Subtext is a book club podcast for readers interested in what the greatest works of the human imagination say about life’s big questions. Each episode, philosopher Wes Alwan and poet Erin O’Luanaigh conduct a close reading of a text or film and co-write an audio essay about it in real time. It’s literary analysis, but in the best sense: we try not overly stuffy and pedantic, but rather focus on unearthing what’s most compelling about great books and movies, and how it is they can touch our l ...
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The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey
The Partially Examined Life is a podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode, we pick a short text and chat about it with some balance between insight and flippancy. You don't have to know any philosophy, or even to have read the text we're talking about to (mostly) follow and (hopefully) enjoy the discussion. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. We also featu ...
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Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part Two)
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Continuing on Inquiry into the Human Mind, getting further into the chapter on smelling as well as the conclusion and Reid's exchange with Hume. What exactly is our relation with objects in the world according to Reid? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and bonus content.…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 6)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature. Upcoming Episodes: “A New Leaf” (Elaine May), “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee From Me” (Thoma…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides' "Medea" - Part 6
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature.
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Ep. 352: Thomas Reid on Smelling and Knowledge (Part One)
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On Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense (1764): the introduction, conclusion, ch. 2 "Of Smelling" ch. 4 "Of Hearing," and some correspondence between Reid and Hume. According to Reid, the big mistake of "modern" philosophy is thinking that objects in the world need to resemble the sensations we have of them. Smelling is sup…
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PEL Presents PMP#182: Tim Burton: Shtick Macabre
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In light of the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, we discuss the films of director (and occasional writer) Tim Burton since his career was firmly established by his early work in the '80s including the original 1988 Beetlejuice. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al have very mixed reactions to the new film, but we agree that the animation style that charact…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 5)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature. Upcoming Episodes: “A New Leaf” (Elaine May), “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee From Me” (Thoma…
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PREMIUM-Ep. 351: Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part Two)
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Mark, Seth and Dylan continue talking about philosophy surrounding trans phenomena in light of our interview with Sophie Grace about Trans Figured. In this supporter-exclusive discussion, we get into sex and gender as cluster concepts, ethical theory in equity discussions, and the practical matters you'd expect: sports participation, pronouns, bath…
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Ep. 351: Guest Sophie Grace Chappell on Transgender (Part One)
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Mark, Seth, and Dylan interview this British philosophy prof about her new book, Trans Figured, and philosophy's role in discussing the phenomena of transgender (which, yes, can be used as a noun, according to Sophie). Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Part two of this episode (with just the PEL guys) will only be available to PEL supporters. …
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 4)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature. Upcoming Episodes: “A New Leaf” (Elaine May), “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee From Me” (Thoma…
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PEL Presents NEM#223: Dale Crover (Melvins) the Accidentalist
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Though Dale is known as the long-time drummer for Washington sludge-metal band Melvins ('88-present), he's also a guitarist and singer who led the band Altamont though four alternative rock albums ('97-'05) and has now released his third full-length, stylistically varied solo album. We discuss "I Quit" from Glossolalia (2024), "Bad Move" from The F…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 3)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature. Upcoming Episodes: “A New Leaf” (Elaine May), “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee From Me” (Thoma…
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Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part Two)
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Concluding on "Universality and Truth" from Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. It it coherent to simply not have a theory of truth? Rorty claims that he's not a relativist; he's just avoiding some useless parts of philosophy that just cause problems, including inculcating the respect for a non-human absolute, and this attitude und…
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PEL Presents PvI#82: LIVE in Personability w/ James Whittington
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Chicago's iO Theater was graced on August 21 by Mark, Bill, and special guest theater educator James Whittington, who spoke about embodiment (see Maurice Merleau-Ponty), the possible disconnect between meaning and tone, and being in the physical presence of greatness. They acted out scenes (while still sitting!) about an unsuccessful party and Expe…
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Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part One)
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On "Universality and Truth" and "Pan-Relationalism," which are lectures 3-5 in Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism. How do we justify democracy? Rorty says we don't have to refer to transcendent Truth or Good to do this. He also denies the disinction between essential and accidental properties, and in fact between substance and prop…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 2)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of Ancient Greece’s most notorious battle of the sexes, and Euripides’ rumination on the question of whether the Athenian ideals of rationality and moderation sufficiently honor the instinctual side of human nature. Upcoming Episodes: “A New Leaf” (Elaine May), “Whoso List to Hunt” and “They Flee From Me” (Thoma…
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PEL Presents PMP#181: M. Night Shyamalan's Films Are a Trap
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In light of the new film Trap, we look at this writer/director's oeuvre. Was he a bright light (The Sixth Sense) that at one point went out (certainly by The Happening), and has that light gone back on as he's regained full control in his most recent films (Knock at the Cabin, The Visit, et al.)? Is he a genius, overrated, or somehow both? Mark, La…
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PEL Presents NEM#222: Amy Rigby's Nostalgic Simplicity
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Amy started out as an NYC punk fan, was in the "cow punk" band Last Roundup with her brother, and then in a vocal trio called The Shams that released an album and an EP around 1993. She finally emerged as a full front-person as a solo artist in 1997; she's since released nine solo albums plus three more with her husband Wreckless Eric, who now serv…
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Love Dishonored in Euripides’ “Medea” (Part 1)
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Known for casting mythical heroes in human proportions, Eurpides has his hands full with Medea—homocidal sorcerous, granddaughter of the sun, and a woman who does not take betrayal lightly. Nevertheless, the poet is able to capture the agony of someone who has given up everything for love—family, home, and homeland—only to find her passion disregar…
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Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part Two)
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Continuing on Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism, ch. 1, "Pragmatism and Religion" and 2, "Pragmatism as Romantic Polytheism." Rorty evaluates past pragmatists' approaches to religion, arguing contra James that it can't be "privatized," that democratic social goals involve shared rationality, which means that all of our beliefs are…
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PREMIUM-Closereads: Merleau-Ponty on the Body
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We begin a long series on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Phenomenology of Perception" (1945), focusing on Part I, "The Body": "Experience and Objective Thought." To get the whole recording, you can become a PEL Citizen, or simply go subscribe to the Closereads: Philosophy with Mark and Wes podcast at closereadsphilosophy.com. You can also watch the proce…
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Love and Loneliness in “Arthur” (1981) – Part 2
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It’s awful being alone, according to millionaire playboy Arthur Bach, and nobody should be alone. And so he forestalls this feeling by getting drunk, picking up prostitutes, and laughing at his own jokes. Yet love in its true form can be a lonely business, as his servant Hobson reminds him, because it involves growing up, getting serious, and takin…
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Ep. 349: Rorty's Pluralistic Pragmatism (Part One)
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On Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism (1997), ch. 1-2 about religion. Should democracy be defended on absolutist grounds, e.g. by reference to God-given or natural rights, the nature of Man, or the dictates of Reason? Rorty says no! Democracy, ethics, and even truth itself are a matter for societies to decide for themselves. Monoth…
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PEL Presents PMP#180: Season Four Wrap: Nostalgia
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As Pretty Much Pop ends its 5th year of podcasting, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al break from our usual format to talk in a more free-form way about the thin line between the "new" media we talk about on the show and the classics of yesteryear. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by subscribing via…
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Love and Loneliness in “Arthur” (1981) – Part 1
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It’s awful being alone, according to millionaire playboy Arthur Bach, and nobody should be alone. And so he forestalls this feeling by getting drunk, picking up prostitutes, and laughing at his own jokes. Yet love in its true form can be a lonely business, as his servant Hobson reminds him, because it involves growing up, getting serious, and takin…
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Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part Two)
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Continuing on "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). How does knowledge-first epistemology relate to reliabilism? What are its moral implications? Does W. have a good argument against relativism and skepticism? Get more at partiallyexaminedli…
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Mark, Wes, and Dylan again talk politics, including conspiracy theorist psychology, whether post-modernism is responsible for current "post-truth" discourse on the Right (see the PvI David Shields episode), our previous guest John Ganz who now has a bestselling book, and finally the relief at actually having some Presidential choice that is not pas…
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Ep. 348: Tim Williamson's Knowledge-First Epistemology (Part One)
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On "Knowledge First Epistemology" (2011), "Justifications, Excuses, and Sceptical Scenarios" (2015), and "Morally Loaded Cases in Philosophy" (2019). Is knowledge basic, or is it dissolvable into more basic ingredients such as justification, truth, and belief? Williamson argues that these latter things should instead be defined in terms of knowledg…
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Courtly Reciprocity in “Laustic” and “Guigemar” by Marie de France (Part 2)
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Wes & Erin continue their discussion of two of Marie de France’s most famous lais—”Laustic” and “Guigemar”—and how their narratives marry the “flesh” of text, art, and symbology, to the “spirit” of the spoken word (via dialogue, oaths and covenants, and authorial commentary), in order, perhaps, to communicate something of the mysterious and dangero…
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PEL Presents PMP#179: Deadpool Gets Meta
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We discuss the Deadpool films in light of the new Deadpool & Wolverine, which leaves the fourth wall thoroughly smashed. Is the new film just a meta-text about the existence of other Marvel films? Is this just a particularly irreverent phase in superhero films (contra Christopher Nolan Batman seriousness)? Featuring Mark, Sarah, Al, Lawrence, and A…
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PEL Presents NEM#221: David Nagler Goes Brazilian
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The New York-based singer/keyboardist/guitarist had several releases with Nova Social from '98-'14 while also serving as music director for Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders variety show. After four solo releases, he's formed a new project setting his droll lyrics in a '60s Brazilian setting called As For the Future. We discuss "Koan for the Music …
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