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The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

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Mark Linsenmayer, Wes Alwan, Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey

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.

#821

Ep. 404: Could AI Be Conscious? (Chalmers vs. Dreyfus) (Part One)

On David Chalmers' "Could a Large Language Model Be Conscious?" (2023) and Hubert Dreyfus'... more

Yesterday

48 MINS

48:14

Yesterday

#820

PEL Presents PvI#127: Naturally Intelligent Mushmouth

Mark, Mary, and Anthony continue to chat about Ch. 1 of The Therapy of Desire by Martha Nu... more

06 Nov 2026

50 MINS

50:52

06 Nov 2026

#819

Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part Two)

Continuing on Raphaël Millière and Cameron Buckner's "A Philosophical Introduction to Lang... more

02 Nov 2026

53 MINS

53:44

02 Nov 2026

#818

PEL Presents Closereads: David Lewis on Mind-Brain Identity (Part One)

On "An Argument for the Identity Theory" (1966), which unlike U.T. Place who merely argued... more

01 Nov 2026

55 MINS

55:03

01 Nov 2026

#817

PEL Presents NEM#263: Dan Cuddy (Hypnolovewheel, The Special Pillow)

Dan played bass for and co-fronted NYC band Hypnolovewheel, with six releases 1987-1993. S... more

30 Oct 2026

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:26

30 Oct 2026

#816

Ep. 403: Are LLMs Actually Intelligent? (Part One)

On Raphaël Millière and Cameron Buckner's "A Philosophical Introduction to Language Models... more

26 Oct 2026

49 MINS

49:19

26 Oct 2026

#815

PEL Presents PMP#233: Not-Scary Carrie

We discuss the new Mike Flanagan series adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel in compari... more

24 Oct 2026

54 MINS

54:31

24 Oct 2026

#814

PEL Presents PvI#126: Waiting for Cluckman w/ Anthony LeBlanc

Mark, Mary, and Jenny are joined by improviser Anthony to restore us to a 2 X 2 Team Play ... more

23 Oct 2026

50 MINS

50:56

23 Oct 2026

#813

Ep. 402: Plato Talks Homer: Hippias Minor and Ion (Part Two)

Finishing up on Hippias Minor and moving on to the Ion, where Socrates convinces a rhapsod... more

19 Oct 2026

55 MINS

55:25

19 Oct 2026

#812

PEL Presents NEM#262: Bruce Cockburn Expands Political/Spiritual Folk

Bruce has released 34 solo albums between 1970 and the present. He's a very accomplished f... more

18 Oct 2026

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:39

18 Oct 2026

#811

PEL Presents PMP#232: Obsession (for Men?)

On the 2024 low-budget horror blockbuster film by Curry Barker. Mark, Lawrence, and Sarahl... more

16 Oct 2026

44 MINS

44:04

16 Oct 2026

#810

Ep. 402: Plato Talks Homer: Hippias Minor and Ion (Part One)

On two short Platonic dialogues, written perhaps around a decade after Socrates' death in ... more

12 Oct 2026

46 MINS

46:59

12 Oct 2026

#809

PEL Presents Closereads: Gilbert Ryle on Self-Knowledge (Part One)

On The Concept of Mind (1949), Ch. 6, "Self-Knowledge." Ryle is arguing against a Cartesia... more

11 Oct 2026

57 MINS

57:44

11 Oct 2026

#808

PEL Presents PvI#125: Mrs. Nussbaum's Credit Card

The new official crew of Mark Linsenmayer, Mary Hynes, and "Jus' Jenny" Hansen kicks off o... more

09 Oct 2026

48 MINS

48:45

09 Oct 2026

#807

Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part Two)

Finishing up U.T. Place's "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?" (1956) and starting on J.J.C... more

05 Oct 2026

59 MINS

59:35

05 Oct 2026

#806

PEL Presents NEM#261: Joan as Policewoman's Living Growth

Joan Wasser started as violinist/support member in the 90s for The Dambuilders and then fo... more

03 Oct 2026

58 MINS

58:18

03 Oct 2026

#805

PEL Presents PMP#231: Euphoric Teens

We discuss high school drama TV shows and films in light of the genre-breaking, star-birth... more

01 Oct 2026

53 MINS

53:14

01 Oct 2026

#804

Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part One)

On U.T. Place's "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?" (1956) and J.J.C. Smart's "Sensations ... more

28 Sep 2026

49 MINS

49:37

28 Sep 2026

#803

PREMIUM-Ep. 400: Dennett Rejects Qualia (Part Three)

Mark and Seth rejoin to complete our treatment of Consciousness Explained, focusing on Den... more

26 Sep 2026

10 MINS

10:54

26 Sep 2026

#802

PEL Presents Philosophy vs. Theater w/ David Epstein

As an interlude between our Philosophy vs. Improv seasons, here's an interview left over f... more

25 Sep 2026

1 HR 01 MINS

1:01:54