Recent Episodes

Why Be Reasonable?

August 30, 2026

“You’re being unreasonable.” “Reasonable doubt.” The “reasonable person” standard. Talk of reasonableness is everywhere we turn, but what does it actually come to? What makes something reasonable as opposed to unreasonable—and why does it matter? Could we hope for a society full of reasonable people,…

Marx and Morality

May 3, 2026

Karl Marx famously attempted to explain our social, political, and economic systems in terms of…

Karl Marx, philosopher and economist, in a formal portrait.

Marcus Aurelius

April 26, 2026

Marcus Aurelius was a 2nd century Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher. He is most famous…

Bronze bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius

Hobbes and the Ideal Citizen

April 5, 2026

Seventeenth century philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that without government to control our worst impulses, life…

Colossal figure of a king, holding a sword and scepter, overlooking a city; illustrating Hobbes' concept of the ideal citizen.

Nísia Floresta

March 22, 2026

Nísia Floresta was a 19th-century writer and translator known as “the Brazilian Mary Wollstonecraft.” She…

Portrait of Nísia Floresta, a Brazilian writer and feminist.

What Is Addiction?

March 15, 2026

People who are addicted to substances display a puzzling behavior: they keep using even when…

Hand in handcuffs attached to a shot glass of alcohol. Addiction concept.

Who Speaks For You?

March 8, 2026

People often speak on behalf of others, like the concerned citizen who stands up for…

Ten black microphones arranged in a row, symbolizing diverse voices.

Mary Wollstonecraft

March 1, 2026

Mary Wollstonecraft is often labeled as a “liberal feminist” because of her concern for women’s…

Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft, a prominent 18th-century writer and early feminist.

Can Money Buy Well-being?

February 15, 2026

Governments and central banks set economic policies that affect us all. But how do those…

Ceramic piggy bank with coins, symbolizing savings and economics.

Logic For Everyone

February 8, 2026

Logic may seem like a dry, abstract discipline that only the nerdiest of philosophers study.…

Spock from Star Trek, looking pensive and serious.

Anna Julia Cooper

February 1, 2026

Born into slavery in the 19th century, Anna Julia Cooper received a classical education, attended…

Anna Julia Cooper, prominent scholar and activist, stands in her study.

Diogenes and the Honest Life

January 25, 2026

Diogenes of Sinope was a famous—or infamous—4th-century BCE Greek philosopher. Reportedly, he lived in a…

Diogenes in his barrel, holding a lantern, surrounded by dogs. Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Civil Disobedience

January 18, 2026

Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King all engaged in civil disobedience, and are widely admired…

Four young Black men sit at a lunch counter, practicing civil disobedience.

William James

January 11, 2026

William James is one of the great American philosophers, historically important as a philosopher (pragmatism…

Portrait of William James, prominent American philosopher and psychologist.

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