The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast podcast

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.

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.

 

#200

PEL Presents NEM#240: Jonathan Rundman, Multi-Branded

Singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Jonathan (currently based in Minneapolis) has been... more

24 Oct 2025

1 HR 21 MINS

1:21:24

24 Oct 2025


#199

Ep. 378: Aquinas on God and Mind (Part One)

On selections from Thomas Aquinas: Selected Philosophical Writings, mostly taken from the ... more

20 Oct 2025

48 MINS

48:55

20 Oct 2025


#198

PEL Presents PvI#103: Post-COVID Mary and Mark

How does your body talk to you? Your favorite hosts-of-a-philosophy-and-improv-comedy show... more

17 Oct 2025

38 MINS

38:47

17 Oct 2025


#197

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

Continuing on "Directions for Decomposition" from A Short History of Decay (1949). What is... more

13 Oct 2025

45 MINS

45:46

13 Oct 2025


#196

PEL Presents PMP#207: Spinal Tap and Other Fake Bands

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al watched Spinal Tap and its new sequel, and we throw these... more

12 Oct 2025

51 MINS

51:22

12 Oct 2025


#195

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

Adrian has applied his distinctive, spacey dub mixing techniques to numerous recordings si... more

10 Oct 2025

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:31

10 Oct 2025


#194

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

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

06 Oct 2025

52 MINS

52:02

06 Oct 2025


#193

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

Mark's [Partially Examined Life] (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/) co-host Seth joins u... more

04 Oct 2025

47 MINS

47:57

04 Oct 2025


#192

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

Continuing on selections from this late Platonic dialogue. Starting in Book 4, Plato's cha... more

29 Sep 2025

52 MINS

52:39

29 Sep 2025


#191

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 ... more

28 Sep 2025

53 MINS

53:13

28 Sep 2025


#190

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... more

26 Sep 2025

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:58

26 Sep 2025


#189

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

On this later dialogue presenting Plato's ideas about the character of laws in a just stat... more

22 Sep 2025

47 MINS

47:45

22 Sep 2025


#188

PREMIUM-PEL Back-to-School Nightcap 2025

Mark, Seth, and Dylan add some more detail and thought to our recent episodes, including m... more

20 Sep 2025

10 MINS

10:14

20 Sep 2025


#187

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 ... more

18 Sep 2025

54 MINS

54:15

18 Sep 2025


#186

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

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

15 Sep 2025

56 MINS

56:50

15 Sep 2025


#185

PEL Presents PMP#205: Fantastical Foursome

What do we expect out of a superhero film? Does it need overqualified dramatic actors? Doe... more

14 Sep 2025

56 MINS

56:27

14 Sep 2025


#184

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

On The Sex Which Is Not One (1977) and other Irigaray selections from the French Feminism ... more

08 Sep 2025

44 MINS

44:38

08 Sep 2025


#183

PEL Presents PvI#100: Maximizing Turtle Revenue w/ Tim Sniffen and Anthony LeBlanc

It's our season finale, and the end of Bill's regular participation on the show. You may w... more

07 Sep 2025

50 MINS

50:10

07 Sep 2025


#182

Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part Two)

Continuing our discussion of the dangers to and weak points of liberal democracy, includin... more

01 Sep 2025

48 MINS

48:50

01 Sep 2025


#181

PEL Presents PMP#204: Naked Gun Rapid Firing

What is the state of the stream-of-gags formula that used to stand tall in the films of th... more

31 Aug 2025

50 MINS

50:00

31 Aug 2025