The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

On The Problem of Empathy (1917). What is empathy, and what is its significance? Stein pictures empathy as a dynamic process that involves what Scheler called sympathy but goes beyond this. Your don't just take the other person's feeling as our object of contemplation, but in doing so, your enter into it (while still not confusing it with YOUR feeling), this relating to it "non-primordially." So how does this work, exactly? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Transcribed - Published: 5 May 2025

We discuss the HBO dramedy about rich people having existential crises at a luxury resort in light of its third season. What exactly made this latest season less satisfying than the others? Does the show have a sustainable formula? What is the show saying about enlightenment? Travel? Sexuality? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2025

We conclude our treatment of Max Scheler's The Nature of Sympathy (1922), getting further into the Part II of the book about love and hatred and grappling with the puzzles about what exactly it is we love about someone (the "personality"). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. If you enjoy our podcast, check out Working Class History at workingclasshistory.com.

Transcribed - Published: 28 April 2025

Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three '88-'90 with Galaxie 500, then he started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing seven albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for five albums, interspersed with now four albums under his own name and other miscellaneous projects. We discuss "We're Not Finished Yet" (and listen at the end to "The Cloud Is Coming" from That's the Price of Loving Me (2025), "Love Is Colder Than Death" from Emancipated Hearts (2013), and "23 Minutes in Brussels" by Luna from Penthouse (1995). Intro: "Strange" by Galaxie 500 from On Fire (1989). More at deanwareham.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

On The Nature of Sympathy (1922), Part II: "Love and Hatred." What is love, and how does it relate to ethics and to sympathy? For Scheler, love is a primitive, spontaneous movement from lower to higher values: We see the best in the love one and thereby help enable them to attain that excellence. So is love foundational for value, or is value foundational for love? The two seem to arise together. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 21 April 2025

We watched the 4-part British crime series that's become #1 in 80 countries, breaking Netflix's records for an original series. And man, was it a bummer. But important! We reflect on the purpose of the show, its one-take-per-episode format, the choice of whose perspectives to show, the crazy good acting by such a young person, and we get a little education about incel culture. How have things changed since we were kids? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

Mark, Wes, and Dylan reconvened for one more hour on Part I, "Fellow Feeling" (ch. 3-4) in The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922). We continue to try to figure out the razor's edge of "fellow feeling proper" that does not rely on the sympathizer identifying in any way and look into psychological and metaphysical ways that people can identify with others. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion, including more part 3 discussions like this one, which aren't normally made available on this public feed. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 14 April 2025

Mark and Bill are joined by the actor/improviser who directs Camp Improv Utopia and is involved in managing improv spaces such as Denver's Rise Comedy. We talk about the notion of community, with a scene about the neighborhood watch and a return to Empty Street to deal seriously in a public-service-announcement/after-school special sort of way with the issue of buying liquor underage. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

Transcribed - Published: 13 April 2025

Continuing on The Nature of Sympathy (1913/1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4. We look more closely at the text, getting further into how fellow feeling relates to ethics, and why the moral sentimentalists (like Hume) were wrong about this. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Transcribed - Published: 7 April 2025

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al here discuss the sci-fi/office dramedy in light of its second season. We might normally wait until the end of the show, but given that season 1 was 2022, and it took three years to get us season 2, who knows it it'll actually finish? And who knows if it will not be massively disappointing at that point? We strike while the show is culturally relevant! But did even this season measure up to its phenomenal premise and first season? There are so many juicy plot and character elements on this show that we can't possibly fit them all in. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 3 April 2025

On The Nature of Sympathy (1913, expanded 1922), Part I: "Fellow Feeling," Ch. 1-4.  What is it to feel sympathy (aka "fellow feeling") for another person? It is NOT to "identify" with that person; ethics requires that the person be irreducibly Other, not part of my (extended) ego. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Check out the History of the Germans podcast at historyofthegermans.com.

Transcribed - Published: 31 March 2025

Peter recorded with Chris Stamey as early as 1972, and they reconvened as The dB's in the '80s. Peter has released six albums as the dB's, three more as a duo with Chris, four co-fronting the Continental Drifters, and three solo albums. He has also been a supporting/touring member in several bands including REM, Hootie and the Blowfish, and currently The Paranoid Style. We discuss "Larger Than Life" from his new solo album The Face of 68), "Don’t Mention the War" from Game Day (2018), and "She Won’t Drive in the Rain" by The Db’s from their reunion album Falling off the Sky (2012). We conclude by listening to "Where Does the Time Go" by Continental Drivers from Better Day (2001). Intro: "Amplifier" by The Db’s from Repercussion (1981). More info at halfpearblog.blogspot.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 30 March 2025

On Edmund Husserl's Ideas, Vol. 2 (1928), Section 3, "The Constitution of the Spiritual World," Ch. 1, "Opposition Between the Naturalistic and Personalistic Worlds." Given Husserl's method of "reduction" whereby he sets aside the metaphysical status of objects in the natural world (are they mind-independent or merely ideas?), we wanted to see how he accounts for our ability to directly perceive other people's minds. We don't just perceive their bodies and our own bodies and deduce that others must be like us mentally, but we perceive both our minds and those of others as strata (aspects) of physical bodies. Read along with us, starting on p. 183 (PDF p. 101). Sign up to support Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts of this discussion plus lots more content. Get all public Closereads episodes at closereadsphilosophy.com or on YouTube.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

Continuing on "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889), getting into how we measure the comparative value of things. While Brentano does observe actual practices in these areas, his phenomenology detects moral facts that can be used to cast judgments of people's actual practices, saving him from relativism. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

Mark and Bill introduce a new potential setting and some characters for ongoing use in future improvisations. We talk about techniques for doing that and wrap up by getting an update from Bill on his substitute teaching and talking about what makes for a good teacher. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

Transcribed - Published: 22 March 2025

On "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889). What justifies basic moral facts? Brentano claims that right there in our experience, we can rationally sense with complete certainty that certain kinds of preferences are good ones, and others are not. This take on intuitionism is a response to Kant that (like Kant) cuts between the traditional epistemic categories of rationalism and empiricism, and Brentano's descriptive psychology kicked off the whole project of phenomenology. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about African history at historyofafricapodcast.podbean.com.

Transcribed - Published: 17 March 2025

We acknowledge this hugely popular form of "entertainment" recently embodied by The Baldwins, but popularized by shows like The Osbournes and The Kardashians, wherein some celebrity and/or family just shows off their life, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al are joined by returning guest Kayla Dryesse to talk about why this kind of show exists, its variations, and its redeeming value (if any). Is The Baldwins basically just a lengthy Instagram post? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 16 March 2025

Continuing on Ecclesiastes with guest Jesse Peterson, getting into some more close reading of particular sections. We make some connection from the author's observations to ancient Greek Skepticism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism. How is the world "absurd" according to this book? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 10 March 2025

Are we taking for granted this unique, talent-filled weekly nationally televised live comedy event that's been around for 50 years? (as in "What do we think this show is? Chopped liver?") Does its format even make sense at this time given YouTube and streaming? What will its legacy be? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the casts, highlights, and the recent anniversary specials. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 9 March 2025

Ecclesiastes is often cited as one of the most philosophical books of the Bible, so we approached it in that spirit with the help of Jesse M. Peterson, whose soon-to-be-published book is called Qoheleth and the Philosophy of Value. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Check out the History of the Germans podcast at historyofthegermans.com.

Transcribed - Published: 3 March 2025

JR has drummed on over 200 US Billboard Hot 100 songs and 50 Grammy winning tunes. He was in Rufus w/ Chaka Khan in the late 70s/early 80s, has released two solo albums, written for soundtracks, produced other artists, and has led various combos over the years. He is currently promoting his auto-biography King of the Groove. We discuss "Gonna Be Alright" from The Bronx, USA soundtrack (2020), "Flight 81" from his first solo album, Funkshui (2004), and "You're Really Out of Line" by Rufus from Seal in Red (1983). End song: "Tal Shia" by SRT from Vanguards of Groove (2023). Intro: "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood (1986). More at johnjrrobinson.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 2 March 2025

On "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Shouldn't automating work free workers? Not according to Marx, until capitalism is overthrown. Until then, automation actually just makes labor conditions worse and certainly doesn't give people more free time, since the capitalist keeps all the surplus gained by greater productivity. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 24 February 2025

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the Coralie Fargeat/Demi Moore film The Substance in light of its Oscar nominations, along with related reflections on lost youth, e.g. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Death Becomes Her (1992), and Neon Demon (2016). We also touch on other cloning scenarios. Is this film a serious meditation on aging in Hollywood, or just a particularly vivid but logically confused Twilight Zone episode? Is the message of this film already itself past its prime? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty.

Transcribed - Published: 20 February 2025

We finish our treatment of Capital, Ch. 1, covering the little bit that Marx says about actual communism (he was wary of utopianism, contra his reputation), and think through a number of related practical problems. We introduce "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 17 February 2025

Mark and Bill are joined by two north-of-the-border podcasters, Shawn Vulliez and Aaron Moritz, who incorporate both improv and philosophy in their dirty leftist podcast. We simulate conversation as competing knowers-of-the-good-life and talk about using improv for political purposes. Note that this was recorded back in December when we were in the thick of Luigi Mangione fever and not yet consumed with daily Presidential antics. You can choose to watch this on unedited video, if you choose. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2025

Continuing on Capital, Ch. 1 on commodities. We go into detail on his account of how money gets derived from the continued comparison of various commodities, how use value comes back into play when we compare the economic value of one commodity as compared to another, and finally, the details of commodity fetishism. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

Django is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who released his first solo album in 1996 and has released seven albums with The Old Ceremony since 2004 plus several more solo releases. We discuss The Old Ceremony songs "Too Big to Fail" (and listen to "Hangman's Party at the end) from Earthbound (2024), "The Disappear" from Walk On Thin Air (2009), and "Reservations" from Our One Mistake (2006). Intro: "Beautiful" from Folding Stars (1996). More at theoldceremony.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 8 February 2025

On Capital (1867), Ch. 1, "The Commodity." What makes something we buy or sell valuable? Marx says it's ultimately the labor that goes into it, though there are some wrinkles in formulating this accurately, and the commodities and surrounding marketplace activity blind us to labor's role and its ethical import. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: You may also the Fallacious Trump podcast at fallacioustrump.com.

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

In light of the recent release of the James Mangold film A Complete Unknown, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Dylan superfan Al discuss the man, the myth, and the music. The film clearly aimed to make the music, environment, and political activity of the '60s come alive today, but does the simplification required to make a coherent film undermine that goal? We also touch on his Chronicles, plus I'm Not There and other Dylan-related films. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 2 February 2025

Mark and Wes read through and discuss Karl Marx's The German Ideology (1846), delving deep into the middle of his critique of Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own.  Marx articulates and criticizes Stirner's attempt to distinguish the mere common egoism of an unthinking person from the enlightened egoism that Stirner is recommending. Read along with us, starting on p. 259 (PDF p. 255). Sign up to support Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts of this discussion plus lots more content. Get all public Closereads episodes at closereadsphilosophy.com or on YouTube.

Transcribed - Published: 1 February 2025

We continue on the introduction to Marx's Grundrisse, going through his criticisms of prior economists who were too ahistorical and didn't understand how production, consumption, distribution and exchange hang together as a single system. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 27 January 2025

Randy is a literature guy who has written a couple of books about improv and here joins Mark and Bill to talk about WINGING IT: Improv's Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, wherein he basically blames improv for giving us the orange man. Our scenes are about Trumpers hustling a fast food joint and improv for dogs. Mark and Bill stick around for some post-game bringing in yet another metaphor: music and its stylistic development. Watch this as unedited video, if you so choose.

Transcribed - Published: 25 January 2025

On the intro to Marx's Grundrisse (1857) and "Theses on Feuerbach" (1845). Why economics, and why do it the way Marx does? We see Marx argues that Feuerbach's materialism was not materialistic enough, start looking at production, consumption, distribution, and exchange as moments within a single process, and talk about why anyone would want to read a historical economic text. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 20 January 2025

In light of Robert Eggers' film Nosferatu and the end of What We Do in Shadows, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the many vampire shows and films all the way back to Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty. Learn about LGBT stereotypes at gayishpodcast.com.

Transcribed - Published: 18 January 2025

In light of Robert Eggers' film Nosferatu and the end of What We Do in Shadows, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the many vampire shows and films all the way back to Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Sponsors: Get 10% off your first month of online therapy at BetterHelp.com/pretty. Learn about LGBT stereotypes at gayishpodcast.com.

Transcribed - Published: 18 January 2025

Continuing on The Ego and Its Own, focusing now on the sections "The Owner" and "My Power." Stirner lets us know that his egoism ("ownness") is not compatible with liberal egalitarianism, which he sees as just a continuation of the Christian project of perfecting humanity. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

Transcribed - Published: 13 January 2025

On The Ego and its Own (1844), another big influence on Karl Marx and a precursor of Nietzsche, or perhaps an early Ayn Rand. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org.

Transcribed - Published: 6 January 2025

Iain started in Britain's Fairport Convention in the late '60s, but quickly left that band to start a couple more and then move to the US for a lengthy solo career. He has in total released close to 50 albums, including many collaborations. We discus the title track from How Much Is Enough (2024), the title track from God Looked Down (1996), and "Road to Ronderlin" by Matthews Southern Comfort from Later That Same Year (1970). End song: "St. Theresa’s Ghost" by Ian Matthews and the Searing Quartet, from Joy Mining (2008). Intro: "Book Song" by Fairport Convention from What We Did on Our Holidays (1969). Learn more at iainmatthews.nl. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 5 January 2025

Read more about Mark's online class that starts later this month at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class, and sign up at partiallyexaminedlife.com/enroll.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2025

Mark, Wes, Seth, and Dylan reflect on our past year of PEL recording, catch you up on our habits and interests, and talk about what might come next. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to this and every recording ad-free, plus numerous Nightcaps and many hours of other bonus content. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

Transcribed - Published: 30 December 2024

We finally discuss Feuerbach's proposed post-Hegelian, materialist approach to philosophy in his "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843). How can a materialist framework support phenomena central to F's account like our immediate, indubitable recognition of our selves, each other, and love itself? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion, including a supporter-exclusive part three to this discussion. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

Transcribed - Published: 23 December 2024

For our annual holiday episode, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al talk about Santa qua mythical and cultural figure, getting into the history of the character, his film appearances, and how the emphasis on kids' belief compares to religious belief. Plus, grading Xmas movies on a curve and Black Santa! For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel. Learn about Mark's Core Texts in Philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

Transcribed - Published: 22 December 2024

Simon is a professor at New York's New School for Social Research and moderates the New York Times' philosophy offering, The Stone. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss his new book, On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy, and we used the occasion to explore how art and mysticism might be connected, including engaging in improv rituals. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

Transcribed - Published: 21 December 2024

Where the repetitions of ordinary life threaten to overwhelm any sense of the sublime, the poet Conrad Aiken seems to suggest that they can be transformed into a way of being connected to it. The mundane order is, after all, just a part of the cosmic. When we get ready to go to work, it is on a “swiftly tilting planet” that “bathes in a flame of space.” The sun is “far off in a shell of silence,” but its light decorates the walls of our homes. We might wonder, in light of modernity’s crisis of faith, if the sublime is meant to replace the divine, and if so whether what Aiken calls “humble offerings” to a “cloud of silence” are enough. Wes & Erin discuss Aiken’s “Morning Song of Senlin,” and whether humanity’s religious impulses can be fully compensated with an aesthetic or ironic relation to nature and cosmic scale. 

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2024

Mark, Wes, and Dylan continue to look at Ludwig Feuerbach's "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843), recounting his story about how increasingly mature notions of God should lead philosophy eventually to a materialism where the sensual is the real. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Check out the Constant Wonder podcast Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Buy the PEL book for someone cool at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2024

We're coming up on the 125th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's children's book, The Wizard of Oz, and the film version of (the first half of) the musical Wicked has been released. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al talk about the landmark 1939 film musical, the 1978 film The Wiz, Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked, the stage musical, the other Oz books by Baum, Maguire, et al, and other films like 1985's Return to Oz and 2013's Oz the Great and Powerful. How does this film stack up to other recent Broadway-to-film adaptations? Will there ever be a faithful film or TV adaptation of the books? For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via Apple Podcasts to the Mark Lintertainment Channel.

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2024

We dig in and start our detailed treatment of Ludwig Feuerbach's essay "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843). Feuerbach claims that people don't realize that the entity they worship is really just whatever it is about humanity and the world that we value, wrongly posited as an independent entity. So God is a mirror for any given society. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class. Buy the PEL book for someone cool at partiallyexaminedlife.com/book.

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2024

Loudon has released 30 albums since 1970. He's the quintessential singer-songwriter, relying on crafty, personal lyrics delivered dynamically and typically solo, though his studio work has varied in production style and orchestration level over the years. We discuss "How Old is 75" from Lifetime Achievement (2022), "Road Ode (Live)" from Career Moves (1993), and "Be Careful There’s a Baby in the House" from Album II (1971). We wrap up by listening to "Missing You" from Last Man on Earth (2001). Intro: "The Swimming Song" from Attempted Mustache (1973). Learn more at lw3.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon.

Transcribed - Published: 8 December 2024

It's a TEAM PLAY episode just in time for the holiday season! Returning guests improviser and podcaster Sarah and recovering Philosophy Bro Tommy join Mark and Bill to talk AND EXPERIENCE friendship, with our longest single improv scene to date. What is friendship? Do you know your friends enough to imitate them? Does one friendship or fast-casual restaurant have to die so that another may emerge?  Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

Transcribed - Published: 6 December 2024

On Ludwig Feuerbach's "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843) and the introduction to The Essence of Christianity (1841). What was the original point of religion? Can we retain what was emotionally good about it yet direct our efforts to purely practical matters? Feuerbach says yes, and this was a key influence on Marx. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Have up to a $100 donation to effective charities matched at GiveWell.org. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Learn about Mark's spring Core Texts in philosophy class at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024