theory underground

Throwback to when TU came out as unapologetically pro-lecture and kicked off the first year of TU with The Idea of the University course.

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4

1 hour ago | [YT] | 9

theory underground

I am excited about this for so many reasons.
To hear a few you can check this out:
https://youtu.be/miPPFsqTX0g?si=_9GG6...

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6

19 hours ago (edited) | [YT] | 15

theory underground

I drove fifteen hours over the last two days to hole up in a cabin in the woods. Why?
In the introduction to my first book, Waypoint, I gave myself five years to prepare for THIS book. I'm finally up against the deadline and couldn't be more excited or grateful that I get to do this. I got here last night at 7 PM. Unpacked, fed my puppy and cat, and fell asleep on the couch by 8:30 PM. I woke up at 3:30 AM and started writing. Haven't stopped except to send a few messages and make this post to say I will be more or less out of reach for 7 to 15 days. This is not just another book but specifically the one that I have been deliberately preparing to write for five years. So yeah, no pressure, right? 😅

6 days ago | [YT] | 66

theory underground

Happy anniversary! This video is 3 years old

6 days ago | [YT] | 9

theory underground

Good Afternoon and Evening Everyone, Today is TU's 3 year Anniversary. It's also my birthday.
When I launched TU on my birthday I did so as a strategy for signalling to the world that this project IS my life. I live it and breathe it. So how strange of a journey it has been.

It's been the best years of my life and I've lived more years in these three years than I had lived in my previous ten... if that makes any sense. With the whole wrapping myself up in it beyond the level of discernable identity boundaries, it's been like reverse parasociality on crack.

I'll be talking about this in my seminar today, as well as other lessons learned and some exciting stuff about the new era.

Come by, say hi. We'll be recording because it's for the internet (publishing it later today or tomorrow).

Join Link was shared to everyone who has signed up at the site, paying patrons on patreon, and paying substack users. It starts Today, in 15 minutes... at 1 PM Pacific Time (4 PM Eastern, 9 PM UK Time) Just thought I'd let you know haha

Hope to see you there,

Sincerely,

David McKerracher

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 42

theory underground

"I'm absolutely flabbergasted on so many levels about this thing..."

— Nick Land after hearing the finer details of the Amazon block of Theory Underground's Kirk anthology

1 week ago | [YT] | 7

theory underground

Theory Underground is not anti-theory or critique. Testifying to this fact are all of the courses McKerracher has carefully curated at TU for the last three years; or as is made clear in his Introduction to Critical Social Theory courses that were taught at Boise State University during the Fall ‘23 and Spring ‘24 semesters. Without theory we are not capable of getting distance from our most closely held presuppositions. That is why thinkers such as Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, Jaspers, Levinas, Lacan, Strauss, Arendt, Bataille, Illich, Derrida, Foucault, Bourdieu, Ehrenreich, Gorz, Postman, Gatto, Baudrillard, Žižek, and Land are considered canon at TU — as the Intro to Theory course at TU will demonstrate. Members of TU will have access to both The Philosophy of Stewardship and Household Economics and Intro to Theory, which happen concurrently throughout the year of 2026. So, while this seminar is not a critique of theory as inherently impractical, it is meant to balance things out a bit.

Skip the Carousel

1 2

1 week ago | [YT] | 16

theory underground

"Leftist" and "Rightist" are not exhausted by the explicit definitions given by these ideologies.
At a deeper level they signify /modes/ of attunement and habitus.
People who self identify as these categories who then want to get pedantic about and gatekeep these terms are not the final authorities — they are ideologues, for better or for worse. They likely have something to say that is worthy of consideration, but it should be taken with a a healthy serving of salt.

1 week ago | [YT] | 36

theory underground

Besides reading texts such as Xenophon's Oeconomicus, Wendell Berry's The Unsettling of America, Joel Salatin's Polyface Micro, and Christopher Lasch's Haven in a Heartless World there will also be some options to do a presentation, write a submission for our anthology on the topics of this course, or, and this is one I'm really excited about, to develop blueprints for your own house, garden, farm, or homestead. We will have special sessions with experienced builders and master gardeners who will help you go beyond the vision board and put your pencil to paper as you brainstorm the possible.

Skip the Carousel

1 2

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 20

theory underground

Setting goals for yourself? Looking to turn the page and usher in a whole new chapter? Do you seek to build better habits, relationships, and cultivate an environment that raises your morale, self-respect, and makes you more loveable and supportive of you loved ones? Then you will want to think deeply about the philosophy of stewardship and household economics. open.substack.com/pub/theoryunderground/p/the-phil…

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 18