Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Public philosophy discussions • metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy • Plato, Aristotle, idealism, postmodernism • suffering, charity, animal rights • consciousness, sensation, memory, personhood • technology, AI • love, friendship, music • education, grading, teaching
This podcast is a public-facing philosophy show hosted by two professors who aim to bring academic-style philosophical discussion into everyday life. Across the episodes, the hosts typically take a single big concept—often framed as a “What is…?” question—and work through it in a multi-part conversation that mixes conceptual analysis with practical implications.
A recurring emphasis is on foundational issues in metaphysics and epistemology: what counts as real, how we know what we know, and how abstract entities like universals, forms, or “ideas” relate to particular things in the world. Several discussions draw on canonical figures from ancient philosophy, especially Plato and Aristotle, to explore topics like forms, matter, knowledge, and the structure of reality. The show also frequently examines interpretive questions about meaning and understanding, including how we relate to texts, symbols, language, and context.
Another major thread is moral and political philosophy. The hosts discuss obligations to others (including global aid and charity), the ethics of violence and state power, questions about politics and war, and debates about suffering that extend to non-human animals and the moral significance of animal experience. These ethical discussions are often tied to contemporary life, asking what philosophical positions imply for choices and institutions.
The podcast also ranges into philosophy of mind and personhood, exploring consciousness, sensation, memory, identity, and what it means to be a person—sometimes using unusual cases (like animal consciousness or altered sensory experience) to test assumptions. Aesthetics and everyday human relationships also appear as topics, with conversations about the nature of music, love, and friendship. Education is treated philosophically as well, including what learning and teaching are and what grades represent.
Occasionally, the feed includes brief updates about scheduling, but the main content centers on extended, question-driven philosophical inquiry.
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Episodes:
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Summer Hiatus Update
2024-Jul-20
less than a minute
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Ep. 119: How Do We Minimize Suffering? (Part II)
2024-Jul-02
58 minutes
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Ep. 118: How Do We Minimize Suffering? (Part I)
2024-Jun-20
58 minutes
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Ep. 117: Ancient Metaphysics (Part II)
2024-Jun-04
51 minutes
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Ep. 116: Ancient Metaphysics (Part I)
2024-May-22
50 minutes
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Ep. 115: Tradition vs. Novelty (Part II)
2024-May-07
64 minutes
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Ep. 114: Tradition Vs. Novelty (Part I)
2024-Apr-23
63 minutes
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Delay Update
2024-Mar-27
1 minute
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Ep. 113: What is Postmodernism? (Part II)
2024-Mar-05
59 minutes
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Ep. 112: What is Postmodernism? (Part I)
2024-Feb-20
61 minutes
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Ep. 111: What is NOT Philosophy? (Part II)
2024-Feb-06
52 minutes
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Ep. 110: What is NOT Philosophy? (Part I)
2024-Jan-23
55 minutes
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Ep. 109: What is Atheism? (Part II)
2024-Jan-09
63 minutes
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Ep. 108: What is Atheism? (Part I)
2023-Dec-12
54 minutes
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Ep. 107: What is Music? (Part II)
2023-Nov-22
89 minutes
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Ep. 106: What is Music? (Part I)
2023-Nov-07
57 minutes
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Ep. 105: What is (Metaphysical) Idealism? (Part II)
2023-Oct-26
50 minutes
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Ep. 104: What is (Metaphysical) Idealism? (Part I)
2023-Oct-10
51 minutes
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Ep. 103: What is it like to Be an Octopus? (Part II)
2023-Sep-26
57 minutes
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Ep. 102: What is it Like to Be an Octopus? (Part I)
2023-Sep-12
56 minutes
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Ep. 101: What is Love? (Part II)
2023-Aug-15
72 minutes
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Ep. 100: Audience Q & A
2023-Aug-01
89 minutes
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Ep. 99: What is Love? (Part I)
2023-Jul-18
68 minutes
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Ep. 98: What is Friendship? (Part II)
2023-Jul-06
52 minutes
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Ep. 97: What is Friendship? (Part I)
2023-Jun-20
72 minutes
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Ep. 96: How Do We Understand Things? (Part II)
2023-Jun-06
72 minutes
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Ep. 95: How Do We Understand Things? (Part I)
2023-May-23
63 minutes
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Ep. 94: What is Artificial Intelligence? feat. ChatGPT (Part II)
2023-May-09
73 minutes
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Ep. 93: What is Artificial Intelligence? feat. ChatGPT (Part I)
2023-Apr-25
51 minutes
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Ep. 92: The Ethics of Violence (Part II)
2023-Apr-11
43 minutes
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Ep. 91: The Ethics of Violence (Part I)
2023-Mar-28
46 minutes
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Ep. 90: The Theory of Forms (Part II)
2023-Mar-15
47 minutes
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Ep. 89: The Theory of Forms (Part I)
2023-Feb-28
53 minutes
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Ep. 88: What Is Human Nature? (Part II)
2023-Feb-14
59 minutes
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Ep. 87: What Is Human Nature? (Part I)
2023-Jan-31
58 minutes
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Ep. 86: What Are Grades? (Part II)
2023-Jan-19
70 minutes
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Ep. 85: What Are Grades? (Part I)
2023-Jan-03
57 minutes
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Ep. 84: Politics and War (Part II)
2022-Dec-20
69 minutes
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Ep. 83: Politics and War (Part I)
2022-Dec-08
63 minutes
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Ep. 82: What is Technology? (Part II)
2022-Nov-22
67 minutes
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Ep. 81: What is Technology? (Part I)
2022-Nov-08
60 minutes
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Ep. 80: What is Personhood? (Part II)
2022-Oct-25
66 minutes
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Ep. 79: What is Personhood? (Part I)
2022-Oct-11
61 minutes
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Ep. 78: On Learning and Teaching (Part II)
2022-Sep-27
62 minutes
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Ep. 77: On Learning and Teaching (Part I)
2022-Sep-13
58 minutes
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Ep. 76: What is Sensation? (Part II)
2022-Aug-30
65 minutes
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Ep. 75: What is Sensation? (Part I)
2022-Aug-16
60 minutes
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Ep. 74: What is Memory? (Part II)
2022-Aug-03
44 minutes
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Ep. 73: What is Memory? (Part I)
2022-Jul-19
54 minutes
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Ep. 72: Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy (Part II)
2022-Jul-05
64 minutes
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Ep. 71: Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy (Part I)
2022-Jun-21
61 minutes
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Ep. 70: What is a Paradox? (Part II)
2022-Jun-07
63 minutes
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Ep. 69: What is a Paradox? (Part I)
2022-May-24
56 minutes
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Ep. 68: What is Disagreement? (Part II)
2022-May-10
49 minutes
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Ep. 67: What is Disagreement? (Part I)
2022-Apr-26
46 minutes
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Ep. 66: Are We Born With Innate Ideas? (Part II)
2022-Apr-12
44 minutes
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Ep. 65: Are We Born With Innate Ideas? (Part I)
2022-Mar-29
47 minutes
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Ep. 64: Control, Desire, and Attachment (Part II)
2022-Mar-15
43 minutes
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Ep. 63: Control, Desire, and Attachment (Part I)
2022-Mar-01
38 minutes
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Ep. 62: What is History? ft. Gene Nassar, Ph.D. (Part II)
2022-Feb-15
58 minutes
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Ep. 61: What is History? ft. Gene Nasser, Ph.D. (Part I)
2022-Feb-02
52 minutes
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Ep. 60: What is Property? (Part II)
2022-Jan-18
67 minutes
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Ep. 59: What is Property? (Part I)
2022-Jan-04
56 minutes
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Ep. 58: Holiday Special - What is a Holiday? ft. Claire Celi and Sal Mignano
2021-Dec-21
110 minutes
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Ep. 57: What is Philosophy? (Part II)
2021-Dec-07
50 minutes
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Ep. 56: What is Philosophy? (Part I)
2021-Nov-23
57 minutes
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Ep. 55: Language, Thought, and Reality (Part II)
2021-Nov-09
55 minutes
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Ep. 54: Language, Thought, and Reality (Part I)
2021-Oct-26
48 minutes
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Ep. 53: What is Phenomenology? (Part II)
2021-Oct-12
63 minutes
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Ep. 52: What is Phenomenology? (Part I)
2021-Sep-28
54 minutes
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Ep. 51: What is Propaganda? ft. Claire Celi, M.A. (Part II)
2021-Sep-14
58 minutes
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Ep. 50: Audience Q & A
2021-Aug-31
66 minutes
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Ep. 49: What is Propaganda? ft. Claire Celi, M.A. (Part I)
2021-Aug-17
46 minutes
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Ep. 48: What is Beauty? (Part II)
2021-Aug-03
57 minutes
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Ep. 47: What is Beauty? (Part I)
2021-Jul-20
56 minutes
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Ep. 46: What is Conversation? (Part II)
2021-Jul-06
47 minutes
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Ep. 45: What is Conversation? (Part I)
2021-Jun-22
44 minutes
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Ep. 44: Objectivity and Subjectivity (Part II)
2021-Jun-08
57 minutes
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Ep. 43: Objectivity and Subjectivity (Part I)
2021-May-25
53 minutes
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Ep. 42: Presocratic Metaphysics (Part II)
2021-May-11
55 minutes
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Ep. 41: Presocratic Metaphysics (Part I)
2021-Apr-27
50 minutes
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Ep. 40: What is Critical Thinking? (Part II)
2021-Apr-13
56 minutes
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Ep. 39: What is Critical Thinking? (Part I)
2021-Mar-30
52 minutes
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Ep. 38: What is the Good Life? (Part II)
2021-Mar-16
49 minutes
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Ep. 37: What is the Good Life? (Part I)
2021-Mar-02
45 minutes
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Ep. 36: What is Intelligence? (Part II)
2021-Feb-16
46 minutes
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Ep. 35: What is Intelligence? (Part I)
2021-Feb-02
43 minutes
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Ep. 34: What is Death? ft. Sal Mignano, D.O. (Part II)
2021-Jan-19
46 minutes
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Ep. 33: What is Death? ft. Sal Mignano, D.O. (Part I)
2021-Jan-05
39 minutes
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Ep. 32: What is Science? (Part II)
2020-Dec-22
50 minutes
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Ep. 31: What is Science? (Part I)
2020-Dec-08
44 minutes
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Ep. 30: Knowledge and Truth (Part II)
2020-Nov-24
49 minutes
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Ep. 29: Knowledge and Truth (Part I)
2020-Nov-10
34 minutes
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Ep. 28: What is Democracy? (Part II)
2020-Oct-27
40 minutes
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Ep. 27: What is Democracy? (Part I)
2020-Oct-13
40 minutes
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Ep. 26: The Role of Work (Part II)
2020-Sep-29
46 minutes
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Ep. 25: The Role of Work (Part I)
2020-Sep-15
43 minutes
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Ep. 24: What is Education? (Part II)
2020-Sep-01
40 minutes
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Ep. 23: What is Education? (Part I)
2020-Aug-18
42 minutes
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Ep. 22: What is Language? ft. Claire Kelly, M.A. (Part II)
2020-Aug-04
41 minutes
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Ep. 21: What is Language? ft. Claire Kelly, M.A. (Part I)
2020-Jul-21
42 minutes
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Ep. 20: Freedom of Speech (Part II)
2020-Jul-07
42 minutes
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Ep. 19: Freedom Of Speech (Part I)
2020-Jun-23
39 minutes
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Ep. 18: What is Time?
2020-Jun-09
44 minutes
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Ep. 17: What is Justice? (Part II)
2020-May-26
46 minutes
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Ep. 16: What is Justice? (Part I)
2020-May-12
40 minutes
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Ep. 15: Aesthetics (Part II)
2020-Apr-28
40 minutes
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Ep. 14: Aesthetics (Part I)
2020-Apr-14
38 minutes
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Ep. 13: Existentialism (Part II)
2020-Mar-31
41 minutes
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Ep. 12: Existentialism (Part I)
2020-Mar-17
38 minutes
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Ep. 11: Do We Have Free Will? (Part II)
2020-Mar-03
37 minutes
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Ep. 10: Do We Have Free Will? (Part I)
2020-Feb-18
34 minutes
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Ep. 9: Ethics (Part II)
2020-Feb-04
62 minutes
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Ep. 8: Ethics (Part I)
2020-Jan-21
45 minutes
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Holiday Hiatus Update
2020-Jan-08
less than a minute
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Ep. 7: Perception and Reality (Part II)
2019-Nov-26
35 minutes
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Ep. 6: Perception and Reality (Part I)
2019-Nov-12
28 minutes
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Ep. 5: Is There a God? (Part II)
2019-Oct-29
26 minutes
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Ep. 4: Is There a God? (Part I)
2019-Oct-15
32 minutes
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Ep. 3: What is Consciousness? (Part III)
2019-Oct-01
19 minutes
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Ep. 2: What is Consciousness? (Part II)
2019-Sep-16
27 minutes
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Ep. 1: What is Consciousness? (Part I)
2019-Sep-01
33 minutes
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