Society & Culture

Critical Media Studies

by Michael Repici

Claiming needs an RSS feed. Contact us.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Recently ranked · United States

Last recorded placements from this show’s chart history. These are not current rankings.

Not on the United States charts we track today.

If you like Critical Media Studies, try…

Critical Role: Campaign 4

Latest episodes

#130 - Elena Esposito: Social Forgetting: A Systems Theoretical Approach

October 16, 2026 · 57 min

In this episode, Barry and Michael discuss Sheila Esposito's 2008 essay, (Title). They discuss Esposito's Luhmann-inspired take on the relation between memory and forgetting and the role of media technologies in creating the modern system…
#129: Hans-Georg Moeller - Luhmann Explained: From Souls To Systems

October 2, 2026 · 53 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Hans-Georg Moeller’s book, Luhmann Explained: From Souls To Systems.They explore the agents of change in communication systems as theorized by Luhmann.
#128- Luhmann, pt. 2 - The Reality of Media

September 11, 2026 · 46 min

In this episode Barry and Mike continue their discussion of Luhmann. They talk, specifically, about the “recursively stabilized functional mechanisms” of mass media and their relevance to our 2026 media ecology.
#127: Luhmann - The Reality of Mass Media

August 28, 2026 · 39 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Niklas Luhmann’s 1996 book, “The Reality of the Mass Media”. After unpacking Luhmann’s model of modern media, they question the role of truth in media and ponder if our current understanding of mass…
#126: Rose Horowitch - The Age of Reading is Over

August 14, 2026 · 41 min

In the second part of their discussion Barry and Mike talk about Rose Horowitch’s ideas about reading and what it means to be post-literate in the digital world.

Show 7 more episodesShow fewer episodes

#125: Rose Horowitch - The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books

July 31, 2026 · 34 min

Barry and Mike begin a two-part discussion of Rose Horowitch’s investigation into post-literacy.In this episode we discuss her November 2024 article in The Atlantic Monthly, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” Our next…
#124: Ted Gioia -What you Won't Learn About the Odyssey From the Movie

July 17, 2026 · 34 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Ted Gioia’s “What You Won’t Learn About the Odyssey From the Movie.” They debate the significance of the “magical mystery song” at the heart of literature.
#123: Daniel Roher - The AI Doc: Or, How I Became An Apocaloptimist

July 3, 2026 · 50 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Daniel Roher’s 2026 documentary, The AI Doc: Or, How I Became An Apocaloptimist. They apply Bernard Stiegler’s concept of the pharmakon to understand the various positions on the development of…
#122: Louis Theroux - Into the Manosphere

June 26, 2026 · 53 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Louis Theroux’s “Inside the Manosphere” (March, 2026) and address the question: What does the Manosphere tell us about our current media environment?
#121: A repost of episode #99: On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Artificial Intimacy

June 12, 2026 · 48 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the idea of “frictionless” relationships in the age of artificial intimacy. ErikaHayasaki – “What Would a Real Friendship With A.I. Look Like? Maybe Like Hers? The New York Times Magazine…
#120: Mark Fisher - Exiting the Vampire's Castle, pt. 2

May 29, 2026 · 54 min

In this episode Barry and Mike resume their discussion of Mark Fishers’s 2013 blog post, “Exiting the Vampire’s Castle”. They discuss the five laws that govern the castle and wonder if it is possible to exit the castle, as Fisher hoped.
#119: Mark Fisher - Exiting the Vampire Castle

May 15, 2026 · 38 min

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss writer/music critic/cultural theorist Mark Fisher’s 2013 blog post, “Exiting the Vampire Castle”. They look at the essay, 13 years after its posting, and provide context as to what the Castle is, how…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

The Critical Media Studies podcast discusses the interplay of technology and culture from an academic perspective. In each episode we consider the work of a prominent thinker in the field of critical media studies and discuss the implications of their work in relation to other thinkers and in light of current social contexts.