William Engels

History of Philosophy Audio Archive

Education EN ↓ 244 episodes

Curated lectures, interviews, and talks with philosophers, social scientists, and historians together in one place. Each week, we explore brand new research in history, economics, psychology, political science, philosophy, indigenous studies, and human rights while presenting the work of canonical scholars in a way that is accessible to newcomers while retaining interest for students and specialists. If you are an author in nonfiction or a scholar in the humanities/social sciences and are interested in being interviewed for the show please email me at williamengels@substack.com or @Bluesky.

Author

William Engels

Episodes

To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (Part 1) 20.11.2025 44:27

A Creative Commons Zero "No Rights Reserved" free, open-source audiobook, narrated by William Engels. This is from Part 1, titled "The Window," Chapters 1-5. One of the most beautifully written and mind-expanding works of modernist literature, Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse (1927) has recently entered the public domain. I wanted to celebrate by performing my way though...

Goethe's Faust - Michael Sugrue on the Worldly Gospel, German Romanticism, Intellect and Theology, Mephistopheles and the Spirit of Negation, Gretchen's Eternal Feminine, and Last Minute Salvation 19.11.2025 41:30

History of Philosophy Audio Archive, Episode #177 I have always loved Michael Sugrue , and I will never stop posting his talks. RIP to a legend (1957-2024). Always been curious about Goethe’s Faust (Parts I and II) and thought this was serve a good introduction. If looking for a physical copy, I have heard that the scholarly, complete, Princeton edition is really good. Hear all the updates on wher...

The Lessons of History feat. Dr. Roy Casagranda - Henry Kissinger, the Iraq War, Esoteric Platonism and the Neocons, Cycles in Political Power, Education Reform, Hiroshima, Anarchism, and State Power 09.11.2025 1:59:12

Follow Dr. Roy on Social Media: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References Stephen Skowronek // "The Politics Presidents Make" (1993) Rational Choice Theory (1955) "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice" by Herbert A. Simon The Nixon movie I couldn't remember was "Secret Honor" (Robert Altman, 1984) Abramowitz et. al study of Southern Republicans https://journals.shareok.org/arp/article/view/36...

What is Existentialism? - Bert Dreyfus on Sartre, Heidegger, Pascal, Camus, Kierkegaard, Philosophy's Struggle with Christianity, Dostoevsky, and the Road to Authenticity (HoPAA #176) 09.11.2025 1:02:39

Support this work and unlock more of it (for free!) on Patreon https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon This is from Hubert Dreyfus' 2008 Berkeley undergraduate course Philosophy 7 "Existentialism in Literature and Film" https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley_webcast_itunesu_461120622\ Course Description: The course will be organized around various attempts to reinterpret the Judeo/Chris...

The "Ceasefire" in Gaza feat. Sabrina Jennings 09.11.2025 1:13:30

Support Sabrina's work and educate yourself on Israel, Palestine, and the US while connecting with likeminded people: Not only will you learn about the history, Zionism, US involvement and more, but it's a great way to connect with others who care about what's happening and learn ways that you can take action. The next class session starts January 10. Reserve your spot by December 12th...

The Ballroom feat. William Sanchez (Hemlock #34) 08.11.2025 1:14:37

Demolishing the White House is just the beginning. Subscribe to Will Sanchez on Substack! https://substack.com/@philosophicalrebellion ANNOUNCEMENTS: First: we are going to be soon starting a new audiobook series - this time it will be To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - I will release it chapter by chapter, and the first chapter or two should be out within a week, if the Great Tao should accomm...

HEMLOCK HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: HAUNTOLOGY - Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism, Left Melancholia, the Arab Spring, Walter Benjamin, and the Slow Cancellation of the Future (H33) 31.10.2025 1:00:48

Even the dead are not safe. “It is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism.” This statement, deliberately provocative, was made first by Continental philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard before its later canonization by Mark Fisher in his 2009 theoretical masterpiece Capitalist Realism: Is there no alternative? . For Fisher, it is a call to action, and a stru...

A Skeleton Key to James Joyce: Mythologist Joseph Campbell on Irish Literature and Joyce's Novels: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegan's Wake (HoPAA #175) 25.10.2025 5:15:17

Support the perpetuity and integrity of this work for just $5 per month, or hang out in the Patreon for free. Originally published as "On Wings of Art" (1984). "In this six-part series, renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell introduces and explores the unifying themes and mythological symbolism in James Joyce's three greatest literary works--A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man...

Dante's Divine Comedy: Professor Hubert Dreyfus on the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, Beatrice, Vergil, and the Beatific Vision (HoPAA #173e) 21.10.2025 5:58:01

The ultimate theological journey through the midlife crisis, presented by existentialist philosopher Bert Dreyfus in 2006 at UC Berkeley. (REPUPLOAD) Please consider donating to support humanitarian relief and lifesaving medical care in Gaza. The links below are verified and reputable charities and individuals who are desperate for medical care, asylum, shelter, and safety in Palestine. Fundraiser...

The Practical Value of Philosophy: Will Engels Interviewed by Roubin Thind on Education, Spirituality, Guerilla Media, US-China Relations, Blue Collar Intellectuals, the Origins of HoPAA (Hemlock #34) 21.10.2025 57:40

Support the show on Patreon! A nice change of pace for me as I am put on the hot-seat and forced to properly explain myself for once. Interview by Roubin Thind, a social media manager and podcast connoisseur, running down topics ranging from diplomacy to education and back.

The Gospel According to John: Hubert Dreyfus on the Logos, the Trinity, and the Ontological Transformations of Christianity (HoPAA #172d) 20.10.2025 2:26:31

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5, King James Version This is Part Four of a multipart series on the Great Books of the Western Tradition by Berkeley Professor of Philosophy Bert Dreyfus, which you can begin here. The source material is found here on Internet Archive. Who is God? What does it mean to be anointed (chrīstós, in Koine Greek), emptied of...

Magnolia (1999): A Love Letter - Paul Thomas Anderson's Greatest Film, Fate, Freemasons, Intergenerational Trauma, Pick Up Artists, Aimee Mann, and Why It's Not Going to Stop (Til' You Wise Up) BRM6b 14.10.2025 1:26:06

Paul Thomas Anderson made this when he was 28. So did Richard and Will. A celebration of the greatest movie of our greatest living director. Hats off to you, man. advisory: child abuse, self-harm, suicide. “Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.” ― Hafez Music Credits: Violin version of Habañera by Katy Adelson Aria version of Habañera by...

Hemlock #32: Machines of Loving Grace - Palantir, Alex Karp, Alchemy and Science, Brute Force Mimetic Objects, Atomic Poetry, the Automation of Violence, and the Endless Empire of Perpetual Advantage 12.10.2025 1:27:19

Everything becomes its opposite. cw: animal harm, general doom. If this work is important to you, consider supporting my financial and creative independence on Patreon, for only $5 per month. "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" (1967) by Richard Brautigan I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually p...

#174 - Dealing with Hungry Ghosts: Thích Nhất Hạnh on Healing Intergenerational Trauma, Realizing Emptiness, Self-Compassion, and Living as a Transmission from Ancestors 11.10.2025 19:59

Times are tough for everyone, but if you can spare $5 per month to support the History of Philosophy, my political writing, open source audiobooks, and simple intellectual entertainment, please consider joining my Patreon and helping me escape my day job. YouTube original video credit (Plum Village) . Apparently first delivered in the "late 1980s". Read more about Thích Nhất Hạnh here. M...

#173 - The Myths of Capital: Michael Parenti on Rags to Riches Fables, Pacifying Propaganda, Wealth Pyramids and Perpetual Scarcity, Corporate Power, and the Socialist Response to the Ruling Ideology 11.10.2025 59:11

The great Michael Parenti returns to HoPAA to enlighten us about capitalism's leading myths and legends. As the man says, 'brothers and sisters, WE own the airwaves'. Times are tough for everyone, but if you can pitch in $5 per month to support this project - a humanity and humanities-focused ad and spook-free education platform since 2023 - it would mean the world to me over on Patreo...

BRM7: The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - W. B. Yeats, Aleister Crowley, H. P. Blavatsky, Samuel Mathers, Victorian Magick, Theosophy, Kabbalah, Séances, and the Great Occult Poetry Larp 06.10.2025 2:48:53

Keep this work free for everyone and unlock my entire corpus for $5 per month on Patreon!⁠ Samuel Mathers is Bane, not Wolverine. People Mentioned: ⁠Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers⁠ ⁠H. P. Blavatsky⁠ ⁠William Wynn Westcott⁠ Aleister Crowley ⁠John Dee⁠ Edward Kelly ⁠A. E. Waite⁠ ⁠Erich Fromm⁠ and ⁠Wilhelm Reich⁠ References: ⁠Douglas Haig, the Battle of the Somme, and Séances⁠ "On 20th Septemb...

#172c - Vergil and the Roman Tradition: Bert Dreyfus' Complete Course on the Aeneid, Augustus Caesar, Roman Propaganda, The Fall of Troy, Dido and Carthage, the Rise of Empire, and Latin Poetic Myth 05.10.2025 2:46:00

The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way: But to return, and view the cheerful skies, In this the task and mighty labor lies. -Vergil, Aeneid You can support the continuation of this effort, and get unlimited access to my entire body of work for $5 per month on Patreon. My favorite translation of the Aeneid is the Modern Library edition by Shadi Bartsch , w...

BRM6a: Paul Thomas Anderson - The Master, There Will Be Blood, American Grifters, Bloodoil, Scientology, Solvent Abuse, Time Travel, Brahms, Chopin, Johnnie Greenwood, Radiohead and Milkshake Drinking 01.10.2025 2:39:58

Kick in on Patreon to support the both of us! This is the new work. Movies: The Master (2012) There Will Be Blood (2007) Magnolia (1999) Boogie Nights (1997) Music: Violin Concerto in D Major, Movement III Allegro Giocoso by Johannes Brahms Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan Etude Op 10 No 3 in E Major "Tristesse" Composed by Frederic Chopin, (Best) Performed by Maurizio Pol...

Bad Role Models #5: Miyamoto Musashi - Japan's Greatest Samurai Duelist, the Book of the Five Rings, the Way of Combat Strategy, Dokkōdō, Zen, and the Strike from the Void 25.09.2025 2:03:35

Come join the Patreon! https://patreon.com/c/hemlockpatreon The best version of Musashi in English that I have found is the book The Complete Musashi translated by Alexander Bennett, which is available in audiobook form and is quite short and scholarly to boot. Goodreads link . Books and Movies: Silence, Martin Scorsese Pi, Darren Aronofsky Introduction to Zen Buddhism - D. T. Suzuki Links: Eleusi...

Mission Accomplished: A Documentary Doctors Retrospective - Iraq, Afghanistan, 9/11, the War on Terror, Robert Fisk, Neocon Fear Bubbles, Saudi Connections, & Why It's All About The Petrodollar (DD8) 19.09.2025 3:06:59

Documentaries: Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore) Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix) Citizenfour (Laura Poitras) Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nah'at) The Mauritanian (Kevin Macdonald) Books: Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam Alfred W. McCoy: The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Blimes, The Three Trillion Do...

BRM4b: The HST Bonus Show - Screwjack, Better Than Sex, Hells Angels, Flesh-Eating Snails, Mescaline, Radical Lawyers, Motorcycle Crashes, and Finding the Edge 15.09.2025 1:10:27

A truly decadent and indulgent episode for the genuinely twisted wordheads and storyfreaks still crawling on all fives. Cheers, you beautiful bastards. ⁠Music by Anapse⁠ , track Bisector off Streamsafe Essentials Books Hells Angels by Hunter S Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson Screwjack by Hunter S. Thompson Better Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S Thompson Fr...

BRM4a: Hunter S. Thompson in Aspen - Fear and Loathing in the Sheriff's Office, Greedheads, Hatemongers, and Yellow-Eyed Hyenas, The Freak Power Ticket, Fat City, and the Death of the American Dream 15.09.2025 2:06:23

With special guest Deputy Dick filling in (for) Richard Sinex. ⁠Music by Anapse⁠ , track Bisector off Streamsafe Essentials --Books-- Hells Angels by Hunter S Thompson Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson Screwjack by Hunter S. Thompson Better Than Sex: The Gonzo Papers Vol 4 by Hunter S Thompson Freak Power: Hunter S. Thompson's Campaign for Sheriff by Daniel Joseph Watkins Dar...

172b - Aeschylus: Bert Dreyfus on Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, the Furies and the Eumenides, Pouring Out of Libations, Athenian Tragedy, and the Pessimism of the Greeks 11.09.2025 7:31:47

Music Credit: Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 30 performed by Paavali Jumppanen, available on Museopen. The Alan Shapiro translation of the Oresteia is my favorite. Another episode (Hemlock #5) I did about Aeschylus can be found here. It talks in greater depth about the metaphor of the net, and centers Clytemnestra as the hero/main character of the post-Trojan scene. For fun and profit: reading the Wi...

DD7 - Judas and the Black Messiah: Fred Hampton, the Black Panthers, FBI/COINTELPRO, J. Edgar Hoover, the Rainbow Coalition, MHCHAOS, MLK and Malcolm X, Gary Webb's Dark Alliance, and the CIA 09.09.2025 1:50:13

Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. Matthew 26:48 Watch Judas and the Black Messiah: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/judas-and-the-black-messiah Follow Sabrina on Bluesky or Patreon: ⁠Note To Self // Patreon⁠ Sabrina Jennings // Bluesky Fundraisers, Palestine Support, and Good Programs: ⁠⁠Amjad Hamad and his Family⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Ruli...

#172a - The Odyssey: A Philosophical Analysis, Hubert Dreyfus on Artistic Worldmaking, the Attuning Gift of Greek Gods, Telemachus' Journey to Manhood, Autonomy and the Divine Inspiration 05.09.2025 6:42:52

⁠Support me on Patreon⁠ - or leave a review for the show. Hubert "Bert" Dreyfus (1929-2017) was a ⁠professor of philosophy at UC Berkeley⁠ who specialized in phenomenology, 20th century Continental philosophy, artificial intelligence, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, and the aesthetics/literature of existentialism from Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard to ⁠Terrence Malick⁠ . He is probably most famous...