What's Left of Philosophy

101 | Free Time Under Capitalism

In this episode, we discuss Theodor Adorno’s essay “Free Time”, in which the critical theorist really lets his cantankerous old man flag fly. He argues that how our subjectivities are shaped ...

Episode 100 Livestream Video

On Sunday October 27 we livestreamed our 100th episode, where we spent almost 2 whole hours answering fan questions!

Thanks so much for all your support. Here's to 100 more.

100th Episode Livestream Announcement | Ask Us Anything!

Some news! We are going to livestream our 100th episode recording session at 1pm Eastern / 12 noon standard time on Sunday October 27th on our YouTube channel.

We will be answering questions...

99 | What is Dialectics? Part VI: From Explanation to Emancipation: Roy Bhaskar’s Critical Realism

In this episode, we discuss the philosopher of science Roy Bhaskar and his essays in Reclaiming Reality. We discuss whether it is possible for the human sciences to overcome the fact/value...

98 | Reform or Revolution?

In this episode we take on a Marxist classic, Rosa Luxemburg’s “Reform or Revolution,” in which she skewers Eduard Bernstein for being a feckless opportunist and for relinquishing the goal of...

97 | Poulantzas, Marxism and the State

In this episode we take up the question: what is the State? With 1978’s State, Power, Socialism by Nicos Poulantzas as our guide, we talk about what it means to grasp the state as a...

96 | What is Utopia? Part IV. Bacon's New Atlantis

In this episode we talk about the weird little unfinished utopian novel The New Atlantis, written by founding enlightenment figure Francis Bacon. We talk about his fetish for differential ...

95 | John Dewey and the Education of Experience

In this episode, we discuss the educational philosophy of the American pragmatist John Dewey. Focusing on his 1938 treatise Experience & Education we explore questions concerning the e...

94 | Norman Geras' Ethics of Revolution

In this episode, we discuss the contributions of political theorist Norman Geras to socialist debates about revolutionary ethics, movement democracy, and justice. He argues for a right to revolutio...

93 | Charles Mills and the Racial Contract

In this episode, we talk about the late, great Charles Mills and his landmark book The Racial Contract. Forcefully arguing that the modern discourse of egalitarianism and freedom is underw...

(Bonus Episode) For Free Speech w/ Dr. Enzo Rossi

Lillian interviews Enzo Rossi to talk about the principles and politics surrounding free speech.

PS: Sorry that the audio is not as good as when Gil does it! Lillian...well, she tries....

92 | What is Liberalism? Part V. Robert Nozick's Libertarian Reveries

In this episode, we discuss Robert Nozick’s libertarian political philosophy as presented in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia. We consider his challenges to leftist thought, espe...

91 | Fanon’s Dialectic of Violence

In this episode, we tackle the concept of violence as it appears in the revolutionary and anticolonial work of Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. Throughout the episode we link to...

90 | Ecological Materialism and Logistical Strategy w/ Dr. Jeff Diamanti

In this episode, we are joined by Jeff Diamanti to discuss what it looks like to watch the climate change. Our conversation shifts from analytical, aesthetic, and political perspectives, as we turn...

89 | G.A. Cohen's Analytical Red Sublime

In this episode, we discuss essays from throughout G.A. Cohen’s philosophical career. Cohen is known as one of the founders of Analytical Marxism, so we talk about what this tradition in Marxist ...

88 | On Late Fascism w/ Alberto Toscano

In this episode, we are joined by Alberto Toscano to talk about his analysis of contemporary far-right movement and ideology. We discuss his new book Late Fascism and consider the str...

87 | The Politics of Left-Wing Climate Realism w/ Dr. Ajay Singh Chaudhary

In this episode, we are joined by Ajay Chaudhary to discuss his book The Exhausted of the Earth: Politics in a Burning World and the political, economic, and affective sites of exhaustion ...

86 | Right-Wing Political Thought w/ Dr. Matt McManus

In this episode, we are joined by Matt McManus to discuss his research into the history and philosophy of right-wing politics in his book The Political Right and Equality. We discuss the n...

85 | Giving an Account of Oneself: Judith Butler’s Ethics of Opacity

In this episode we delve into Judith Butler’s Giving an Account of Oneself, an illuminating book from 2005 that examines subject-formation and the relationship between the self, other pe...

84 | Sex in Philosophy w/ Dr. Manon Garcia

In this episode, we talk with Manon Garcia about the problem of women’s submissiveness in feminist philosophy.  Then we discuss longstanding feminist criticisms of the concept of consent, wh...

83 | What is Aesthetics? Part III: Ernst Bloch: In Search of the Red Sublime

In this episode, we return to the work of Ernst Bloch and his theory concerning “aesthetic genius” and the possibility of the red sublime. Bloch attempts to construct a Marxist account of art t...

82 | The State and Right: Kant's Metaphysics of Morals

In this episode, we dig into the Doctrine of Right in Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals to see what he has to say about the state. Turns out he’s a fan, because the state is what guarantees the poss...

81 | David Harvey: Capitalist Urbanization and the Right to the City

In this episode, we talk about David Harvey’s analysis of the urbanization process as a form of accumulated surplus capital expenditure and consider the built environment as a crucial site of cla...

80 | Grab Bag Special Episode with Michael Peterson! Utilitarian Harems, Nietzschean Ciphers, and Cowardly Chatbots

In this nonstandard episode, Gil and Owen are joined by Michael Peterson to talk about how dreadful utilitarianism is, consider some of the offers that folks have made to come guest on the show, an...

79 | What Could It Mean to Say, “Capitalism Causes Sexism and Racism”? with Professor Vanessa Wills

In this episode, we are joined by George Washington University Associate Professor Vanessa Wills to discuss her article “What Could It Mean to Say, ‘Capitalism Causes Sexism and Racism’?” W...

78 | Perry Anderson's Considerations on Western Marxism

In this episode we get the Perry Anderson treatment and ask if we philosophers are the problem with how Western Marxism has evolved over time. We discuss what Anderson calls the formal and thematic...

77 | What is Ecosocialism? Part I. John Bellamy Foster and the Metabolic Rift

In this inaugural episode of our new series on ecosocialism, we discuss some writings by ecological Marxist thinker John Bellamy Foster, whose main contribution to contemporary discourse is his ela...

76 | For and Against Participatory Planning & Economics

In this patron-requested episode, we discuss the proposals for participatory planning and economics developed by Robin Hahnel and Michael Albert. They contend that socialists should want to organiz...

75 | Power, Reason, and Justification: Rainer Forst's Critical Theory

In this episode, we discuss the social theory of the Kantian critical theorist Rainer Forst in his book Normativity and Power. We work through how well his theory of the relationship betwe...

74 | Time and Work Discipline with E.P. Thompson

In this episode, we discuss E.P. Thompson’s amazing article “Time, Work Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism.” E.P. Thompson is the legendary Marxist historian and author of The Making o...