Cracking into the first two parts of Dostoevsky's 1866 classic Crime and Punishment.

The first surprising thing is that this is a conservative/reactionary book: it mocks the fancy new ideas of the youth, the spirit of revolution, naive utilitarianism, etc. Jordan Peterson laps this shit up. But did the moral panic over materialism hold up? Does modern society in any way compare with the turmoil of Dostoevsky's Russia, or are we at the end of history? How relevant are Dostoevsky's concerns today?

We argue quite a bit about that but we're more aligned on the brilliance of Dostoevsky as psychologist, and especially the character of Rodya 'mister schiz' Raskolnikov: what causes his mind to fracture so spectacularly? What motivates him to do the deed? why does Rich kinda relate to him?

plus a masterclass on freestyle rap. and much more

CHAPTERS

• (00:00:00) opening rap
• (00:04:23) history class with professor chugg
• (00:12:13) Part 1 summary and reactions
• (00:23:25) what motivates Rodya ’ mister schizo’ Raskolnikov?
• (00:28:50) Dosto subtweets bentham and SBF
• (00:40:46) Part 2 summary
• (00:52:00) Parallels between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov
• (00:56:08) Rodya’s amorality
• (01:05:02) Arguing whether we live in tumultuous times comparable to Dosto’s era
• (01:14:05) Moral panic over materialism
• (01:21:45) Rodya’s altruism

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS:

We wanna start reading listener feedback out on the pod, so send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our bad takes or share your own.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

Crime and Punishment - parts 3 and 4, then parts 5 and 6

Candide, by Voltaire