Theory Underground
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Become a member of Theory Underground here: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
Tier 1 and higher get access to the courses and seminars going monthly throughout 2026:
Intro to Theory, The Philosophy of Stewardship, and The Philosophy of Religion with David McKerracher.
Tier 2 and higher get access to a monthly writers or speaking workshop.
Tier 3 includes the book or thesis writer's cohort. All members get access to the monthly Post Duopoly (de)Radicalization Starter Pack reading group, which is a collaboration between TU and 1Dime. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is an organizer, theorist, husband and father (not in that order), and the founder of Theory Underground. McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek), as well as the chief editor of Underground Theory (Volumes one and two are available now, with volume three in the works).
Office hours: The first Monday of every month at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, or if you wait around after lectures/seminars.
Theory Underground (TU) is dedicated to making challenging philosophical and theoretical work accessible for a non-college audience. TU emphasizes audio-based learning for real-world application of big ideas, operating both online and through an international tour that has hosted events in over 20 U.S. cities, 9 countries throughout Europe, as well as cities in Canada and Mexico.
Mission: To provide accessible, rigorous, and wide-ranging educational material for three types of people:
- dropout workers with earbuds getting into big ideas during daily routines
- burnt-out postgrads seeking to supplement their journey
- parents who take a deliberate role in their children's education through keeping alive their sense of wonder.
Vision: A world that is timenergy-rich, meaning that parents and teachers have large, energy-infused, and reliably repeatable blocks of time throughout their day, week, and month. Such a world would construct and cultivate a culture of active leisure for the sake of discovering and stewarding one’s own talent and the talents of future generations.
Lectures: Ongoing and archived sessions on key thinkers and topics, including:
📚Intro courses: Intro to Theory (monthly throughout 2026), Intro to Marx, Intro to Heidegger, Political Theory, Intro to The Idea of the University, Intro to Žižek, Intro to Lacan, Intro to Land, Intro to Illich, The Philosophy of Nature, Intro to the PMC, Intro to Critical Social Theory, and The Philosophy of Religion (2026).
📚Advanced courses: Martin Heidegger's Being and Time, Emmanuel Levinas' Totality and Infinity, and Slavoj Žižek's For They Know Not What They Do, The Autistic Subject and the Clinical Structures of Psychoanalysis.
📚Seminars: Critical Media Theory (2 years), Critical Doxology & Timenergy (1 year), The Philosophy of Stewardship and Home Economics (monthly throughout 2026).
Publishing: Underground Theory Volumes 1 and 2, Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy, as well as serial releases of chapters, original thoughts, and upcoming books.
Community: Conferences, retreats, and international tour. TU’s hybrid and experimental grassroots (self-funded) tour events have occurred in prestigious private universities as well as people's garages and backyards, on campus quads or downtown in busy urban areas, as well as deep in the wilderness. TU is virtually everywhere and always on tour, but physically it is based on a small regenerative farm in North Idaho.
Renowned professors at Theory Underground have included Slavoj Žižek, Benjamin Studebaker, Nina Power, John D. Caputo, Peter Rollins, Chris Cutrone, Iain Thomson, Alenka Zupančič, Leon Brenner; Todd McGowan, as well as lesser-known but nonetheless amazing lecturers such as Tony Chamas, Bryan Weeks, Michael Downs, and Elton L.K. of the Working Class Intelligentsia and the Democratic Socialists of America education podcast called CLASS.
Music Logo Sequence Music is always either by https://olliebeanz.com/music https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode or “What's Left” Adam Leher. Thanks! If you are an artist who has something that might be good for TU's unique vibe, you can always send it to us a hell.theoryunderground@gmail.com
Episodes
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
58 min
Read along here: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/the-weight-of-summonability
Thanks for listening! Thanks even more for liking, sharing, and commenting—whether it be something thoughtful or just for the algorithm. It definitely makes a difference.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning I research 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort and your attention. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible.
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is the author of 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Aug 13, 2026
Aug 13, 2026
1hr 30 min
Read along here: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/socioanalyzing-analytic-philosophy
Thanks for listening! Thanks even more for liking, sharing, and commenting—whether it be something thoughtful or just for the algorithm. It definitely makes a difference.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning I research 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort and your attention. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible.
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is the author of 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Aug 11, 2026
Aug 11, 2026
1hr 7 min
If you really want to know what someone thinks, ask them with a gun to their head.
Thanks for listening! Thanks even more for liking, sharing, and commenting—whether it be something thoughtful or just for the algorithm. It definitely makes a difference.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning I research 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort and your attention. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is the author of 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground. 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Aug 7, 2026
Aug 7, 2026
58 min
Read it for yourself here: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/the-natality-pill-is-not-pro-natalism
What provoked it: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/why-i-hate-the-rebel-priest-class
Thanks for listening!
Thanks even more for liking, sharing, and commenting—whether it be something thoughtful or just for the algorithm. It definitely makes a difference. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning I research 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort and your attention. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible.
𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is the author of 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jul 29, 2026
Jul 29, 2026
52 min
Read it here: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/why-i-hate-the-rebel-priest-class
Thanks for listening! Thanks even more for liking, sharing, and commenting—whether it be something thoughtful or just for the algorithm. It definitely makes a difference. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning I research 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort and your attention. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 is the author of 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺: 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground. 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jul 9, 2026
Jul 9, 2026
38 min
Read the whole thing here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-195697911
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning.
I research the future of education and work, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort plus your attention and participation. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. Become a member: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
Office hours: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jul 3, 2026
Jul 3, 2026
1hr 9 min
Jefferson at 250: between the life of the mind and the work of the hands, from Monticello to the homestead tsunami: Postman, Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Susan Wise Bauer
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning.
I research the future of education and work, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort plus your attention and participation. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. Become a member: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
Office hours: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jun 25, 2026
Jun 25, 2026
57 min
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning.
I research the future of education and work, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort plus your attention and participation. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. Become a member: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
Office hours: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jun 23, 2026
Jun 23, 2026
1hr 17 min
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning.
I research the future of education and work, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort plus your attention and participation. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. Become a member: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
Office hours: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.
Jun 19, 2026
Jun 19, 2026
39 min
Why Polyamory is Impossible: Timenergy and The Virtuous Circle
Read it here: https://theoryunderground.substack.com/p/why-polyamory-is-impossible-timenergy
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 From David McKerracher, a worker with earbuds, theorizing the future of meaningful work and real learning.
I research the future of education and work, bridging manual labor and the life of the mind at the foundations of life. Theory Underground runs on two things: my effort plus your attention and participation. Show up, listen, engage, share, and keep me on task so that the work can grow out of a community. Membership is how my work is made possible. Become a member: https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
David McKerracher is the author of Timenergy: Why You Have No Time or Energy (Foreword by Slavoj Žižek) and he's the founder of Theory Underground.
Office hours: First Monday of every month, 10 a.m. Pacific. https://theoryunderground.com/subscribe
My lectures, seminars, and guest lectures from friends, happen when they do and only members get most of what happens there. If you'd prefer to wait for the free version, it all trickles down into my writing eventually. Just make sure to subscribe or follow so you don't miss all the epic free content.