Top Five Philosophy Podcasts

“The Great Everything” This podcast features two different episode formats. The first are dubbed “Culture Bites” which are bonus content from the full episodes that feature extra research or random bits that did not make the final cut. “Culture Bites” are on average 10 minutes in length. The main episodes discuss broad topics in philosophy and how they apply to modern life, rather than discussing philosophers themselves. The main episodes are usually an hour of audio. This podcast is hosted by Patrick Daniel, former lawyer turned philosopher who “searches for answers to life’s great questions by exploring connections between art, culture and everything else.”

Courtesy of anchor.fm

“Philosophize This!” This podcast discusses topics and people that are often ignored in philosophy courses, such as Buddha or the Hellenistic Age. However, it also touches on broader philosophers that many established professionals in the industry seem to forget about like Descartes or Leibniz. This podcast is hosted by Stephen West who surprisingly does not have any professional training in philosophy.

Courtesy of philosophizethis.org

“Philosophy Bites” This podcast is run by David Edmonds from Oxford University and Nigel Urburton, a freelance philosopher. “Philosophy Bites” is presented differently from the rest. Episodes are a quick 20 minutes featuring a different philosopher being interviewed on specific topics. This podcast should also be given credit for making philosophy cool and mainstream. It is one of the top 20 most downloaded series in the United States with over 34 million downloads.

“Stoic Meditations” This podcast is run by Massimo Pigliucci, professor of Philosophy at CUNY-City College. Each episode is no longer than three minutes of audio. Pigliucci discusses short ways to apply theories and wisdom of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers. While this is not the podcast for a long commute to work, it is perfect for those short and much needed sparks of inspiration to get us through our daily troubles.

Courtesy of blog.apaonline.org

“The Partially Examined Life” This podcast is run like a lecture, where listeners have assigned readings of short philosophical texts that will be discussed in analyzed in the episode. However, the conversation is still entertaining and easy enough to follow if you have failed to do your homework. The most frequent hosts are Seth Paskin, Dylan Casey, Mark Linsenmayer and Wes Alwan. The hosts describe it as, "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 ranges from 90 to 130 minutes.