New Podcast Release: Slavoj Žižek

In the latest episode of Lives Well Lived, the podcast I co-host with Kasia de Lazari-Radek, we speak with philosopher, cultural critic, and provocative public intellectual Slavoj Žižek.

Slavoj is one of the most recognisable voices in contemporary philosophy, known for his engagement with Hegel, Marx, and Lacan, and for connecting them to everything from theology to pop culture. This episode discusses love, communism, Christian atheism, and the search for meaning in a fractured world.

We explore why Žižek calls love a “catastrophe worth endorsing,” how true intimacy requires embracing the unknowability of the other, and why objectification of your sex partner isn’t always a bad thing. He also explains what it means to be a “Christian atheist” and why he still sees value in the idea of communism, despite the failure of its 20^th century instantiations.

Žižek reflects on what it means to live a life well lived, how humour and dirty jokes can reveal deeper truths, and why his ideal vacation is one where he can quietly get back to work.

Below are some highlights from our conversation, edited for clarity. You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform.

On Love as Catastrophe

KASIA DE LAZARI RADEK: Slavoj, are you in love?

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: Yes. But being in love is a big problem, because I have a certain personal, yet also theoretical, position. What do you even mean by love?

Beware of regimes that justify themselves by evoking love for their leader. The moment they do this, you're lost. We're talking about personal love here. But even there, we may have already arrived at our first misunderstanding. Isn’t love, this fanatical mixture of sexual passion and something more, disruptive by nature?

Love disturbs the rhythm and logic of ordinary life. From a utilitarian standpoint, love is a catastrophe. I had friends who lived ordinary lives, meeting for drinks, maybe the occasional one-night stand. Then they fell in love, and the rhythm of life was ruined. They became worse at their jobs, obsessed, and distracted.

It’s a catastrophe, but I endorse it. I don’t believe in peaceful, ordinary life. I believe in this beautiful, permanent emergency state.

The true art of love is not the falling, but the staying. Noticing small annoyances and still staying. This is what I call the Christian “work of love”, organising everyday life together. It can be done, but it’s the true test.

And I don’t believe that even the most fanatical love should demand that you centre your entire life around your beloved. If someone told me, “I want to sacrifice everything for you,” I would despise them. Love includes vocation. If you are lucky enough to have found your vocation, your calling, you must not sacrifice it. That’s not authentic love.

On Objectification in Sexual Love

KASIA DE LAZARI RADEK: What binds us to others? What makes us go after one person and not another? If I understand you correctly, you’re talking about a lot of freedom in a relationship. So what binds us?

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: I’ll shock you. I was always monogamous. I’ve had very few partners and could never do casual sex. For me, being naked with another person is traumatic. I need at least two weeks of psychological preparation!

Second confession: I never understood what people mean when they say you shouldn’t objectify your partner. Sexual love is, in some sense, objective. I worry too much about satisfying the other person. I can’t focus on myself. When I was younger, I’d make love and then worry, did she enjoy it? Was she faking it? I would worry so much I’d lose the erection. Women would say to me, “Please, objectify me. Just use me. Don’t overthink it.”

PETER SINGER: I don’t think there’s anything intrinsically wrong with objectification—as long as it’s consensual and maximises mutual pleasure.

On Being a ‘Christian Atheist’

PETER SINGER: You’ve said you're an atheist, but also a Christian atheist. Isn’t that a contradiction?

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: People think I say this just to shock, but no, it’s very straightforward. For me, Christianity is the religion of the death of God.

What dies on the cross is not God’s representative, it’s God Himself. That’s the radical core. You’re left without the “big Other,” without transcendent guarantees. In its deepest form, Christianity says that appeals to some higher harmony or cosmic plan cannot justify suffering.

I’m opposed to the idea, common in both theology and Stalinism, that horror today can be justified retroactively as part of some greater good. Freud once debated a communist who said, “Yes, things are bad now in the USSR, but the future will be better.” Freud replied, “With the first part, I agree. With the second, I don’t.”

The Christian message is: no, suffering is irreducible. There is no higher justification. We are left to ourselves. The Holy Spirit, the love between people, is the only “second coming” there is. That’s Christian atheism.

On Why He’s Still a (Moderate) Communist

KASIA DE LAZARI RADEK: You’ve said you’re a communist. What does that mean today?

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: I call myself a moderately conservative communist. Let me explain. Lenin once wrote that climbing a mountain is like a revolution. Sometimes you must descend and find another path. We must do that now.

Even Friedrich Hayek, an enemy, saw something clearly: that society is not fully knowable or controllable. The dream of total transparency in Marxism is wrong. There’s always an element of unpredictability.

Also, I was never fascinated by “the event”, revolutions, masses in squares. What happens after? How do ordinary people feel six months later? That’s what matters.

I say this to horrify leftist friends: I believe in a good, efficient state bureaucracy. Controlled democratically, yes, but bureaucracy is vital.

Why call it communism? Because “socialism” has lost meaning. Every rich man gives a bit to charity and calls himself a socialist. We need stronger global cooperation on problems like climate, AI, and pandemics. And that requires mechanisms beyond the market.

During COVID, even Trump had to act non-capitalistically sending everyone $2,000 checks. That was a glimpse of what’s necessary.

On Living a Well-Lived Life

KASIA DE LAZARI RADEK: If not happiness, then what do you aim for in life?

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: I love your phrase, a life well lived. For some of us, we’re lucky, we get to do what we’re meant to do. That’s a kind of joy. But for others, meaning can come from care. My friend Hanif Kureishi, who is now paralysed, wrote about the NHS workers who care for him. They’re poorly paid. He asked them, “Why do you do this?” Many answered: “Because someone depends on me.”

That is morality. Not Stalinist sacrifice. Just simple, everyday care.

A well-lived life doesn’t require grand creativity. It could be a simple life, if it’s lived with conviction. For me, pleasure is a byproduct. If you aim for it directly, you miss it.

PETER SINGER: Fulfilment comes from vocation, not from chasing pleasure.

SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK: My idea of vacation is when I can work peacefully all day. That’s my joy.