Envy is almost universally condemned and feared. But is its bad reputation always warranted? In The Philosophy of Envy (Cambridge UP, 2022), Sara Protasi argues that envy is more multifaceted than it seems, and that some varieties of it can be productive and even virtuous. Protasi brings together empirical evidence and philosophical research to generate a no ... Show More
Nov 17
Jamieson Webster, "Disorganisation & Sex" (Divided Publishing, 2022)
The first collection of essays from the author of the Life and Death of Psychoanalysis, Stay, Illusion! with Simon Critchley and Conversion Disorder, Disorganisation & Sex (Divided Publishing, 2022) is as much about our resistance to sexuality as it is about sex itself. Jamieson ... Show More
54m 23s
Nov 15
Richard H. Thaler and Alex Imas, "The Winner's Curse: Behavioral Economics Anomalies, Then and Now" (Simon and Schuster, 2025)
Alex Imas is the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Professor of Behavioral Science, Economics and Applied AI and a Vasilou Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he has taught Negotiations and Behavioral Economics. He is a Faculty Affiliate of the ... Show More
54m 22s
Nov 14
David Kieran, "Signature Wounds: The Untold Story of the Military's Mental Health Crisis" (NYU Press, 2019)
The surprising story of the Army's efforts to combat PTSD and traumatic brain injury The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a tremendous toll on the mental health of our troops. In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama took to the Senate floor to tell his colleagues that "many of ... Show More
50m 1s
Apr 2023
Episode 35. Envy. A hidden force within human relations
Envy can arise wherever there exists inequality between people: in societies and families, between siblings, genders, and generations. “Envy is the tax which all distinction must pay” (R.W. Emerson). Envy has a bad reputation, at times even considered taboo, and yet still it prov ... Show More
38m 53s
Aug 2023
Travis Holloway, "How to Live at the End of the World: Theory, Art, and Politics for the Anthropocene" (Stanford UP, 2022)
the near universal disappearance of shared social enterprise: the ruling class builds walls and lunar shuttles, while the rest of us contend with the atrophy of institutional integrity and the utter abdication of providing even minimal shelter from looming disaster.
The irony of ... Show More
51m 14s
Jan 2009
The Consolations of Philosophy
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the consolation of Philosophy. In the 6th century AD, a successful and intelligent Roman politician called Boethius found himself unjustly accused of treason. Trapped in his prison cell, awaiting a brutal execution, he found solace in philosophical ... Show More
42m 20s