Podcast
History of Philosophy Audio Archive
Hosted by William Engels · EN
Curated lectures, interviews, and talks with philosophers, social scientists, and historians together in one place. Each week, we explore brand new research in history, economics, psychology, political science, philosophy, indigenous studies, and human rights while presenting the work of canonical scholars in a way that is accessible to newcomers while retaining interest for students and specialists. If you are an author in nonfiction or a scholar in the humanities/social sciences and are interested in being interviewed for the show please email me at williamengels@substack.com or @Bluesky.
45episodes
Episodes
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The Documentary Doctors #1: Sabrina Jennings and William Engels Review the Award-Winning Docs "The Bibi Files" and Al-Jazeera's Banned Documentary "The Lobby" - AIPAC, Jewish Voice for Peace, & Cigars
May 28, 202501:52:15Tap to summarizeIn this kickoff episode, activist and teacher Sabrina Jennings (links below) calls in to review two outstanding exposé documentaries, The Bibi Files, and The Lobby, both released 2024. Sabrina's critical class on the history of the Israel and Palestine conflict can be found right here - there are still a few slots left, so please sign up if you are interested in getting educated and getting active on the Gaza genocide.CLASS SIGNUP LINKhttps://form.typeform.com/to/fV4wTKx5Sabrina's Patreon and Zine:https://www.patreon.com/c/NoteToSelfzine/postsBluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/notetoselfzine.bsky.socialThe Bibi Files https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-bibi-filesThe Lobby -United Stateshttps://electronicintifada.net/content/watch-film-israel-lobby-didnt-want-you-see/25876Michael Scott Judge/Rulin and Amjadhttps://chuffed.org/project/129541-urgent-appeal-help-my-family-survive-genocide-war-in-gaza
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#168 - Kant: The Categorical Imperative, A Priori and A Posteriori, First and Second Critique, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kantian Ethics & Deontology, Enlightenment, and Perpetual Peace
May 28, 202502:30:28Tap to summarizeWritten by Professor A. J. Mandt (Wichita State University)https://philpeople.org/profiles/a-j-mandtVoiced by Charlton Heston. Original here:https://archive.org/details/thegiantsofphilosophyRemastered for clarity using thousands of dollars of gear, free for the Internet forever.
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#167 - Edward Said's Legacy: Cornel West on His Colleague's Work in the Middle East, the Human Spirit in Poetry, Kendrick Lamar, John Coltrane, the Funk of Life, and the Truth of Radical Solidarity
May 24, 202501:08:05Tap to summarizeCome join my Patreon!https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonOriginal Video (SFU)https://youtu.be/gpkZRyXdmi0SummaryIn a passionate and wide-ranging lecture, Cornel West pays tribute to Edward Said, framing him not just as a brilliant academic but as a "poet" in the broadest sense—a human being of immense courage, imagination, and compassion who wrestled with complex truths. West emphasizes Said's deep connection to music and art as sources of human dignity and resilience, essential tools for navigating and resisting oppression, drawing parallels to the Black American experience where creative expression has been a lifeline.West powerfully argues that music, art, and poetry are not merely decorative but constitutive of who we are, vital for taking risks and envisioning a better world, especially for the "wretched of the earth." He links this to the necessity of truth-telling, both to power and within one's own community, and the importance of retaining one's "funk"—an authentic, critical, and compassionate spirit. He highlights figures from John Coltrane to Kendrick Lamar as exemplars of this artistic and moral courage.The lecture culminates in a call for deep self-reflection and an unwavering commitment to justice, urging listeners to confront the "internal conversation" and resist the co-optation that can come with success or the allure of empire. West stresses the importance of solidarity across different oppressed groups, the courage to speak truth even when it's uncomfortable, and the continuous, compassionate engagement required to build a more just and loving world, recognizing that true progress involves wrestling with difficult realities, both external and internal.
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Hemlock #19 - The Left: A Love Letter
May 24, 202500:57:46Tap to summarizeI will end with a little scene that took place in the last months of peace. They were the most terrible months of my life, for helplessly and hopelessly one watched the inevitable approach of war. One of the most horrible things at that time was to listen on the wireless to the speeches of Hitler—the savage and insane ravings of a vindictive underdog who suddenly saw himself to be all powerful. We were at Rodmell during the late summer of 1939 and I used to listen to those ranting,raving speeches. One afternoon I was planting in the orchard under an apple-tree iris reticulata, those lovely violet flowers, which like the daffodils come before the swallow dares and take the winds of March with beauty. Suddenly I heard Virginia’s voice calling to me from the sitting room window: “Hitler is making a speech.” I shouted back, “I shan’t come. I’m planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.” Last March, twenty-one years after Hitler committed suicide in the bunker, a few of those violet flowers still flowered under the apple-tree in the orchard.-Leonard Woolf, "Downhill All The Way"Hardt and Negri - "Empire"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_(Hardt_and_Negri_book)Totality and Infinity by Emanuel Levinashttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totality_and_InfinityBob Woodward, "Peril" (2021)Adam Becker/Cult of Tech Doomsday Actorshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212987932-more-everything-foreverOliver Haimson/Trans Technology OUT NOWhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/2IELqCfDmDICHdMHt3XyXo?si=d88b4927ec4f4a15Savonarola bonfire of the vanitieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_of_the_vanitiesWe own this City (Baltimore PD Docudrama)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Own_This_CityLiberation theology / Second Vatican Council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theologyOscar RomeroAdorno, Horkheimer, and Frankfurt SchoolFiji is sinking underwaterhttps://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/climate-change-fiji-sealevels/Patreon:https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreon
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Hemlock #18 - DOME: My Response to Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Golden Dome" vis a vis the Last Forty Years of Missile Defense History
May 23, 202500:35:21Tap to summarizeHow I learned to stop worrying and love the Dome.Patreon: https://patreon.com/c/HemlockPatreonMusic Credit (under the FOX clip): Anapse Entertainmenthttps://anapse.bandcamp.com/Streamsafe Essentials IReferences:Reykjavik Summit 1986https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reykjav%C3%ADk_SummitKatyn Forest Massacrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacreOperation CYCLONE 1979-92 (Aid to Afghan Mujahideen)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_CycloneRambo IIIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambo_IIICheckpoint Charlie Crisis 1961https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Crisis_of_1961The song at the end Tom Lehrer (Sep 1967)https://youtu.be/frAEmhqdLFsThe Fox News Clip "What A Time to Be Alive"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1074RmRvlLUReagan, Remarks at Keflavik Air Force Base, Oct 12 1986https://youtu.be/MiImp6vDPS8
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