Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Philosophical inquiry into epistemology, metaphysics, and moral realism • Academic culture, grading, humanities, expertise • Free speech, censorship, activism, identity politics, gender debates • Politics, liberalism, democracy, Marxism • Pop-culture criticism (comics, Marvel, Star Trek)
This podcast is a long-form philosophy conversation series in which the hosts and guests use current controversies, institutional questions, and popular culture as entry points into classic philosophical problems. Across episodes, the discussions frequently return to how we justify beliefs, what counts as knowledge, and how language, perspective, and experience shape what people take to be true. Listeners can expect sustained engagement with metaphysics and philosophy of mind—questions about what kinds of things exist, what “persons” are, how to think about minds and consciousness, and how (or whether) philosophical theorizing should track common sense and scientific explanation.
A major throughline is the relationship between philosophy as an academic discipline and philosophy as a public-facing or humanistic practice. The show repeatedly examines professional norms, expertise, and the incentives created by universities, elite status, publishing, and social media. It also explores whether philosophy is serving the public well, whether celebrity culture and institutional gatekeeping distort inquiry, and how activism and ideological conflict affect scholarship, teaching, and intellectual freedom.
Political and moral philosophy topics are often framed through contemporary disputes about liberalism, free speech, censorship by non-state actors, academic freedom, polarization, and democratic decision-making. Several conversations focus on how public discourse breaks down, how institutions respond to online campaigns, and what principles (such as the harm principle) should guide speech norms and social regulation. Related episodes address moral obligation, charity, and the “morality everywhere” tendency to treat ordinary life as subject to constant ethical scrutiny.
Another recurring cluster of discussions centers on sex, gender, feminism, and the politics surrounding trans issues, treated both as philosophical questions (about categories, natural kinds, language, and competing rights claims) and as case studies in professional and social conflict.
Interspersed with these are analytically minded discussions of art and entertainment—superhero films, science fiction, filmmaking effects, comics, and even professional wrestling—used to examine narrative, aesthetics, representation, and cultural change. The podcast occasionally brings philosophical tools to bear on applied topics such as education policy (grading, schooling, signaling) and public decision-making under uncertainty (epidemiological modeling and pandemic policy).
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Episodes:
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Questioning the Practice of Grading in Schools (Robert Gressis & Kevin Currie-Knight)
2021-Feb-18
60 minutes
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Free Speech and Academic Freedom in 2020 (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2021-Feb-10
60 minutes
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The Cultural Contradictions of Conservatism (Daniel Kaufman & Kevin Currie-Knight)
2021-Jan-04
60 minutes
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Is Philosophy of Religion Still Necessary? (Daniel Kaufman & Megan Fritts)
2020-Dec-23
60 minutes
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The Decline of Great Philosophers (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis)
2020-Dec-21
60 minutes
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How to Make a Comic Book (Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson)
2020-Dec-14
60 minutes
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Justifying Our Beliefs (Daniel Kaufman & Joshua Rasmussen)
2020-Dec-09
60 minutes
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Lesser Evils (Daniel Kaufman & Kevin Currie-Knight)
2020-Nov-19
60 minutes
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Debating Standpoint Theory (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2020-Nov-06
60 minutes
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Who Is Entitled? (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis)
2020-Oct-07
60 minutes
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The Microfoundations of Marxism (Robert Gressis & Jaime Edwards)
2020-Sep-22
60 minutes
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Persons, Minds, and Thingy Things (Daniel Kaufman & Joshua Rasmussen)
2020-Sep-15
60 minutes
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The Past and Future of Marvel Movies (Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson)
2020-Sep-03
60 minutes
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Prolegomena: Ontological Commitments (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2020-Aug-18
60 minutes
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The Lacanian Principle of Special Effects (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2020-Aug-10
60 minutes
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The Tyranny of Opinion (Daniel Kaufman & Russell Blackford)
2020-Jul-26
60 minutes
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Prolegomena: What Are Persons? (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2020-Jul-13
60 minutes
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Philosophy and Professional Wrestling (Robert Gressis & Douglas Edwards)
2020-Jul-06
60 minutes
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Objectivity and Realism (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2020-Jun-14
60 minutes
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To Boldly Go (Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson)
2020-Jun-05
60 minutes
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Prolegomena for a Pluralist Metaphysics (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2020-May-20
60 minutes
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Gender Critical (Daniel Kaufman & Jesse Singal)
2020-May-11
60 minutes
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Epidemiological Modeling, Policy, and Covid-19 (Daniel Kaufman, Eric Winsberg, and John Symons)
2020-Apr-24
60 minutes
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Consciousness, Panpsychism, and Illusionism (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2020-Apr-10
60 minutes
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Overdoing Democracy (Daniel Kaufman & Robert B. Talisse)
2020-Mar-31
60 minutes
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Gender Trouble (Daniel Kaufman & Helen Joyce)
2020-Mar-07
60 minutes
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Is Pansexuality Obligatory? (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis)
2020-Feb-24
60 minutes
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"Uncut Gems" and "Dolemite Is My Name" (Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson)
2020-Feb-18
60 minutes
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Debating Moral Realism (Daniel Kaufman & Spencer Case)
2020-Feb-08
60 minutes
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Philosophy and the City (Daniel Kaufman & Joseph Biehl)
2019-Dec-28
60 minutes
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What Is Philosophy For? (Daniel Kaufman & Spencer Case)
2019-Dec-17
60 minutes
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Are Philosophers Experts? (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2019-Dec-05
60 minutes
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On Social Censorship (David Ottlinger & J.P. Messina)
2019-Nov-23
60 minutes
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The Problem with Everything (Daniel Kaufman & Meghan Daum)
2019-Nov-11
60 minutes
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Is Wittgenstein Overrated? (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2019-Oct-23
60 minutes
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Natural Kinds (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2019-Oct-01
60 minutes
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The Ethics of Boycotts (David Ottlinger & Carson Young)
2019-Sep-25
60 minutes
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Activism and Philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2019-Sep-16
60 minutes
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Postmodernism in Life and Literature (Daniel Kaufman & E. John Winner)
2019-Sep-03
60 minutes
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Western Philosophy as White Supremacism (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2019-Aug-09
60 minutes
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The Great Disintegration (Daniel Kaufman & Oliver Burkeman)
2019-Jul-25
60 minutes
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"Stranger Things" and Generation X (Daniel Kaufman & Milton Lawson)
2019-Jul-18
60 minutes
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Gender Noncomformity and Feminism (Daniel Kaufman & Jane Clare Jones)
2019-Jul-08
60 minutes
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Should the Humanities Strike? (Daniel Kaufman & Nathan Eckstrand)
2019-Jun-29
60 minutes
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Morality's Limit (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis)
2019-Jun-18
60 minutes
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Is Philosophy OK? (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Gressis)
2019-May-30
60 minutes
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Realism, Anti-Realism and "Rabbity Moments" (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2019-May-07
60 minutes
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Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2019-Apr-11
60 minutes
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The Truth about "Truth" (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2019-Feb-12
60 minutes
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Identitarianism in Academic Philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & Oliver Traldi)
2019-Jan-19
60 minutes
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Is Punk Dead? (Daniel Kaufman & E. John Winner)
2018-Dec-31
60 minutes
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What Is Action? (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2018-Dec-06
60 minutes
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Gun Control and the Social Contract (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2018-Nov-09
60 minutes
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The Aesthetics of Politics (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2018-Sep-26
60 minutes
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On the Profession of Philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & Justin Weinberg)
2018-Aug-15
60 minutes
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Has Marxism lost its way? (Daniel Kaufman & Brian Leiter)
2018-Aug-01
60 minutes
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Ontology and Materialism (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2018-Jun-27
60 minutes
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Thoughts on Sex and Gender (Daniel Kaufman & Richard Thompson)
2018-May-24
60 minutes
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America's Children: Our Treasure, Our Target (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2018-Apr-26
60 minutes
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Why Michelangelo sucks (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2018-Mar-02
60 minutes
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Philistinism and philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & Daniel Tippens)
2018-Feb-23
60 minutes
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Eudaimonia, Stoicism, and "the good life" (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2018-Jan-05
60 minutes
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A Multicultural Manifesto (Daniel Kaufman & Bryan Van Norden)
2017-Dec-12
60 minutes
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What art is (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2017-Nov-01
60 minutes
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The scope of morality (Daniel Kaufman & Daniel Tippens)
2017-Oct-10
60 minutes
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Does "the self" exist? (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Wright)
2017-Aug-01
60 minutes
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ENTANGLEMENTS, PART 2 (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2017-Jul-21
60 minutes
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Entanglements, Part 1 (Daniel Kaufman & Crispin Sartwell)
2017-Jul-16
60 minutes
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The Evolution of TV Shows (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2017-Jun-25
60 minutes
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“Purpose” in science & morality (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2017-Jun-06
60 minutes
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How to Be a Stoic (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2017-May-15
60 minutes
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Existentialism & Stoicism: compare & contrast (Daniel Kaufman, Massimo Pigliucci, & Skye Cleary)
2017-Apr-05
60 minutes
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The Scientific Image of Man (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2017-Mar-26
60 minutes
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Can evolution explain ethics? (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2017-Feb-06
60 minutes
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Classical Liberalism, Part 2 (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2017-Jan-24
60 minutes
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Classical liberalism, part 1 (Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2017-Jan-18
60 minutes
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Ancient vs. modern philosophy (Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-Dec-06
60 minutes
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David Hume on reason and feelings (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Wright)
2016-Oct-31
60 minutes
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The Skepticism of David Hume (Daniel Kaufman & Robert Wright)
2016-Oct-24
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-Sep-19
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & David Ottlinger)
2016-Aug-28
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-Aug-15
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-Jul-04
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-May-31
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-May-01
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Daniel Tippens)
2016-Mar-25
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2016-Feb-13
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Robert Wright)
2016-Feb-12
60 minutes
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(Massimo Pigliucci & Daniel Fincke)
2016-Feb-02
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Barbara Block)
2016-Jan-11
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2015-Nov-28
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Leslie Baynes)
2015-Nov-17
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Daniel Tippens)
2015-Oct-31
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2015-Oct-03
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Glenn Loury)
2015-Sep-18
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2015-Aug-28
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Ian Ground)
2015-Aug-14
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2015-Aug-04
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2015-Jul-11
60 minutes
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(Daniel Kaufman & Massimo Pigliucci)
2014-Nov-01
60 minutes
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