Podcast
The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast
Hosted by Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey · EN
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 feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.
150episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
PEL Presents PvI#117: Mark and Mary in the Triboobal Aftermath
2w ago00:51:55Tap to summarizeWe are REELING from our REDACTED episode, and so we talk about the lessons we learned from that and start thinking about what it is to be out of one's comfort zone: how do fear and ego issues interact? Is playfulness a lack of professionalism? Are both arrogance and humility products of fear? Plus, cutting-edge surgery reality shows, Schrödinger's hostile cat and Dr. Brenda's sentient food samples, Bishop Jim vs. Trudy the Innocent, and more! Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
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Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part Two)
2w ago00:57:44Tap to summarizeContinuing on on The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, Ch. 1, 2, and 5 with guest John Ganz. We further discuss Habermas' characterizations of Hegel's take on modernity and eventually get to Adorno and Horkheimer, whose dismissals of modernity Habermas thinks go too far. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. including a supporter-only part three to this episode. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
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PEL Presents PMP#221: Streep Does Prada
3w ago00:51:17Tap to summarizeWe discuss the career of Meryl Streep in light of The Devil Wears Prada 2, insofar as we (Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al) have a hold of it; she's been in over 65 films! Is she really the best actor on the planet? Did Prada need a sequel? We all brought in our own experiences with her catalog, touching on Sophie's Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, A Cry in the Dark, Adaptation, The Iron Lady, Death Becomes Her, Postcards From the Edge, Doubt, The Laundromat, Let Them All Talk, Florence Foster Jenkins, et al. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
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Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part One)
3w ago00:51:39Tap to summarizeOn Jürgen Habermas' The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985), featuring guest John Ganz. Habermas defines modernity as Enlightenment ideals, discusses what's wrong with them (subjectivity), how Hegel argues constructively that a social element needs to be added this this, and how many other critics (e.g. Adorno, Nietzsche, and Foucault) instead argue more destructively against Enlightenment values like Truth, liberty, and justice. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Check out the Scribe Optimize Workflow AI platform at Scribe.how/PEL. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
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PEL Presents NEM#252: Folk Legend Tom Paxton
4w ago00:54:12Tap to summarizeTom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early '60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009. We talk about "Rebel Gal" from Together Again (2026) (a collaborative album with John McCutcheon), "If the Poor Don't Matter" from Redemption Road (2015), "Mr. Blue" from Morning Again (1968), and "The Death of Stephen Biko" (with Anne Hills and Bob Gibson) from Best of Friends (live in 1984, released in 2004; the song was originally recorded for Heroes, 1978). Intro: "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" from Rambin' Boy (1964). More at tompaxton.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
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Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part Two)
May 400:51:07Tap to summarizeContinuing on Rameau's Nephew, getting further into Rameau's philosophy and practices and trying to figure out what this anti-hero can tell us about ethics, given that he displays the virtue of being candid about his own vices. We talk about "trade idioms" (unethical practices that we consider normal), education, and music. How does this reading relate to Hegel (who quotes it directly)? Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
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Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One)
Apr 2800:49:45Tap to summarizeOn Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew, a dialogue written in the 1760s. Is virtue necessary for happiness, or in the real world, is vice necessary to get by? Diderot's character Rameau argues the latter: that philosophical morality is problematic, and our imperative is prudence, which in Rameau's case involves a lot of clownish deception and (ironically) truth-telling. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday's security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/pel.
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PEL Presents PMP#220: Peaky Blinders: Gangs of Birmingham
Apr 2600:54:19Tap to summarizeWe discuss Steven Knight's six-seasons-and-a-movie historical crime show Peaky Blinders, featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. Does the show live up to its initial excellence? It's got a great emotional premise (post-WWI PTSD), and there's a ridiculous amount of gravitas among the cast, but do the heists undermine this heft? It's OK if you haven't seen the show; we hold off on spoilers for quite a while and warn you when we reach that point. Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop. Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.
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PEL Presents NEM#251: Dr. Alan Williams (Birdsong at Morning)
Apr 2501:35:24Tap to summarizeAlan released two albums with folk-rock band Knots and Crosses in the early 90s, put out one solo album, then became a recording engineer and earned a PhD in ethnomusicology. He released three albums between 2010-2019 fronting Birdsong at Morning and put out two more solo albums. We discuss "Just Like Water" (and listen at the end to "Somewhere There's a Train") from Floating on the Dreamline (2026), "The Great Escape" by Birdsong at Morning from A Slight Departure (2015), and the title track to Curve of the Earth (1993) by Knots and Crosses. Intro: "Neon Dreaming," originally from Evidence (1994). More at alanwilliamsevidence.com. Sponsor: Get three months free of online payroll and benefits software for small businesses at gusto.com/nem. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
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Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part Two)
Apr 2000:47:57Tap to summarizeConcluding on "Culture and its Realm of Actuality," in Hegel's Phenomenology via sections 519-526. We get into some of the ironic psychology here: In giving loyalty to the king, the nobles actually boost themselves qua givers. They should be grateful to the king to get wealth back from him, but being dependent on the king makes them resentful. The result is duplicitous people resenting those they claim to esteem, and moral language that is thus used inconsistently (the king is "good" when praised by "bad" when resented), which encourages jaded moral nihilism. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
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