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This Week’s Episode

13 August 2023

Making a Better World

Some philosophers think that morality boils down to one idea: we should make the world better for everyone. But who counts in "everyone"—babies, animals, future people? How can we tell what makes the world better for others? And in an uncertain...



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Recent Episodes

18 June 2024

What Is Gender?

Gender is a controversial topic these days, but people can't seem to agree about what gender is. Is it an inner identity, a biological fact, or an...

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18 May 2024

The Social Lives of Robots

Machines might surpass humans in terms of computational intelligence, but when it comes to social intelligence, they’re not very sophisticated. They...


28 April 2024

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir is often cast as only a novelist or a mere echo of Jean-Paul Sartre. But she authored many philosophical texts beyond The...


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This Month’s Playlist

Dog Days

We're deep into the dog days of summer. But what does that even mean? Regardless of how overheated your pet may be feeling lately, the expression actually comes from the fact that during this timeframe

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Philosophers' Corner

18 August 2023

Perverse Desire

There's something fascinating about those kids who ate laundry soap as part of a weird “challenge,” or people who deliberately loiter on the steps with the “no loitering” sign. These are strange things to want to do—what are people getting out of them?
09 August 2023

Making a (More) Moral World

Making a better world would be a great thing—but do we really need philosophers to help us do that? They're often some of the worst people out there and the last people we should be taking ethical advice from.
21 July 2023

Ancient Renaissance Woman

In her time in the 4th century, Hypatia was one of the most famous philosophers in Alexandria, and indeed in the ancient world. She studied so many different things—mathematics, astronomy, philosophy—and taught them too.
07 July 2023

Philosophy of Mexico

There are so many great ideas in the realm of Mexican philosophy: Sor Juana’s feminism, Emilio Uranga’s existentialism, all that fascinating stuff from the Aztecs and Mayans. But it's worth asking why we lump all those things together.
25 June 2023

Summer Reading Uncut

We're most most eager for you to listen to the edited broadcast and podcast, but there's always good stuff from the conversations we record for these multi-guest episodes that had to be left on the cutting-room floor.
18 June 2023

The Gender Box(es)

To some, gender is an oppressive system designed to keep women down. People go around saying girls are made of sugar and spice, and boys are made of snips and snails, and pretty soon you’re making 80 cents on the dollar. But there’s another side to gender.

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Identity Politics

09 March 2015
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Edward Snowden and the Ethics of Whistleblowing

12 October 2016
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Democracy in Crisis

12 October 2016
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Separation of Powers

12 October 2016
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About Us

Philosophy Talk is a nationally-syndicated public radio program and podcast hosted by Stanford professors Josh Landy and Ray Briggs. Known as “the program that questions everything—except your intelligence” Philosophy Talk challenges listeners to question their assumptions and to think about things in new ways. After two decades on the air, we have produced more than 550 episodes on a wide range of topics, from timeless philosophical questions about the ultimate nature of things to contemporary social and political issues, as well as our most fundamental beliefs about science, morality, and the human condition. We approach these topics with clarity, depth, and humor, inviting listeners to join engaging conversations with scholars from all over the globe.  

 

Philosophy Talk is produced by KALW 91.7FM on behalf of Stanford University, as part of its Public Humanities Initiative.

 

 

“We are what we repeatedly do. Greatness then, is not an act, but a habit” ― Aristotle

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisioned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we're partisans of liberty, then it's our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!” ― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” ― Dr. Seuss

“Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.” ― Plato

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.” ― Isaac Asimov, Foundation

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