• Log In

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

Subscribe on Android Spotify patreon
  • Home
  • Podcast
    • All PEL Episodes
    • Most Recent Episodes
    • Categorized by Topic
    • Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Phi Fic Podcast
    • Combat & Classics
    • Constellary Tales
    • Upcoming Episodes
  • Blog
  • About
    • PEL FAQ
    • Meet PEL
    • About Pretty Much Pop
    • Nakedly Examined Music
    • Meet Phi Fic
    • Listener Feedback
    • Links
  • Store
    • Cart
    • Checkout
  • Members
    • Membership Options
    • PEL Not School Introduction
    • Log In
  • Support PEL
    • Patreon
  • Write for Us
  • Contact

Current PEL Episode

Ep. 242: Stanley Cavell on Tragedy via King Lear (Part Two)

Continuing on Cavell’s essay “The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear” (1969), shifting away from Lear in particular to a more general discussion of tragedy and Cavell’s psychological insights.

Begin with Part One or get the ad-free, unbroken Citizen Edition. Please support PEL!

End song: “Out of Your Hands” by Gretchen’s Wheel, i.e., Lindsay Murray, as interviewed for Nakedly Examined Music #81.

Sponsor: Visit TheGreatCoursesPLUS.com/PEL for a free trial of unlimited learning at $10/month w/ a quarterly plan.

Plus: Episode 117: Discussing Sophocles’s “Antigone”
Featuring: Episode 119: Nietzsche on Tragedy and the Psychology of Art

Nakedly Examined Music

NEM#121: K.C. Clifford on Brokenness and Power

May 8, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

K.C. has created seven releases of confessional folk (sometimes gospel, sometimes country) since  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop

Pretty Much Pop #41: Made-for-TV Musicals w/ Craig Wedren

May 3, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Craig (beyond being a rock god) has created music for many TV shows, including Glow, Shrill, Mrs.  Continue Reading …

Phi Fic

Repost: The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

April 13, 2020 By Laura Davis

We are Reposting our Discussion on The Machine Stops by EM Forster because The Machine is  Continue Reading …

Combat and Classics

Combat & Classics #33: Nietzsche’s “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” Part I

February 19, 2020 By Sanya Kerksiek

We begin our next “close read” series with the first two sections of Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke  Continue Reading …

Featured Post

Lucifer: How a Decent Deity Got a Bad Rap (Part 4)

February 28, 2020 By Vincent Czyz

In this final post in a series on the history of Satan, Vincent Czyz shows us how in the early centuries of the Christian era, the serpent in the Garden of Eden came to be identified with the Prince of Darkness, and the details of the story of the Fall From Heaven, familiar to readers from Paradise lost, were filled in.

From the blog

Ep. 242: Stanley Cavell on Tragedy via King Lear (Part One)

April 27, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

On Cavell's essay "The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear" (1969). Can money buy you love? What is tragedy? In this first Mark-free episode ever, Wes's new (sub)Text co-host, the poet Erin  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #40: #MeToo Depictions in TV and Film

April 25, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

These stories are all heavily watched, which means they’re entertaining: The 2019 film Bombshell (about the predations of Roger Ailes), Apple TV’s The Morning Show (about a disgraced anchor), and  Continue Reading …

NEM#120: Steve Harley is Wiser and Less Hungry

April 24, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Steve started fronting Cockney Rebel in the early '70s and has released a dozen albums of of narrative-driven, tuneful songs. We discuss "Compared with You (Your Eyes Don’t Seem to Age)" and listen  Continue Reading …

Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic

April 20, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

How should we think politically about the current global crisis? Do extreme circumstances reveal truths of political philosophy or do they reinforce whatever it is we already believe? Mark, Wes, Seth,  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #39: TV and Other Plans in Subjunctive Stasis

April 17, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

You've planned and planned for your big event, and WHAM, the plague hits and you're frittering away your day worrying and watching TV. Our plans for this episode were postponed when  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #38: Costuming w/ Whitney Anne Adams

April 13, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

How does clothing mesh with set design, cinematography, sound design, etc. to create the mood in a film? Whitney designed for and dressed leads and crowds on The Great Gatsby, the Happy Death Day  Continue Reading …

Ep. 240: David Lewis on Possible Worlds and Language Games (Part Two)

April 13, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

On “Scorekeeping in a Language Game” (1979) and “Truth in Fiction” (1978). Building on our first half, which covered Ch. 4 of Lewis's book Counterfactuals (1973), we now look to some of Lewis's  Continue Reading …

NEM#119: Chris A. Maxwell: The Power of What You Don’t Fully Understand

April 10, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Chris emerged in the early '90s fronting the melodic Gunbunnies and then again as a member of the noisy Skeleton Key, but he’s best known for being half of the production team Elegant Too, producing  Continue Reading …

Ep. 240: David Lewis on Possible Worlds and Language Games (Part One)

April 6, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

On Ch. 4 of Lewis's book Counterfactuals (1973) and the essays “Scorekeeping in a Language Game” (1979) and “Truth in Fiction” (1978). What makes counter-factual statements true? If you think "I  Continue Reading …

Pretty Much Pop #37: Everything is LEGO

April 4, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Why has a children's toy become a brand attached to virtually every media type, partnering with the most ubiquitous franchises, and serving as a pastime for many adult hobbyists who will gut you if  Continue Reading …

Ep. 239: Montesquieu Invents Political Science (Part Two)

March 30, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Continuing on The Spirit of the Laws (1748) by Charles Louis de Secondat, aka Baron de Montesquieu. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth talk more about the "motive force" behind each type of government and the  Continue Reading …

NEM#118: Matt Wilson (Trip Shakespeare) Is Still a Writer

March 27, 2020 By Mark Linsenmayer

Matt led the razor-sharp Trip Shakespeare in the '80s, releasing his first album with them in '86, got signed to a major label by the early '90s, but then stepped back while his brother and co-Tripper  Continue Reading …

View All Blog Posts

Buy stuff through Amazon and send a few shekels our way at no extra cost to you.

Become a PEL Citizen
Sign up for a $5/month or $50/year recurring donation and get access to our members-only site, which includes stuff from our shop including vintage episodes, bonus audio, documents and Not School discussion groups. Click the banner above or here to learn more.

Why Are We Here?

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy 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 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. 

Recent Comments

  • Jennifer Tejada on Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic
  • Kris on Ep. 241: Political Philosophy and the Pandemic
  • Episode 5 – Analysis Of Descartes’ Second Meditation (Part 1) – Hello, I am Michael Malt-Cullen on Episode 2: Descartes’s Meditations: What Can We Know?
  • Episode 3 – Analysis Of Descartes’ First Meditation – Hello, I am Michael Malt-Cullen on Episode 2: Descartes’s Meditations: What Can We Know?
  • Robert Williams on Ep. 242: Stanley Cavell on Tragedy via King Lear (Part Two)

We Examine

  • 3 Quarks Daily
  • Ask a Philosopher
  • Blog of the American Philosophical Association
  • Brain Pickings
  • Classical Wisdom
  • Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
  • EconTalk
  • Elucidations
  • Existential Comics
  • Four by Three Magazine
  • Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • language goes on holiday
  • Leiter Reports
  • Limited Inc.
  • MasterClass
  • Modern Day Philosophers
  • New APPS: Art, Politics, Philosophy, Science
  • New Work New Culture
  • Open Culture
  • Patterson in Pursuit
  • Philosophize This!
  • Philosophy Bro
  • Philosophy for Real Life
  • Philosophy Forum
  • Philosophy Now
  • Philosophy Talk
  • Political Philosophy Podcast
  • Reddit.com Philosophy
  • Skillshare
  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • Teach Philosophy 101
  • The Christian Humanist
  • The Great Courses Plus
  • The Institute of Art and Ideas
  • The Panpsycast
  • The Philosopher's Zone
  • The Pop Culture Philosopher
  • Very Bad Wizards
  • Viva Day Spa
  • Why Theory?
  • Zero Squared

About The Partially Examined Life

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy 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 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

Become a PEL Citizen!

As a PEL Citizen, you’ll have access to a private social community of philosophers, thinkers, and other partial examiners where you can join or initiate discussion groups dedicated to particular readings, participate in lively forums, arrange online meet-ups for impromptu seminars, and more. PEL Citizens also have free access to podcast transcripts, guided readings, episode guides, PEL music, and other citizen-exclusive material. Click here to join.

Blog Post Categories

  • (sub)Text
  • Aftershow
  • Audiobook
  • Book Excerpts
  • Citizen Content
  • Citizen Document
  • Citizen News
  • Close Reading
  • Combat and Classics
  • Constellary Tales
  • Featured Article
  • General Announcements
  • Interview
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Misc. Philosophical Musings
  • Nakedly Examined Music Podcast
  • Nakedly Self-Examined Music
  • NEM Bonus
  • Not School Recording
  • Not School Report
  • Other (i.e. Lesser) Podcasts
  • PEL Music
  • PEL's Notes
  • Personal Philosophies
  • Phi Fic Podcast
  • Podcast Episode (Citizen)
  • Podcast Episodes
  • Pretty Much Pop
  • Reviewage
  • Song Self-Exam
  • Things to Watch
  • Vintage Episode (Citizen)
  • Web Detritus

Follow:

Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Apple Podcasts

Copyright © 2009 - 2020 · The Partially Examined Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Copyright Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy