Explore every episode of the podcast Overthink
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Envy | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:54:53 | |
Why are you so obsessed with me!? In episode 111 of Overthink, Ellie and David untangle envy, jealousy, and admiration, in everything from Sigmund Freud to Regina George. They think through the role of envy in social media and status regulation alongside Sara Protasi's The Philosophy of Envy, and investigate the philosophical lineage of this maligned emotion. Does the barrage of others’ achievements on social media lead to ill-will or competitive self-improvement? Why do we seek to deny our own envies? And how might Freud's questionable theory of 'penis envy' betray the politics of how we assign and deflect desire? Check out the episode's extended cut here! Snow White (1937) Overthink epiosdes Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Intensity | 13 Aug 2024 | 00:58:48 | |
What do skydiving, guitar-playing teenagers, and deep-seated psychic states have in common? They're all intense! In episode 110 of Overthink, Ellie and David untangle the role of intensity in shaping our aspirations, cultural tropes, and political goals. They trace the concept’s history from its tricky roots in Aristotle's theory of change, passing through medieval science and princely romanticism, to the thrills of skydiving and breathwork today. They turn to Henri Bergson and Gilles Deleuze’s accounts of consciousness and emotion to explore how intensity looks beyond the scientistic impulse to categorize and quantify, and question if intensity is of any help in addressing capitalist acceleration today. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| AI Safety with Shazeda Ahmed | 09 Apr 2024 | 00:57:06 | |
Welcome your robot overlords! In episode 101 of Overthink, Ellie and David speak with Dr. Shazeda Ahmed, specialist in AI Safety, to dive into the philosophy guiding artificial intelligence. With the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT, the lofty utilitarian principles of Effective Altruism have taken the tech-world spotlight by storm. Many who work on AI safety and ethics worry about the dangers of AI, from how automation might put entire categories of workers out of a job to how future forms of AI might pose a catastrophic “existential risk” for humanity as a whole. And yet, optimistic CEOs portray AI as the beginning of an easy, technology-assisted utopia. Who is right about AI: the doomers or the utopians? And whose voices are part of the conversation in the first place? Is AI risk talk spearheaded by well-meaning experts or investor billionaires? And, can philosophy guide discussions about AI toward the right thing to do?
Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Me, Myself, and Zoom | 05 Jan 2021 | 00:54:00 | |
On episode 11 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the ways in which Zoom has impacted our perception of the self and others. They begin by exploring the blurred lines of privacy that Zoom offers (who among us hasn’t cut their video feed to do a load of laundry?). Next, the two jump into the impact self-view has had on all of us now that we are able to see ourselves conduct our normal lives, tying it to Lacan’s mirror stage. Plus, they discuss disability theorists and the potential benefits that Zoom has for inclusion and accessibility.
Interested In the works discussed? Paul Virilio, Open Sky Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| New Year's Resolutions | 29 Dec 2020 | 00:45:27 | |
On episode 10 of Overthink, Ellie and David debate the merit of New Year’s Resolutions. Only 8% of people keep the resolutions they set – so why do we continue to make resolutions? The duo discusses the importance of questioning the resolutions we make and desire. To understand the January 1st phenomena, they dive into Stoicism and Nietzsche. Interested in works discussed? William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Parrhesia - Speaking Truth to Power | 16 Dec 2020 | 00:51:38 | |
On episode 9 of Overthink, Ellie and David dive into the concept of parrhesia (speaking truth to those in power). They discuss its origin in Ancient Greece with Socrates and Diogenes, as well as its resurgence in Foucault. The two get into modern day truth tellers such as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Tristan Harris, Emma Sulkowicz, and more. Interested in the works discussed? Look no further: Andreas Huyssen, “Foreword: The return of Diogenes as Postmodern Intellectual” Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Ghosting | 08 Dec 2020 | 00:50:34 | |
Have you ever been ghosted? In episode 8 of Overthink, Ellie and David deconstruct this dating dilemma. The duo discuss what ghosting does to our emotions; how the Greek notion of akrasia can help us understand why people ghost; how ghosting leaves us feeling, well, haunted; and more! Interested in the works discussed? Here you go! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Empathy | 01 Dec 2020 | 00:47:12 | |
In episode 7 of Overthink, Ellie and David dive into the sensation of empathy! The dynamic duo discuss mirror neurons, whether animals can feel empathy, nice boy syndrome, why the phrase “I feel your pain” is so annoying, and more! Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here: Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Why Millennials Love Homemaking | 15 Nov 2020 | 00:50:49 | |
In episode 6 of Overthink, Ellie and David look at millennials' obsession with homemaking through the lens of Epicurus and Mariana Ortega. The duo talk about the Danish word “hygge,” alloparenting plants, IKEA, how 10-step skincare regimens are definitely the reason why millennials don’t own homes, and so much more! Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Nostalgia | 15 Nov 2020 | 00:55:32 | |
In episode 5 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about the taste, smell, and function of nostalgia. They dive into al pastor tacos, cottagecore, teenage diary entries, old shampoo bottles, M.A.G.A and more! Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Existential Anxiety | 31 Oct 2020 | 00:53:41 | |
On episode 4 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about existential anxiety, FOMO, Netflix’s Emily in Paris, The Good Place, and the difference between the medical and existential model of anxiety. Then the dynamic duo discusses how to deal with existential angst through resoluteness, mindfulness, and faith--or what David likes to call “embracing your ugliness!” Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here: Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Anti-Maskers and American Individualism | 31 Oct 2020 | 00:49:52 | |
On episode 3 of Overthink, Ellie and David delve into the rise of Anti-Mask protests across the country. The two discuss American individualism in our conception of freedom, the role of breath in the Judeo-Christian tradition, how much freedom we actually have when choosing lunch, and so much more! Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here: G.W.F. Hegel, The Philosophy of Right Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Welcome to Overthink! | 31 Oct 2020 | 00:07:09 | |
Welcome to Overthink. A philosophy podcast you'll actually want to listen to. Smart but cool. Fun but deep. Hosted by professors Ellie Anderson (Pomona College) and David M. Peña-Guzmán (San Francisco State University). Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Overthinking | 26 Mar 2024 | 00:59:45 | |
Overthink goes meta! In the 100th episode Ellie and David reflect on the podcast’s journey and the origins of its (flawless!) title. They take up the question, “What is overthinking?” Is it a kind of fixation on details or an unwanted split in the normal flow of ideas? Then, they turn to psychology to make sense of overthinking’s highs and lows, as the distracting voice inside your head and a welcome relief from traumatic memories. Through the philosophies of John Dewey and the Frankfurt School, they look at different ways to understand the role of overthinking in philosophy and the humanities. Is overthinking a damper on good decisions, or perhaps the path to preserving the possibility of social critique? Check out the episode's extended cut here!
Works Discussed John Dewey, How We Think Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| How Capitalism Commodifies Time | 31 Oct 2020 | 00:44:35 | |
On episode 2 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss how millennials love talking about hating capitalism, the influence capitalism has had on our understanding of time, and the blurring line between who you are as a worker and who you are as an individual. Then they discuss how Covid-19 has challenged our conception of time and what this means for the future! Interested in the works discussed? You can find them here: Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Zombies | 12 Mar 2024 | 00:59:47 | |
Who’s afraid of zombification? Apparently not analytic philosophers. In episode 99 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk all about zombies and their unfortunate legacy in the thought experiments of academic philosophy. Their portrait as brain-eating and consciousness-lacking mobs is a far cry from their origins in the syncretic sorcery at the margins of Haitian Voodoo. This distance means that the uncanny zombie raises provocative questions about the problematic ways philosophy integrates and appropriates nonwestern culture into its canon. Your hosts probe beyond limits of the tradition when they explore zombification in animals, in reading, in Derrida, and beyond. Check out the episode's extended cut here! Works Discussed Ellie Anderson, “Derrida and the Zombie” The Last of Us (2023) Overthink, Continental Philosophy: What is it, and why is it a thing? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Reputation | 27 Feb 2024 | 00:59:58 | |
They say this one is the real deal. In Episode 98 of Overthink, Ellie and David untangle the philosophy behind the way we compare, judge, and defend our reputations. From Machiavelli’s advice to despots looking to stay popular, to disgruntled students venting on their professors online, reputation can glide you to victory or trigger your fall from grace. Exploring concepts like the Matthew effect, the homo comparativus, and informational asymmetry, your hosts ask: Why do both Joan Jett and Jean-Jacques Rousseau refuse reputation’s fickle pleasures? Does David actually have a good work-life balance, or is everyone else hoodwinked? And, what is the place of quantified reputation in an increasingly digital world? Check out the episode's extended cut here!
Kwame Anthony Appiah, The Honor Code Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Bad Reputation Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince Louise Matsakis, “How the West Got China’s Social Credit System Wrong,” Wired Magazine Gloria Origgi, Reputation: What It Is and Why It Matters Gloria Origgi, "Reputation in Moral Philosophy and Epistemology" Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of the Solitary Walker Jean-Paul Sartre, The Transcendence of the Ego Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments Jordi Xifra, “Recognition, symbolic capital and reputation in the seventeenth century” Overthink Episodes Ep 28, Cancel Culture Ep 19, Genius Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Cities | 13 Feb 2024 | 01:02:52 | |
The village is aglow! In episode 97 of Overthink, Ellie and David guide you through the ideas that make a metropolis tick. From Plato’s spotless Republic to Saudi Arabia’s futuristic The Line, they talk the foul and the vibrant of what it means to live in a city. Why are there so few public plazas in Brasilia? Why did David lose his wallet in Mexico City? How do gridded street layouts reflect colonial fantasies? And how did a medieval woman writer, Christine de Pizan, beat Greta Gerwig to the punch in imagining a Barbie-like City of Ladies? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Fatphobia with Kate Manne | 30 Jan 2024 | 00:59:38 | |
“They find our bodies repulsive.” On episode 96 of Overthink, Ellie and David bring on Dr. Kate Manne, philosopher and author of Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia. She explains the moral failures and biomedical perils of our fatphobic culture and its misleading imperative to diet. This look at the politics of fat, fatness, and fatphobia in the philosophical canon and beyond to reveal rich links to questions of accessibility, justice, and intimacy. Should we trust the BMI (Body Mass Index) as a measure of health? Is the future in Ozempic? Why are we encouraged to see our body’s biological need for nutrition as “food noise”? And what might it take to hear the music of our human bodily diversity? Works Discussed Follow Dr. Kate Manne on Substack! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Biohacking | 16 Jan 2024 | 00:59:19 | |
Night vision. Superhuman strength. And… kale salad? In episode 95 of Overthink, Ellie and David explore the weird world of biohackers, who leverage science and technology to optimize their bodies. The movement raises rich philosophical questions, from the blurry ethics of self-experimentation, to the consequences of extreme Cartesian dualism, to the awkward tension in our technological nostalgia for a pastoral paradise. If biohacking taps into the basic human desire to experience and investigate, it perhaps also pushes too far toward transcending our bodies. The stakes are political, metaphysical, and ethical — and your hosts are here to make philosophical sense of it all. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Debt | 02 Jan 2024 | 00:53:48 | |
You owe this one a listen. In episode 94 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss everything debt, from student loans and bank bailouts to the importance of honoring one’s intellectual forebears. Did Shakespeare’s Antonio really pay Shylock with “a pound of flesh”? Why does Nietzsche say that the Christian God is a creditor of infinite debt? Who really benefits from bailouts under capitalism today? And might it be time to bring back good old “jubilees,” i.e., sanctioned acts of collective debt cancellation? As they talk through these questions, your hosts explore how debt has structured social, family, and religious bonds across history, from Vedic India, to Plato’s Athens, and how the notion of being “indebted” to one’s cultural past conditions the experience of immigrants in America today. Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Pity | 19 Dec 2023 | 00:58:40 | |
Tell us who you pity and we’ll tell you who you are! In episode 93 of Overthink, Ellie and David guide you through the philosophy behind this “well-meaning” emotion. From Aristotle’s account of pity in theater, to problematic portrayals of disability in British charity telethons, pity has had an outsized role our social and cultural worlds. But who is the object of our pity, and why? Your hosts dissect various archetypes of pity, such as Father Mackenzie (a character in Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles) and the elusive Corn Man (a figure invented by Ellie while in Greece!). Where is the line between pity and compassion? How does pity interact with our social responsibilities and power structures? And, is pity a meaningful part of the good life, or is it an emotion we would all be better off without? Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Non-Monogamous Love with Justin L. Clardy | 05 Dec 2023 | 00:59:39 | |
Let a thousand flowers bloom! In episode 92 of Overthink, Ellie and David have a panoramic conversation on love beyond monogamy with philosophy professor, podcaster, and author of Why It's OK To Not be Monogamous, Justin L. Clardy. They envision relations of love and special attachment that aren't bound to the notion of sacrifice. They also turn to personal stories and question the role of marriage in consumer capitalism and its nonstop pressure to find the One and Only. Together, they find in non-monogamous pathways to reimagine agency, identity, and community — and a nudge toward a richer philosophy of our relations with the world around us. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Predictive Brain with Andy Clark | 30 Jul 2024 | 00:55:53 | |
Phantom phone buzzes? Painless mosquito bites? Toy masks flipped inside-out? It might be your brain bringing order to its complex world. In episode 109 of Overthink, Ellie and David interview cognitive philosopher Andy Clark, whose cutting edge work on perception builds off theories of computation to offer an intriguing new model of mind and experience. He explains why the predictive processing model promises a healthier relation to neurodiversity, and they all explore its real-world applications across placebos, road safety, chronic pain, anxiety, and even the accidental success of ‘positive thinking.’ Plus, in the bonus, Ellie and David discuss depression, plasticity, qualia, zombies, and what phenomenologists can bring to the cognitive table. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Mommy Issues | 21 Nov 2023 | 00:58:25 | |
Is mom still doing your laundry!? In episode 91 of Overthink, Ellie and David explore the twisty world of mommy issues, from the OG mother Mary to today’s seducing MILFs. They look into psychonalytic theories of the mom-child bond, paying close attention to ways these theories have been challenged and expanded in the 20th century. They also discuss Simone de Beauvoir’s critique of maternal devotion by diving into some its most extreme, and problematic, manifestations. Your hosts ask: Is it true that mothers identify more easily with their children of the same gender? Do macho men and wimpy boys sexualize their mothers in similar ways? And of course: who’s the biggest mama’s boy of them all? Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Daddy Issues | 07 Nov 2023 | 00:58:01 | |
Who’s your daddy? Episode 90 is all about daddy issues. Ellie and David investigate father-child relations and the sexual, emotional, and familial worlds they create. From summer zaddies and sexy dad bods to hero feminist dads, your hosts travel from psychoanalysis all the way to theology to explore the expansive world of father figures. Do we all, as Julia Kristeva says, harbor unconscious fantasies of seeing our fathers “beaten”? Could civilization itself, as Freud suggests, be rooted in an archaic act of patricide for which we still feel guilty without realizing it? Ellie and David tackle hard questions about how parenthood, gender, and vulnerability interact. They even wonder whether they might have “daddy issues” of their own!
Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Psychedelics | 24 Oct 2023 | 00:59:37 | |
No, you’re not hallucinating! In episode 89 of Overthink, Ellie and David investigate the loopy world of psychedelics. Did you know that after doing psychedelics Jean-Paul Sartre went through a “lobster phase” during which he hallucinated lobsters everywhere he went? Once paraded as mind-opening gateways to the nature of reality, psychedelics are back in the conversation today as tools of therapy and neuroscience. Your hosts take a crack at the philosophy of these puzzling substances, from their implications for phenomenology and the nature of consciousness, to the ethics of their medicinal use, in light of their risks and long-lasting effects. If a trip can transform our mind and senses, it might be that our everyday perception really is far weirder than we think. Check out the episode's extended cut here! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Food with Shanti Chu | 10 Oct 2023 | 00:55:21 | |
Ellie and David are serving… dinner! In episode 88 of Overthink, your favorite podcasters explore the philosophy of food, discussing everything from Glaucon’s plea for fancy meals in the Republic, to the rich ways in which food is intertwined with our individual and cultural identities. They welcome food critic and philosophy professor Shanti Chu for a lively conversation about the gendering of meals, the ethics of food systems (lab-grown meat, anyone?), the future of restaurants, and much more. Bon appetit!
Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Authenticity | 26 Sep 2023 | 00:59:48 | |
Time to be real! In episode 87 of Overthink, Ellie and David go back and forth about authenticity. They explore its deep roots in existentialist philosophy and Romanticism, and grapple with the paradoxes of being authentic in the era of reality TV, social media, and friendly-branded megacorps. They dive into philosophical critiques of authenticity, and explore how Heidegger’s writings on “Eigentlichkeit” (often translated as “authenticity” or “actuality”) stand up today. Is authenticity the same thing as sincerity? Can you be authentic and insincere, or sincere and inauthentic? Who do we try to be authentic for: ourselves or other people? And might drag queens be the greatest example of postmodern authenticity? Check out the episode's extended cut here! Works Discussed Taylor Carman, "The Concept of Authenticity" Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| World | 12 Sep 2023 | 00:56:13 | |
Give us a listen, and we’ll give you the world! In Episode 86 of Overthink, Ellie and David ask: what does it mean to live in a world? From animal spirit masters in Labrador to the foundations of climate science, they discuss why the concept of "world" is so contentious, and even at the brink of collapse. They navigate our entangled concepts of nature, culture, and the idyllic nurturing earth through the work of Hannah Arendt and Arturo Escobar. Is the world of animals the same as our own? And, what could it mean to imagine a world where many worlds fit? In times of deep planetary transformation, philosophizing our place in this world has never been more important. This episode was produced by Emilio Esquivel Marquez and Aaron Morgan as part of their Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Pomona College.
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition and The Origins of Totalitarianism Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Sexual Consent | 29 Aug 2023 | 00:59:01 | |
This episode gets an enthusiastic yes from us. In episode 85 of Overthink, Ellie and David dive into the crux of sexual consent. They work through some of the earliest attempts on the part of American universities at developing a sexual consent policy, before unpacking the fiery debates surrounding consent today — ranging from complex legal cases as well as instances of “gray rape.” They probe the limits of popular understandings of consent with cases involving intense physical pain, and cases which undo the very stability of our idea of consent. (Can one meaningfully consent to one’s own murder?) They explore Ellie’s own proposal for rethinking our idea of consent. Is consent contractual? Performative? Magic? And, should it really be the central tenet of our sexual ethics? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Standpoint Epistemology with Briana Toole | 15 Aug 2023 | 01:00:53 | |
What does it mean to be marginalized? Does marginalization give some people more epistemic authority than others? And, if so, what should we all do with this information? In episode 84 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about standpoint theory, its complex intellectual history, and its relationship to W. E. B. DuBois’ concept of double consciousness. They welcome an expert on the subject: Dr. Briana Toole, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College. In their conversation, they chat about how standpoint theory makes sense of electoral politics, educational policy, bizarre reality TV, and much more. They also discuss Corrupt the Youth, a philosophy outreach program founded by Dr. Toole that brings philosophy to high schools in the U.S. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Exercise | 01 Aug 2023 | 00:56:33 | |
Western philosophy started… at the gym. In episode 83 of Overthink, Ellie and David tackle the philosophy of workouts, from Plato’s days as a wrestler to the modern loneliness of a solitary bench press. As they discuss the role of exercise — which the Greeks called gymnastics — in building bodies and training souls, they consider the ancient Olympics, the cravings for health and beauty that guide us through what David calls the "Protestant work-out ethic," and Jean Baudrillard's thoughts about Americans' passion for jogging. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Regret | 18 Jul 2023 | 00:54:58 | |
Coulda, woulda, shoulda… In Overthink’s long-awaited epsiode 82, David and Ellie fret over the meaning of regret, in everything from life-altering career decisions to sloppy teenage breakups. They consider the usefulness of regret — if it has one at all — and explore its relation to a life well lived, investigating its philosophical lineage from Confucius and Aristotle to today. Can 20-year-olds regret? Can dogs? Is regret ever rational? And, when does remorse turn into existential despair? Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Success | 16 Jul 2024 | 00:58:27 | |
Cooked, slayed, delivered, ate. In episode 108 of Overthink, Ellie and David break down what it means to succeed, and why this sneaky word pervades our society today - in everything from the ambitions of classic American stage figures, to the refined effortlessness in Zhuangzi’s tales, to the corporate world of buzzwords. Your hosts discuss party planning, tenure tracks, inspirational quotes, haters, why science seems so successful, and the pitfalls of thinking we’ve got it all figured out. Plus, in the Patreon bonus, they reflect on the interpersonal tensions of sharing successes, and making the best of our mishaps. Check out the episode's extended cut here! Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Fashion | 04 Jul 2023 | 00:53:23 | |
Tweed suits, penny loafers: who said philosophers were out of touch? In episode 81 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk everything from Shein to Ferragamo, from high school lunchbox trends to Machiavelli’s nightgowns. As they chart the history of clothing, and the shift from functional Egyptian togas to extravagant medieval breeches, they investigate the refrain that clothes reveal the wearer’s personality. They ask, where does being timely turn into being classist? What does our sense for what’s hip tell us about perception? And, how do we square our drive for style with the injustices of consumption? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Art and AI with Raphaël Millière | 20 Jun 2023 | 00:59:59 | |
Machine minds can work a paintbrush, but are they really making art? In episode 80 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk with guest Raphaël Millière, scholar and philosophy lecturer at Columbia University, on the aesthetic merits of computer-generated art. They discuss the thorny marriage of art and technology in everything from the early days of photography to YACHT’s AI-assisted pop songs. Why do we expect art to express human emotions? Is prompt-engineering for AI models an art in itself? And, if ‘great artists steal,’ is DALL·E the greatest artist of us all? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Intellectuals | 06 Jun 2023 | 00:53:59 | |
From Émile Zola to Edward Said, from Antonio Gramsci to… Joe Rogan? In episode 79 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the figure of the high-minded ‘intellectual’ and their role in today’s mass-media landscape. Who are intellectuals, what do they do, and what are they for? Ellie and David ask whether intellectuals have a duty to participate in public debate, and whether they can truly partake in liberatory action in such a capacity. Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Boredom | 23 May 2023 | 00:58:03 | |
One must imagine Sisyphus…bored. Take a break from boredom and listen to episode 78 of Overthink as David and Ellie guide you through the fabulously idle realm of this “bestial, indefinable affliction.” They discuss the peaceful highs and painful lows of their middle school summer slumps, the endless days of pandemic panic, and the sluggish mornings of monks during the Medieval period. What can boredom teach us about existence? Is Kierkegaard right that the masses are boring while the nobles bore themselves? Can 9-year-olds be existentially bored? Maybe all we need to overcome boredom is a little bit of fun, perhaps a holiday. Or is it? Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from Underground * In the episode, we misattributed the quote “The cure for boredom is curiosity” to Dorothy Parker. The quote belongs to Ellen Parr. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Orgasm | 09 May 2023 | 00:50:22 | |
Fireworks, a gushing waterfall, little death. The orgasm. In episode 77 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss how phenomenology and psychoanalysis interpret the experience of orgasm. They talk about evolutionary theories of the orgasm, including the theory that the body can suck up...“higher quality sperm.” They tackle what the orgasm gap says about the state of gender and sex in our society.
George Bataille, Erotism Sigmund Freud, “Instincts and Their Vicissitudes” Sigmund Freud, “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality” Sara Heinämaa, “The Phenomenology of Desire and Orgasm” Jacques Lacan, Jouissance Elisabeth Lloyd, The Case of the Female Orgasm Bias in the Science of Evolution Emily Nagoski, Come As You Are Thomas Percy, “Walking in a Meadow Green” Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Bad Movies with Matthew Strohl | 25 Apr 2023 | 00:51:47 | |
Guilty pleasures or cult classics, at the end of the day they’re just bad movies. In episode 76 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk with Matthew Strohl about bad movies and why it’s okay to love them. Strohl is a professor of philosophy at the University of Montana who specializes in aesthetics and ancient philosophy. He is the author of Why It’s Okay to Love Bad Movies. Here, he talks with Ellie and David about what makes certain movies “bad” yet also somehow “good,” and introduces us to two ways of relating to bad movies: bad movie ridicule vs bad movie love. What value do bad movies add to our lives and how can we develop community around the practice of watching bad movies? Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Silence | 11 Apr 2023 | 00:56:57 | |
*cricket noises* In episode 75 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss silence and its connection with awe, ecstasy, and the experience of the divine. They talk about David’s experience staying silent during a collegiate debate and Ellie’s practice of meditation as it relates to silence. How does being silent reveal the inner and outer noise that so often surrounds us? They talk about Christian mysticism, Dauenhauer's deep silence, and Heidegger’s call of conscience and explore the various forms of silence that shape our everyday lives. Works Discussed St. Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica John Cage, 4’33” Bernard Dauenhauer, Silence: The Phenomenon and its Ontological Significance Rupert Gethin, The Foundations of Buddhism Martin Heidegger, Being and Time Richard Kostelanetz, Conversing with John Cage Louis Pelletier, “Silence please! A brief history of silence at the theater” Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus Dōgen Zenji, Shōbōgenzō Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Lived Experience | 28 Mar 2023 | 00:58:40 | |
What kind of authority do we appeal to when we invoke lived experience? Isn't all experience "lived"? Why does the *discourse* today so frequently refer to this concept, and what are its philosophical origins? In episode 74 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the phenomenology of lived experience, including its roots in Dilthey, who considered lived experience to be historical. They incorporate Fanon’s work into the conversation to answer the question of if our lived experience of the world is something that varies along identity lines such as race. Works Discussed Wilhelm Dilthey, Poetry and Experience Franz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks Martin Jay, Songs of Experience Becca Longtin, “From Factical Life to Art: Reconsidering Heidegger's Appropriation of Dilthey” Pamela Paul, “The Limits of ‘Lived Experience’” Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Cultural Appropriation | 14 Mar 2023 | 00:59:21 | |
What do Gwen Stefani, Iggy Azalea, and Camille Monet have in common? They are all blonde women who are probably guilty of cultural appropriation. In episode 73 of Overthink, Ellie and David tackle cultural appropriation, starting with the kerfuffle over Claude Monet’s painting La Japonaise at The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Pulling from their own experiences of cultural appropriation and from academic explorations of the topic, they consider whether individuals should even be called out for cultural appropriation. They talk about Nguyen and Strohl’s concept of “group intimacy” and debate whether we can ever draw a clear line between insiders and outsiders in a particular cultural group. Works Discussed Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture Jesa Marie Calaor, “Gwen Stefani: “I Said, ‘My God, I’m Japanese’” Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures Erich Hatala Matthes, “Cultural Appropriation Without Cultural Essentialism?” C. Thi Nguyen and Matthew Strohl, “Cultural Appropriation and the Intimacy of Groups” Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Why Live? with Céline Leboeuf | 28 Feb 2023 | 00:59:10 | |
To be or not to be? That is the question. At the center of Hamlet’s soliloquy is the issue of whether life is worth living. In episode 72 of Overthink, Ellie and David consider this issue with philosopher and existentialism expert Céline Leboeuf. How can we find meaning in our lives when the world seems random and indifferent to our interests? Leboeuf talks about how her personal experience with an existential crisis and her philosophical search for a way out of it led her to consider religious, atheist, and spiritual answers to the question "Why Live?" Ellie and David also consider Camus’ notion of the absurd, and whether life is just a series of blips of suffering with no higher purpose. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Organisms | 02 Jul 2024 | 00:48:03 | |
In episode 107 of Overthink, David and Ellie take up a philosophical perspective on biology’s squirmiest concept: the organism. From Kant’s distinction between organisms and mechanisms, to Deleuze and Guattari’s infamous call for ‘bodies without organs,’ they uncover and question the ontological and metaphorical baggage behind the concept. Their exploration takes them from the bottom of Sea of Naples to the heights of Romantic Idealism, passing through the tensions of contemporary genetics. Plus, in the Patreon bonus, they discuss the unexpected relations between organisms, politics, and reason through the thought of Lukács and Canguilhem. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Emotional Labor | 14 Feb 2023 | 00:59:51 | |
Is the emotional opacity of men a social justice issue? In episode 71, Ellie and David break down the concepts of emotional and hermeneutic labor. The notion of emotional labor was originally created to shed light on gendered workplace interactions, but it has since been applied to romantic and other kinds of relationships. Is this expanded use of the term justified? Ellie’s research suggests that the concept of hermeneutic labor may better explain asymmetries of power in romantic relationships between men and women. Hermeneutic labor imbalances are produced by men’s inability to name and interpret their feelings and by the societal expectation that women manage their own emotions and those of their male partners simultaneously. How does Ellie’s research on hermeneutic labor shift our perspective on the issue of gender in emotional work? Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) | 31 Jan 2023 | 01:00:03 | |
In the next hour, I might miss out on the greatest thing that could happen to me. Or maybe that’s just the FOMO talking. FOMO, the fear of missing out, has infiltrated the zeitgeist in the past decade. What does the obsession with FOMO tell us about our desire to connect with others in an age of consumer capitalism and social media? In episode 70, Ellie and David consider the fear of missing out in light of Nietzsche’s ressentiment, Freud’s psychoanalysis of Little Hans, and how FOMO has changed due to COVID. They consider whether the movement toward JOMO, or the joy of missing out, provides a viable solution to the fear. Svend Brinkmann, The Joy of Missing Out: The Art of Self-Restraint in an Age of Excess Paperback Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Animal Justice with Martha Nussbaum | 17 Jan 2023 | 00:59:06 | |
Wild animals who build communities, domestic companions who love, and captive creatures who suffer. In episode 69 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk with renowned philosopher Martha Nussbaum about her capabilities approach to animal justice. They touch on topics as varied as animal sentience, factory farming, habitat destruction, and the ethics of predation. Together, they discuss the failure of established ethical frameworks to fully incorporate the more-than-human world, explore our ethical responsibilities to other animals, and consider how our legal system might need to change in order to facilitate the flourishing of all life on earth. Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||
| Heroes | 03 Jan 2023 | 00:58:06 | |
I’m holding out for a hero. From Achilles to Odysseus and modern day heroes, what does it mean to be a hero, and why are we obsessed with hero worship? In episode 68 of Overthink, Ellie and David dissect the figure of the hero, from its masculinist overtones to how it differs from other morally praiseworthy figures, such as the saint. They discuss how the concept of heroism has changed over time from the time of Homer to the age of CNN. Works Discussed Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com | |||