Explore every episode of the podcast GrimdarkEnlightenment

In this Vox-cast, Inquisitor Kevin and I discuss “Why the far right is so obsessed with knights”, the Space Marine as a futuristic rendition of the chivalric knight, crusades, and the responsibilities of nobility.

Back in the HateShed for a 2+ hour marathon Vox-cast, we examine the Great War and its events, players, and lasting influences. From the decline of empire to the death of heroes and a world that never recovered its lost grandeur, we trace parallels to the events and characters of the Heresy, and the development of the 40k setting as a whole.

Back in the HateShed, the Commissariat and the Inquisition* examine the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, and how the attempt to satirize the setting always ends up reinforcing the same universal truths.

We break down the book and discuss:

* Satire that works, and when propaganda is actually good for you

* Immersion vs self insertion vs theory of mind

* Friend-enemy distinctions and existential stakes

* The sanctity of the human form and the benefit of pumping it full of super soldier chemicals

* Duels, honor culture, and the desirability of a worthy foe.

*Yes, we know Inquisitor DeAnna sounds like he’s speaking from the back of a cave. It’s called ambiance.

If you liked this episode and would like to see more, subscribe so you don’t miss a show!

The Commissariat and Inquisition join forces again, this time to discuss the Emperor as the eternal father figure, the role of paternal leadership, and whether Big E should’ve been soft-parenting reddit dad to prevent the Heresy.-The role of the father in the growth of sons

-The eternal nature-v-nurture debate

-Blood, genes, and destiny at the point of conception

-The changing form and role of the father for their aging children

-responsibility, duty, and answering the call to action

Back in the HateShed, we sat down to discuss faith and belief as it applies to the setting of 40k, our world, the strength it gives in both cases, and the inherent need humans have for structures of belief.

We’re back, now in technicolor and with buttery-smooth audio, to tell you how and why gaming culture fell to the forces of Chaos, and what we can do to reclaim it.

Back in the HateShed, Commissar Chud Hammer and Inquisitor Kevin cover the disastrous and disjointed lore and portrayal of the Space Wolves:

-SW fans are boob-nervous furries

-The disconnect between early lore and later portrayals

-Yet more reasons why the Heresy should never have been made explicit

-GW’s inability to portray European culture when genuinely attempting to do so vs their accidental reiteration of western canon when trying to avoid it

And more!

The Commissariat an Inquisition are back in the HateShed with another Vox transmission, this time discussing Dan Abnett’s newest book, The Hive. We cover:

-The plot, generally

-The illuminated life of an Imperial hive citizen, and why it is, in many ways, better than our world today

-How dissent, resentment, and ultimately corruption emerge in a society

-The role and fate of traitors

-Why are foids always Tyranid players, and how their ravenous uncontrolled simulacrums of children (‘nids) pair with their ravenous uncontrolled simulacrums of children (pitbulls)

And more!

We’re back in the vox-office of the HateShed, this time discussing all things inquisition:

-the place of the Ordos in Imperial society

-Sovereignty, who has it, and what it means

-the mantle of nobility being synonymous with the mantle of sacrifice

-Eisenhorn posting

-How much does the knowledge of corruption sway you? Is it inevitable to become corrupted yourself?

And more!

The Inquisition welcomes a special guest, Carl Benjamin aka Sargon of Akkad, to discuss the changing landscape of the setting and the suspected reasons why. Can a franchise survive passing the torch? Can Gee Dubs actually make the Imperium seem villainous, or do their efforts only make them (us) look even cooler? Why does this setting mean so much? And a lot more!

The High Lords of Terra convene to discuss the new 11th edition trailer and its implications, signaling significant changes to their (for now) official lore:

-Big E confirmed as a deity, fighting other gods in the Warp.

-The origin and power of deities, in this world and ours

-The development of the greater myth and how it brings meaning to individual sacrifice

-The begrudging and (unconscious) inclusion of folk soul in the developing 40k mythos

and a lot more!

The Commissariat and Inquisition team up again to discuss the quintessentially Anglo roots and origins of 40k, the influence on the development of the lore, setting, and story. What values bled through the psyche of the dispossessed English writers? Why did they create a world that Britain should've made?

The Inquisition and Commissariat assemble once more, this time to discuss the Lore Question; does it matter, why, and how much? What sets 40k apart from other IP’s?

-Story vs Myth vs Narrative

-GW hates their fans (again)

-What it means to be an IP company and what that means to us

-Why AoS is garbage

And more!

The boys are back (finally), just in time for a meta discussion on chaos. We cover:

-The origins of Chaos, including its intent

-why Mikey Moorcock is dumb and wrong

-stealing saintly relics via the holy prison wallet

-why purpose is a greater antidote than order

-feudalism vs fascism in the Imperium

-the duty to protect innocence

and more!

We’re back, this time recording from the Terrorshack, staying topical as we cover:

-Adepticon news, 11th edition, new models, new rules speculation etc

-replacing good characters (men) with new bad characters (foids)

-incompetence, malice, stupidity, or spite? A GW question

-The end times might be ending again?

And a lot more!

Inquisitor Kevin and I discuss the most recent humiliation ritual GW has performed upon itself: the shelving of the Armageddon Steel Legion… on Armageddon. We cover:

-The longstanding lore and tabletop rules of IG regiments being uniquely meaningful

-Humans as the principle bulwark of the Imperium

-The continued consequences of Marvelizing the setting

-The loss of the old/midhammer culture of creativity, DIY, and the true nature of the hobby

-Why this keeps happening; spite, ineptitude, or apathy?

-And more!

In today’s show, Inquisitor Kevin and I discuss:

-The role of the gang in social orders and as a necessity in patriarchal culture

-The nature of loyalty, to one’s brothers, one’s leaders, and ideals, and when each go wrong

-Hives, gangs, and recruitment from within

-Who rules, how, and by what right

-Rants, diatribes, and crass humor generally

Inquisitor @VDAREJamesK and I discuss, primarily, the Primaris, including:

-How “progress” destroys the setting

-The nature of a stagnant society and its opportunity for heroism

-Retconé Guilliman and Belisarius Lols

-The death of consequence in a setting defined by consequences

-And More!

Back after our brief unscheduled interruption, Kevin and I are back in the HateShed, this time to discuss:

-Big E, his depiction in early vs late works-The trouble with portraying mythic characters-Power, it’s use, and why western culture avoids it thematically-Women generally, abortions specifically-And more!

A couple days late, but Inquisitor DeAnna and Commissar Chud Hammer are back and here to cover:

The Warrior Lodges, their role in the Heresy, their role in life, the fraternal nature of man, and the power of ritual

Man as the natural romantics, while foids are the ultimate pragmatists

The corrupting nature of tolerance

Mild to severe Japan and WW2 posting

In this episode, we approach the idea of myth, discussing

-what is a creation myth/its role in a civilization

-positive vs negative mythos

-making the implicit lore explicit in 40K

-is our fantasy creation myth better than reality (yes).

-single mom caused the Heresy

-Do your curls and I might give you stuff

-Coping over plastic FemStodes

-federal grants for bullying (early and often!)

-Star Trek (never watched) goes from space liberalism to gay race communism

-HEMA vs. medieval lesbians

- the Primarchs' Return Monkey's Paw

We join Paul Waggener of Operation Werewolf (plus a million other projects) fame/infamy on his show Call Sign: WEREWOLF for an impromptu show, after lifting a stupendous amount of weights and waging war on the nearby IHOP. In this long for him/short for us crossover show, we discus topics ranging from:

-The spirit of 40k

-The reality of a politicized world on our hobbies and subcultures

-Why the things we like are cool, why the things we don’t like are bad

-Power, power fantasy, and power realities.

-More brainiac s**t since we weren’t drinking

You can find Paul’s great short form podcasts here, along with much of his other work

We attempt to boomer our way through streaming the announcement show. it goes as expected.

Femstodes (we were right again).

space pirates.

the gutter trough that is age of Sigmar.

some points were made, mostly we attack each other and ourselves

-Upcoming 40K reveal show: Femstodes as the 11th edition launch faction?

-The Monkey’s Paw situation that is official 40K media

-Is Cavill cool despite being a thespian?

-how and why must the galaxy be under human dominion instead of the Astartes

-Pro-humanist, wholesome, hope and hero posting

*EDIT

There was a goddamn metronome playing the entire first audio file, salute to anyone who actually suffered through that. It’s been corrected

- G-dubs abandoning the hobby scene to be an IP only company

- Chuds own the hobby

- Age of Shitmar Poasting

- Books-R-Gay reading club, feat. Ashes of the Imperium

-Twisted Tea

- The Atlantic crashes out over Elon Musk liking Dungeons & Dragons,

- We Wuz Space Wolves

- The +3 Sword of Jeetslaying

- The Intergalactic Longhouse

- The Battle for Art.

(Brought to you by Twisted Tea Extreme).

-I forced Kevin to actually read the show prep (live)

-Troon models from Troon writers for Troon consoomers

-The Gellar Field fails

-We examine the latest burnt offering onto the slop-heap altar of wargaming.

*EDIT: weird audio issue fixed!

-Did the Horus Heresy series kill the spirit of Warhammer 40K

-Turning the tragic setting focused on decline into another iteration of Marvelization and capeshit.

-What GW did to Warhammer Fantasy...

Grimdark Enlightenment Episode 2

Grimdark Enlightenment Episode 1