The Trojans have pushed the Greeks all the way back to their ship. Night falls, and a panicked Agamemnon and Menelaus need a plan. They decide to send an embassy to Achilles, to beg him to rejoin the fighting. And (spoiler alert) the embassy fails -- but interestingly. It looks like Achilles' position softens; but if so, why doesn't Odysseus report this to the rest of the Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 66 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 9
Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1, 2, and 3 ad-free right now. We continue from part one on Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971), and then add Don Marquis' "Why Abortion is Immoral" (1989) and we begin our treatment of Mary Anne Warren's "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion" (1973), which we'll conclude in part three of this discussion. We pry further Continue Reading …
NEM#181: Robyn Hitchcock Forgets Himself, Sharply
Robyn has been producing a distinctive flavor of very British rock with surrealist lyrics for 35+ albums since 1979, and he describes his technique as no so much expanding the doors of perception but merely not editing the weird things we think, which involves composing without self-consciousness. We discuss "The Raging Muse" (and close by listening to "The Shuffle Man") Continue Reading …
(sub)Text: Fate and Blame in “Long Day’s Journey into Night”
Who is to blame for Mary Tyrone’s morphine addiction? Is it Mary herself? Is it Edmund, her younger son, after whose difficult birth Mary was first prescribed the drug? Is it Jamie, her older son, who caused the death of the brother that Edmund was born to replace? Is it the doctor who prescribed morphine too readily? Or is it James, Mary’s husband, who hired a third-rate Continue Reading …
Edith Wharton’s The Custom of the Country (Phi Fic Ep. 45)
For this episode, we discussed Edith Wharton's novel The Custom of the Country, which was published in 1913. It's a satirical novel about a very American type of ambition. At the novel's center is the shockingly narcissistic anti-hero Undine Spragg, a young woman from the midwest who comes to New York to do some major social climbing and leaves a trail of wreckage on her way Continue Reading …
Ep. 301: Is Abortion Morally Permissible? (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. We discuss some widely read papers about the morality of abortion, starting here with a selection from the Roe v. Wade decision (1973) and Judith Jarvis Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" (1971). Featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. Roe tried to sidestep the philosophical question of the current personhood of a fetus Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop #133: Predator (Films) and Prey
Thanks to the new film Prey by Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison, we now have six films (starting with 1987's Predator) featuring the dreadlocked, camouflaged, infrared-seeing race of alien hunter-jackasses who have apparently been flying around collecting our skulls for 300 years. Thankfully, the new film is good, and adds to the recent spate of Indigenous-centered media, Continue Reading …
Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview. Continuing from part one on “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), we get into the antiquarian use of history and the critical approach to history and Nietzsche's humanistic goals in his essay. Sponsors: Visit NordVPN.com/PEL for a risk-free massively Continue Reading …
NEM#180: Rebecca Pidgeon’s Inner Speech
Rebecca has balanced her musical career with her acting career since the mid '80s, starting in Scotland with Ruby Blue and then moving to New York in 1989 and releasing 10 solo albums and some EPs. We discuss "Silent Sound" from Parts of Speech Pieces of Sound (2022), the title track to the Stark Naked EP (2020), and "24 Hours of Love" from New York Girls' Club (1996). End Continue Reading …
Philosophy vs. Improv #38: The Bones of Tragedy with Jay O. Sanders
Jay Sanders, famed not only for his appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Day After Tomorrow and many many other screens and stages, joins us to talk tragedy, how he's applied the lessons of improv to his scripted acting, and more. Jump into the improv maelstrom with us! In the post-game, which just this once, we're sharing with the general public, we Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 65 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 8
The gods assemble on Mount Olympus after the Trojans put a whooping on the Greeks. The Greeks decide to build defensive fortifications for the first time in the nine year war. Zeus gives a speech to the other gods warning them about going against his will. What do we think of Zeus as a leader? How does he compare to the leaders of the Greeks and Trojans? You can find our Continue Reading …
Ep. 300: Nietzsche on Relating to History (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. In this special live-streamed show, we discuss Friedrich Nietzsche's “On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life” (1874), which is Untimely Meditations #2, featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. What is the healthiest way to relate to our history? More generally, should we live lives driven purely by reason, Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop#132: “Too Soon” in Comedy?
To honor the death of Gilbert Gottfried, we discuss jokes like the 9-11 one he was pilloried for. Can comedy really be "too soon" in relation to its tragic subject matter? Is comedy really tragedy plus time, or are jokes in fact most needed immediately when pain and discomfort are most acute? Mark is joined by three comedians: Adam Sank (of the LGBTQ-themed Adam Sank Show), Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 64 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 7
Book 7 opens with a duel. The Greeks draw lots to fight Hector and (supposedly) end the war. Nine Greeks volunteer to fight and lots are drawn. Ajax wins the lottery and fights Hector. Ajax seems to be winning but the fighters make a truce and decide to take a day off to bury and honor the dead. Our opening question is: Who are the Greeks without Achilles? Some followup Continue Reading …
PEL Network Podcast FY2022 Reflections with Mark and Tyler
It's a different sort of Nightcap to fill supporters' nights since the publication of ep. 300 got delayed by a week. (You can watch it unedited if you're impatient.) Our audio editor Tyler Hislop, probably the only human being who listens to every one of Mark's four podcasts, joins Mark to talk through his impressions of the evolving PEL, representation, our first year of Continue Reading …
NEM#179: Mike Lindup’s Atlantean Visions and Level 42
Mike played keyboards and shared lead vocals for synth jazz-pop Level 42's initial run for nine albums from 1982-1994 (and rejoined in 2006 for touring and some more recording) and is currently working on his fourth solo release. We talk about his new single from that upcoming album, "Atlantia," plus "Madness" from On the One (2011) and Level 42's "Weave Your Spell" from The Continue Reading …
REISSUE/RE-EDIT-Ep. 1: “The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living”
Subscribe to here this and every other episode ad-free (and usually early), plus tons of bonus content. To celebrate (and postpone) our big ep. 300, here's a brand new mix and edit by Tyler Hislop (and Mark) from the original voice files of our very first discussion, covering Plato's "Apology." Recorded by Mark, Seth, and Wes on April 19, 2009. Contact us to let us know Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 63 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 6
Oh hey! You can call us now! 703.677.8645. Leave a voicemail with your question and we may play it on the air and try to answer it. You can also email us at combatandclassics@gmail.com In this week's episode we find the Trojans getting beat pretty badly by the Greeks, so Helenus (a soothsayer and Hector's brother) tells Hector to go back to Troy and get the women to Continue Reading …
PvI#37: Season One Final Round
It's all down to this. Which discipline, which host will prevail? Will a third-party cheater bust in and take the big prize? All stakes are on the table, and if this thinking isn't critical enough, if these scenes aren't congruent enough, if we fail the big scan-tron test that is life, then it's all been for nothing. Get out your cushion and get in the lotus position, clear Continue Reading …
Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens” (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview. Continuing from part one, instead of Jonathan, now actor Sarah Manton (from our performance) joins us, plus Seth is back. Sponsor: Visit NordVPN.com/PEL for a risk-free massively discounted 2-year plan, plus one free month. We start out by re-litigating what Timon's Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop #131: Hope for Jordan Peele’s “Nope”
Jordan Peele's launch from a solid comedy base with Key & Peele to the unexpected Get Out was so impressive that he's generated a huge amount of good will that allows him to play the full-on auteur with huge budgets. Did that pay off with his third film, the monster movie Nope? Mark is joined by Lawrence Ware (philosophy prof. and entertainment writer), Sarahlyn Bruck Continue Reading …
Ep. 299: Philosophy in Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens” (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. What role does money have in human psychology? This is one of several philosophical questions that William Shakespeare's least popular play explores, and Mark, Wes, and Dylan start off our rumination on these with special guest Sir Jonathan Bate, editor of this new complete edition of Shakespeare's plays for the Royal Continue Reading …
NEM#178: Chastity Brown in Wonderment
The daughter of a blues musician in Tennessee and originally a saxophone player, Chastity has since 2007 released seven albums from Minneapolis that she calls "new blues," but which spread into pop, Americana, soul, and Irish-flavored spirituals. We discuss "Wonderment" (co-written with Dan Wilson) and listen at the end to "Back Seat" from Sing to the Walls (2022), "Drive Continue Reading …
PEL Nightcap Episode 300 Retrospection
Recorded 8/5/22 in anticipation of having reached this milestone. After sharing our current spiritual state and activities, we share some recommendations for diving back into our catalog: Dylan: Ep. 154 Sellars on the myth of the givenMark: Ep. 59 Macintyre's After VirtueSeth: Ep. 249 Dewey on educationWes: Ep. 183 Mill on liberty Mark talks about the podcasts he's been a Continue Reading …
PvI#36: Authentic Authenticity w/ Skye Cleary
Skye teaches and Columbia and the City University of New York, and she recently published How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment. She joins Mark and Bill to talk about what authenticity might mean for an existentialist, how it relates to truth, responsibility, and picking a theme for your birthday party. For more on this ladder of Continue Reading …
Not Ep. 299: Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens” Audioplay (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free plus tons of bonus content. Continuing our performance from part one of William Shakespeare's play, finishing things up with acts 4 and 5 plus some post-performance discussion with the cast. This is the part of the play where Timon either has gone crazy or become enlightened, such that he's trying to out-cynic the cynic philosopher Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 62 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 5
We've reached Book 5, and Diomedes isn't playing around. He even stabs Ares himself. Brian, Shilo, and Jeff ask: what does it mean to have a war in which men and gods fight one another? We consider whether war is an uncanny world where the gods can be wounded, where men act like gods and gods act like men, and where the one can be mistaken for the other. Are the Homeric Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop #130: CODA and Deaf Culture
The 2022 Oscar winner for Best Picture was CODA, a story about a musically inclined girl with a deaf family. Kambri Crews, herself a CODA and author of a much darker story about this called Burn Down the Ground, joins your host Mark Linsenmayer, writer Sarahlyn Bruck, and jack-of-many-intellectual-trades Al Baker to talk about how deaf culture interacts with film. Films tend Continue Reading …
NEM#177: Susan Cattaneo Leaves Nashville and Finds Herself
Susan teaches songwriting at Berklee and has released six albums since 2009. As she tells us, she started wanting to be a Nashville songwriter, decided to then sing those country songs herself, but decided that it was too much of an act. Her subsequent, meticulously crafted Americana albums in Boston better reflect her unique sensibilities. We discuss “Broken Things” (and Continue Reading …
Not Ep. 299: Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens” Audioplay Feat. Jay O. Sanders, Michael Ian Black, and Michael Tow (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. The PEL Players are back, with more players than ever, doing an unrehearsed reading of William Shakespeare's least popular play, co-written with Thomas Middleton in Shakespeare's later years, probably around 1605. The play is about money and cynicism, where a man gets to see where his friends go when his money runs Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 61 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 4
Athena appears to cause an end to the truce by wounding Menelaus. Brian, Shilo and Jeff look at how "the will of Zeus is fulfilled" through the wrath of Achilles and through Zeus' lying. In Book 1 we framed the wrath of Achilles in terms of his mortality, and achieving immortal greatness. And we see Zeus, an immortal, using duplicity to continue the conflict so his promise Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop #129: Wherefore the Cover Song?
Is re-playing or re-recording a song written and performed by someone else an act of love or predation? Mark is joined by Too Much Joy's Tim Quirk, the Gig Gab Podcast's Dave Hamilton, and the author of A Philosophy of Cover Songs Prof. P.D. Magnus to talk about different types of and purposes for covers, look a little at the history, share favorites, and more. A few of the Continue Reading …
Ep. 298: Marsilio Ficino on Love (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Nightcap featuring more Ficino discussion, which you can preview. Continuing from part one on Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love (1475), with guest Peter Adamson. Peter gives us some context in terms of other Renaissance theories of love, and then we're back to the text, considering the role of beauty Continue Reading …
PEL Ficino-Flavored Nightcap Early August 2022
On 7/11/22, Mark and Wes first discuss a few more passages from Ficino's Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love, including one on five types of desire: How the two most extreme ones are "daemons," i.e. primal urges (one towards procreation, one towards God), and in the incarnation of these in human psychology, we have to have a desire that's a compromise between the two: Continue Reading …
Phi Fic #44 The Poetry Episode (Dickinson, Baudelaire, Bishop, Byron)
On this episode, we perform close readings of four poems, each of which was selected by one of the show's contributors: Emily Dickinson's "The Brain is Wider Than the Sky"; Charles Baudelaire's "The Albatross"; Elizabeth Bishop's "One Art"; and Lord Byron's "Darkness." Below are links to the poems and the starting point in the audio file for each segment. Regarding the poems Continue Reading …
PvI#35: Submarine Observations w/ Chris Rathjen
We talk about observations and how they relate to theories and other types of preconception. Is there such a thing as pure observation? For our pen-pen-ultimate episode here of season one, I must say that these were some of my favorite scenes we've ever done. We tour a submarine and plan a party. There is no Chumbawamba in either case. Improv guy Chris starred in Continue Reading …
Ep. 298: Marsilio Ficino on Love (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. On Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love (1475), with guest Peter Adamson from the History of Philosophy podcast joining Mark, Wes, and Seth. Attention: We'll be live-streaming video for our big ep. 300 on Friday, Aug. 19 at 8pm ET. More info at partiallyexaminedlife.com/pel-live. Leading up to that episode, Continue Reading …
NEM#176: Bill Lloyd’s Power Pop from Nashville
Bill is a highly successful Nashville songwriter, co-writing country hits for artists like Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, and Robert Ellis Orral as well as his late '80s duo Foster and Lloyd. His country collaborations go back to the late '70s, and he has a long connection to Rusty Young's latter-day iterations of Poco. But his true love has been power pop, starting Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 57 Xenophon’s “Anabasis” Book 7
In the last book of Xenophon's "Anabasis" we look back at the three challenges Xenophon has experienced: going to war alongside Cyrus, marching the Greeks through enemy territory, and controlling the army by the sea trying to get home. We explore what Xenophon wants and the idea of leadership in these three situations and ask "what's the difference between a military leader Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 59 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 2
Would Agamemnon have made a bad Marine? Join Brian, Shilo, and Jeff as we discuss Brian's question: why does Agamemnon get a dream from Zeus telling him to test his troops before Troy, but the Trojans hear from a disguised messenger direct from the gods? We think about the different physical and moral situations of the Greeks and the Trojans after nine years of fighting. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 58 Homer’s “Iliad” Book 1
We embark on our journey through Homer's "Iliad," humanity's longest surviving poem on war. We ask "why is human rage a good subject for a war poem, and not the wrath of gods?" You can ask us questions on our pod by emailing us at combatandclassics.org and follow us on social media @combatandclassics. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 56 Xenophon’s “Anabasis” Book 6
How are dance parties related to diplomacy? The schisms continue in Book 6 within the Greek army, but some schisms seem better than others. Some try to make friends with the locals, some go for help, some go raiding. Xenophon turns down the generalship of the whole army. Continue Reading …
Combat & Classics Ep. 55 Xenophon’s “Anabasis” Book 5
The rebels have arrived at the Black Sea, but through betrayal and bad decisions, things go awry..... Xenophon leads an expedition for provisions, but the ships they are waiting for don't show up. We flash forward to Xenophon the writer, who's bought some land in exile and wants to build a temple to Artemis. Xenophon toys with the idea of founding a city where the army is Continue Reading …
PMP#128: Jurassic Shlock
Mark is joined by NY Time entertainment writer/philosophy prof Lawrence Ware, novelist/ex-actor Sarahlyn Bruck, and filmmaker/Remakes, Reboots, and Revivals host Rolando Nieves to discuss the Jurassic Park franchise in light of the new film, Jurassic World: Dominion. Is the mere presence of cool dinosaurs enough to justify a film, or are these actually good films by any Continue Reading …
Ep. 297: Heidegger on the Human Condition (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free, plus a supporter exclusive Part 3, which you can preview. Continuing from part one on Being and Time, now up to Ch. 2, sec. 12 on what our "being-in-the-world" amounts to. Sponsors: Download the Zocdoc app free to find a top rated doctor at Zocdoc.com/PEL. Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel. According to H, we are Continue Reading …
Ep. 297: Heidegger on the Human Condition (Part One)
Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free. We continue from ep. 296 with our close reading on Martin Heidegger's Being and Time (1927), covering in this part of the discussion chapter 1. Featuring Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth. This selection (aka section 9) covers existence (in German, Existenz) vs. existentia. The former is Dasein's (humanity's) specific way of Continue Reading …
PvI#34: Possible Diners w/ Barry Lam
Barry teaches at Vassar and hosts a documentary-style philosophy podcast called Hi-Phi Nation, and his most recent season had a four-episode run on David Lewis, America's foremost philosopher of possible worlds (also covered by PEL), after Dr. Strange, of course. So we talk about that notion, in the philosophy of metaphysics and language, and also in the literal physics Continue Reading …
Pretty Much Pop #127: You Down with Downton Abbey?
We discuss the appeal of this Julian-Fellowes-penned British historical drama in light of the new film. Is this really "a new era" or just more of the same, and is that bad? Mark is joined by returning guest Jon Lamoreaux (host of The Hustle music podcast), plus a couple: former newscaster Corrinne MacLeod (whom Mark SCANDOLOUSLY went on one date with at age 12) and her Continue Reading …
PEL Nightcap July 2022
Recorded 6/20/22. Mark and Seth consider the close reading format as evinced in our new Heidegger episodes and get side-tracked into talking about Dr. Drew and vaccine hesitancy. Here he is answering questions about it, and I see he just had an AMA that includes talk about the infant version. I guess the main hubbub surrounded a tweet from April 21, 2021 about vaccine Continue Reading …
Ep. 296: Heidegger Questions Being (Part Two)
Subscribe to get Parts 1 and 2 ad-free plus tons of bonus content. Continuing our close reading of selections of Being and Time from part one, we come back on a different day without Wes and focus on two parts from the Introduction 2, sec. 7: Sec. 5, where Heidegger says why time has to be the focus of the ontological analysis of Dasein (i.e. his description of the Continue Reading …