May was an especially full month at PEL, featuring discussions in philosophy alongside a mix of music, film, and improvisation. The month featured Habermas’s defense of modernity, Hegel’s reflections on reason, Horkheimer and Adorno’s reading of the Odyssey, and a return to Diderot’s Rameau’s Nephew. All this is available with episodes on folk music, television, cinema, and political ethics to boot. Below is a full roundup of everything published across the network in May, listed in order of occurrence.
Closereads: Lionel Trilling on Sincerity (Part One)
May 1, 2026
This session turns to Lionel Trilling’s Sincerity and Authenticity, focusing on his account of sincerity as a historically contingent ideal. The discussion traces how sincerity emerged as a social and moral expectation, examining its connection to truthfulness, self-presentation, and the changing relationship between the individual and society.
BONUS: Redacted Acting Coach
May 1, 2026
This bonus preview offers a glimpse of a Philosophy vs. Improv episode that was ultimately placed behind the paywall after the guest (an acting coach and former high school acquaintance of Mark’s) felt uneasy about the recording. In addition to excerpts from the episode, Mark reflects on the experiment, describes it as a learning experience, and invites listeners to hear the full discussion through the show’s supporter channels.
“Lovesick: Eros and Melancholia in Plato’s Phaedrus”
May 1, 2026
This essay examines Plato’s Phaedrus through the lens of lovesickness, longing, and melancholia. Focusing on the dialogue’s treatment of eros as both a disruptive and elevating force, the piece explores how desire unsettles ordinary life while also opening the possibility of transcendence and self-transformation.
Ep. 390: Diderot Debates a Cynic (Part Two)
May 3, 2026
Continuing the discussion of Denis Diderot’s Rameau’s Nephew, the hosts examine Rameau’s increasingly provocative challenge to conventional morality and social respectability. The episode explores his embrace of opportunism, performance, and self-interest, pressing further into the question of whether social virtues reflect genuine moral commitments.
(sub)TEXT: Withnail and I and the End of an Era
May 11, 2026
Wes and Erin discuss Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I (1987), focusing on its portrait of aimlessness, friendship, and cultural exhaustion at the close of the 1960s. The conversation examines how the film balances comedy and melancholy while depicting characters caught between artistic aspiration and personal decline, using their misadventures to reflect on nostalgia, disillusionment, and historical transition.
Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part One)
May 11, 2026
Beginning a discussion of Jürgen Habermas’s The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1985), the hosts examine Habermas’s defense of Enlightenment values against both reactionary and postmodern critiques. With guest John Ganz, the episode explores Habermas’s attempt to preserve ideals such as reason, truth, and progress while emphasizing the social and communicative foundations of these ideals, contrasting his approach with thinkers such as Horkheimer, Adorno, and Foucault.
Nakedly Examined Music #252: Tom Paxton’s Long Road
May 16, 2026
Folk singer-songwriter Tom Paxton joins the show to reflect on a career spanning more than six decades, from his early involvement in the Greenwich Village folk scene through his later recordings and performances. The conversation moves through songs from different periods of his work while touching on songwriting, political engagement, storytelling, and the changing role of folk music across generations.
Pretty Much Pop #221: Streep Does Prada
May 16, 2026
In light of the forthcoming sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, the hosts revisit the career of Meryl Streep and debate her reputation as one of the defining actors of her generation. Drawing on films from across her career (Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, Adaptation, Doubt, and The Iron Lady, etc.) the conversation reflects on her range, screen presence, and the question of what makes a performance enduring.
Ep. 391: Habermas Defends Modernity (Part Two)
May 17, 2026
Continuing the discussion of Jürgen Habermas’s The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, the hosts examine Habermas’s critique of postmodern and anti-Enlightenment currents, focusing on his effort to defend reason without reducing it to technocratic or instrumental forms. The episode develops his view that rationality emerges through communication and shared social practices, exploring how modernity might be renewed rather than abandoned in the face of its internal tensions.
Philosophy vs. Improv #117: Aftermath
May 20, 2026
Mark and Mary explore what happens after leaving one’s comfort zone, through a mix of discussion and improvised scenes. The episode reflects on how people process consequences, reinterpret past events, and navigate the lingering effects of difficult experiences.
Closereads: Horkheimer and Adorno on the Odyssey (Part One)
May 20, 2026
This session focuses on Horkheimer and Adorno’s Dialectic of Enlightenment. The discussion examines their reading of Odysseus as a prototype of the modern rational subject, exploring how self-control, calculation, and the struggle against myth contribute both to human freedom and to new forms of alienation.
Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part One)
May 25, 2026
Beginning a discussion of Hegel’s Faith and Knowledge (1802), the hosts examine his critique of Kant’s restriction of reason to the realm of possible experience. The episode explores Hegel’s argument that such limits leave religion and metaphysics as merely subjective matters, introducing his effort to restore a more expansive role for reason in understanding reality and overcoming divisions between thought and the world.
Pretty Much Pop #222: Lordlings of the Flies
May 26, 2026
In light of the new BBC/Netflix adaptation, the hosts revisit William Golding’s Lord of the Flies along with its earlier film versions. The conversation considers what the new adaptation changes, whether its more developed characterization and visual style deepen the story’s impact, and how effectively it portrays the gradual breakdown of social order among the stranded children.
Nakedly Examined Music #253: Richard Barbieri’s Sonic Landscapes
May 29, 2026
Keyboardist and composer Richard Barbieri joins the show to discuss his long musical career, from his early work with the art-rock band Japan through later projects including Porcupine Tree and his solo recordings. The conversation moves through tracks from different periods of his career while reflecting on sound design, collaboration, atmosphere, and the evolving role of electronic sounds in shaping a musical identity.
What Makes a Just War?
May 30, 2026
This essay surveys the tradition of Just War Theory, tracing the principles used to distinguish morally justified warfare from mere aggression and revenge. Drawing on concepts such as just cause, proportionality, discrimination, and legitimate authority, the piece examines how philosophers and political thinkers have attempted to place ethical limits on war while acknowledging the difficulty of applying these standards to contemporary conflicts.
Ep. 392: Early Hegel Elevates Reason (Part Two)
May 31, 2026
Continuing the discussion of Hegel’s Faith and Knowledge (1802), the hosts examine his critique of Kant other thinkers who ultimately leave reason divided against itself. The episode further develops Hegel’s effort to conceive reason as capable of grasping the underlying unity within apparent contradictions.
There’s more to come in June!
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