Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
What is Philosophy? Why should we bother with it? Sit down with Danny and Dr. Mike in the comfort of their local pub, as they grapple with the big ideas in a unique and accessible way! Dive into our archive of earlier episodes here: https://castbox.fm/channel/id3766780?country=gb Send us an email: [email protected] Check out our article about the podcast here! Get into Mike and Danny's heads for free! https://blog.apaonline.org/2018/10/03/the-philosophy-wtf-podcast-philosophy-outside-academia/Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Accessible pub-style philosophy • personal identity, selfhood, persistence over time • memory’s role in who we are • ageing and leisure • free will, determinism, morality, genetics • existentialism, meaning, authenticity • AI, ChatGPT, social media, creativityThis podcast presents informal, pub-style conversations in which two hosts explore philosophical questions in an accessible, often humorous way. Across the episodes, the discussions repeatedly return to issues of personal identity and what it means to be a self over time. Listeners can expect extended reflections on how memory relates to continuity, whether a person “persists” as the same individual despite change, and how ageing affects our understanding of who we are.
Another major thread is human freedom and its limits. The hosts examine classic debates about free will and determinism, considering influences such as biology, psychology, social pressures, and shifting moral norms. These conversations connect abstract problems to everyday examples—choices, habits, speech, and responsibility—while also questioning what it would mean for actions to be genuinely autonomous.
Contemporary technology is a frequent point of contact for these themes, especially artificial intelligence. The podcast uses ideas like the Turing Test and the Chinese Room to ask what counts as intelligence or understanding, and it considers the social and creative implications of AI systems and platform control. Identity in the context of digital life also appears, including how people present themselves online.
Alongside these topics, the show engages existentialist concerns about meaning, authenticity, despair, and the “absurd,” drawing on well-known thinkers and cultural reference points such as film and science fiction. Occasional conversational interviews broaden the focus to culture, place, and national or communal identity, reinforcing the show’s emphasis on philosophy as something connected to ordinary life rather than confined to academia.
