Voicecraft Dispatch | Scholarship Opportunity, Censorship of Voicecraft, Invitations to VC Live VII, TWO recent releases.. and more?
A bonanza dispatch.
Dear reader,
Wishing you really well.
Absolutely loads to share in this one. Let’s get into it. First up is a…
Scholarship opportunity
Voicecraft is delighted to share a full fee scholarship place for
’s upcoming course on Jacques Lacan’s Écrits, covering ‘core works from the controversial psychoanalyst.’ You can learn more about the course offering here. The Voicecraft application page itself is here. Applications close on the 22nd of August.The scholarship covers a Tier 1 admission at a value of CA$500.
Many of you will know the work of Cadell Last across different touch points, whether last December’s Voicecraft podcast on Novelty & Lineage or several other live stream collaborations across topics of transformative philosophy, psychoanalysis, Hegel, Freud.. or his recent book Systems and Subjects for which I wrote an endorsement and participated in a critical-generative exchange on YouTube here.
You will notice in the above graphic that this scholarship opportunity is a joint collaboration between Philosophy Portal, Voicecraft,
and (a.k.a. Bad Guru, who participated in the first Voicecraft Elder Circle last year, here.) The genesis of this relationship occurred with the four part Philosophy of Lack series, the first of which was live streamed to Cadell’s channel more than 2 years ago. You can find that here. *In fact, we will be engaging in another philosophy of lack dialogue at the close of Lacan’s Écrits for the cohort, which will be a lot of fun.For the right person this is a genuine treasure trove of opportunity. Cadell has prepared a phenomenal course in a living context where student contribution is genuinely welcome. He has also created several free to watch seminars about many core topics featured in the course, which you can learn more about on the course page here.
And if there’s one final point of note, Alex Ebert wrote of Lacan thus: “Lacan is the only thinker I’ve ever come across who I would advise not to read on one’s own”
So that might be about that, for now. Again, the application page for the Voicecraft scholarship is here.
Read on for an invitation to the next Voicecraft Live and recent releases. But first..
Censorship of Voicecraft
Last month there was a Voicecraft Network session inviting conversation on the topic of RFK Jr, held in good spirit. Plenty of nuance. Many words.
It sought to draw forth underlying patterns, hold space for tension, become aware of context, desire, myth, and reckon with what we (as those in conversation) could know, didn’t know, and couldn’t conceivably come to know. In my opinion it was meaningful and rational.
I uploaded the conversation to YouTube (unlisted) in order to share privately with the network, as is the case with the majority of our sessions.
Not long after it was flagged as violating community guidelines (medical misinformation) and blocked. First and only warning. Next time the YouTube channel itself will be locked for a week. Two more strikes and the channel is deleted permanently. Interesting!
This raises many questions.
Like many of you, I have observed the cultural ‘conversation’ around censorship and free speech over several years. This dispatch can’t be a philosophical address of that context (although we’re holding a network session on the topic later this month.)
For now there are some very real questions:
What recourse do smaller creators have when the world’s largest video platform (by far) censors their work?
What does this mean for the possibility of reaching a large proportion of those who engage with, or who would want to engage with, this work?
Why was this conversation censored while far more polemical positions across the many points of interest around RFK Jr are not?
We could go on. But these are critical questions and they present a fork in the road.
Go loudly or quietly?
Or maybe it’s not a fork at all, and it’s time to go both.
* I do intend to release the session as a podcast. Network members already have access via a different video host.
Few ducks in a row first.
The next Voicecraft Live
Next up, I’m excited to share that tickets are now open to attend the next Voicecraft Live in Melbourne on the 25th of August.
The frame for the evening is Transformative Philosophy, and you can learn more here.
Again, you may recognise that title from the Voicecraft Academy course which was intended to run last year, but which was postponed (you can still register your interest here). You might also recognise the Voicecraft Network Open Session with O.G. Rose, shared on the Voicecraft podcast and available to watch here.
The event on the 25th will invite an immersion in the praxis of transformative philosophy — or at least, philosophical thinking and relating with the potential to be transformative. It will compress the essence of what initially motivated me to create the course, as well as the essence of the mode of philosophy which Voicecraft holds particularly dear.
It might be that this event appeals more to those who have engaged with the podcast, or attended events online or offline. But the invitation is open! And I get the feeling it will be one to remember!
For those wanting to learn more about the meaning of transformative philosophy as I intended and articulated last year, this Substack article shares a video and a transcript you may find interesting, and this podcast with Cadell Last on his YouTube channel shares some real notes of dedication.
Grab your tickets for the event here.
The previous Voicecraft Live
While the next Voicecraft Live on the theme of Transformative Philosophy will run a little differently to our recent events, the space, time, and spirit of participation will be invited in deep continuity with the media shared below.
This is a dialogue and community reflection on an interfaith exchange between Zen Roshi Kirk Fisher, Bishop Lindsay Urwin, student of Sufism Sieta Beckwith, and myself, on the topic of ‘meaning, tradition and progress.’ You can learn more about the guests and listen via the podcatcher of your choice by accessing the show notes here.
Voicecraft Podcast with Layman Pascal
Finally, I’m delighted to share a podcast that deserves a dispatch of its own, though a short clip was teased in the last one. In some respects it’s deeply related to the interfaith exchange above because it explores the role of meta-shamanism, Layman Pascal’s term for something which Voicecraft shares a common appreciation for.
As it so happens, Layman was also set to be part of the teaching faculty for Transformative Philosophy. An awesome character in the mix.
Find out just what a Layman Pascal is in the video below (it’s literally the first question.) Or, access the show notes to listen via the podcatcher of your choice here.
With some more to follow soon on much of this, as well as the final part to ‘Paradox & Spiritual Leadership’ later this week, thank you for checking in and reading this far.
And don’t forget about the Philosophy Portal scholarship opportunity. If you feel a calling there, I encourage you to follow it. The link to the application page one more time is here.
Discernment on the Way,
Tim Adalin