In this interview with Dr. Adrian Johnston, we discuss Johnston’s history engaging with the work of Slavoj Zizek, stemming from the 1990s up to Zizek’s rise to fame as a public intellectual after 9/11. We then discuss some of the major themes that provoked and motivated Johnston’s writings, including the risks of engaging deeply with a living figure/active thinker, some of the major differences and disagreements between Johnston and Zizek, as well as paths forward in the years to come.