The Anarchist Monastery

This is a special episode, coming from John Cabot University in Rome, where I am joined by my colleague and friend, Stefan Lorenz Sorgner. Stefan is Associate Professor of Philosophy at JCU and central to two of today's hot button fields, namely Trans- and Post-humanism. In a turbo-charged 75 minutes, in perhaps the hottest recording studio I have ever been in - it was 40 degrees in there - I interrogate Professor Sorgner, and seek answers to these hugely problematic fields of discourse. I am enormously grateful to Stefan, and, for his time and availability, to Brian Thomson, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Communications At JCU and Coordinator of the Digital Media Lab. Enjoy the show!

Welcome to Season 2! We made it this far and kick off our new season with one of the loves of our lives ... literatureBack in the monastery from our late spring travels, Daniel and Hugh are delighted to have as our first AM guest Richard Marriott, who brings all his literary enthusiam to a discussion about the influence of English Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) on the American novelist, F Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940). With particular attention to Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' (1925) this episode is particularly helpful to anyone studying Keats or Fitzgerald for GCSE, A Level, IB, or uni undergrad. You're welcome!00.00-7.00: Our late spring travels, Essex, Oban and Rome7.01-13.32: Cindy's letter from Appalachia / The Anarchist Monastery Motto14.15-1.22.30: Richard Marriott, John Keats & F Scott Fitzgerald1.22.45-END: National Air Traffic Control Day

In this episode, Daniel and Hugh discuss: Jasper's letter from the wettest place on earth / May the 4th be with you - Hugh, Star Wars, and the cooking prodigy / The poetry that is Icona Pop's 'I Love It' / Percy Bysshe Shelley in York

In a special episode Hugh and Daniel discuss Shakespeare’s Richard III, which Daniel is directing for the York Shakespeare Project at the International Shakespeare Festival. Plus a stunner of a letter from Vladivostok.

In this episode Daniel and Hugh discuss:User 423, The Anarchist Monastery and Chat GTP / Skittles / Residentation / who are you and why? / World Art Day / Bosch! / Schiele take a bow! / Looking at people looking at people looking at Las Meninas / Wolf / pay me in Gatorade / Hugh and Anti-Art / Daniel in Bombay - a liver abscess and hospital terrorism / Crowds: Chowpatty Beach Bombay vs the Bund Shanghai

“It all went wrong, they didn’t want me!”“You might even have a theatre named after you in the West End.”In this episode Daniel and Hugh discuss:Daniel’s near miss - The Japanese Red Army Faction’s Mortar / Hugh’s near miss - Hugh auditions for the festival theatre / Maxi Snelling / Mary Ellen Best / Paint brushes made from her hair / York Lunatic Asylum / Mary in Nice / Daniel in Bombay / The Pearly King of Croydon / a broken heart: sedatives and lithium / a dodgy canapé / the two shirts!Further Reading:Mary Ellen Best: https://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Mary-Ellen-Best/dp/0701129050 ~ Rome Red Army Japan Incident: https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/world/rome-explosions-shake-us-and-british-embassies-and-wreck-car.html ~

“He hasn’t left this room since 1982.”In this episode Daniel and Hugh discuss:Excellent photocopying / The Foreign Office Office Boy / the fare dodger / Bonn gone / Rome - the first time he’d flown / The Colosseum / Rome traffic / The Mermaid’s Legs / Letters home / Gina Lollobrigida / the 10 percents / Genealogical Lollobrigida / Randy Mandy from Tonypandy / “Writing Poetry When I’m Drunk” / Daniel grows into himself / Ralph’s silence

In this episode Daniel and Hugh discuss:The end of stockings / KitKats / CP3PO & R2D2D2D2 / on the floor with Geoffrey Rush / insight design / Ralph’s 5 seconds of silence / Language as predictive text / The Kray Twins go shopping at Billingsgate Fish Market / 17 at the Foreign Office / Blood on the submission / Lady Isobel, the Anchorite / Alone vs lonely / Conversation as company / The Intoculateur