Philosopher's Zone

ABC
  • 4.1 (14)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED DAILY

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Can 'planetary civics' save us from techno-catastrophe?

    Most of us are a little anxious these days - and for good reason, as advances in technology and the rising intensity of climate change are set to cause massive upheavals on our planet. But this week we're hearing a 'post-humanist' perspective on global issues that's positive without being blindly optimistic, and critical without giving in to despair.

    43 min

  2. 11 FEB

    Racism and racial regimes

    It's a well-rehearsed argument that systemic, structural racism has more significant bearing on the lives and opportunities of racialised minorities than the attitudes of individual racists. But systemic racism is harder to shift, being deeply entangled in the structures of capitalism and democratic liberalism - even the enlightened 'diversity' programs of such liberal institutions as universities and businesses can be put to the service of perpetuating racial regimes.

    48 min

  3. 5 FEB

    Do we still love art?

    There has never been as much art around as there is today - digital tools are incredibly cheap, artistic production and distribution can bypass the traditional institutional gatekeepers of galleries, museums and curated spaces. And yet, there's a sense today in which art is devalued currency, and the potential for art to bring people together is being eroded. This week we're talking art, politics and what we lose when we stop loving culture.

    36 min

  4. 29 JAN

    Who am I? Individual and collective identity

    The question of identity, and whether each of us is best understood as an individual or a member of a collective, has vexed philosophers for centuries. This week we're getting into it with a thinker who's also a leading light in the teaching of philosophy in schools.

    40 min

  5. 21 JAN

    What's the point of education?

    Of course, education has a point - but establishing exactly what that point is, can be a surprisingly difficult task. Do we educate children in order to foster autonomy and independent thinking, or to teach respect for certain norms, values and hierarchies? Is education about creative thinking and developing curiosity about the world, or is it about getting ready for the job market? Plenty of tension to explore this week, in a panel discussion on the aims of education.

    28 min

  6. 14 JAN

    Albert Camus, fascism and America

    Living and writing through the years before, during and after the Second World War, French author and philosopher Albert Camus witnessed the rise of fascism and its terrible endgame in German National Socialism. Today, amid fears of a neo-fascist resurgence in the USA, his work well is worth revisiting.

    46 min

  7. 7 JAN

    How feminism changed primatology

    For decades, primatologists believed that primate societies were structured around aggressive alpha males - until a remarkable push from feminist scientists in the 1960s and 70s changed the narrative. So why does the "dominant alpha male" story persist in human culture?

    35 min

  8. 31/12/2025

    What's the time? Indigenous temporalities and the 'Everywhen'

    We tend to think of time as a universal experience, something that carries us all along in the same direction at the same pace. So it might seem strange to think of time in terms of 'temporalities', different concepts and experiences of time that reflect different cultural values. In Australia, Indigenous temporalities are deeply interwoven with notions of justice, sovereignty and care for country - but these temporalities exist in tension with settler-colonial notions of time.

    30 min
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Hosts & Guests

Ratings & Reviews

4.1
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

Information

  • Creator
    ABC
  • Years Active
    2006 - 2026
  • Episodes
    709
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026, Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All right reserved.
  • Show Website
    Philosopher's Zone

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