PODCAST · society
Philosophy After Hours
by PAH Crew
A podcast featuring casual philosophical conversations about...whatever.
Episodes
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Ep. 147 - Fitness
Bethany needs advice. She can no longer rely on her body to take care of itself, and recognizes the importance of fitness as she is getting older, but she hates it and finds nothing rewarding about it. What, then, is she to do? Aaron and Jp both speak about their motivation behind wanting to stay...
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Ep. 146 - Grooming (Not That Kind)
In this episode we discuss personal grooming and the role played by practices of self-nurturing in the formation of the social self. What do our grooming habits tells us about who we are? How might brushing one's hair or showering be relevant to one's political and civic participation? Can…
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Ep. 145 - Zen Koans and Egolessness
In this episode we begin with a discussion of Zen and the practice of the koan, which serves as a starting point for our more prolonged back-and-forth on the nature/value of egolessness in the Buddhist tradition. Aaron is insistent in his disavowal of egolessness and its implications, and…
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Ep. 144 - What Difference Does Sex Make? Part 2
In this episode we return to a discussion about the value of sex in relationships. (See Part 1 - ep. 142 - to get caught up on the conversation - although you don't need to listen to it to appreciate this episode.) Here, we talk about what's involved in "primary" relationships. What role does sex...
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Ep. 143 - Value
In this episode we talk about value. What does it mean to value something? How does money, as a marker of value, align with or contradict other markers of value (e.g., affection)? We all know the story of the underpaid teacher, who does what they love. But what do you do when what you love isn't...
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Ep. 142 - What Difference Does Sex Make?
In this episode we explore the difference between sex-including unions (like marriages) and sex-excluding unions (like bestfriends). Does the erotic activity of sex necessarily mean that couples engaging in this activity reach deeper levels of intimacy than those that do not? Aaron, Bethany, and…
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Ep. 141 - The Primal
Growing tired of the word 'intimacy' to describe her work, Bethany puts forward "the Primal:" an experience beyond conceptualization, that which horrifies us and transcends language. After a brief discussion of intimacy, Bethany outlines--to the extent possible--primal experience. Have we made…
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Trailer: Chart Reading
We're gone this week, but here's a quick look at our Last Call episode on chart readings. As a follow up to our discussion of astrology, Kelsie (aka DJ Chia Pudding) was so kind to give each of us a peek into what our astrological signs indicate about our personalities. Among other things, we…
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Ep. 140 - Shooting the Shit: Letters, Pain, Memes, and Irony
In this Shooting the Shit episode, we begin with Bethany recounting her inspiration-filled week, which included the act of letter writing. Aaron had his wisdom teeth removed a few days prior to recording, and the lingering pain of that surgery directed his attention towards the inescapablness of...
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Ep. 139 - Movement Matters
In this episode we talk our movements - and the conditions that organize them. What do our transportation habits and infrastructure reveal about our social norms? Who yields to whom when passing on a narrow sidewalk? How functional are our organizing systems of movement, and do they reflect more...
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Ep. 138 - True Crime
In this episode we talk about the media genre of true crime and its effects on its viewers. Why are people so fascinated by true crime shows and podcasts? Ennui? Morbid fascination? A desire for a greater sense of security? Death drive? Next, we address what we think viewers are taking away from...
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Ep. 137 - The Language of Astrology
In this episode we're joined by our good friend Kelsie (aka DJ Chia Pudding) to talk about astrology. Kelsie speaks with us about how she uses astrology as a language to navigate experience. Along the way, we consider some of the differences between ancient and modern forms of astrology, talk…
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Ep. 136 - Absolute Breaches
"Today, Bethany wonders why she gets into a fighting stance whenever she reads a seminal work by William James. Aaron and Jp set her straight--as far as that's possible!" ~ Bethany In this episode, our conversation revolves around a line from James' chapter "Stream of Thought" in Principles of...
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Ep. 135 - The Generalist and the Specialist
In this episdoe we're joined by a dear friend Matt to talk about the generalist and the specialist. These could be said to reflect two different approaches to scholarship/research/knowledge production. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, and we consider how their distinct...
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Ep. 134 - Critical Thinking
In this episode we discuss critical thinking. What is it exactly? It often seems too generic of a concept to be useful. Is there any specificity worth rescuing here? We find our way toward a distinction between critical thinking as a skill - a mere set of technical procedures - and critical...
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Ep. 133 - Ancestor Worship
In this episode we talk about ancestor worship and discuss the import and significance of this practice. After spending some time articulating what is meant by both 'ancestor' and 'worship,' Bethany and Jp spend the remainder of the episode addressing Aaron's skepticism around the value of this...
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Ep. 132 - You Need Metaphysics to Dance
In this episode we attempt to rescue metaphysics from obscurity and irrelevancy. We begin by rating the branches of philosophy from the perspective of a layperson. Bethany then provides a summary of metaphysics and goes on to suggest that, although the hard sciences are a worthwhile endeavor, we...
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Ep. 131 - Aesthetics, Togetherness, and Sherry
In this episode we discuss the concept of "aesthetics," a prompt given to us by our best-looking and first Patreon subscriber, Charles. As one of Bethany's primary areas of expertise, she begins with an introduction of aesthetics and explains Dewey's use of the term "aesthetic experience." Jp…
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Ep. 130 - Shooting the Shit: Kid Shows, Finance Bros, and Neoliberal Woes
In this Shooting the Shit episode, Bethany complains about her new car and we chat about driverless features, Jp talks about a Bluey show he recently attended, and we lean into a discussion of contemporary kid shows vrs. 90's kid shows. Aaron discusses his weekend activities, the struggles of…
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Ep. 129 - Self-Affirmation
In this episode we discuss self-affirmation and the many guises it takes in contemporary culture. What does healthy self-affirmation look like? When is it used as a license to justify anti-social behavior? Perhaps understanding self-affirmation calls us to further examine both the meaning of...
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Ep. 128 - Drugs, Enlightenment, and Egolessness
In this episode we examine the value of mind-altering substances. We begin in medias res with a spirited debate about whether indica and sativa still make sense as categories for cannabis, and then we lay out some questions: How do we appraise the insights we have while under the influence? How…
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Ep. 127 - "If You Will": Old Papers and Organizing Attention
In this episode we throw our usual format out the window. With JP out of town, Aaron and Bethany dig up some old essays and read from them in an effort to make fun of themselves…but ultimately find they still vibe with a lot of it. To learn more about the show, including how to become a Patreon...
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Ep. 126 - Weariness and Meaningful Labor
We had a whole normal show planned for this episode, but we were tired this day; the vibes were off and mercury was in retrograde. Instead, we began by proposing the activity of coping when things just kinda suck, and found life again in a discussion around the narrative of meaningful labor. Is…
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Ep. 125 - Democracy and Crisis w/ Richard Polt
In this episode we're glad to be joined by Richard Polt. Richard is a professor of philosophy and Bethany's colleague at Xavier University. We discuss a paper he's been working on entitled "The Crisis of Anticrisis," wherein he addresses the fatigue people often feel when faced with the demand…
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Ep. 124 - On Being a Girl in Philosophy
In this episode Bethany talks about what it's like to be a woman in the world of professional philosophy. Spoiler: People don't really like it when girls have opinions. Why does she keep at it, then? No one knows. Also covered: The first time our hosts each taught a class, how Aaron has received...
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Ep. 123 - Technocracies of the Future
In this episode Aaron asks what's so bad about technocracy. Bethany reacts with abject horror, and JP sits back with some popcorn to watch the fireworks. Should we accept the expertise of technocrats as preferable to democracy? Might the ideal of technocracy democratize itself? Bethany argues…
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"You're all feckin' boring!"
Hey y'all! In lieu of a main episode this week, here is a recording that we did on the movie Banshees of Inisherin. It's a masterful movie--and this is masterful commentary. After we each give our take on the movie, we discuss Colm and Padriac's relationship as reflecting Aaron and Jp's...
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Ep. 122 - NPCs
In this episode a slightly ill JP puts on his gamer-bro hat and explains the origins of the term "NPC" (non-playable character), which has come to be used by the likes of Donald Trump and Elon Musk as shorthand for boring, gullible people. Is this language inherently dehumanizing and…troubling?...
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Ep. 121 - The Self-Help Scam
In this episode Bethany invites us to examine the self-help industry and its influence on American culture. Inspired by the podcast If Books Could Kill, she traces the history of self-help starting with Dale Carnegie, the first in a long line of shameless grifters. JP shares his personal gripe...
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Ep. 120 - Shooting the Shit: Suffering from the System
In this Shooting the Shit episode, we discuss Aaron's adventures during his partner's birthday weekend and his ambivalence about a therapy intake session. Also covered: The joy of hosting, why JP and Bethany love being heckled, the phenomenon of corecore, Top Gun: Maverick and The Banshees of...
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Ep. 119 - Who Needs Nuance?
In this episode Aaron asks whether nuance is dead and whether we should mourn its passing. Why do we care about writing and thinking in a nuanced way when our culture doesn't seem to put a high premium on nuance? Is it just narcissistically pleasurable? And when we're committed to nuance, do we...
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Ep. 118 - "The Globalists"
In this episode JP takes us on a journey into the heart of the far-right conspiracy theory known as "globalism" (and ruins his YouTube algorithm in the process). Along the way, we ask questions like: Is there actually anything interesting here, or is it all gobbledigook? To what extent should we...
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Ep. 117 - The Social Life of Dreams
In this episode Bethany brings us back to the realm of dreams as a continuation of episode 74. Bethany begins by laying out the differences between the hermeneutics of suspicion and faith, and how each of these frameworks affects our understanding of, and approach to deciphering, dreams. We then...
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Ep. 116 - A New Fit
In this episode we introduce our new fit (that's short for "outfit" to the uninitiated). We kick off the new year with our first episode of Philosophy After Hours. We discuss how we feel about leaving the "The Rilkean Zoo" behind us to forge a slightly different podcast identity. We share a few...
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Ep. 115 - AI, or Technology and Empathy
In this episode we begin with a discussion on the use of AI price algorithms as a new form of price fixing by major real estate holding companies. In a case like this, who is to be held accountable? Does culpability even make sense when our system is driven exclusively by profit, when it seems to...
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Ep. 114 - Leaving the Culture Industry?
In this episode we discuss the potential for revolutionary art. After discussing the fifth episode from the final season of Atlanta, which takes aim at Tyler Perry, we ask whether there are resources to pose viable alternatives to the media and artistic products pumped out by the culture industry…
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Ep. 113 - Guilty Pleasure
In this episode we discuss the idea of a guilty pleasure. What are we communicating when say something like: It's not good, but it's entertaining? By disavowing the good in what we find pleasurable (i.e., entertaining), are we implicitly recognizing some misalignment between goodness and…
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Ep. 112 - Shooting the Shit: "a Train of Moods, Like a String of Beads"
In this Shooting the Shit episode--our first with Bethany!--we discuss Bethany's forthcoming interview at a university in Boston, Aaron's frustration with the competing demands between the dissertaiton and his job, our public philosophy project, overcoming the language of "laziness," adderall…
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Ep. 111 - Convenience
In this episode we discuss the value of convenience. We talk about the way it operates in our capitalist form of social and economic life. Have the technological innovations that purportedly make our lives more convenient actually freed us up to pursue our creative interests? Or, do we use our…
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Ep. 110 - Just Stop Oil
In this episode Aaron and I chat about Just Stop Oil and the efficacy of radical activism. Can we sufficiently judge the impact of this movement while it is still nascent? Are such "extreme" acts of vandalism and civil disobedience/disruption potentially hurting the cause by losing the support of...
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Ep. 109 - Panpsychism
In this epsiode we discuss the concept of panpsychism, which suggests that 'mind' is a ubiqutous feature of existence--that all things are in possession of mind or a mind-like quality. Is panpsychism guilty of an over-extended anthropomorphism? Does panpsychism facilitate an engagement with the...
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Ep. 108 - The Body, The Work of Art
In this episode we talk about the body and its capacity to present as a work of art. We take the phenomenon of body modification as a launching point for thinking about embodiment as artistic expression. What happens, then, when the work of art and the artist are the same living being? What would...
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Ep. 107 - Searching in Cincinnati
The entire Rilkean Zoo crew is together under one roof! JP and I headed down to Bethany's home in Cincinnati last weekend for a friends reunion of sorts. In this episode we each ask other some searching questions about aging well, establishing relationships of trust, and exploring negative...
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Ep. 106 - Testing Identity
In this episdoe we question the popularity of genetic tests like "23 and Me" and move into a discussion about the relationship between the quantification of ethnicity and identity. Do these tests impart meaningful information about who we are, or are they merely a starting point? From this, we…
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Ep. 105 - What Is the Value of Community?
In this episode we discuss the ideal of community. Activist talk about "fighting for the community"; corporations talk about "giving back to the community; public institutions talking about "serving communities"; organizations talk about the importance of "building community". Has "community"...
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Ep. 104 - Les trois questions
We didn't have a planned episode ready to go this week, but thankfully we've got some recordings in the stash. In a late night recording, JP and I returned to our familiar "3 questions" format to discuss moments of clarity, favorite baseball teams, and morning routines, among other things - all...
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Ep. 103 - Talking about Sex, Part II
In this episode, we take up part II of our conversation on sex. JP is back with the crew, and we spend most of the episode engaging with his comments on part I. Much of the discussion turns on a debate about whether we can reliably assume that there are sexual skills and techniques that work well...
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Ep. 102 - Talking about Sex, Part I
In this episode Bethany and Aaron discuss sex. What makes for good sex? Is there a general ethos regarding sex that we should take into our sexual encounters? What would that ethos be? Does internet porn (in particular) foster an undue sense of control over sexual arousal, leaving us less...
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Ep. 101 - Silence
In this episode, Aaron and I discuss the value of silence as a means of respite from constant stimulation via music, podcasts, media, etc. Does this constant stream of noise serve to distract us from ourselves, and silence allows us to regain a sense of focus and awareness? Or can silence serve…
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Ep. 100 - Shooting the Shit: Out for a Walk
Episode 100, baby! For this milestone of an episode, Aaron and I go on a walking journey across various neighboorhods in Chicago (Andersonville, Ravenswood, Wicker Park, and Ukranian Village) and chat along the way. Join us as we meander and discuss the significance of names, crashing parties…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast featuring casual philosophical conversations about...whatever.
HOSTED BY
PAH Crew
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Philosophy After Hours have?
Philosophy After Hours currently has 156 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Philosophy After Hours about?
A podcast featuring casual philosophical conversations about...whatever.
How often does Philosophy After Hours release new episodes?
Philosophy After Hours publishes regularly with 156 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Philosophy After Hours?
You can listen to Philosophy After Hours on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Philosophy After Hours?
Philosophy After Hours is created and hosted by PAH Crew.
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