Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
“What Is X?” has been described as “a cross between a Platonic dialogue and ‘The Price Is Right.’” It combines dialectical inquiry of the sort perfected by Socrates and his interlocutors with a distinctly ludic spirit. Here’s how it works: For each episode, host Justin E. H. Smith invites on a guest distinguished in their field (or occasionally a “regular” person who really likes to talk). Smith asks the guest to answer a question of the form “What is X?” (for example, “What is beauty?” “What is nature?” “What are dreams?”), after which the two partners in dialogue undertake a Socratic inquiry into the nature of X, in search of a definition that satisfies both of them. There are three possible outcomes: agreement, disagreement, and aporia (Greek for “dead end”), each with its own sound effect: if we arrive at agreement, a church bell will chime; disagreement is signaled by a bleating goat; if aporia is the best we can do, we will hear naught but a gust of wind. Rigorous but freewheeling, fun and serious at once, accessibly highbrow, these conversations model rational inquiry in a new way, providing answers for truth-seekers... or perhaps just more questions. /// Host: Justin E.H. Smith (justinehsmith.substack.com) /// Presented by The Point Magazine (thepointmag.com)Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Socratic, definition-seeking dialogues • philosophy of mind, language, ethics, metaphysics • time, being, matter, numbers • money, war, conspiracy theories • art, poetry, criticism, authorship • love, friendship, gender, slurs, humor • memory, dreams, mental health • everyday culture (breakfast, punk)This podcast centers on a recurring philosophical game: the host invites a guest—often an academic or writer with relevant expertise—and together they pursue a Socratic-style attempt to answer a deceptively simple question of the form “What is X?” The conversations are structured around dialectical inquiry rather than lectures, with the aim of arriving at a definition, clarifying why a definition is hard, or reaching a productive impasse.
Across episodes, “X” ranges from classic metaphysical and epistemological topics (such as being, time, matter, consciousness, numbers, and dreams) to moral and political concepts (virtue, war, gender, slurs, conspiracy theories, and mental health). The show also treats cultural and everyday phenomena—art, poetry, criticism, authorship, humor, friendship, love, punk, and even breakfast—as serious objects of analysis, using them to explore how social practices, institutions, and language shape meaning.
Listeners can expect discussion that moves between historical reference (ancient philosophy through modern thinkers), contemporary controversies (misinformation, identity, psychiatry, political conflict, and economic structures), and conceptual tools from philosophy of language, ethics, social philosophy, and philosophy of science. Rather than aiming for definitive takeaways, this podcast foregrounds how reasoning, disagreement, and careful definition work in practice, and how even familiar terms can conceal deep theoretical and lived complexity.
| Episodes: |
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What Is Being? | Kris McDaniel 2022-Dec-14 55 minutes |
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What Is Money? | Joseph Tinguely 2022-Nov-15 59 minutes |
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What Is Breakfast? | Seb Emina 2022-Oct-14 63 minutes |
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What Are Numbers? | Michael Harris 2022-Sep-15 62 minutes |
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What Is Punk? | Joseph M. Keegin 2022-Aug-15 85 minutes |
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What Is War? | Vladislav Davidzon 2022-Jul-15 62 minutes |
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What Is Authorship? | Jonathan Egid 2022-Jun-14 70 minutes |
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What Is Time? | Emily Thomas 2022-Jun-01 58 minutes |
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What Are Conspiracy Theories? | Sam Kriss 2022-May-01 87 minutes |
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What Is Humor? | Luvell Anderson 2022-Apr-16 66 minutes |
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What Is Friendship? | S. Abbas Raza 2022-Apr-01 57 minutes |
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What Is Consciousness? | Eric Schwitzgebel 2022-Mar-15 69 minutes |
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What Is Virtue? | Jennifer Frey 2022-Mar-02 73 minutes |
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What Is Love? | Dominic Pettman 2022-Feb-14 64 minutes |
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What Is Gender? | Robin Dembroff 2022-Feb-01 58 minutes |
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What Are Slurs? | Jason Stanley 2022-Jan-16 59 minutes |
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What Is Criticism | Ryan Ruby 2022-Jan-01 61 minutes |
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What Is History? | D. Graham Burnett 2021-Dec-14 62 minutes |
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What Is Art? | Becca Rothfeld 2021-Nov-30 41 minutes |
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What Is Memory? | Julian Lucas 2021-Nov-15 58 minutes |
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What Is Matter? | Sean Carroll 2021-Nov-01 61 minutes |
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What Is Mental Health? | Danielle Carr 2021-Oct-21 65 minutes |
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What Is Poetry? | Jeff Dolven 2021-Oct-01 54 minutes |
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What Are Dreams? | Matthew Spellberg 2021-Sep-01 62 minutes |
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What Is Philosophy? | Agnes Callard 2021-Jul-31 62 minutes |