The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

944 episodes

Ep. 395: C.S. Lewis Argues for Christianity (Part One)
06/07/2026 | 47 mins.
On Mere Christianity (1952), where Lewis presents the moral argument for the existence of God and present Christianity as uniquely solving the human conundrum that our moral phenomenology presents, i.e. that the moral law is real in us yet we can never fulfill it. Once you're on board with that reasoning, faith is a matter of sticking to your realization even though Christianity's moral rules are extremely stringent.
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
Don't miss the PEL Live show in Madison, WI on Saturday afternoon, July 11. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/live for details.
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PEL Presents PvI#120: Mark and Mary in the Struggle Club
04/07/2026 | 53 mins.
Your wise and authoritative hosts explore forms of respectful address, what counts as good philosophy, the holodeck full-contact Fantasy Island experience, status in economic transactions, Trek not War, default improv scenarios, fear of playfulness, philosophy or improv as education vs. doing philosophy or improv, and more.
Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support.
Ep. 394: Hegel on Faith vs. The Enlightenment (Part Two)
29/06/2026 | 53 mins.
We conclude our treatment for the moment of the Spirit section of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, sec. 527-73.
Hegel's diagnosis: The Enlightenment and faith only seem to be in conflict because they are two sides of "pure consciousness," i.e. thought as a retreat from the actual world. So yes, if you see faith as mere belief, as a thought about some unprovable matter of fact, that is not going to stand critical scrutiny. Hegel's conception of faith will instead be an involved, behavioral, social engagement with the world.
Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.
Don't miss the PEL Live show in Madison, WI on Saturday afternoon, July 11. See partiallyexaminedlife.com/live for details.
Sponsors: Don't get caught running yesterday';s security on today's web: visit nordlayer.com/browser. Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.
PEL Presents NEM#255: Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies): Mellow But Energized
28/06/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
Michael is the songwriter and guitarist for the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies (featuring two of his siblings and a childhood friend), with whom he's released 20+ studio albums and several live albums since 1989.
We discuss "Throw a Match" from Such Ferocious Beauty (2023), "He Will Call You Baby" from More Acoustic Junk (2025), remade from One Soul Now (2004), and "Rock and Bird" from The Caution Horses (1990). End song: " Unanswered Letter" from The Wilderness-The Nomad Series, Vol. 4 (2012). Intro: "Misguided Angel" from The Trinity Session (1988). More at cowboyjunkies.com.
Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.
PEL Presents PMP#224: Fantasy Novels Galore
26/06/2026 | 1h 4 mins.
Mark and Al share their mutual interest in fantasy novels. Is "high fantasy" fundamentally different than what enjoyed as kids? Did Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and HBO's Game of Thrones show us that these big books are adaptable, or were they exceptions?
We're anticipating the upcoming Mistborn/Cosmere adaptations, as we're both into Brandon Sanderson. We also talk about The Wheel of Time, Rings of Power, Earthsea, Shannara, Joe Abercrombie, Robin Hobb, Stephen R. Donaldson, Patrick Rothfuss, Tad Williams, and of course Harry Potter.
Get more at prettymuchpop.com. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/prettymuchpop.
Sponsor: Get started with Claude AI at claude.ai/pmp.

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About The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

The Partially Examined Life is a 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 short 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. For links to the texts we discuss and other info, check out www.partiallyexaminedlife.com. We also feature episodes from other podcasts by our hosts to round out your partially examined life, including Pretty Much Pop (prettymuchpop.com, covering all media), Nakedly Examined Music (nakedlyexaminedmusic.com, deconstructing songs), Philosophy vs. Improv (philosophyimprov.com, fun with performance skills and philosophical ideas), and (sub)Text (subtextpodcast.com, looking deeply at lit and film). Learn about more network podcasts at partiallyexaminedlife.com.

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