Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
A seasonal podcast that brings the ideas and tools of philosophy to everyone. Featuring interviews with professional philosophers, personal stories, and lots of fun thought experiments. We'll start with about 5 episodes per season.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Accessible philosophy interviews, stories, thought experiments • Political philosophy: liberalism, Rawls, ideal theory, disobedience • Ethics: animals/food, trolley problem, cost-benefit • Personal identity, consciousness, ghosts • Economics, technology, urban life, climate activism • Audio readings, philosophical fictionThis podcast presents philosophy for a general audience through a mix of interviews with professional philosophers, narrated explorations, personal reflections, and recurring “monad” short episodes that are lighter in production. Across its seasons and bonus formats, it uses thought experiments and carefully framed questions to introduce both classic philosophical problems and contemporary debates, often connecting abstract ideas to everyday life, politics, and public controversies.
A major thread is moral and political philosophy. Discussions examine justice and liberalism, including Rawlsian reasoning and critiques of ideal theory, and extend to practical questions about civil disobedience, climate protest, technocracy, and the ethics of religious exemptions. Economic and social issues also feature, with episodes that probe how markets and money work, critique capitalism, and consider alternative arrangements such as cooperatives. The show also engages with ethically charged topics involving animals—food practices, welfare, experimentation, captivity, and legal status—alongside broader questions about how institutions and policy assess and compare the value of human lives.
Another recurring focus is personal identity and the self, approached through classic puzzles like the Ship of Theseus and transporter-style cases, as well as wider questions about how people understand identity in social and political contexts. The podcast also visits philosophy of mind and perception through scenarios like the inverted spectrum, and explores metaphysical and religious themes via arguments from historical figures and traditions, including Aristotle’s reasoning about a prime mover, Plato-inspired arguments, and the medieval Islamic “floating person” thought experiment.
In addition to discussion-based episodes, this podcast sometimes includes philosophical fiction and audio renditions of philosophical texts and academic work, offering listeners alternative ways to engage philosophical ideas beyond standard interviews. Content advisories occasionally apply, as some episodes address disturbing subject matter or include strong language.
