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PODCAST

The Partially Examined Life

Mark Linsenmayer

The Partially Examined Life is a philosophy podcast by some guys who were at one point set on doing philosophy for a living but then thought better of it. Each episode we pick a text and chat about it with insight and flippancy. You don"t have to know any philosophy or even have read the text we"re talking about to follow and enjoy the discussion.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

64:57

PEL Presents NEM#230: Dean Wareham (Luna, Galaxie...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/04/25

Dean has released about 20 albums, starting with three '88-'90 with Galaxie 500, then he started fresh in New York as Luna, releasing seven albums and some EPs through 2005 (plus a later reunion), then continued with his Luna bassist and now spouse Britta Phillips as Dean and Britta for five albums, interspersed with now four albums under his own name and other miscellaneous projects. We discuss "We're Not Finished Yet" (and listen at the end to "The Cloud Is Coming" from That's the Price of Loving

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49:55

Ep. 363: Franz Brentano's Moral Epistemology (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/03/24

Continuing on "The Origin of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong" (1889), getting into how we measure the comparative value of things. While Brentano does observe actual practices in these areas, his phenomenology detects moral facts that can be used to cast judgments of people's actual practices, saving him from relativism.Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at

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48:56

PEL Presents PvI#90: Empty Street

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/03/22

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. Hear more at philosophyimprov.com. Support the podcast and listen ad-free at philosophyimprov.com/support. Check out other Evergreen Podcast offerings.

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56:09

PEL Presents PMP#191: Saturday Night Liver

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/03/09

Are we taking for granted this unique, talent-filled weekly nationally televised live comedy event that's been around for 50 years? (as in "What do we think this show is? Chopped liver?") Does its format even make sense at this time given YouTube and streaming? What will its legacy be? Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss the casts, highlights, and the recent anniversary specials.For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with bonus content at patreon.com/prettymuchpop or by

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56:45

Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/24

On "Fragment on Machines" (1858). Shouldn't automating work free workers? Not according to Marx, until capitalism is overthrown. Until then, automation actually just makes labor conditions worse and certainly doesn't give people more free time, since the capitalist keeps all the surplus gained by greater productivity.Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at

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55:50

PEL Presents PMP#190: The Substance: Act Your Age!

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/20

Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn and Al discuss the Coralie Fargeat/Demi Moore film The Substance in light of its Oscar nominations, along with related reflections on lost youth, e.g. Sunset Boulevard (1950), Death Becomes Her (1992), and Neon Demon (2016). We also touch on other cloning scenarios. Is this film a serious meditation on aging in Hollywood, or just a particularly vivid but logically confused Twilight Zone episode? Is the message of this film already itself past its prime? For more, visit

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48:22

Ep. 361: Marx on Machines (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/17

We finish our treatment of Capital, Ch. 1, covering the little bit that Marx says about actual communism (he was wary of utopianism, contra his reputation), and think through a number of related practical problems. We introduce "Fragment on Machines" (1858). 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.

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53:43

PEL Presents PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/15

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. Hear

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51:26

Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/10

Continuing on Capital, Ch. 1 on commodities. We go into detail on his account of how money gets derived from the continued comparison of various commodities, how use value comes back into play when we compare the economic value of one commodity as compared to another, and finally, the details of commodity fetishism.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

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63:58

PEL Presents NEM#227: Django Haskins (The Old...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/08

Django is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who released his first solo album in 1996 and has released seven albums with The Old Ceremony since 2004 plus several more solo releases. We discuss The Old Ceremony songs "Too Big to Fail" (and listen to "Hangman's Party at the end) from Earthbound (2024), "The Disappear" from Walk On Thin Air (2009), and "Reservations" from Our One Mistake (2006). Intro: "Beautiful" from Folding Stars (1996). More at theoldceremony.com. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music

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48:21

Ep. 360: Karl Marx on Economic Value (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/03

On Capital (1867), Ch. 1, "The Commodity."What makes something we buy or sell valuable? Marx says it's ultimately the labor that goes into it, though there are some wrinkles in formulating this accurately, and the commodities and surrounding marketplace activity blind us to labor's role and its ethical import. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: You may also the Fallacious Trump podcast at

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53:10

PEL Presents PMP#189: Bob Dylan As We Know Him

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/02

In light of the recent release of the James Mangold film A Complete Unknown, Mark, Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Dylan superfan Al discuss the man, the myth, and the music. The film clearly aimed to make the music, environment, and political activity of the '60s come alive today, but does the simplification required to make a coherent film undermine that goal? We also touch on his Chronicles, plus I'm Not There and other Dylan-related films. For more, visit prettymuchpop.com. Hear this ad-free with

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60:15

PEL Presents Closereads: Marx on Stirner (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/02/01

Mark and Wes read through and discuss Karl Marx's The German Ideology (1846), delving deep into the middle of his critique of Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own. Marx articulates and criticizes Stirner's attempt to distinguish the mere common egoism of an unthinking person from the enlightened egoism that Stirner is recommending. Read along with us, starting on p. 259 (PDF p. 255). Sign up to support Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get future parts of this discussion plus lots

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52:10

Ep. 359: Karl Marx's Project (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/01/27

We continue on the introduction to Marx's Grundrisse, going through his criticisms of prior economists who were too ahistorical and didn't understand how production, consumption, distribution and exchange hang together as a single system. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

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67:31

PEL Presents PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/01/25

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.

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41:43

Ep. 358: Max Stirner's Egoism (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/01/13

Continuing on The Ego and Its Own, focusing now on the sections "The Owner" and "My Power." Stirner lets us know that his egoism ("ownness") is not compatible with liberal egalitarianism, which he sees as just a continuation of the Christian project of perfecting humanity.Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsor: Learn about St. John's College at sjc.edu/pel.

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79:40

PEL Presents NEM#226: The Evolution of Iain Matthews...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2025/01/05

Iain started in Britain's Fairport Convention in the late '60s, but quickly left that band to start a couple more and then move to the US for a lengthy solo career. He has in total released close to 50 albums, including many collaborations. We discus the title track from How Much Is Enough (2024), the title track from God Looked Down (1996), and "Road to Ronderlin" by Matthews Southern Comfort from Later That Same Year (1970). End song: "St. Theresa’s Ghost" by Ian Matthews and the Searing

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51:56

Ep. 356: Feuerbach Against Theology (Part Two)

The Partially Examined Life ·

2024/12/09

We dig in and start our detailed treatment of Ludwig Feuerbach's essay "Principles of the Philosophy of the Future" (1843).Feuerbach claims that people don't realize that the entity they worship is really just whatever it is about humanity and the world that we value, wrongly posited as an independent entity. So God is a mirror for any given society. Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion. Sponsors: Have

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69:11

PEL Presents NEM#225: Loudon Wainwright III, the...

The Partially Examined Life ·

2024/12/08

Loudon has released 30 albums since 1970. He's the quintessential singer-songwriter, relying on crafty, personal lyrics delivered dynamically and typically solo, though his studio work has varied in production style and orchestration level over the years. We discuss "How Old is 75" from Lifetime Achievement (2022), "Road Ode (Live)" from Career Moves (1993), and "Be Careful There’s a Baby in the House" from Album II (1971). We wrap up by listening to "Missing You" from Last Man on Earth (2001)

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58:36

Philosophy vs. Improv #86: Friends with App-Platter...

The Partially Examined Life ·

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

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