Questions like “What does this mean?” are central to our encounters with art. “How are these signs connected?” or “how do all symbols fit into an unstated scheme?” are the foundational concerns of aesthetics. Yet, when the same concerns crop up regularly in almost any other part of life, we give a clinical, pathological name: paranoia.

These questions were the makings of Paranoia, a symposium held at Verdurin in February 2025.

This episode is a recording of Reading Between the Lines by Thomas Peermohamed Lambert.

Since Paul Ricoeur, literary studies have been dominated by a ‘hermeneutics of suspicion.’ In his presentation, Thomas discusses the strange affinity between literary modernism and conspiracy theory.

He makes example of the paranoia evident in the work of writers like Kafka and Borges.

Thomas also considers the death the ‘inductive’ novel, and the question of whether readers have become rather too trusting of what they read.

Thomas is a writer and scholar. He co-organised the Paranoia event.

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The Paranoia programme in full.

More events at Verdurin.

Thomas' novel Shibboleth.

Liberal democracies don’t age gracefully. Established systems of governance like those of the UK and the US which once served as blueprints are today experiencing a profound crisis of legitimacy. In Britain, a landslide general election result was quickly followed by a catastrophic tumble in approval ratings. In the US presidential campaign, meanwhile, voters were told that democracy itself was on the ballot, with both candidates suggesting the election might well be the last one ever.

The consensus underpinning the world’s most powerful democracies is, indeed, waning. The populaces have developed a deep dissatisfaction with their governments’ political procedures, yet no credible alternatives have emerged. In his latest book Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies, Benjamin Studebaker argues that the kinds of disagreements which historically led to political violence today instead just linger throughout the state and society. Without alternatives, liberal democracy’s legitimation crisis leads to neither reform nor revolution.

Studebaker depicts a legitimacy crisis rife with state capacity problems, in which citizens tell each other many conflicting legitimation stories as they search for ways to live with a dissatisfying political system they cannot replace. As different factions try to ‘save’ democracy in their own ways, they appear authoritarian to one another. Efforts to build legitimacy thus only spark greater inequality, pluralism, and ever-tighter gridlock.

This conversation was recorded at Verdurin in December 2024.

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Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies by Benjamin Studebaker

is published by Edinburgh University Press

ISBN 9781399534680

Get the book: https://verdur.in/store/legitimacy-in-liberal-democracies-by-benjamin-studebaker/

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Pierre's interviews and writing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://petitpoi.net/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Events, exhibitions, and more at Verdurin, London: ⁠https://verdur.in/⁠

Support this work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://petitpoi.net/support/

Not so long ago, comedy and laughter were a shared experience of relief, as Freud famously argued. At their best, ribbing, roasting, piss-taking and insulting were the foundation of a kind of universal culture from which friendship, camaraderie and solidarity could emerge.

Now, comedy is characterized by edgy humour and misplaced jokes that provoke personal and social anxiety, causing divisive cultural warfare in the media and among people. Our comedy is fraught with tension like never before, and so too is our social life. We often hear the claim that no one can take a joke anymore. But what if we really can’t take jokes anymore?

This book argues that the spirit of comedy is the first step in the building of society, but that it has been lost in the era of divisive identity politics. Comedy flares up debates about censorship and cancellation, keeping us divided from one other. This goes against the true universalist spirit of comedy, which is becoming a thing of the past and must be recovered.

Alfie Bown is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at Kings College London. His research focuses on psychoanalysis, digital media and popular culture.

He has also worked as a journalist, writing for The Guardian, Paris Review, New Statesman, Tribune, and others. His books include The Playstation Dreamworld, Post-Memes, and Dream Lovers: The Gamification of Relationships.

He is the founder of Everyday Analysis which publishes pamphlets and essay collections with contemporary social and political issues.

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Alfie Bown: Post-Comedy

Published by ⁠Polity, 2024

ISBN 9781509563395

Get the book: https://verdur.in/store/post-comedy-by-alfie-bown/

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Pierre's interviews and writing: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://petitpoi.net/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Events, exhibitions, and more at Verdurin, London: https://verdur.in/

Support my work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://petitpoi.net/support/