Varn Vlog

Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Varn Vlog is the pod of C. Derick Varn. We combine the conversation on philosophy, political economy, art, history, culture, anthropology, and geopolitics from a left-wing and culturally informed perspective. We approach the world from a historical lens with an eye for hard truths and structural analysis.

Podcasting since 2021 • 437 episodes

Varn Vlog

Latest Episodes

Anti-Politics Still Explains Politics with Tad Tietze

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn is joined by psychiatrist, writer, and political commentator Dr. Tad Tietze (co-author of Left Flank) to unpack the evolving dynamics of anti-politics and hyperpolitics across the Western world.

November 05, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 115 • 1:34:17

How Conservative Media Moved From Magazines To Platforms with Howard Polskins

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn is joined by Howard Polskin, veteran media analyst, journalist, and founder/chief curator of The Righting.Polskin details his daily work monitoring, curating, and analyzing the headlines, narr...

November 02, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 114 • 1:06:25

Liberal Socialism Explained with Matt McManus

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn is joined by political scientist and author Dr. Matt McManus (Spelman College) to discuss his books What Is Liberal Socialism? (Repeater Books) and Analytical Marxism and Democratic Socialism in the 2...

October 29, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 113 • 1:28:18

Neoplatonism For Real People with Max Wade

In this episode of VarnVlog, C. Derick Varn sits down with scholar Max Wade to dive deep into ancient philosophy, exploring the evolution, metaphysics, and lasting legacy of Neoplatonism.Together, they unpack the shift from Plato’s clas...

October 26, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 112 • 1:58:19

An Inconvenient Woman and the Reactionary South with Keri Leight Merritt

In this episode of VarnVlog, host C. Derick Varn sits down with historian, writer, and independent scholar Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt (author of Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South) to discuss her new book, "An Inconveni...

October 22, 2026 • Season 2 • Episode 111 • 1:24:26

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Fan Mail

If you wish to understand Bataille in the Post Structuralist context, refer to Rosalind Krauss’ definitive analysis of Bataille, Documents and Surrealist photography, The Optical Unconscious (MIT Press).

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