Podcast Episodes

PEL Presents NEM#239: Adrian Sherwood's Dub Productions

Adrian has applied his distinctive, spacey dub mixing techniques to numerous recordings since 1978 including Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sinéad O'Connor, and Spoon and has release…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

Ep. 377: Emil Cioran's Pessimism (Part One)

On A Short History of Decay (1949), a pessimist/existentialist somewhat text from the most famous Romanian philosopher.

Cioran's short essays touch on art, humor, God, salvation, time, nostalgia, mo…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

PEL Presents PvI#102: Pit of Despair w/ Seth Paskin

Mark's Partially Examined Life co-host Seth joins us (i.e. Mark and Mary) to introduce Seth to improv and continue introducing philosophy to Mary.

We discuss Seth's attraction to depressing texts, a…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 376: Plato's "Laws" (Part Two)

Continuing on selections from this late Platonic dialogue. Starting in Book 4, Plato's characters are discussing how to create a new state ("Magnesia") from scratch. What sorts of laws should it have…

Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago

PEL Presents PMP#206: Abbott Elementary w/o Emmys

For our Emmys/back-to-school episode, we cover the pinnacle of the current network sitcom landscape: The six-time 2025 Emmy nominated 4-year-old sitcom Abbott Elementary. Yes, it lost this year but h…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

PEL Presents NEM#238: Eric Andersen Endures

Eric was a major figure in the 1960s NYC folk scene, and his early tunes have been covered by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and many others. He's released 22 solo albums plus several live albums and two a…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Ep. 376: Plato's "Laws" (Part One)

On this later dialogue presenting Plato's ideas about the character of laws in a just state. They should all be aimed at making people virtuous, and so should include education to this end. Each law …

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

PREMIUM-PEL Back-to-School Nightcap 2025

Mark, Seth, and Dylan add some more detail and thought to our recent episodes, including more about Steven Pinker and re-litigation of the utility of Irigaray's second-wave feminism in light of the d…

Published on 2 months, 4 weeks ago

PEL Presents PvI#101: Co-Hostery: Season Five Premiere with Mark and Mary

It is a new era! Merry Mary Hynes is now Mark's co-host, and we do some improv related to that and feel our the degree to which Mary has not studied philosophy. Could it be that we ALL do philosophy …

Published on 3 months ago

Ep. 375: Luce Irigaray's Feminism (Part Two)

Continuing on "Women on the Market" from The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other selections.

Irigaray gives a Marxist analysis of the commodification of women, addresses psychotherapists about the…

Published on 3 months ago