Pop Philosophy!

Is meat-eating morally objectionable? If you say not, you might argue that human beings have a higher moral status than animals; that its intuitively obvious that humans have the right to eat meat; and that humans have eaten meat since time immemorial, so why stop now? Or, you might believe that meat is an essential part of human nutrition. Behold as David Detmer blows these arguments out of the water.

Life is poker. Poker is life. Or so philosophy professor Michael Ventimiglia would have you believe. But if you just think he's referring to the life of compulsive gambler, you'd be dead wrong! Imagine sitting on pocket Q's. The flop is harmless, no flush or straight possibilities after the turn. The river is a K. How hard do you press? When confronted with these experiences, Professor Ventimiglia argues that you ought to consult the wisdom of the ages.

In this podcast, Aeon Skoble looks at Hitchcock's famous thriller Rear Window and unearths a perplexing ethical scenario. Is protagonist Jeff in the wrong when he snoops on a neighbor, even though his snooping leads to the apprehension of a crazed murderer? Do the ends justify the means? Find out!

In this podcast, Neal King identifies and elaborates upon fascist aspects of the Buffyverse. Are Buffy and her Scooby gang, with their incessant persecution and slayage of demonkind, more like the SS than a group of heroes? And is it right for us to cheer them on?

This podcast features Gary L. Hardcastle giving his world-renowned, nationally acclaimed presentation of "Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Reflected in the Work of Monty Python." Includes clips from "The Cheese Shop," "The Argument Clinic," and other Pythonesque episodes in the history of Western philosophy.

This episode features Steven M. Sanders's essay asking the perennial ethical question, Why be moral at all? Can Steven give us a compelling argument to not become a serial killer, for instance? Well?!?

This episode features Randall E. Auxier's essay on what South Park character Chef and the followers of controversial philosopher Leo Strauss know about love and sex. You don't know what they know, and you need to know!

This episode features James C. Klagge's essay on the distinction between pirating and bootlegging, the rights of artists and fans, and why it might be no big deal to rip off Columbia Records.

This episode features Walter (Ritoku) Robinson's essay on everything ch'i, ki, and zen in the Star Wars mythology.

This episode features Ronald Green's essay on how to be an effective manager like the mob boss Tony Soprano.

This episode features Matthew Tedesco's essay about Agent 007's Liscense to Kill and the moral problems it poses.

This episode features John Huss's essay about how to prove or disprove the existence of God through the eyes of Monty Python and philosopher David Hume.