Robert McDonald
@lacanmunist.bsky.social
Associate professor of rhetoric at the University of Kansas, author of Works like a Charm: Incentive Rhetoric and the Economization of Everyday Life https://sunypress.edu/Books/W/Works-like-a-Charm
if you think about it, Creon was the paradigmatic "unc" of antiquity
November 26, 2025 at 5:58 PM
if you think about it, Creon was the paradigmatic "unc" of antiquity
(hearing someone describing a breathalyzer) oh, you mean a DUI decimal system?
November 26, 2025 at 4:10 PM
(hearing someone describing a breathalyzer) oh, you mean a DUI decimal system?
Reposted by Robert McDonald
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
thrilled to announce
November 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
thrilled to announce
they're calling it 'the most culturally relevant tweet of 2025'
(Third Way voice) How about Joe in Partnership with the Volcano?
November 25, 2025 at 12:09 AM
they're calling it 'the most culturally relevant tweet of 2025'
Reposted by Robert McDonald
This is a deeply sexist take, given that ~2/3 of minimum wage workers in the US are women.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
This is a deeply sexist take, given that ~2/3 of minimum wage workers in the US are women.
(Third Way voice) How about Joe in Partnership with the Volcano?
November 24, 2025 at 11:20 PM
(Third Way voice) How about Joe in Partnership with the Volcano?
why does Anakin Skywalker hate improv comedy? because you're obligated to say "Yes sand"
November 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
why does Anakin Skywalker hate improv comedy? because you're obligated to say "Yes sand"
Reposted by Robert McDonald
Nice chamber. Is it of commerce?
November 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Nice chamber. Is it of commerce?
this panel was so fun, and i had a magnificent conference, it was great to see old friends and new. also, i witnessed a conference first: a grad student pulled out his phone during a panel Q&A, prompted ChatGPT to write him a question to ask the panelists, then he read it verbatim aloud. not great!
NCA attendees, I'd love to see you Friday, 2:30pm in Red Rock 07 for a panel on Post-Weird, my friend Calum Matheson's new book with @rutgersupress.bsky.social . It's an incredible book on anti-rhetorical reading practices of fringe communities (snake handlers, transvestigators, Sandy Hook deniers)
November 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
this panel was so fun, and i had a magnificent conference, it was great to see old friends and new. also, i witnessed a conference first: a grad student pulled out his phone during a panel Q&A, prompted ChatGPT to write him a question to ask the panelists, then he read it verbatim aloud. not great!
Reposted by Robert McDonald
bolsanaro reportedly upset about going to prison because it’s taking him away from his true passion, going to the hospital
November 23, 2025 at 4:32 AM
bolsanaro reportedly upset about going to prison because it’s taking him away from his true passion, going to the hospital
When Michel Foucault wrote "Security, Territory, Population," this is what he was referring to
November 23, 2025 at 10:27 PM
When Michel Foucault wrote "Security, Territory, Population," this is what he was referring to
the fact that Trump assented to Zohran calling him a fascist is funny enough on its own, but even funnier because he said "it's easier". Ladies and gentlemen, symbolic efficiency is BACK
November 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
the fact that Trump assented to Zohran calling him a fascist is funny enough on its own, but even funnier because he said "it's easier". Ladies and gentlemen, symbolic efficiency is BACK
Had one of the silliest and kitschiest nights of my life at the world's greatest restaurant, Casa Bonita
November 22, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Had one of the silliest and kitschiest nights of my life at the world's greatest restaurant, Casa Bonita
Deleuze, while meeting his new coauthor: "I've Guattari-lly good feeling about this guy"
November 21, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Deleuze, while meeting his new coauthor: "I've Guattari-lly good feeling about this guy"
NCA attendees, I'd love to see you Friday, 2:30pm in Red Rock 07 for a panel on Post-Weird, my friend Calum Matheson's new book with @rutgersupress.bsky.social . It's an incredible book on anti-rhetorical reading practices of fringe communities (snake handlers, transvestigators, Sandy Hook deniers)
November 20, 2025 at 11:33 PM
NCA attendees, I'd love to see you Friday, 2:30pm in Red Rock 07 for a panel on Post-Weird, my friend Calum Matheson's new book with @rutgersupress.bsky.social . It's an incredible book on anti-rhetorical reading practices of fringe communities (snake handlers, transvestigators, Sandy Hook deniers)
mauvais foi, mo' problems
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 PM
mauvais foi, mo' problems
Fuck FIFA but
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
Get in!!!!!!
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
Get in!!!!!!
November 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Fuck FIFA but
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
Get in!!!!!!
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
Get in!!!!!!
A "potential graduate student" implies a kinetic graduate student
November 17, 2025 at 11:08 PM
A "potential graduate student" implies a kinetic graduate student
one time at a conference, a colleague chidingly asserted "You know there's no ontological lack, right?" and like a good obsessional neurotic, i replied, "Yes, but does the lack know that?"
November 16, 2025 at 5:56 PM
one time at a conference, a colleague chidingly asserted "You know there's no ontological lack, right?" and like a good obsessional neurotic, i replied, "Yes, but does the lack know that?"
While teaching the check metaphor in MLK’s “I have a dream” speech this week, I was reminded that he includes the line “a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. That got me thinking: Is this where the Lonely Island guys got the name of their comedy group??
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
While teaching the check metaphor in MLK’s “I have a dream” speech this week, I was reminded that he includes the line “a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. That got me thinking: Is this where the Lonely Island guys got the name of their comedy group??
Subscribe to my Patreon, wherein the only thing I do is edit "morning zoo" radio sound effects into the Why Theory podcast
November 10, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Subscribe to my Patreon, wherein the only thing I do is edit "morning zoo" radio sound effects into the Why Theory podcast
reading the r/AskPhysics reddit is reminding me of that stupid moment in critical theory where folks feigned conversance with quantum physics to make ill-founded claims about ontology. i just read a post where some guy asked "how do bicycles not fundamentally violate the laws of thermodynamics?"
November 9, 2025 at 4:16 AM
reading the r/AskPhysics reddit is reminding me of that stupid moment in critical theory where folks feigned conversance with quantum physics to make ill-founded claims about ontology. i just read a post where some guy asked "how do bicycles not fundamentally violate the laws of thermodynamics?"
Reposted by Robert McDonald
ice cubes are ridiculous. like yeah lemme just get a piece of water
November 8, 2025 at 10:27 PM
ice cubes are ridiculous. like yeah lemme just get a piece of water
(Law-abiding David Byrne): 🎵Keep intact the house🎵
November 8, 2025 at 6:03 PM
(Law-abiding David Byrne): 🎵Keep intact the house🎵