141 episodes

where the real philosophy happens

Hotel Bar Sessions Leigh M. Johnson, Rick Lee, and Jason Read

    • Society & Culture
    • 4.8 • 31 Ratings

where the real philosophy happens

    Academic Freedom

    Academic Freedom

    The HBS hosts consider a case study testing the limits of academic freedom.
    Nathan Cofnas, holder of an Early Career Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust, is being threatened with losing his position because he is a “race realist” and, in particular, has stated that there is a difference in natural intelligence in people of different races. What is more, he has argued that race realism, if widely adopted, would be the end of what he has called “wokism.” He unsurprisingly argues that he has the right, because of Cambridge University’s free speech policy “to work on a project on the biological basis of moral norms. I am free to express my views on science, politics, and culture.” 
    This case raises several issues. Does a mathematics professor have the academic freedom and free speech right to teach that 2+2=7? Cofnas is not, himself, a biologist, physician, physiologist, or neuro-scientist. Does he have the right to teach something that is false or, at best, well outside the consensus of scientists researching the field? Is there an actual clash of values here? 
    Finally, should we not consider the fact that Cofnas is on the record as wanting to “poke the bear” of “wokeism,” and, therefore, is more interested in controversy than truth? And can we finally put away the notion that there are “two sides” to every issue?
     Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-131-academic-freedom
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
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    • 54 min
    Immediacy (with Anna Kornbluh)

    Immediacy (with Anna Kornbluh)

    The HBS hosts discuss the style of "too late" capitalism with Anna Kornbluh. 
    Immediacy would seem to be the defining cultural style of our moment. From video to social media and from autofiction to autotheory, the tendency is towards direct intensity of experience and away from the mediations of form, genre, and representation. What drives this turn to the immediate in art, culture, and even politics? What do we lose in this turn to immediacy? 
    Anna Kornbluh, author of Immediacy: Or, the Style of Too Late Capitalism, joins us to discuss the effects of "disintermediation."
    Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-130-immediacy-with-anna-kornbluh
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
    Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

    • 57 min
    Boredom

    Boredom

    The HBS hosts discuss the many paradoxes of ennui. 
    Most of our podcast episodes are about “big” issues, “interesting” topics, “provocative” conversations, or “important” matters… but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of our day-to-day lives is dominated by ennui. Boredom. Tedium. Lethargy. Lassitude. Or, in more common parlance, “the blahs.”
    Voltaire famously claimed (in The Prodigal Son) “all genres are allowed, except the boring genre." It’s easy to see why this is the case for artistic works of fiction, but it also seems to have been true for topics of philosophical reflection as well. Given that boredom is such a ubiquitous part of our human experience, why don’t we have a better theory of it?
    The curious thing about reflecting on the topic of “boredom” is, of course, that the very act of reflecting upon it makes it “interesting.” To wit, is it even possible to reflect on the experience of boredom as such?
    Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-129-boredom
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
    Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

    • 53 min
    Breaking Things at Work (with Gavin Mueller)

    Breaking Things at Work (with Gavin Mueller)

    The HBS hosts discuss how the Luddites were right about why we hate our jobs. 
    The term “luddite” generally functions as an insult these days. It is something people are accused of, and a term that no one would claim for themselves. To adopt and adapt to new technologies is part of what it means to be progressive and modern, not to mention hip. However, the history of actually existing technologies paints a different picture, technologies from the laptop to the cellphone have been used to extend the working day and insert consumption into the pores of social life. 
    Is it time to reconsider what it means to be luddite? Joining us to discuss Luddism is Gavin Mueller, author of Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites were Right About Why You Hate Your Job.
    Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-128-breaking-things-at-work-with-gavin-mueller
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
    Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

    • 1 hr 10 min
    Lying

    Lying

    The HBS hosts parse the difference between mistakes, half-truths, embellishments, and outright lies.
    George Costanza (from the TV series Seinfeld) once insisted: “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” This seems both true and false. It's certainly wrong to claim that someone lied accidentally, so intention, and therefore knowing what you are saying is not true, appears to be a necessary part of what it is to lie. Yet, the “if you believe it” part often operates like a “get out of jail free" card, and none of us can really know the intentions of another. 
    Kant famously argued that I have a duty to tell the truth in all cases, no matter the consequences... which leads one to wonder: if I'm aiding a friend by sheltering them from an abusive partner, when that partner knocks on the door and asks if my friend is inside, must I tell the truth? And what about a friend who asks you if you like their new tattoo?
    Finally, what happens to lying in an age, arguably like ours, when the truth counts for so little? Might we be in the awkward position of hoping for an age in which we can actually lie again?
    Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-127-lying
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
    Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

    • 53 min
    Growing Old(er)

    Growing Old(er)

     The HBS hosts consider the sands through the hourglass.
    It seems as if, when we’re young, the solution to all of our problems is just getting older—when will people take me seriously? when will I understand my own body? when will I gain the confidence to assert my own will? or, just be myself? Then, as we age, it paradoxically occurs to us that the only solution to our problems is to be young again: if I only knew then what I know now, if I only had a chance to do that thing over, if I only could move like when I was young, if I only had my whole future ahead of me ….
    This week, we're talking about the phenomenology, the physicality, and the psychology of growing old(er).
    Full episode notes available at this link:https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-125-growing-older
    -------------------If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!
    Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!  

    • 56 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
31 Ratings

31 Ratings

monika-polka ,

Great—even for non-philosophers!

If you want to be entertained and laugh like crazy together with the hosts of this brilliant and truly educational podcast, give it a try.

Socrates' Daimonion ,

Funny & engrossing

Funny, deeply smart, and full of meaningful, nuanced disagreements. A gift to anyone wanting a deeper take on some of our biggest questions.

dm2freedman ,

Best philosophy podcast

Honestly, the best philosophy podcast and it’s not even close.

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