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The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey

Philosophy Society & Culture

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Latest episode

917 episodes

Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part One)
2026/04/27 | 49 mins.
On 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.
PEL Presents NEM#251: Dr. Alan Williams (Birdsong at Morning)
2026/04/25 | 1h 35 mins.
Alan 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.
Ep. 389: Hegel on Wealth and Power (Part Two)
2026/04/20 | 47 mins.
Concluding 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.
PEL Presents PvI#116: Full Bird Mode w/ BJ Lange
2026/04/18 | 44 mins.
BJ is an LA improviser/actor/TV host (who teaches wounded warriors among others), and he chats with Mark and Mary about migratory patterns, TV shows that date you, how to draw in students, the realness of birds, and playing unsafe characters.
Scenes include a forced-Fargo college experience, improv class on the roof, spying on birds, and keyboard warriors. Plus Marge and Larry.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
PEL Presents PMP#219: Weir-ed Sci Fi: Hail Mary and The Martian
2026/04/17 | 52 mins.
We discuss the hard sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, which along with The Martian (2015) was based on a novel by Andy Weir and adapted by Drew Goddard. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al consider how hard we actually like our sci-fi, the directors of these films (by Lord/Miller and Ridley Scott respectively), how the books got adapted, Weir's other work (Artemis, some webcomics, etc.), and more. How does Weir make a series of scientific problems into an actual, enjoyable plot?
Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
Sponsor: Visit squarespace.com/PRETTY (code PRETTY) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain.

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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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Philosophy Society & Culture