Kristian Urstad and Stephen Webb

The Wisdom Of

Society EN ↓ 384 episodes

In this podcast we explore great works of philosophy and literature and art, and try to pull out of them what’s most interesting and inspiring! Whether they come from the works of Plato, or Dostoevsky or Picasso, here we explore ideas that move mountains and rock the soul! So, come join us, won’t you? Come worship at the alter of ideas, and come celebrate the dancing of thought. Welcome to the Wisdom Of!

Author

Kristian Urstad and Stephen Webb

Episodes

Max Weber - The age of the disenchantment of the world! 26.02.2026 14:47

The German sociologist Max Weber uses the word disenchantment to describe the character of a highly modernized, secular and bureaucratic society. Couldn't we all do with some re-enchantment! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death 20.02.2026 13:31

Neil Postman was a media theorist and a prophetic critic of modern technology... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Heidegger - The Disappearance of the World! 15.02.2026 12:37

The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argued that human existence is grounded in meaningful relationships to things. When we lose these relationships, we lose nothing less than the world.... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet - Writing as an existential necessity! 10.02.2026 13:20

The great poet Rainer Maria Rilke advises all aspiring artists to ask themselves one question: Are you prepared to sacrifice everything? Because that's what it takes! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Epicurus on Gratitude 03.02.2026 10:34

What Epicurus has to say about gratitude deserves our attention, especially today... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

William James - Pluralism and Free Will! 01.02.2026 14:15

James argues for a world where we actively participate in the building of reality and where there are multiple sources of transcendence! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Let's bring back the language of the SOUL! 26.01.2026 12:27

We really need to revive a character-based account of the soul!... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Rousseau and Han - Today's Loneliness Epidemic! 19.01.2026 13:19

Why is there such a large increase in loneliness around the world? I think the philosophers Jean-Jacque Rousseau and Byung-Chul Han might be helpful here! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

The Spirit of Ancient Greek Tragedy - Why we need it so badly today! 12.01.2026 17:18

Reviving the spirit of Greek tragedy can offer us a powerful corrective against today's lack of humility and moral polarization.... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

La Mettrie's Man the Machine - From Cartesian Dualism to Joyful Materialism! 07.01.2026 13:09

This French philosopher argues that there is no immaterial soul, and that this doesn't strip life of its value! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Edmund Burke - Inherited Wisdom and the Perils of Starting Anew! 04.01.2026 13:41

Edmund Burke is the founder of cultural and political conservatism. Dostoevsky, Aristophanes and T.S. Eliot also share in a similar spirit. They all warn against dismissing the past! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Rollo May - How Art Overcomes Nihilism! 30.12.2025 12:26

For the psychologist Rollo May, art is no dispensable luxury, it's an essential response to nihilism! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

A reminder from Mircea Eliade on the significance of the New Year! 28.12.2025 6:14

Happy New Year to all across lands and seas! ...... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

The Poverty of Wealth: Nietzsche on Money and Mediocrity! 16.12.2025 13:13

Nietzsche criticizes our modern infatuation with money-making, an infatuation that he thinks reveals a deep spiritual impoverishment and an erosion of character...... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

In the spirit of Christmas - Why the path of self-interest will always fail you 09.12.2025 18:19

Self-interest is directionless and ultimately, is an enemy of both self-actualization and love. For these things, we need a relation to something outside of our own egos. .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Walter Benjamin - Against the Copy: Holding On to the Real in an Age of Reproduction! 03.12.2025 13:52

When everything can be reproduced, why do we still crave the original? The psychologist Paul Bloom and the philosopher Walter Benjamin offer up some insight! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Barthes, Kierkegaard, Han - What happened to the erotic? 27.11.2025 14:08

What is eroticism? And does it still exist today? Find out more! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund - Pick a path, pay the price, live the life! 21.11.2025 13:34

Choosing one path in life means letting go of another! And that's okay! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Bertrand Russell and Byung-Chul Han: Self-absorption is the source of unhappiness! 18.11.2025 12:51

The philosophers Russell and Han come from different historical contexts, but they both agree on one thing: if you want to be happy stop being pre-occupied with yourself! .... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Great philosophers on how to stay young as we get older! 14.11.2025 10:07

Aging doesn't have to involve loss of possibilities and heaviness. Just ask Nietzsche, the Taoists, Hannah Arendt and Camus! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Why Samuel Beckett is so funny! 10.11.2025 12:23

Beckett is bleak but he's also hilarious. I try to explore why so many of us laugh when we read him! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Voltaire's "Crush the infamous thing" and our age of tragic regression 07.11.2025 9:49

Voltaire called for enlightenment and progress against the dogmas and powers of his day. Our world today needs more Voltaires.... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Dostoevsky, Ricoeur, Kierkegaard - The future needs the past! 03.11.2025 12:51

There is no future without a past. That's because the past is the ground of transformation! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Orwell's 1984 - Fake News and the destruction of language 28.10.2025 10:08

Orwell's 1984 has seen a massive surge in sales in the last 8 years. That's no surprise.... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/

Feuerbach and Marx - We created God in our own image! 27.10.2025 13:26

Man makes religion, religion does not make man, says the German philosopher Feuerbach. Karl Marx agrees. But why do we do this, and should we? Find out more! ... Check out my new book! It's called: The Last Human: How Technology is Changing What it Means to be Human https://www.amazon.com/Last-Human-Technology-Changing-Means/dp/1069510831/