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Philosophy Talk
Select Episodes

A selection of episodes from the program that questions everything... except your intelligence. Learn more and access the complete archive at www.philosophytalk.org.

  1. This Week: The 2025 Dionysus Awards

    3 DAYS AGO

    This Week: The 2025 Dionysus Awards

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/2025-dionysus-awards. What movies of the past year challenged your assumptions and made you think about things in new ways? Josh and guest co-host Jeremy Sabol present our annual Dionysus Awards for the most thought-provoking movies of the last twelve months, including: • Best Movie About Religious People Who Aren't Entirely What They Seem • Most Moving Meditation on Fierce Female Friendship • Best Film in Which Character Change Is Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

    52 min
  2. Elizabeth Anscombe

    12/19/2024

    Elizabeth Anscombe

    More at thttps://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/elizabeth-anscombe. Elizabeth Anscombe made hugely influential contributions to contemporary action theory, moral theory, and philosophy of mind. She also famously protested Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb when he was awarded an honorary degree at Oxford. Josh and Ray explore her life and thought with Rachael Wiseman from the University of Liverpool, co-author of "Metaphysical Animals: How Four Women Brought Philosophy Back to Life."

    51 min
  3. Crisis and Creativity in Mayan Mythology

    12/14/2024

    Crisis and Creativity in Mayan Mythology

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/crisis-and-creativity-mayan-mythology. The Popol Vuh, written in 1702, was based on a Mayan oral tradition encompassing creation myths, history, and cosmology. These stories were written in a time of crisis: European colonialism had decimated the Mayan population and destroyed much of their cultural knowledge. How do stories help a society survive and thrive? Can they console us in times of crisis? How much of a culture can historians save in times of devastation? Josh and Ray rewrite history with Edgar Garcia from the University of Chicago, author of "Emergency: Reading the Popol Vuh in a Time of Crisis."

    52 min
  4. Emma Goldman

    11/14/2024

    Emma Goldman

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/emma-goldman. Activist and anarchist philosopher Emma Goldman fought for human liberation in every realm of life. While she opposed the women's suffrage movement, she was a staunch advocate for women’s rights. So why did she think the right to vote was so unimportant? What did she think was required to achieve her anarchist goals? And how ahead of her time was she on labor, prison abolition, and sexual liberation? Josh and Ray explore her life and thought with Candace Falk from UC Berkeley, editor of "Emma Goldman: A Documentary History of the American Years."

    52 min
  5. American Futures (Ken Taylor Memorial Episode)

    11/02/2024

    American Futures (Ken Taylor Memorial Episode)

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/american-futures. When Ken Taylor passed away suddenly in 2019, he was working on a manuscript titled "Farewell to the Republic We Once Dreamed of." Was Ken right to think the American experiment is on the verge of collapse? Are we heading for authoritarian rule, a national divorce, or even a civil war? Or could better days be on the horizon? In Ken’s honor, Josh and Ray devote their 2023 end-of-year special to probing the future of the American republic with Barbara Walter from UC San Diego, Tamsin Shaw from New York University, and Rob Reich from Stanford University.

    56 min
  6. Simone Weil

    10/20/2024

    Simone Weil

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/simone-weil. French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil was also an activist whose goal was to elevate the lower classes. But she was opposed to the kind of revolution where the oppressed overthrow their oppressors. So, how did she think we could achieve peace and justice? Is it enough to pay the right kind of attention to each other's suffering? And how does this connect to her conversion to a mystical form of Christianity? Josh and Ray attend to the life and thought with Rebecca Rozelle-Stone from the University of North Dakota, author of "Simone Weil: A Very Short Introduction."

    51 min
  7. Anna Julia Cooper

    10/06/2024

    Anna Julia Cooper

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/anna-julia-cooper. Born into slavery in the nineteenth century, Anna Julia Cooper received a classical education, attended the Sorbonne, and became the fourth African American in history to be awarded a PhD. Her first book, A Voice from the South, offered one of the first articulations of how Black women are impacted by race, gender, and socioeconomic class. She believed that uplifting Black women through higher education would improve life for all Black people. Josh and Ray explore her life and thought with Kathryn Sophia Belle, author of "Beauvoir and Belle: A Black Feminist Critique of The Second Sex." Part of the "Wise Women" series, generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

    52 min
  8. Hildegard von Bingen

    08/19/2024

    Hildegard von Bingen

    More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/hildegard-of-bingen. Hildegard von Bingen was a 12th century mystic, polymath, and composer whose work spanned visionary theology, philosophy, cosmology, medicine, botany, and music. Her extraordinary intellectual accomplishments belie her humble claim to be “just a woman”. Was her humility justified in the face of the divine, internalizing misogynistic stereotypes, or a strategic decision to get her voice heard? What can mystical experience teach us about the world? And how can we understand ourselves in relation to the divine? Josh and Ray explore her life and thought with Jennifer Bain from Dalhousie University, editor of "The Cambridge Companion to Hildegard of Bingen."

    51 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

A selection of episodes from the program that questions everything... except your intelligence. Learn more and access the complete archive at www.philosophytalk.org.

Information

  • Creator
    Philosophy Talk
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Select Episodes

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