisit YouTube’s history with Chris Stokel-Walker author of the new book Youtubers. Plus your host takes responsibility! Chapter eight in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
Operation Three-Eyed Raven
June 03, 2019 13:50 - 16 minutes - 31.6 MBToE's special correspondent Chris tells us the truth about Game of Thrones, Trump, the CIA, and the importance of stories. Chapter seven in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
Authoritarian Schizophrenia
May 16, 2019 13:49 - 22 minutes - 45.9 MBRight wing populists have stormed the world wide web. They even have a beachhead in China. Chenchen Zhang tells us about the racism and misogyny she found on the knowledge sharing platform Zhihu. And Leta Hong Fincher explains why patriarchal authoritarianism is central to the success of the Chinese Communist Party. Chapter six in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
The Greater Firewall
April 24, 2019 14:25 - 21 minutes - 44.6 MBChina’s next generation surveillance technology is being used to build out the world’s internet. But China is also exporting new philosophical and business models. Hao Wu explains how live streaming in China is powered by failures and James Griffiths explains why the free and open internet may soon be replaced by Cyber Sovereignty. Chapter five in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
Bad Recommendations
April 03, 2019 13:37 - 30 minutes - 63.7 MBJohn Herrman EXPOSES the truth about YouTube’s paranoid style. ToE’s Andrew Callaway DESTROYS Jordan Peterson. (Must listen!!!)
Failure (interlude)
March 13, 2019 18:10 - 23 minutes - 47.8 MBFailure Flashback! Failure has always been a key concept for your host so this week we pull two stories out of the Benjamen Walker podcast archive. First a musical number about the loser behind Blue Suede Shoes and second a morality tale about the artist Paul Gauguin’s spectacular Paris blowout.
Institutionalized
March 01, 2019 18:20 - 31 minutes - 66.6 MBCritic Anand Giridharadas demystifies the rise of the thought leader, artist Chris Vargas rememorializes the Stonewall riots and your host clears up where he stands on the YouTube platform. Chapter three in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
The Cultural Marxism Industry
February 12, 2019 16:06 - 36 minutes - 78.2 MBIn the 1930's,Theodor Adorno fled Nazi Germany. In America, he studied the Authoritarian Personality. On YouTube, he’s the object of study in a massive conspiracy theory that many have tried (and failed) to debunk. Chapter two in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
The People have Spoken
January 09, 2019 18:50 - 27 minutes - 56.2 MBFilmmaker Astra Taylor asks "What is Democracy?" and YouTube creates the most disliked video in the history of the platform. Chapter One in the new ToE Failure miniseries.
Failure (prelude)
December 25, 2018 14:20 - 37 minutes - 79.2 MBAfter Meghan Daum’s marriage falls apart she meets some new friends on YouTube. Also, reporter Paris Martineau tells us about a new game changing online harassment tool: the thotbot. Meghan wrote about her journey for Medium and Paris’s reporting is from Wired.
Bonus 2018
December 20, 2018 04:22 - 21 minutes - 44.4 MBEarlier this summer at a listener meet up in Vancouver your host learned the difference between Listeners and Fans. Find out why this distinction matters. And if you are a fan or a listener donate now to the 2018 Radiotopia campaign! Also: Benjamen and Andrew talk about 2019 AND a bonus segment from ToE special corespondent Chris.
Victory is ours
December 11, 2018 22:08 - 36 minutes - 31 MBMark Galeotti takes us into the Soviet Gulag to tell us the brutal history of the Bitch War, ToE's Andrew Callaway checks in on the war on smoking and P.W. Singer explains how #likewar works. Plus Sleeper Net?
Fake it till you make it (False Alarm! part xv)
November 28, 2018 13:11 - 31 minutes - 26.2 MBThe grand finale of False Alarm! This one has it all, the little boy who cried wolf, your host’s AI plant, the paintings of Hilma af Klint, the blockchain powered SingularityNet, and Nuclear Armageddon! Centuries in the making plus a message from the future!
Night Wolves (False Alarm! part xiv)
November 06, 2018 23:10 - 39 minutes - 33.9 MBThe Night Wolves are a Russian biker gang. Their rallies and bike shows run on state TV and Putin gave members medals for their contributions to the annexation of Crimea. The Kremlin outsources violence, propaganda, and intelligence gathering to groups like the Night Wolves because it supports the intentioned ambiguity of Non-Linear Warfare. Trump is now openly calling for a biker gang of his own. Is this the real Russia connection or is it simply more theatrical ambiguity?
JK After The Fact (False Alarm! part xiii)
October 24, 2018 16:00 - 36 minutes - 30.8 MBA handful of tech barons now own the news but only one can rule the fake news. A chat with the comedy team behind the CBC’s This is That satirical news show turns into breaking news about Elon Musk.
Wolfgang (False Alarm! part xii)
October 12, 2018 20:11 - 34 minutes - 29 MBThe Hoaxers took over the Conspiracy Theory Championship Title from the Truthers in December of 2012 in response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. Eight years later the hoaxers are everywhere, the pizzagaters, the climate deniers, the nationalists, the gaslighters - even the President is a hoaxer. Your host travels to the heart of Hoaxer Darkness: Florida