The Partially Examined Life

Jerome is an LA composer/director/screenwriter who is involved in a lot of musical improv, so Mary and Mark interview him about that and about the function of art, plus songs for pets, a support group for people who sing all the time, and more. Hear more PvI . Jerome sticks around for the post-game, shared with you non-supporters just this once . Support the podcast to get this for most episodes,...

When we don't know much about some genius playwright's life, why not make up some things based on the contents of his plays? Maybe put Shakespearean dialogue right in character's mouths, so the audience will say, "hey, I remember that line!" Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al talk through the Chloe Zhao Oscar-bait historical drama, Hamnet , and its source, the 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell. Is the...

An interview with Graham in light of his new book, Waves and Stones: On the Ultimate Nature of Reality , which elaborates and adds to issues that the gang previously studied in Object-Oriented Ontology . Graham argues that in addition to objects (which have parts), there are continua, such as space and time, and these continua are the links that allow otherwise forever separated objects to touch e...

Folky singer/songwriter and psychotherapist Robert started in the '80s but considers 1994 his professional debut and has now released his seventh album since then, The Space Between Us . We discuss "Attic of Desire" (and the intro is "The Forest From the Tree") from that album, plus "Uncertain" from Beloved (2017), the title track from Earthside Down (1998). End song: "Rock A Bye" feat. Victoria W...

We consider chapter 2, "Aesthetics Is the Root of All Philosophy," where Harman describes how art can help us see behind the veil to things-in-themselves. Art is "theatrical" in that it's really the spectator who is standing in like an actor for the object encountered in art. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus d...

Vancouver philosophy prof Elijah was an evangelical Christian who turned liberal and then atheistic, and his latest book, "Unbelieving God: A Skeptics Guide," considers and debunks the various arguments for the existence of God. Mark and Mary chat with him about his journey and about the degree to which we should care about others' beliefs in this area so as to engage them in debate. In the course...

We're discussing Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central show that premiered in 1997 and has just finished its politically relevant 28th season, featuring the usual crew: Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al. How can a show be so juvenile yet so apparently well thought out?e get into the evolution of the show,, the equal-opportunity offensive humor, the use of child characters to deliver it, their...

Continuing on Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018), finishing up ch. 1 (discussing what's so bad about reductionism) and moving to ch. 4, "Indirect Relations," which is about causality. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/...

We're within the Self-Consciousness chapter of The Phenomenology of Spirit , specifically starting at sec. 206 on the Unhappy Consciousness. This comes after the famous Master-Slave section as well as sections about Stoicism and Skepticism, and it depicts a dividedness within the self stemming from a faulty view of the relation between self and world. Subscribe to Closereads at patreon.com/closere...

On Harman's Object-Oriented Ontology: A New Theory of Everything (2018). What counts as an entity in the world? Harman includes not just physical objects, but fictional objects, "sensual objects," and even events, which you might have thought were the alternative to objects. With this promiscuous ontology comes a strange theory of causality whereby no real object touches another real object, and a...

To kick off 2026, Mark and Mary talk about memory: memory care for the elderly, the relation between things and memories, what professional activities are worth preserving (improv performances?), being the tchotchke, womb nostalgia, puppets and percussion, plus a visit from the future. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com . Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support . Spon...

Finishing up Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego , finally now turning to Freud's anthropological account of group membership. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.

Ontario guitarist Darren has released six albums of concise instrumentals since 2019, often using metal guitar tones and tropes, but with a great range of tones and often catchy melodies. We discuss "The Day Beneath Yesterday" (and listen at the end to "Dangerous Curves") from Perpetual Night (2025), "Broken Glass and Disappointment" from Thoughts and Scares (2022), and "The Earth is B Flat" from...

The Netflix sci-fi/horror/teen series by the Duffer Brothers that started in 2016 has now finished with its sixth season, attempting to be both epic and sentimental. Who is this show actually aimed at? We talk about the initial appeal through various uneven seasons through the execution of the finale. Has the thing gone on so long that we can't make sense out of the continuity. Featuring, as usual...

On the second half of Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego . We talk about the dual origins of group membership for Freud in personal love and in the supposed primitive society where a horde was led by a tyrannical father. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/P...

Rich runs the Dare to Fail improv school and is author of Improv Made Easier . He joins Mark and Mary to discuss contexts of failure, failing to meet your goals vs. "objective failure," how to react in an improv scene to some topic that's too offensive for you, graveyard humor vs. reverence. Featuring Steaks You Deserve, Robo-Carson, cancer torture, interactive cemetery, Sounds of Failure, and ope...

It's another year, and this time we each came in with a short bucket list of philosophical works that we'd like to read before this podcast concludes, whenever that might be. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel. It's time to enroll in Mark's...

Continuing on the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego , now getting really into Freud's own type of explanation, whereby he explains how libidinal ties bind group members, typically via their shared love of a leader or leading idea. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com . Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discus...

Philosopher/writer/critic/podcaster Lawrence Ware returns to the show to meet Mary and talk about how Mark is his own personal Leroy Jesus. We act out and/or discuss orphan greeting cards, face-to-face instruction vs. writing books, imaginary friends, laugh trumpets, black ice, and is aesthetic judgment (especially of yourself) a mistake? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com . Support the podcast and...

The Hallmark Channel became famous for producing low-budget, formulaic Christmas films, and this has spread to other outlets, sometimes with higher budgets and ambitions. Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al each watched a smattering of these and share their reflections on the genre and their specific experiences. Get an ad-free experience, plus bonus talking for nearly every episode at patreon.com/pr...

On the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited? Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to more organized groups like armies and churches. For all groups, Freud thinks that the leader (or leading ideal) replaces our conscience to some degree. Get more at partiallyexaminedl...

In a special holiday episode, we get to meet musician and podcaster Roger Heathers, who edits this show. Together, Roger and I discuss how we make the show and share some highlights and challenges re. recent guests. At the beginning and the end of the show, you get to hear two tracks from his soon to be released Upward Spiral : "Guard Dogs" and "Hopefully." They both feature a warm, holiday-like g...