Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Graduate philosophy student interviews • Research overviews across ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, law/AI • Academic life: PhD applications, publishing, teaching, job market, mentoring • Professional culture issues, diversity, disability, harassment
This podcast features interviews with graduate students in philosophy about their ongoing research and their experiences navigating academic philosophy. Across conversations with PhD students and candidates from a range of universities, the show highlights both the substance of contemporary philosophical work and the practical realities of doing a doctorate, including questions about admissions, supervision, publishing, teaching, and career transitions before, during, and after the PhD.
The research topics span multiple subfields. A recurring strand is ethics and moral psychology, including questions about authenticity, trust, moral testimony, moral criticism, moral error theory, population ethics, and how ethical concepts apply to everyday life and emerging technologies. Several discussions connect philosophy to social and institutional issues, such as harassment and disability in academia, first-generation and working-class experiences in higher education, and initiatives aimed at broadening what gets read and taught. The podcast also regularly explores intersections with law, politics, and public life, including political obligation, wellbeing measurement, and the boundaries between philosophical and legal analysis.
Another consistent theme is philosophy of mind and cognition, with attention to consciousness, perception, confabulation, and the epistemic dimensions of mental health conditions such as OCD. Listeners also encounter metaphysics and philosophy of science through topics like Spinoza’s metaphysics, questions about why anything exists, debates around theism, and work on spacetime and quantum gravity. The show sometimes reflects on philosophical methodology and the discipline itself, including the perceived divide between analytic and continental traditions and concerns about professionalization and “mystification” within academic philosophy.
In addition to standard interviews, the podcast includes compiled “bonus” conversations where multiple graduate students respond to shared prompts about what they wish they’d known, what’s underrated about doctoral study, and what stands out as a highlight of the PhD experience.
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Episodes:
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S3E13 - Bonus Episode: What was the Highlight of your PhD?
2025-May-12
14 minutes
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S3E12 - Paloma Morales on the Philosophy of Interpersonal Relationships
2025-Apr-21
23 minutes
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S3E11 - Julian Ratcliffe on Genealogical Anxiety and Analytic and Continental Philosophy
2025-Mar-31
30 minutes
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S3E10 - Imogen Rivers on Law, Philosophy, and AI Ethics
2025-Mar-12
28 minutes
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S3E9 - Sophie Nelson on the Nature of Consciousness and Applying to PhDs from a SLAC
2025-Feb-17
22 minutes
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S3E8 - Helen Han Wei Luo on Ethics as Etiquette
2025-Jan-27
27 minutes
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S3E7 - Gabriella Hulsey on Moral Criticism and the Mystification of Professional Philosophy
2025-Jan-06
25 minutes
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S3E6 - Pablo Hubacher Haerle on the Irrationality of OCD
2024-Dec-16
23 minutes
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S3E5 - David Harmon on Spinozan Metaphysics, Why Anything Exists, and the Diversity Reading List Initiative
2024-Nov-24
29 minutes
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S3E4 - Jessica Pohlmann on the Metaphysics of Spacetime and Editorial Assistantship at AJP
2024-Nov-04
23 minutes
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S3E3 - Shmuel Gomes on Teaching Soft Skills, Moral Patiency, and the Relationship between Judaism and Philosophy
2024-Oct-14
23 minutes
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S3E2 - Emily Slome on Moral Testimony Pessimism and Evolutionary Debunking
2024-Sep-23
22 minutes
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S3E1 - Kathleen Murphy-Hollies on Confabulation, UBirmingham, and the Philosophy Garden
2024-Sep-02
20 minutes
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End of Season Announcement
2024-May-31
less than a minute
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S2E13 - Bonus Episode! What's the Most Underrated Part of Doing a PhD?
2024-May-13
10 minutes
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S2E12 - Joe Schmid on Existential Inertia, Psychophysical Harmony and Book-Publishing
2024-Apr-22
28 minutes
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S2E11 - David Domínguez on the Zetetic Turn and Philosophy in Spain
2024-Apr-01
22 minutes
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S2E10 - Cindy Friedman on Humanoid Robots and Ubuntu Ethics
2024-Mar-11
27 minutes
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S2E9 - Asia Sakchatchawan on Tennis and Authenticity
2024-Feb-19
24 minutes
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S2E8 - Kenny Novis on Podcasting, Marxism, and Spinoza
2024-Jan-29
22 minutes
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S2E7 - Madeleine Parkinson on Erotic Love and Beauty in Plato
2024-Jan-08
21 minutes
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S2E6 - Cayla Clinkenbeard on Trust, Knowledge, and Publishing in Topical Collections
2023-Dec-18
23 minutes
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S2E5 - Facundo Rodriguez on Kant's Interpersonal Philosophy and the History of Philosophy
2023-Nov-27
24 minutes
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S2E4 - Alexander Stooshinoff on Life as a Touring Musician, the Impact of Covid, and the Philosophy of Nature
2023-Nov-06
24 minutes
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S2E3 - Danny Wardle on the Proposed Redundancies at ACU, Social Ontology, and Research Masters
2023-Oct-16
28 minutes
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S2E2 - Declan O'Gara on University as a First-Gen Student, Moral Error Theory, and Running WiP Seminars
2023-Sep-25
31 minutes
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S2E1 - Nicholas Drake on Self-Sufficiency, the Aim(s) of Philosophy, and Measuring Wellbeing
2023-Sep-04
27 minutes
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End of Season Announcement
2023-Jun-05
less than a minute
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S1E32 - Bonus Episode! What Grad Students Wish They'd Known About Doing a PhD
2023-May-22
17 minutes
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S1E31 - Elliott Thornley on Population Ethics, Global Catastrophic Risks, and Writing an Integrated Thesis
2023-May-08
21 minutes
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S1E30 - Deryn Thomas on Farming in Montana, PhD Vivas, and the Philosophy of Work
2023-Apr-24
23 minutes
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S1E29 - Elizabeth Cantalamessa on Wyoming, Adjuncting, and Humor
2023-Apr-10
26 minutes
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S1E28 - Levin Güver on the Boundaries between Law and Philosophy, Picking a Good Supervisor, and Intention in Law
2023-Mar-27
23 minutes
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S1E27 - Jack Symes on The Panpsycast, the Evil God Challenge, and Stephen Fry
2023-Mar-13
26 minutes
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S1E26 - Alice Harberd on Classics, Civil Service, and the Value of Art
2023-Feb-20
22 minutes
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S1E25 - Kerry Langsdale on Time and Self-Funded PhDs
2023-Feb-06
30 minutes
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S1E24 - Sophie Gibert on the Ethics of Influencing Others and Teaching as a PhD Student
2023-Jan-23
27 minutes
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S1E23 - Logan Mitchell on PhD Admissions Waitlists and the Ethics of Mindfulness
2023-Jan-09
28 minutes
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S1E22 - Cara-Julie Kather on Philosophy in non-Philosophy Departments, Feminism and Mathematics, and Sexual Harrassment in Academia
2022-Dec-19
26 minutes
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S1E21 - Dario Vaccaro on Analytic versus Continental Philosophy and Reliability in Knowledge
2022-Nov-28
23 minutes
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S1E20 - Linds Whittaker on PhD Admissions Data and Pet Food Ethics
2022-Nov-14
24 minutes
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S1E19 - Bonus Episode! Advice for Students Applying for PhDs in Philosophy
2022-Oct-31
14 minutes
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S1E18 - Lorenzo Elijah on an Eventful Lockdown, Duties to Obey the Law, and Good Mentors
2022-Oct-17
21 minutes
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S1E17 - Atay Kozlovski on Swiss PhDs, Values, and Parity
2022-Oct-03
33 minutes
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S1E16 - Mitchell Barrington on Advice for Applying to Grad Philosophy Programmes
2022-Sep-19
21 minutes
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S1E15 - Lysette Chaproniere on Blindness in Academia and the Philosophy of Disability and Enhancement
2022-Sep-05
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S1E14 - Eli Benjamin Israel on Moving to the US, Kant and the Sublime, and Interdisciplinary Public Philosophy
2022-Aug-22
21 minutes
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S1E13 - Mary Peterson on Spinoza and Sexual Harassment in Academia
2022-Aug-08
15 minutes
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S1E12 - Mira Hannegard on Swedish PhD Programmes, Social Epistemology, and Quitting Her PhD
2022-Jul-25
19 minutes
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S1E11 - Casey Landers on Parenting during the PhD, Perception, and the Job Market
2022-Jul-11
28 minutes
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S1E10 - Jack Beaulieu on Sanskrit Philosophy and Neurodiversity
2022-Jun-27
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S1E9 - Emily Lawson on Indian Philosophy, Death, and Imagination
2022-Jun-13
23 minutes
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S1E8 - Riana Popat on Outreach, Mental Health and Metaethics, and the Value of Philosophy
2022-Jun-06
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S1E7 - Alexandra Gustafson on Love, Public Philosophy, and Disabilities in Academia
2022-May-09
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S1E6 - Tomy Ames on Taking Time Out of Academia, Aphantasia, and Interdisciplinary PhD Programs
2022-Apr-25
23 minutes
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S1E5 - Virginie Simoneau-Gilbert on Animal Ethics, Rhodes Scholarships, and Public Philosophy
2022-Apr-11
16 minutes
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S1E4 - Eric Shoemaker on Grad Life at UToronto, Political Random Selection, and Philosophy Conferences
2022-Mar-28
24 minutes
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S1E3 - Emma Curran on Doing 'Less than Best' and the Practical Relevance of Philosophy
2022-Mar-14
23 minutes
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S1E2 - Jen Semler on AI, Icelandic Studies, Women in Philosophy, and Publishing
2022-Mar-14
18 minutes
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S1E1 - Jordan Scott on Applying to UK & US Grad Programs, Race, and Publishing
2022-Mar-14
24 minutes
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Trailer
2022-Mar-14
less than a minute
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