Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
A course in interdisciplinarity by Mario Veen. In each episode I travel through Plato's Allegory of the Cave together with a guide. Together, we examine the question of what it means to learn, grow and develop in life on earth. We do so from a new perspective every time. You can use this course to study whatever interests you through the lens of philosophy, film, art, physics, spirituality and many more. All you need is the willingness to think things through and the openness to have your preconceived notions challenged.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Interdisciplinary readings of Plato’s Cave • truth, perception, learning, development • philosophy of science, science communication, denial/disinformation • art/film/visual politics • technology, attention, social media • climate crisis, ecology, activism, rights of nature • geology/deep time, astrophysics • trauma, spirituality, education, medicineThis podcast uses Plato’s Allegory of the Cave as a recurring framework for interdisciplinary inquiry into what it means to learn, develop, and revise one’s understanding of reality. The host treats the allegory less as a fixed doctrine than as a map for exploring how perspective shifts happen—through intellectual discovery, aesthetic experience, scientific investigation, and personal or collective upheaval. Conversations often return to themes of truth and appearance, the limits of representation, and the discomfort involved in leaving familiar narratives behind.
Across the show, guests from philosophy, the arts, and multiple sciences interpret the cave in relation to their own disciplines. Philosophical discussion ranges from classical and continental traditions to philosophy of technology, ethics, and philosophy of science, including questions about how knowledge is formed, what counts as evidence, and how frameworks shape what can be seen or said. Artistic and media-focused perspectives examine how images, film, and visual culture influence thought, identity, and politics, and how attention can be guided or captured in modern media environments.
Scientific viewpoints broaden the cave’s scale from the deep time of geology to cosmology and questions about life beyond Earth, while also addressing how scientific discovery proceeds amid uncertainty. Several episodes focus on science communication and denialism, emphasizing disinformation dynamics and the challenges of dialogue across epistemic divides.
A major throughline concerns ecological and societal crisis. Climate change appears as both a scientific and moral problem, connected to activism, law, institutional responsibility, and questions about how to live and act under conditions of risk and potential collapse. Alongside these public concerns, the podcast also addresses embodied and psychological dimensions of human life—such as trauma and intergenerational effects of war, medical practice and education, contemplative disciplines like meditation and dance, and spiritual approaches to meaning-making. The overall result is a series of guided “journeys” through one allegory to investigate how humans perceive, interpret, and respond to the world.
