Philosophy on the Fringes

Megan Fritts & Frank Cabrera
  • 5.0 (21)
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

A couple of philosophy professors, Megan Fritts and Frank Cabrera, try to prove that you can do philosophy about almost anything. Join them as they explore the philosophical dimensions of topics on the outskirts of the academy. From Bigfoot to birthday parties, they take a Socratic approach to phenomena strange and mundane, asking listeners the question: What if we did philosophy on the fringes?

  1. The Prophecies of Nostradamus

    JAN 28

    The Prophecies of Nostradamus

    In this episode, Megan and Frank explore the prophecies of Nostradamus. Nostradamus was a prophet--but what is a prophet? What should we make of his seemingly accurate predictions of major world events? Do prophetic powers imply that the future is determined? Or are we simply bound to an immovable fate? And what, if anything, does Nostradamus have to tell us about our futures? Thinkers discussed include: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Brian Leiter, and David Foster Wallace. Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Nostradamus : how an obscure Renaissance astrologer became the modern prophet of doom : Gerson, Stéphane (source for biographical details, anxiety vs. fear, and WWII propaganda) The prophecies : a dual-language edition with parallel text : Nostradamus, 1503-1566 Nostradamus' grim predictions for 2026 revealed David Foster Wallace and the Challenge of Fatalism | Blog of the APA Future Contingents | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy  The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism, by Friedrich Nietzsche. The Twilight of the Idols, by Friedrich Nietzsche. Brian Leiter- Moral Psychology with Nietzsche Moral Psychology with Nietzsche | Reviews | Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Nietzsche’s Moral and Political Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Intersubjective Accountability: Politics and Philosophy in the Left Vienna Circle ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: AJWTULC6PYYNJ7BJ

    1h 6m
  2. The Mandela Effect

    12/26/2025

    The Mandela Effect

    In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Mandela Effect. Why do so many people "remember" Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s, or the Fruit of the Loom logo as containing a cornucopia, or the existence of a movie starring Sinbad as a genie? What explains these collective mis-rememberings: parallel dimensions, a government cover-up, a glitch in the matrix? Or should we just conclude that human memory is inherently unreliable? How do false memories arise, and how can we distinguish the real from the imagined? Despite our cultural obsession with preserving every memory, could there be some value in forgetting the past? Thinkers discussed include Augustine of Hippo, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, and Elizabeth Loftus. Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Visual Mandela Effect as Evidence for Shared and Specific False Memories Across People The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories Understanding Memory and the Human Lifespan | Plus Loftus & Pickrell 1995 - The formation of false memories. Loftus & Palmer 1974 - Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory Chloe Wall - Knowing (from) me, knowing (from) you: Essays on memory and testimony Total recall: the people who never forget | Memory | The Guardian Nietzsche: 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: OEYM6IYHOOWN8GSB

    1h 12m
  3. Reiki & Alternative Medicine

    11/24/2025

    Reiki & Alternative Medicine

    In this episode, Megan and Frank discuss the alternative medicine practice known as "Reiki," a kind of touch energy healing. What is Reiki, and how is it supposed to work? Is there scientific evidence of Reiki's effectiveness, or is it all just a placebo? And if so, would that really be a problem? Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Frontiers | Does Reiki Benefit Mental Health Symptoms Above Placebo? What is Reiki? Energy Healing and Chakra Work — Lisa Kern Does Reiki Work? - The Atlantic Evidence and explanation in Cicero's On Divination Tylenol Is Popular and Safe, Yet Nobody Knows How It Works | Scientific American Siegel - Predictive Analytics, Revised and Updated The Phantom Pattern Problem - Gary Smith; Jay Cordes - Oxford University Press A radical new hypothesis in medicine: give patients drugs they know don’t work | Vox The weird power of the placebo effect, explained | Vox The Power of Mind over Body | Plus Placebos Work—Even Without Deception | Harvard Medical School Hume, David: Causation | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Researchers are still working to prove that antidepressants are more effective than placebo Medical Nihilism - Jacob Stegenga - Oxford University Press ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: GAXUNUBZXURBJU22

    1h 7m
  4. The Apocalypse

    10/06/2025

    The Apocalypse

    In this episode, Megan and Frank examine the Apocalypse. How should we define "the apocalypse"? How does religious apocalyptic thought apply in a secular context? What are the dangers of apocalyptic thinking? And why do we always seem to be in the end times? This episode pays special attention to the book Apocalypse Without God: Apocalyptic Thought, Ideal Politics, and the Limits of Utopian Hope by Ben Jones. Other thinkers discussed include: Machiavelli, Hobbes, Engels, and Rawls. Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Ben Jones - Apocalypse without God Revelation 1 NIV - Prologue - The revelation from Jesus - Bible Gateway The Rapture Was Predicted to Happen Today. TikTok Has Some Advice. - The New York Times AI 2027 Opinion | An Interview With the Herald of the Apocalypse - The New York Times Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy — Harvard University Press Roland Boer - Revelation and Revolution: Friedrich Engels and the Apocalypse ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZFG8LUQL3TOVMSUP

    1 hr
  5. The Illuminati: Conspiracy Theories

    07/09/2025

    The Illuminati: Conspiracy Theories

    In this episode, Megan and Frank continue their discussion of the Illuminati. Here, the focus is on the afterlife of the Bavarian Order. How did conspiracy theories involving the Illuminati arise? Why is so much pop culture full of Illuminati imagery? And are there any good reasons to believe in such conspiracy theories? Thinkers discussed include: Dostoyevsky, Kierkegaard, and Maarten Boudry. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Michael Taylor- Illuminati in the US - American History Hit | Acast The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati (Primary source documents) CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Illuminati Kierkegaard - The Crowd is Untruth The Grand Inquisitor, by Feodor Dostoevsky Barruel - Memoirs Illustrating The History Of Jacobinism From Thomas Jefferson to Bishop James Madison, 31 January 1800 Did an Illuminati Conspiracy Theory Help Elect Thomas Jefferson? - POLITICO Nesta Webster - World revolution; the plot against civilization Zionism versus Bolshevism - Churchill Boudry, Maarten - Why We Should Be Suspicious of Conspiracy Theories. A Novel Demarcation Problem  [Reddit] why do the large shadow organizations leave clues that could lead to their downfall? Megan Fritts & Frank Cabrera, Fake News and Epistemic Vice: Combating a Uniquely Noxious Market Are Republicans and Conservatives More Likely to Believe Conspiracy Theories? - PMC The psychological and political correlates of conspiracy theory beliefs Is Conspiracy Theorising Irrational? - Neil Levy Predictors of belief in conspiracy theory Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: a worldview ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZILRIT8XNZAA6LYZ

    1h 1m
  6. The Illuminati: Bavarian Order

    07/09/2025

    The Illuminati: Bavarian Order

    In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati, a secret society founded in 1776 by the Enlightenment philosopher Adam Weishaupt. This conversation covers who the Illuminati were, what they believed, and how they attempted to bring about a "new world order." Thinkers discussed include: Adam Weishaupt, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Mencius, and Alasdair MacIntyre. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati (Primary source documents) CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Illuminati Illuminaten - Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism Perfectibilists | Independent Publishers Group Kant. What is Enlightenment Hegel - Philosophy of Right After Virtue - A Study in Moral Theory - Alasdair MacIntyre How Mengzi came up with something better than the Golden Rule | Aeon Ideas ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: CUCILUBPXFZKKTOP

    1h 4m
  7. The Enneagram

    05/30/2025

    The Enneagram

    In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the Enneagram. Is the Enneagram a legitimate science of personality? What even is personality? And how much of our lives does personality determine? Join them as they examine the classic book, "Discovering Your Personality Type: The Essential Introduction to the Enneagram" by Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson. Other thinkers discussed include: Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, and John Doris. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson - Discovering Your Personality Type Empirical Approaches to Moral Character (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Pseudoscience and the Demarcation Problem | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche Situationism, Moral Improvement, and Moral Responsibility | The Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology Virtue Ethics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: O6ZNDALO7DL2LNHE

    1 hr
  8. Past Life Memories

    04/14/2025

    Past Life Memories

    In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate the strange phenomenon of past life memories. Are past life memories evidence for reincarnation? Is what we remember a good guide to who we are? And how might a single identity span different lifetimes? Thinkers discussed in this episode include Plato, Pythagoras, Thomas Reid, J.M.E. McTaggart, and Michael Sudduth. ----------------------- Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) Email: philosophyonthefringes@gmail.com ----------------------- Bibliography: Timaeus by Plato Diogenes Laërtius: Pythagoras The Next Dalai Lama: Preparing for Reincarnation and Why It Matters to India Claire White, Robert M. Kelly & Shaun Nichols, Remembering Past Lives Thomas Reid, Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man Children Who Report Memories of Past Lives - Division of Perceptual Studies The Case of James Leininger_ An American Case of the Reincarnation Type Jim Tucker - Response to Sudduth’s “James Leininger Case Re-Examined” The Science of Reincarnation—VIRGINIA Magazine The Philosophy of Dr. McTaggart. S2, Episode 6: The Self and Survival (Mar. 27th, 2018) – Hi-Phi Nation New evidence shows false memories can be created | UW News ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: ZMHYPZTDWFJ3QXU2

    1h 8m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

A couple of philosophy professors, Megan Fritts and Frank Cabrera, try to prove that you can do philosophy about almost anything. Join them as they explore the philosophical dimensions of topics on the outskirts of the academy. From Bigfoot to birthday parties, they take a Socratic approach to phenomena strange and mundane, asking listeners the question: What if we did philosophy on the fringes?

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