Jul 1

Episode #231- Why President McKinley? (Part II)

The 1896 election of William McKinley has been noted as an inflection point in American politics. But, historians are often conflicted about what story they want to tell. It could be seen as moment when Americans rejected a populist firebrand, critical of the wealthy and appealin ... Show More

1h 21m

Jun 17

Episode #230- Why President McKinley? (Part I)

The 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, has recently been in the news. In the 2025 inaugural address it was announced that Alaska's highest peak would once again be known as Mt. McKinley to honour the former President, who was apparently a "great businessman" w ... Show More

1h 27m

Jun 10

Bonus Episode- Selkies, Spectacles, and Satire

In this Bonus Episode Sebastian takes questions about his recent exploration of mermaid mythology. He gets into the difference between Selkies and Mermaids, and wades into the murky waters of Scottish oral tradition. There is also some discussion of the 2012 hoax documentary Merm ... Show More

34m 40s

Mar 2018

Episode #61- What's the Problem with Socrates?

Socrates has been celebrated as the "father of western philosophy". This is particularly remarkable when you consider the fact that we know almost nothing about him for sure. What we consider "Socratic Philosophy" is what has been reported to us by his students. Should we trust w ... Show More

54m 53s

Jun 2013

Episode #003 ... Socrates and the Sophists

This week we talk about the prosperity of athens and how it led to the rise and ideas of a group of philosopher teachers called the Sophists, we tied up some loose ends and helped put all that we've learned in the last two episodes into context with a graph of the presocratics, a ... Show More

39m 32s

Apr 2021

E91 Pourquoi Socrate a-t-il été condamné à mort ?

Cette année, j'ai décidé d'enfin combler les innombrables lacunes de ma culture générale ! Quoi de mieux qu'une pandémie pour se plonger dans les classiques que l'on n'a jamais le temps de lire ? Première étape de cet ambitieux programme, direction la Grèce antique ! Quand on ... Show More

41m 19s

Sep 2007

Socrates

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Greek philosopher Socrates, acknowledged as one of the founders of Western philosophy. Born in 469 BC into the golden age of the city of Athens, he has profoundly influenced philosophy ever since. In fact, his impact is so profound that all the ... Show More

42m 2s

Feb 2023

Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Aristotle and Plato ICYMI

The Greek thinker Socrates was put to death for encouraging his students to question everything - from their own beliefs to the laws and customs of Athenian society. But his ideas didn't die with him. Here's a chance to hear two episodes from our archive examining the legacy of ... Show More

56m 2s

Sep 2023

Socrate : un philosophe emblématique

Dans le précédent épisode j’ai essayé de répondre à la question : Qu’est-ce que la philosophie ? Aujourd’hui, j’ai décidé de commencer ce cheminement assez classiquement avec Socrate car même s’il n’est pas réellement le premier des philosophes, il incarne encore aujourd’hui la f ... Show More

6m 33s

Mar 2021

Ep. 265: Plato's "Phaedo": Philosophy as Training for Death (Part One)

On Plato's middle dialogue depicting the death of Socrates (390 BCE) depicting the death of Socrates. Should philosophers fear death? In the course of giving arguments for the immortality of the soul, we get an elaboration of the recollection theory of knowledge (from the Meno) i ... Show More

42m 24s

Jul 2013

Episode #004 ... Plato

In this week's episode, we learn about Plato's "Symposium", which you might think of as philosophy's version of fan fiction. We also learn about Plato's "Theory of Forms" and ask ourselves what makes a tree, well, a tree. This leads to discussion of Plato's famous "Allegory of th ... Show More

45m 1s

Mar 2014

Episode #017 ... Boethius

On this episode of the podcast, we learn about the medieval neoplatonist philosopher Boethius. We find out how he came to be wrongly convicted of treason and subsequently sentenced to death, and how this led him to write a philosophical text that solved one of the oldest problems ... Show More

23m 34s

OFH Throwback- Episode #61 - What's the ...