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The Michael Kuhlman Show

The Michael Kuhlman Show

by Michael Kuhlman

Books Philosophy

Never Doom Never Give Up Never Surrender

How to Read Nietzsche (I Did it Wrong At First)

Nietzsche is great, he's one of the best writers ever

Nietzsche the Mystic and Inverted Transcendence | BT Part IV Final Part

Nobody reads anymore. But lucky for you I like to read to people. This is the final part of a four part series of essays on Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, his first book and his strangest. You don't need to have read it. You don't need any earlier videos. Everything you need is right here. The argument: Nietzsche stole fire from gods he didn't believe in. He took the Greek pantheon, gutted it of any real metaphysical claim, and used the empty gods to build a theory of art, suffering, and how to be a self in a world without divine help. Apollo is the dream. Dionysus is the intoxication. And somewhere between them, Nietzsche the atheist smuggles in a mystical experience he refuses to call divine. We cover the satyr, the witch's brew of lust and cruelty, the famous claim that existence is only justified as an aesthetic phenomenon, and a strange convergence with Plato's Ion, where the Greeks described being possessed by music two thousand years before Nietzsche felt the same current rise up from inside himself. Fair warning: this book is confusing by design. Reading it is like staring into a sphere of black magic. That's part of why it's worth your time. If this lands for you, drop a comment and tell me what piece of music has ever possessed you. And share this with someone who thinks Nietzsche was just an angry atheist. Read the full essay on Substack: https://michaelkuhlman.substack.com/p... Watch/Listen to Parts 1, 2 and 3 on YouTube or in the RSS feed. Support the channel: Patreon: / michaelkuhlman Become a channel member right here on YouTube for exclusive perks. One-time support: https://donate.stripe.com/cNifZhbybdL... This is a channel about Nietzsche, Plato, Jung, and the ideas that built the Western mind.

The Dark Mysticism Nietzsche Smuggled In | Birth of Tragedy Explained Part III

Nobody reads anymore. But lucky for you I like to read to people. This is Part 3 of my deep dive into The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche's first book and one of the strangest things he ever wrote. If you have ever wondered why a young classics professor got run out of his field for a book about Greek theater, this is where it gets good. We are talking Apollo and Dionysus. Order and chaos. Beauty and suffering. The two forces Nietzsche thought every great art and every great life is built on. You do not need to have read the book. You do not need to have watched Parts 1 and 2. Jump in here and I will catch you up. If you liked this, here is how to go deeper: Follow me on Substack: https://michaelkuhlman.substack.com Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/michaelkuhlman Subscribe for more content. And do me a favor. Drop a comment with what you think Nietzsche got right or wrong, and share this with one person who would actually watch it. That is how this channel grows.

Don't Fit In

The Joy of Religion

Enjoy this one, check out the substack or other podcasts thanks

June 2026 Update, Success, Jung, and Your Soul

95% of creative effort goes nowhere. I'm looking for that 5%. check out the youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelKuhlman check out the substack articles: https://substack.com/@michaelkuhlman

Evil Nietzsche - The Heel, The Hammer, The Viking | Birth of Tragedy Part II

Nobody reads anymore. But lucky for you I like to read to people. This is Part II of my Birth of Tragedy essay series on Substack. If you'd rather sit back and listen than read the essay on your phone, this one is for you. A few lines from the piece: "Nietzsche was actually a pretty decent guy in real life. But in his writing he constantly plays the heel." "First you hate him, then you laugh at him, then his work starts to click and you see his genius." "I read Nietzsche to discover what he means by 'evil'." "His bedridden, half-blind ass would have been a delicious Viking victim." "You must embrace the fact Nietzsche is, in a real sense, evil." "Strip the gold out, because there is some gold." We get into Nietzsche's method of constructing opponents just to destroy them, the villain origin story hiding inside his prose, the Viking thought experiment that exposes the whole project, and why you can still love the guy while calling him wrong. Read the written version on Substack: https://michaelkuhlman.substack.com/p/part-ii-evil-nietzsche-the-birth If this series is doing something for you, here are a few ways to keep it going: Become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/c/michaelkuhlman Or hit the Join button below this video to become a channel member. You get perks, I get to keep making this stuff. Drop a comment with your take on Evil Nietzsche. I read them. And please share to help the show grow.

The Birth of Tragedy - This Book Will Rewire Your Worldview, Part I | Nietzsche Deep Dive

Nobody reads anymore. But lucky for you I like to read to people. This is Part I of my Substack essay series on Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy - the book that quietly rewires how you see art, suffering, and the whole Western tradition. We start at the beginning. Why this book matters. Why Nietzsche came out swinging at twenty-something years old. And why two Greek gods you thought you understood are about to get a lot stranger. If you've ever felt like modern life is missing depth, this book explains why. Read the full essay on Substack and follow along as the series unfolds. Support the work: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/michaelkuhlman Tip jar: https://donate.stripe.com/cNibJ16dR8rs9jLgSb1gs05 YouTube channel membership available on the channel page If this resonates, leave a comment, share it with someone who reads, and subscribe so you don't miss Part II.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra Ep. 16 - The Final Descent | Nietzsche Deep Dive

Nobody reads anymore. But lucky for you I like to read to people. This is it - the finale. We close out Thus Spoke Zarathustra by walking through the last stretch of Part Four: the Last Supper with the Higher Men, the Ass Festival, the Drunken Song, and finally The Sign - the morning, the lion at the cave, and the going-under that's been coming since the Prologue. I read and we sit with what Nietzsche actually wrote - not the slogans, not the memes, not the bumper-sticker version. Sixteen episodes. One book. Thanks for reading along. Support the show: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/michaelkuhlman YouTube channel members get perks and early access - hit Join on the channel One-time tip via Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/cNifZhbybdLM0Nf6dx1gs06 If this series hit, drop a comment, share it with one person who'd actually listen, and tell me what landed hardest.

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