The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

932 episodes

PEL Presents PvI#118: Aphoristically w/ Andrea Roccella
2026/06/07 | 50 mins.
Mark and Mary are joined by Andrea, an Italian teacher with a broad performing background who's written a book of philosophical, poetic aphorisms called Think Town: self-help reflections and directives about fear, ego, happiness, etc.
There's a long history of aphorisms in philosophy, and philosophy invented the self-help genre, but how does philosophy work given the lack of argumentation?
We explore the monster under the bed, AI agents, making philosophy personally applicable, being receptive, DOT ego secretions, and more.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
PEL Presents Closereads: Horkheimer and Adorno on The Odyssey (Part One)
2026/06/05 | 1h
We read part of The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), specifically the parts about Homer's epic as an allegory for the merely apparent triumph of modernism (capitalism, instrumental reason) over myth (savagery, magical thinking).
Subscribe to Closereads (and get a link to this text to read along) at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy; follow us there via the free tier to part two and many other episodes like this one ad free, or pay us to get parts 2-5 and everything else we've recorded. (Alternatively, support both PEL and Closereads at patreon.com/partiallyexaminedlife for a nice combo deal.)
Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part Two)
2026/06/01 | 49 mins.
Continuing on Faith and Knowledge (1802), Ch. 1 and 2. We start off by discussing how beauty might give us a window into things-in-themselves according to the Romantics, who were in part following Kant's lead. Also, what version of the ontological argument for the existence of God does Hegel believe? We try to figure out what Hegel is praising in Kant's positing of synthetic a priori claims, and yet how he thinks Kant didn't understand the implications of this view.
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.
PEL Presents NEM#253: Synth-Scaper Richard Barbieri (Japan, Porcupine Tree)
2026/05/31 | 1h 14 mins.
Richard played with art-rock band Japan from 1975 through their five albums, then continued to collaborate with members of that group, releasing several increasingly atmospheric albums as Jansen-Barbieri, Jansen-Barbieri-Karn, Rain Tree Crow, et al. He joined Porcupine Tree in 1995 and has played on their 20+ albums, and began putting out ambient solo releases in 2004 (perhaps seven albums' worth to this point) while continuing to collaborate.
We discuss "A New Simulation" from Hauntings (2026), "All Fall Down" from Stranger Inside (2008), and "Sleepers Awake" by Jansen-Barbieri from Stone to Flesh (1995). End song: "Waiting to Be Born" by Steve Hogarth and Richard Barbieri, recorded 2015 and released in 2023. Intro: "The Experience of Swimming" by Japan, from Gentlemen Take Polaroids (1980). More at richardbarbieri.bandcamp.com.
Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
PEL Presents PMP#222: Lordlings of the Flies
2026/05/28 | 50 mins.
In light of the new, well-acted and well-shot BBC/Netflix adaptation, we discuss William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies and its previous (1963, 1991) adaptations. Featuring Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al.
What do we think of the updates made for this retelling? Its pacing? Its repeated close-up shots of kids' silent faces? Is this per usual obviously inferior to the novel, or does it actually present deeper characters and a more visceral presentation of their degradation?
Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.
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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About The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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.

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