August was another lively month at The Partially Examined Life (PEL). In order of occurrence, here’s a list of August content you can revisit, or in case you missed it, enjoy for the first time.
(sub)TEXT: The Door Slam Heard ‘Round the World: Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
August 3, 2025
Wes & Erin discuss Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.”
Ep. 372: Kant’s Ethics Lectures (Part Two)
August 4, 2025
Picking up from Part One, PEL continues through the 1785 course lecture notes by Georg Ludwig Collins. Kant’s arguments for obligation grounded in reason itself are unpacked.
Pretty Much Pop #202: 50-Year-Old Jaws Busts Our Block
August 5, 2025
Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al revisit Spielberg’s Jaws on its 50th anniversary. They debate the film’s status as the first summer blockbuster, its sequels, and the shark film legacy it created.
Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part One)
August 11, 2025
The first part of the Walzer discussion focuses on “jus ad bellum,” the moral grounds for going to war. The group explores Walzer’s defense of traditional just war principles.
Philosophy vs. Improv #98: Ragnarocking
August 11, 2025
Mark and Bill blend discussion on speech-making, AI in academics, and improvisation, with bittersweet reflections as Bill nears the end of his regular role on the show.
Nakedly Examined Music #236: Tee Templeton’s Psychedelic Ending
August 15, 2025
Musician Tee Templeton discusses his long career, his new album, and the creative revival it represents. The conversation highlights his songwriting evolution and psychedelic influences.
Ep. 373: Michael Walzer on Just Wars (Part Two)
August 18, 2025
Continuing from Part One, chapters 5–6 of Just and Unjust Wars are covered. Walzer examines anticipatory warfare and moral limits in fighting, raising enduring questions about when and how wars can be justified.
Pretty Much Pop #203: What Superman?
August 19, 2025
In light of the new James Gunn film Superman, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk about the character, his stories, and past films and shows.
(sub)TEXT: Containment and Play in Jaws
August 19, 2025
Wes & Erin discuss Stephen Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws.
Announcement: Enrollment Open for Fall Foundational Political Philosophy Texts Class
August 21, 2025
PEL announces sign-ups for a Not School course covering classic works by Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, Simone Weil, and more.
Closereads: Peter Railton’s “Moral Realism” (Wrap Up)
August 24, 2025
The wrap-up closes PEL’s deep dive into Railton’s 1984 essay on moral realism. The discussion can serve as a standalone summary of not only Railton’s view, but of our efforts to actually figure out what a plausible naturalistic, empirical account of ethics could amount to.
Philosophy vs. Improv #99: Philosophy of Humor w/ Nessa Voss
August 24, 2025
Philosopher Nessa Voss enters the chat to explore classic theories of humor including superiority, incongruity, and unconscious release, while blending them with improv exchanges. It’s a mix of comedy and philosophy that reflects on why laughter works the way it does.
Ep. 374: Discussing Liberalism (Lincoln, et al) with Walter Sterling (Part One)
August 25, 2025
Dylan, Wes and Seth are joined by new St. John’s College President J. Walter Sterling to discuss Abraham Lincoln’s “On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions” (1838) plus the beginnings of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now (2018), Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed (2018), and Francis Fukuyama’s “Liberalism and Its Discontents” (his 2020 essay, not his 2022 book by that name).
More to come in September!
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