I just watched Robert Eggers' new Nosferatu remake. So naturally I invited friend of the show, Nathan Patti, on to discuss the film. We talk about existentialism, psychoanalysis, and, as always, Paul Tillich.

Also, check out the newly released Patreon, where you can support what I'm doing here and my content on youtube: https://patreon.com/BYTEGEIST?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink

As many of you may already know, I also run an educational YouTube channel called BYTE-GEIST. As a special bonus episode this week, I'm uploading one of my recent video essays.

Monsters, especially when it comes to horror films, are never just monsters. Sure, they’re human creations, but what they reflect is anything but simple fantasy. Horror, as a genre, has always acted as an unsettling mirror to society’s deepest fears and insecurities. The shit that keeps us awake at night and makes our hearts skip a beat, all personified as imaginary beasts of every shape and size. Few films capture this dynamic as powerfully as F.W. Murnau’s 1922 masterpiece, Nosferatu. It’s not just a cheap vampire movie—it’s a haunting window into the spiritual and cultural anxieties of the German landscape immediately following World War I. So….what happens when a society collectively stares into the abyss? Let’s find out

After a brief Christmas break, the Pod Beyond Pod is back in action with J.L. Pearl from the War Machine podcast. In this episode, we discuss radical theology, continental philosophy, and the moral complexities of historical figures like John Brown.

This week Josh Patterson from the Rethinking Faith Podcast joins me to talk Tillich, Process Philosophy, and the Death of God!

Nathan Patti is back for round two of our series on the theme of suffering well. In this episode, we discuss the concept of grace and how on earth that could be helpful to living a good life.

This week, Dr. Ben Chicka returns to the Pod Beyond Pod to help me do a deep dive on Paul Tillich's fraught life in 1930's Germany, his life as a public intellectual in the United States, and how we can use his philosophy to navigate sociopolitical complexities in our own time.

This week we welcome back Nick Polk from the Tolkien Heads podcast to talk about his new book, Tolkien and Pop Culture, Paul Tillich, and how the Lord of the Rings teaches us to endure and overcome.

You can find Nick's work and links to his book here: https://tolkienpop.substack.com/

Has life got you down? Are you really going through it? Then tune in to a special edition of the pod beyond pod. Friend of the show Nathan Patti is back to chat about trauma, friendship, and the merits of learning to suffer well.

That said, Over the weekend, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and other parts of the Southeastern United States experienced severe flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene. The region has been absolutely devastated, with limited access in or out of the communities impacted. Many residents are cut off from all communication and are running low on food, gas, and clean water. The local healthcare infrastructure is on the brink of collapse, ordinary emergency services have been suspended or reduced, and most of the areas impacted have been without power for days with no clear signs as to when it will return again. Please consider donating to the American Red Cross NC, United Way of North Carolina, Operation Airdrop, or any other local non-profit or mutual aid organization serving the mountain communities most impacted.