Minds Almost Meeting

Two extremely smart, extremely original philosophers coming from very different traditions to grapple with puzzles of human nature and the human world. Best podcast I’ve heard in a very long time

Some episodes have gaps and silences. Guests are also sometimes mindful of their audience. It is very interesting stuff but it would benefit from better production

Started listening to this podcast after reading a New Yorker article that described the bumbling and banal events of Callard’s life in a tone of breathless fascination and deference. I thought: maybe the writer isn’t up to capturing the dimensions and subtleties of Callard’s charisma and brilliance? Nope, it simply isn’t there. But keep listening because the cluelessness and self-regard of this pair becomes fun camp once you adjust your expectations. (1)Callard says it’s a huge problem for her that she never fails to charm everybody. (2)Or when her cohost (designated flatterer) describes Callard as being in the top 99.99% of communicators and she fails to object.(3) in one episode Callard describes how philosophy professors all so fully embody their roles that there is not enough friction and conflict in the profession and then in the Irving Goffman episode largely dismisses his ideas as interesting but as a time capsule. And most of the episode is given over to congratulating ourselves for great gains in authenticity since the 1950s. Great stuff! Great stuff!

Agnes Callard throws away her kids Halloween candy. That is messed up, lady. Unfollow. [I’m not making this up she said it on Twitter]