PODCAST

Philosophy vs. Improv

Mark Linsenmayer

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

54:26

PvI#90: Empty Street

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2025/03/24

Mark and Bill introduce a new potential setting and some characters for ongoing use in future improvisations. We talk about techniques for doing that and wrap up by getting an update from Bill on his substitute teaching and talking about what makes for a good teacher.You can choose to watch this on unedited video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en-US

54:14

PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and Aaron from srsly...

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2025/02/19

Mark and Bill are joined by two north-of-the-border podcasters, Shawn Vulliez and Aaron Moritz, who incorporate both improv and philosophy in their dirty leftist podcast. We simulate conversation as competing knowers-of-the-good-life and talk about using improv for political purposes. Note that this was recorded back in December when we were in the thick of Luigi Mangione fever and not yet consumed with daily Presidential antics. You can choose to watch this on unedited video, if you choose.

en-US

58:13

PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and Aaron from srsly...

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2025/02/19

Mark and Bill are joined by two north-of-the-border podcasters, Shawn Vulliez and Aaron Moritz, who incorporate both improv and philosophy in their dirty leftist podcast.We simulate conversation as competing knowers-of-the-good-life and talk about using improv for political purposes. Note that this was recorded back in December when we were in the thick of Luigi Mangione fever and not yet consumed with daily Presidential antics. Watch this on unedited video. Learn more about your ad choices

en-US

75:01

PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy Fertel

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2025/02/01

Randy is a literature guy who has written a couple of books about improv and here joins Mark and Bill to talk about WINGING IT: Improv's Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, wherein he basically blames improv for giving us the orange man. Our scenes are about Trumpers hustling a fast food joint and improv for dogs.Mark and Bill stick around for some post-game bringing in yet another metaphor: music and its stylistic development. Watch this as unedited video, if you so choose. Learn more about

en-US

1:10:11

PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy Fertel

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2025/02/01

Randy is a literature guy who has written a couple of books about improv and here joins Mark and Bill to talk about WINGING IT: Improv's Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, wherein he basically blames improv for giving us the orange man. Our scenes are about Trumpers hustling a fast food joint and improv for dogs. Mark and Bill stick around for some post-game bringing in yet another metaphor: music and its stylistic development. Watch this as unedited video, if you so choose.

en-US

59:18

PvI#87: Mystic Toaster with Simon Critchley

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/12/23

Simon is a professor at New York's New School for Social Research and moderates the New York Times' philosophy offering, The Stone. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss his new book, On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy, and we used the occasion to explore how art and mysticism might be connected, including engaging in improv rituals. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

en-US

65:48

PvI#87: Mystic Toaster with Simon Critchley

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/12/23

Simon is a professor at New York's New School for Social Research and moderates the New York Times' philosophy offering, The Stone. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss his new book, On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy, and we used the occasion to explore how art and mysticism might be connected, including engaging in improv rituals.You can watch this on unedited video. We do some post-game discussion for the first time in a while (not on the video) where we reflect on the episode, and Mark

en-US

59:35

PvI#86: Friends with App-Platter Benefits with Sarah...

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/12/06

It's a TEAM PLAY episode just in time for the holiday season! Returning guests improviser and podcaster Sarah and recovering Philosophy Bro Tommy join Mark and Bill to talk AND EXPERIENCE friendship, with our longest single improv scene to date. What is friendship? Do you know your friends enough to imitate them? Does one friendship or fast-casual restaurant have to die so that another may emerge? Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at podcast at

en-US

65:06

PvI#86: Friends with App-Platter Benefits w/ Sarah...

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/12/06

It's a TEAM PLAY episode just in time for the holiday season! Returning guests improviser and podcaster Sarah and recovering Philosophy Bro Tommy join Mark and Bill to talk AND EXPERIENCE friendship, with our longest single improv scene to date. What is friendship? Is it gendered? Do you know your friends enough to imitate them? Does one friendship or fast-casual restaurant have to die so that another may emerge? Can Bill even get to the end of the call?Watch this on unedited video. The image was

en-US

51:03

PvI#85: Prototype Protoplasm w/ Mike Gorgone

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/11/21

Mike hosts the Hitchhikers and Appetizers podcast, and we recorded this episode a bit before Halloween, before the election and the consequent mass exodus, as a sort of memo to the future, i.e. you. We blister our way through many topics including discovery, hospital dramas, time travel sex, self-experimentation, ancient aliens, sharkNATO, Flintstone furniture, the first Wisconsin Thanksgiving, Subway nation-states, and more. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the and hear this ad-free at

en-US

57:32

PvI#85: Prototype Protoplasm w/ Mike Gorgone

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/11/21

Mike hosts the Hitchhikers and Appetizers podcast, and we recorded this episode a bit before Halloween, before the election and the consequent mass exodus, as a sort of memo to the future, i.e. you. We blister our way through many topics including discovery, hospital dramas, time travel sex, self-experimentation, ancient aliens, sharkNATO, Flintstone furniture, the first Wisconsin Thanksgiving, Subway nation-states, and more.Watch this episode on video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

en-US

54:31

PvI#84: Interesting? w/ Lorraine Besser

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/11/03

Lorraine teaches at Middlebury college and has recently written The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It. How does "the interesting" fit into human flourishing? How do we know when some attractive stimulation is really in our interest and really good? Can we find something interesting even the most tedious, repetitive tasks? Is it interesting to start an improv scene by declaring that your scene-mates are dealing with alcoholism and divorce

en-US

49:01

PvI#84: Interesting? w/ Lorraine Besser

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/11/03

en-US

51:49

PvI#83: Half Philosophizing (Season 4 Premiere)

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/10/17

Welcome to the beginning of a new round of shenanigans on Philosophy vs. Improv. Let the senior slump begin! Your hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Bill Arnett here talk a blazin' stream of consciousness and then have a pretty long improv scene. Are we already always philosophizing? Watch the proceedings unedited on YouTube. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

en-US

56:19

PvI#83: Half Philosophizing (Season 4 Premiere)

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/10/17

Welcome to the beginning of a new round of shenanigans on Philosophy vs. Improv. Let the senior slump begin!Your hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Bill Arnett here talk a blazin' stream of consciousness and then have a pretty long improv scene. Are we already always philosophizing? Watch the proceedings unedited on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en-US

57:03

PvI#82: LIVE in Personability w/ James Whittington

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/09/15

Chicago's iO Theater was graced on August 21 by Mark, Bill, and special guest theater educator James Whittington, who spoke about embodiment (see Maurice Merleau-Ponty), the possible disconnect between meaning and tone, and being in the physical presence of greatness. They acted out scenes (while still sitting!) about an unsuccessful party and Experiences-R-Us. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast at philosophyimprov.com/support. You may choose to watch the proceedings live on

en-US

54:57

PvI#82: LIVE in Personability w/ James Whittington

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/09/15

en-US

53:36

PvI#81: Unshelved, Untitled

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/09/06

Our long lost episode. Consider it a mystery box. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get all of our post-game discussions and other exclusive bonus content. You can choose to watch this on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

en-US

49:06

PvI#81: Unshelved, Untitled

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/09/06

Our long lost episode. Consider it a mystery box.Mark philosophizes at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Bill improvises (and teaches) at chicagoimprovstudio.com. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast to get all our post-game discussions, a video version of the podcast, and other bonus stuff.

en-US

51:17

PvI#80: Brief, Alternative Facts w/ David Shields

Philosophy vs. Improv ·

2024/08/14

Internationally best-selling author David wrote a book (and made a film) called How We Got Here, which traces the gradual path in the history of ideas from the ancients through various forms of perspectivism, relativism, and post-modernism to the post-truth discourse that authoritarians and wanna-be authoritarians engage in. David's book is in a very terse style, in line with his overall career emphasis on brevity, so we talk about this choice and how it means in most cases not actually explaining

en-US

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Philosophy vs. Improv

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