Park Bench Ontology

They told us fantasy games were dangerous, but reality was the real cult.

In Episode 8, Gavin looks at how the Satanic Panic became a rehearsal for today’s culture wars — a simulation of evil that kept us from noticing the system running the show.

Featuring dark humor, theory, and a touch of absurdism, this episode dives into the spectacle of fear, nostalgia, and control that defines our era.

Park Bench Ontology — “Simulation / Spectacle: The Real Satanic Panic.”

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

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This week, Gavin looks at necropolitics — the philosophy of who gets to live, who’s left to die, and how power hides behind empathy.

From Charlie Kirk’s empathy shaming to the way immigrants, women, and Black people are turned into election-season mascots, Park Bench Ontology cuts through the moral theater of politics with dark humor and existential clarity.

💀 Necropolitics: Living Isn’t the Point Anymore — a comedy of collapse for anyone trying to stay human under capitalism.

#PhilosophyPodcast #ComedyPodcast #Necropolitics #BlackAbsurdism #PoliticalPhilosophy #ExistentialComedy #LoFiPhilosophy #CriticalTheory #MarkFisher #PoliticalSatire

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

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Everyone loves to talk about “freedom” — but what kind?

The freedom we’re sold isn’t liberation; it’s consumption. It’s “freedom” as brand — the right to choose between identical prisons.

In this episode of Park Bench Ontology, I talk about how control got cute — how social media, the market, and even self-help language turned freedom into obedience.

Because under capitalism, the illusion of choice is the control.

Originally uploaded as ‘Necropolitics.’ Correct title: Freedom From Freedom.

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🌐 Website: https://gavinstephens.ca

📼 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@parkbenchontology

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🐦 Bluesky/Twitter: @gavinbstephens.substack.com

🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://pod.link/uncolonized

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

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In this episode of Park Bench Ontology, Gavin dives into the strange world of psychopolitics — where control doesn’t come from force anymore, it comes from vibes. From influencer culture to “mental health awareness” campaigns, the systems of power learned how to smile while keeping you compliant.

Why are we all marketing ourselves while pretending it’s freedom? How did surveillance turn into self-expression? And why does every form of rebellion now come with a brand kit?

This episode explores how capitalism evolved past discipline into dopamine — how control got cute, and why that’s the scariest form of power yet.

🎧 Listen if you’ve ever felt like even your thoughts are trying to sell you something.

#Psychopolitics #ParkBenchOntology #CapitalistRealism #ByungChulHan #SurveillanceCulture #DigitalControl #AfroAbsurdism #ComedyPodcast #ExistentialComedy #CriticalTheory #MediaTheory #LoFiOntology #PhilosophyPodcast #CulturalCritique

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

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The future isn’t coming — it’s being rewritten. In Episode 4 of Park Bench Ontology: Hauntology, I explore how capitalism erases anything that doesn’t produce value, from WWE’s most absurd gimmicks to the mistakes that make life human. We also unpack how older generations insist theirs was the “best era,” when really culture just keeps repeating itself — sanitized, packaged, and sold back to us.

Listen & Subscribe: https://pod.link/uncolonized

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ParkBenchOntology

🎙 Park Bench Ontology — existential comedy for the end of the world.

🔗 Follow & Support: