Blogs, Podcasts and more

An annotated list of sites available on the web.  Also see the Philosophy Club Starter Kit  for more discussion and suggestions about many of these resources.

A. Blogs (sorted roughly by accessibility)

Blogs and blog posts can be some of the most accessible and interesting ways of discovering philosophical ideas and discussions.

• BrainPickings – philosophical readings of art, poetry and other literature. Very accessible.

• Aeon – a magazine devoted to applying philosophy to current affairs. Very accessible.

• PEA Soup – a discussion forum for philosophy and ethics.

• Practical Ethics – ethical analysis of daily news. Very accessible.

• Ordinary Philosophy – philosophy focused on public issues, public policy and governance.

• Crooked Timber – philosophy focused on public issues, public policy and governance. Basic but still comprehensive.

• Digressions & Impressions – discussions of wide-ranging philosophy topics. Basic but still comprehensive.

• Unpolished Jade – discussion of Chinese philosophy. More specialized but less abstract.

• Aesthetics for Birds – discussion of art and aesthetic philosophy. More specialized but less abstract.

• Feminist Philosophers – archived blog about feminist philosophy. More specialized but less abstract.

• Philosophical Disquisitions – philosophy focused on the future and emerging technologies. More specialized but less abstract.

• Samzdat – expository blog about topics in the philosophy of history, mathematics, and more. More specialized but less abstract.

• Less Wrong – blog/forum for people interested in reason, rationality and science. More specialized but less abstract.

• Erratic Wisdom – philosophy focused on science and medicine. More specialized.

• Rationally Speaking – archived blog about reason, science and rationality. More advanced.

• Philosophy, etc – discussion of recent work in philosophy. More advanced.

• Error Statistics – philosophy of science, statistics and reason. More technical and more advanced.

B. Podcasts (sorted roughly by accessibility)

Podcasts are another incredible and accessible way of discovering philosophy. They’re conversational, which can be very helpful for some people who don’t learn as well from a pure lecture/expository format. They also usually feature interviews with guests, meaning each podcast has dozens of perspectives from all the different guests that are featured, and you can follow those guests if their work interests you.  In addition to the list below, links to additional podcasts can be found on the Daily Nous blog’s Big List of Philosophy Podcasts

• Hi-Phi Nation – story-form philosophy about a wide range of contemporary issues. Very accessible.

• Little Voices, Big Ideas – This series looks at children’s books and discusses how they can lead to meaningful conversations with kids about important topics.

• Philosophize This! – accessible chronological explanations of the historical philosophers who shaped our world.

• On Being – a series of interviews about the big questions in life and finding meaning.

• Examining Ethics – examinations of ethical dilemmas, modern and historical, and philosophical work that informs them.

• The Public Philosopher – coverage of modern controversies through the lens of political philosophy.

• The UnMute Podcast – addressing modern issues through the work of diverse voices in philosophy.

• Contemplify – accumulated practical wisdom about living philosophically. More accessible and story-form.

• WHY? – Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life – does what it says! Basic but still comprehensive.

• The Philosophy Guy – casual discussions of philosophy, especially its presence in pop culture. Focuses on applying philosophy to your own life. Basic but still comprehensive.

• Pop Culture Philosophers – the philosophy of pop culture and how it affects us, individually and collectively.

• The Partially Examined Life – casual discussions of philosophical texts with an emphasis on making them understandable.

• In Our Time: Philosophy – a history of philosophers and their ideas. Episodes range from beginner-friendly to more advanced.

• Philosophy: The Classics – bite-sized introduction to 27 key works in the history of philosophy.

• Philosophy Talk Starters – introductions to the philosophy of a wide range of modern issues. More comprehensive but also less abstract.

• Philosophical Disquisitions: Society, Ethics and Technology – philosophy focused on the future and emerging technologies. More complex but less abstract.

• History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps – a look at many historically overlooked philosophers and their works. More advanced.

• The Philosopher’s Zone – more comprehensive examination of modern philosophical issues. Highlight: the series of episodes on philosophy in the wake of empire.

• Philosophy Bites – short interviews with modern philosophers on the issues they study. More advanced.

• New Books in Philosophy – longform interviews with modern philosophers on their books. More advanced.

• Rationally Speaking – discussions about reason, philosophy and science. More advanced.

C. Videos

• Justice – a lecture series introducing different schools of ethics and political philosophy, and their application to social and political issues today. ~50-minute videos.

• Crash Course Philosophy – a series of educational videos on an extremely broad range of topics in philosophy. ~10-minute videos.

• Ethics Matters – a video series featuring interviews with philosophers on a variety of topics.

• School of Life – Western Philosophy – educational videos on classic Western philosophers. ~10-minute videos.

• School of Life – Eastern Philosophy – educational videos on classic Eastern philosophers. ~5-minute videos.

• Best of Alan Watts – excerpted lectures from Alan Watts, a late popularizer of Eastern philosophy for Western audiences. ~20-minute videos.

• Best of Jiddu Krishnamurti – excerpted lectures from Jiddu Krishnamurti, a late philosopher and spiritual leader from India. ~10-minute videos

• Africana Philosophy – a collection of talks and lectures on ideas in Africana philosophy, which explains unique aspects of African philosophical traditions, as well as issues affecting the African diaspora today. ~10-60 minute videos, vary a lot in their length.

D. Games 

• Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher – a free point-and-click video game where you engage in arguments with historical philosophers to discover the nature of morality. See also a YouTube series playing the game.

•  Philosophy Experiments – a variety of interactive surveys and games that probe your philosophical positions.