Ordinary Unhappiness
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social
a podcast about psychoanalysis, politics, pop culture, and the ways we suffer now | hosted by @counterfactual.bsky.social and @patblanchfield.bsky.social
free episodes every other saturday; even more for subscribers at https://bit.ly/OrdinaryUnhappiness
free episodes every other saturday; even more for subscribers at https://bit.ly/OrdinaryUnhappiness
Pinned
UNLOCKED: 32: Thanksgiving Special, Part 2: Murder, Myth, and Memory - Ordinary Unhappiness
Last year we unlocked part 1 of our Thanksgiving Special so that everyone could hear the good/bad news about the "Holiday Syndrome." This year we're unlocking part 2, on settler colonialism, history, ...
www.buzzsprout.com
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 Upcoming holidays filling you with dread? Need something to listen to while traveling, or while staying home? We've got you covered: BOTH parts of our classic Thanksgiving Special are now unlocked!
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
if you need to get some kind of psychic handle on your upcoming Thanksgiving experience, or at least want material to wield as either shield or weapon against your family, @unhappinesspod.bsky.social is here for you
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 Upcoming holidays filling you with dread? Need something to listen to while traveling, or while staying home? We've got you covered: BOTH parts of our classic Thanksgiving Special are now unlocked!
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
UNLOCKED: 32: Thanksgiving Special, Part 2: Murder, Myth, and Memory - Ordinary Unhappiness
Last year we unlocked part 1 of our Thanksgiving Special so that everyone could hear the good/bad news about the "Holiday Syndrome." This year we're unlocking part 2, on settler colonialism, history, ...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:48 PM
if you need to get some kind of psychic handle on your upcoming Thanksgiving experience, or at least want material to wield as either shield or weapon against your family, @unhappinesspod.bsky.social is here for you
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 Upcoming holidays filling you with dread? Need something to listen to while traveling, or while staying home? We've got you covered: BOTH parts of our classic Thanksgiving Special are now unlocked!
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
UNLOCKED: 32: Thanksgiving Special, Part 2: Murder, Myth, and Memory - Ordinary Unhappiness
Last year we unlocked part 1 of our Thanksgiving Special so that everyone could hear the good/bad news about the "Holiday Syndrome." This year we're unlocking part 2, on settler colonialism, history, ...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 Upcoming holidays filling you with dread? Need something to listen to while traveling, or while staying home? We've got you covered: BOTH parts of our classic Thanksgiving Special are now unlocked!
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
Browsing the back catalog of Ordinary Unhappiness, I found this goddamn delight, a conversation with @samadlerbell.bsky.social on Janet Malcolm: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o.... Thank you! @counterfactual.bsky.social & @patblanchfield.bsky.social
13: The Journalist and the Analyst: On Janet Malcolm feat. Sam Adler-Bell
Podcast Episode · Ordinary Unhappiness · 06/24/2023 · 1h 49m
podcasts.apple.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Browsing the back catalog of Ordinary Unhappiness, I found this goddamn delight, a conversation with @samadlerbell.bsky.social on Janet Malcolm: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o.... Thank you! @counterfactual.bsky.social & @patblanchfield.bsky.social
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
very excited to dig into this after listening to a wonderful @unhappinesspod.bsky.social episode with the authors
November 22, 2025 at 8:27 PM
very excited to dig into this after listening to a wonderful @unhappinesspod.bsky.social episode with the authors
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
we're continuing my favorite of Freud's Case Studies over at
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social. it's been a delightful time - check it out!
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social. it's been a delightful time - check it out!
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We continue the case of Elisabeth von R, talking family dynamics, short-circuits of care, parentification, tragic losses, gendered social roles, and more. Plus: what does it mean for a psychic "blow to fall"?
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
122: Standard Edition Volume 2 Part 8: Studies on Hysteria, Part VIII: The Blow That Falls: Fräulein Elisabeth von R Continued Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick resume Freud’s case history of Elisabeth von R. The...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:38 PM
we're continuing my favorite of Freud's Case Studies over at
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social. it's been a delightful time - check it out!
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social. it's been a delightful time - check it out!
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We continue the case of Elisabeth von R, talking family dynamics, short-circuits of care, parentification, tragic losses, gendered social roles, and more. Plus: what does it mean for a psychic "blow to fall"?
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
122: Standard Edition Volume 2 Part 8: Studies on Hysteria, Part VIII: The Blow That Falls: Fräulein Elisabeth von R Continued Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick resume Freud’s case history of Elisabeth von R. The...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:34 PM
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We continue the case of Elisabeth von R, talking family dynamics, short-circuits of care, parentification, tragic losses, gendered social roles, and more. Plus: what does it mean for a psychic "blow to fall"?
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
It's hard to express what it meant to watch Maurice, Natalia, Celeste, and Rhea tell their stories—in their own voices—this morning.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
November 16, 2025 at 5:02 PM
It's hard to express what it meant to watch Maurice, Natalia, Celeste, and Rhea tell their stories—in their own voices—this morning.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 We spoke with the great
@sarahlovescali.bsky.social about climate grief, her experience of ayahuasca therapy in the Peruvian Amazon, our expectations for psychedelics, our fantasies of transformative experiences, and what we can learn from plants!
@sarahlovescali.bsky.social about climate grief, her experience of ayahuasca therapy in the Peruvian Amazon, our expectations for psychedelics, our fantasies of transformative experiences, and what we can learn from plants!
UNLOCKED: 103: Ayahuasca and Climate Grief feat. Sarah Miller - Ordinary Unhappiness
Unlocked Patreon episode. Support Ordinary Unhappiness on Patreon to get access to all the exclusive episodes. patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick are joined by one of their favorite write...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 We spoke with the great
@sarahlovescali.bsky.social about climate grief, her experience of ayahuasca therapy in the Peruvian Amazon, our expectations for psychedelics, our fantasies of transformative experiences, and what we can learn from plants!
@sarahlovescali.bsky.social about climate grief, her experience of ayahuasca therapy in the Peruvian Amazon, our expectations for psychedelics, our fantasies of transformative experiences, and what we can learn from plants!
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
we could've spent another two hours on this - easy. karlin was so brilliant and generous, and we went in so many directions. @counterfactual.bsky.social and I have been talking about this @unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation nonstop since bsky.app/profile/unha...
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 How do perception and language shape subjectivity? What makes an experience ineffable? And can LSD offer new prospects for treating MDD and GAD? We're joined by @dankarlin.com of MindMed to talk new research trials, neurobiology, and more! www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
121: LSD: Subjectivity, Ineffability, and Mental Health feat. Dan Karlin - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick continue their series on psychedelics via an in-depth interview with Dr. Dan Karlin. Karlin is a psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at MindMed, where he oversees clinical trials u...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:22 PM
we could've spent another two hours on this - easy. karlin was so brilliant and generous, and we went in so many directions. @counterfactual.bsky.social and I have been talking about this @unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation nonstop since bsky.app/profile/unha...
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 How do perception and language shape subjectivity? What makes an experience ineffable? And can LSD offer new prospects for treating MDD and GAD? We're joined by @dankarlin.com of MindMed to talk new research trials, neurobiology, and more! www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
121: LSD: Subjectivity, Ineffability, and Mental Health feat. Dan Karlin - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick continue their series on psychedelics via an in-depth interview with Dr. Dan Karlin. Karlin is a psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at MindMed, where he oversees clinical trials u...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 How do perception and language shape subjectivity? What makes an experience ineffable? And can LSD offer new prospects for treating MDD and GAD? We're joined by @dankarlin.com of MindMed to talk new research trials, neurobiology, and more! www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
🚨NEW WILD ANALYSIS🚨 Abby (@counterfactual.bsky.social) and Dan watch "The Substance "(2024). From sexual difference to gendered expectations, from the male gaze to femininity as self-surveillance, it's a psychoanalytic body horror Halloween spectacular! www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
120: Wild Analysis: The Substance Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Dan process Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (2024), starrin...
www.buzzsprout.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:54 PM
🚨NEW WILD ANALYSIS🚨 Abby (@counterfactual.bsky.social) and Dan watch "The Substance "(2024). From sexual difference to gendered expectations, from the male gaze to femininity as self-surveillance, it's a psychoanalytic body horror Halloween spectacular! www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
people keep asking for more Lacan, and so it was a double (triple?) pleasure to be able to deliver via this excellent
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with the great Nick Peim and Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social). as Lacan commanded: Enjoy!
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with the great Nick Peim and Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social). as Lacan commanded: Enjoy!
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨What are the fantasies, anxieties, and institutional realities of education? How does knowledge relate to authority - and to lack? And why is the figure of Jacques Lacan so seductive? We're joined by Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social) and Nick Peim, authors of The Lacanian Teacher!
119: Lacan, Knowledge, Fantasy feat. Nick Stock and Nick Peim - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick are joined by Nick Stock and Nick Peim, authors of the new book The Lacanian Teacher: Education, Pedagogy, and Enjoyment. From the origin stories teachers tell about themselves to the...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
people keep asking for more Lacan, and so it was a double (triple?) pleasure to be able to deliver via this excellent
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with the great Nick Peim and Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social). as Lacan commanded: Enjoy!
@unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with the great Nick Peim and Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social). as Lacan commanded: Enjoy!
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨What are the fantasies, anxieties, and institutional realities of education? How does knowledge relate to authority - and to lack? And why is the figure of Jacques Lacan so seductive? We're joined by Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social) and Nick Peim, authors of The Lacanian Teacher!
119: Lacan, Knowledge, Fantasy feat. Nick Stock and Nick Peim - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick are joined by Nick Stock and Nick Peim, authors of the new book The Lacanian Teacher: Education, Pedagogy, and Enjoyment. From the origin stories teachers tell about themselves to the...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨What are the fantasies, anxieties, and institutional realities of education? How does knowledge relate to authority - and to lack? And why is the figure of Jacques Lacan so seductive? We're joined by Nick Stock (@89stock.bsky.social) and Nick Peim, authors of The Lacanian Teacher!
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
this is my favorite Case Study of Freud's. it reads like a novella, and feels so contemporary, so alive. it also beautifully thematizes what is IMO a fundamental concern: the way common human experiences, tragic and banal both, layer and accumulate singular meanings through an individual's life
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We begin "Fräulein Elisabeth von R," Freud's most accessible case study. It's a tale of a woman burdened by her family system, social roles, and bodily pain, and whose suffering finds poignant symbolic expression in her symptoms.
118: Standard Edition Volume 2 Part 7: Studies on Hysteria, Part VII: Fräulein Elisabeth von R Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick arrive at the final case study in Freud and Breuer'...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 18, 2025 at 4:05 PM
this is my favorite Case Study of Freud's. it reads like a novella, and feels so contemporary, so alive. it also beautifully thematizes what is IMO a fundamental concern: the way common human experiences, tragic and banal both, layer and accumulate singular meanings through an individual's life
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We begin "Fräulein Elisabeth von R," Freud's most accessible case study. It's a tale of a woman burdened by her family system, social roles, and bodily pain, and whose suffering finds poignant symbolic expression in her symptoms.
118: Standard Edition Volume 2 Part 7: Studies on Hysteria, Part VII: Fräulein Elisabeth von R Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick arrive at the final case study in Freud and Breuer'...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 18, 2025 at 3:59 PM
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 We begin "Fräulein Elisabeth von R," Freud's most accessible case study. It's a tale of a woman burdened by her family system, social roles, and bodily pain, and whose suffering finds poignant symbolic expression in her symptoms.
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
Loved this. When I’m asking my students to read Kristeva and Lacan etc I encourage them to read for association, not for understanding. Felt this is ‘precisely’ what you were saying in the beginning of the pod. It is really hard for them to let go of the search for understanding. Thanks ☺️
October 11, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Loved this. When I’m asking my students to read Kristeva and Lacan etc I encourage them to read for association, not for understanding. Felt this is ‘precisely’ what you were saying in the beginning of the pod. It is really hard for them to let go of the search for understanding. Thanks ☺️
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 We unpack Julia Kristeva's concept of "abjection" and "the abject." It's a powerful idea that clarifies real bodily experiences, raw affects, and urgent political concerns involving violence, vulnerability, scapegoating, and disgust. www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
UNLOCKED: 107: On Abjection - Ordinary Unhappiness
Unlocked Patreon episode. Support Ordinary Unhappiness on Patreon to get access to all the exclusive episodes. patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby, Patrick, and Dan discuss and apply Julia Kristeva’s ...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:33 PM
🚨UNLOCKED🚨 We unpack Julia Kristeva's concept of "abjection" and "the abject." It's a powerful idea that clarifies real bodily experiences, raw affects, and urgent political concerns involving violence, vulnerability, scapegoating, and disgust. www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
even as I hope desperately for this to be a lasting ceasefire I cannot but reel at thinking what the near, mid, and longterm consequences will be for Gazans, especially in light of our @unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with Dr. Jess Ghannam a year and a half ago now
51: Psychoanalysis and Gaza feat. Jess Ghannam - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick welcome Palestinian psychoanalyst and psychologist Dr. Jess Ghannam to talk about his twenty-five years of work doing empirical research and carrying out public health initiatives in ...
ordinaryunhappiness.buzzsprout.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
even as I hope desperately for this to be a lasting ceasefire I cannot but reel at thinking what the near, mid, and longterm consequences will be for Gazans, especially in light of our @unhappinesspod.bsky.social conversation with Dr. Jess Ghannam a year and a half ago now
🚨 NEW EPISODE🚨 The incomparable @lilyscherlis.bsky.social joins @counterfactual.bsky.social and Dan to discuss her experience at the 2024 Tavistock conference, the meaning of “group relations" in general and for leftists in particular, the legacies of WR Bion, and much more!
117: Experiences in Groups feat. Lily Scherlis Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Dan sit down with writer and performance artist Lily Scherl...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 4, 2025 at 11:54 AM
🚨 NEW EPISODE🚨 The incomparable @lilyscherlis.bsky.social joins @counterfactual.bsky.social and Dan to discuss her experience at the 2024 Tavistock conference, the meaning of “group relations" in general and for leftists in particular, the legacies of WR Bion, and much more!
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
The crossover event you didn’t know you wanted.
🚨NEW BONUS EPISODE🚨 Our own @patblanchfield.bsky.social joins the great Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell of the Know Your Enemy podcast to talk Charlie Kirk, martyrdom, mourning, memory, and the psychic and political landscape of our moment.
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Bonus Episode: Martyrdom, Mourning, and the Legacy of Charlie Kirk - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick share Patrick’s appearance on the Know Your Enemy podcast, hosted by friends of Ordinary Unhappiness Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell. Patrick, Matt, and Sam process last weekend’s t...
www.buzzsprout.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The crossover event you didn’t know you wanted.
🚨NEW BONUS EPISODE🚨 Our own @patblanchfield.bsky.social joins the great Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell of the Know Your Enemy podcast to talk Charlie Kirk, martyrdom, mourning, memory, and the psychic and political landscape of our moment.
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Bonus Episode: Martyrdom, Mourning, and the Legacy of Charlie Kirk - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick share Patrick’s appearance on the Know Your Enemy podcast, hosted by friends of Ordinary Unhappiness Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell. Patrick, Matt, and Sam process last weekend’s t...
www.buzzsprout.com
September 30, 2025 at 5:12 PM
🚨NEW BONUS EPISODE🚨 Our own @patblanchfield.bsky.social joins the great Matthew Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell of the Know Your Enemy podcast to talk Charlie Kirk, martyrdom, mourning, memory, and the psychic and political landscape of our moment.
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
Fashion isn’t fluff but a psychic and political engine. This conversation tracks how Freud fretted over his barber and tailor, while Lacan’s gaze and Anzieu’s skin‑ego live in clothes as armor and second skin.
With Valerie Steele on @unhappinesspod.bsky.social
With Valerie Steele on @unhappinesspod.bsky.social
114: Fashion and Psychoanalysis feat. Valerie Steele - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick welcome Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, to discuss her new book, Dress, Dreams, and Desire: Fashion and…
buff.ly
September 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Fashion isn’t fluff but a psychic and political engine. This conversation tracks how Freud fretted over his barber and tailor, while Lacan’s gaze and Anzieu’s skin‑ego live in clothes as armor and second skin.
With Valerie Steele on @unhappinesspod.bsky.social
With Valerie Steele on @unhappinesspod.bsky.social
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 We're joined by writer Michael Clune, author of the new novel, Pan! It's a tour de force tale of growing up, friendship, coolness, drugs, unfolding on the boundaries between the normal upheavals of adolescence and acute pathology.
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
116: Writing Panic feat. Michael Clune - Ordinary Unhappiness
Abby and Patrick welcome writer and academic Michael Clune to discuss his new novel, Pan. It is the story of Nick, a teenage boy living alone with his divorced father in the 1990s Midwest. Precocious ...
www.buzzsprout.com
September 27, 2025 at 12:03 PM
🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 We're joined by writer Michael Clune, author of the new novel, Pan! It's a tour de force tale of growing up, friendship, coolness, drugs, unfolding on the boundaries between the normal upheavals of adolescence and acute pathology.
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 Freud goes on an alpine holiday - but altitude is no barrier to psychic distress. Joins us for the story of Katharina, the shortest, strangest, and saddest of the Studies on Hysteria. www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
115: Standard Edition Volume 2 Part 6: Studies on Hysteria, Part VI: Katharina Teaser - Ordinary Unhappiness
Subscribe to get access to the full episode, the episode reading list, and all premium episodes! www.patreon.com/OrdinaryUnhappinessAbby and Patrick read the shortest, strangest, and arguably saddest entry in the Studies on Hysteria – the case of ...
www.buzzsprout.com
September 20, 2025 at 3:17 PM
🚨NEW STANDARD EDITION🚨 Freud goes on an alpine holiday - but altitude is no barrier to psychic distress. Joins us for the story of Katharina, the shortest, strangest, and saddest of the Studies on Hysteria. www.buzzsprout.com/2131830/epis...
Reposted by Ordinary Unhappiness
they’re from internet, much like The Christ be
September 15, 2025 at 12:13 PM
they’re from internet, much like The Christ be