Welcome to the beginning of a new round of shenanigans on Philosophy vs. Improv. Let the senior slump begin! Your hosts Mark Linsenmayer and Bill Arnett here talk a blazin' stream of consciousness and then have a pretty long improv scene. Are we already always philosophizing? Watch the proceedings unedited on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choic…

Chicago's iO Theater was graced on August 21 by Mark, Bill, and special guest theater educator James Whittington, who spoke about embodiment (see Maurice Merleau-Ponty), the possible disconnect between meaning and tone, and being in the physical presence of greatness. They acted out scenes (while still sitting!) about an unsuccessful party and Expe…

Our long lost episode. Consider it a mystery box. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get all of our post-game discussions and other exclusive bonus content. You can choose to watch this on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesBy Mark Linsenmayer, Bill Arnett

Internationally best-selling author David wrote a book (and made a film) called How We Got Here, which traces the gradual path in the history of ideas from the ancients through various forms of perspectivism, relativism, and post-modernism to the post-truth discourse that authoritarians and wanna-be authoritarians engage in. David's book is in a ve…

Danny was in a sketch troupe called Maximum Party Zone back in the day with your improv host Bill, and they've now revived that trio to create the MPZ Listening Party podcast, which workshops sketch ideas in real time as a fun form of conversation. So we try out some of their tricks, such as combining two properties (in this case nominally The Appr…

Tamler teaches philosophy at The University of Houston and hosts the Very Bad Wizards podcast. He joins Mark and Bill to talk about personal identity and whether the “self” is necessarily co-extensive with a particular body. Plus: meditation, Daniel Day Improv’s method acting, All of Me vs. Regarding Henry, what does “metaphysics” mean to YOU, drea…

The actor/writer/comedian joins us to talk about the philosophy of fashion, from the ancients to the present: Is clothing a mode of self-expression or something more (or less)? What does retro fashion say about the current state of culture? Should you wear clothes that you have to be sewn into? If you only had one little piece of cloth to wear, whe…

The philosopher and entertainment journalist direct from Mark’s Pretty Much Pop podcast joins PvI for an hour of merriment. We talk parenthood, philosophy of race, the RULES of improv (or the singular answer to a philosophy question), old 9th graders, one black Peggy, using racy improv in a classroom setting, and more. Hear more PvI. Support the po…

The Hitchhikers and Appetizers co-host joins Mark and Bill to talk about cultural relativism. We talk about foreign-ness, what parts of ethics seem to apply to all cultures, the Museum of Soup, pushing back tactfully in a scene, and more. In my culture, listening to this episode while in a work meeting is polite. Everything you want to know about t…

David is co-host of the excellent Overthink podcast, popular among the young people today, and so we have him monologue to children as an anti (?) drug speaker. How can drugs change us, our sense of self, and the ways we see the world? Can some drugs be considered “natural”? Also, legally defensible drug use at work, and Nancy Reagan the Heel. Foll…

The co-host of the Those Who Aunt podcast joins Mark and Bill to joke about the family as the fundamental political unit and its special place in ethics. On the flip side, what questions should you ask yourself about your character at the start of a scene? Plus, Jan. 6, Platonic eugenics, transcending physical desire, a story that doesn’t quite get…

It’s another TEAM PLAY episode, with our returning champions, star of improv stages and podcasts Chris and College of Southern Nevada philosophy prof Cole receiving NOT THE INFORMATION THEY EXPECT and gettin’ all rational and such when consoling a friend and wrangling about a math quiz. Luxuriate in the rich characters and philosophy tools! Cole ph…

If people would be uniquely healed by your blood, how much would you charge for it? Would it make a difference if they were wealthy vampires? Bill entices Mark to join a cult. You can watch video for this episode, including all our post-game chatting, all ad-free, just by visiting our Patreon page; you need not subscribe. Hear more PvI. Support the…

Jonny taught philosophy at Oxford, wrote the international bestseller Mini Philosophy, and now writes for Big Think. We talk Kierkegaard and act out some scenes about scouting and military recruitment. Do we have to live within labels? Does one have to leap to a label, without justification? For much more Kierkegaard, see our series on The Partiall…

Katie is the co-artistic director of Chicago’s IO theater and used to do Comedy Sports improv with Bill. She also took a lot of classes in philosophy and religion, so we talk some about cults, Kierkegaard, tolerance, and more. In our scenes, a family contemplates celebrating Christmas differently this year, and people debate the appropriate gift fo…

It’s our office holiday party, where we engage in chit-chat then enter into a few holiday scenes. Is there any philosophy content in this one at all? We do talk a bit about status and authority. Was there any particular improv lesson? We forgot to actually lay out our lessons at the end, and (SPOILER) declined to name a winner. Our Post-Game discus…

Sukaina teaches philosophy at U. of Pennsylvania, combining work from ancient Greek, contemporary moral, and feminist philosophy. She lets Mark and Bill know about critiques by feminist philosophers of the idea of consent. We talk a bit about moral agency, teaching dynamics given these kids today, Aristotelian virtue, and testing personality types …

Kevin is the creator and host of the storytelling podcast RISK! and is the alphabetically foremost member of the MTV-televised, newly reformed, celebrity-infested sketch comedy troupe The State. He tells us he was also the creative director of an improv troupe for a year, but it’s not his primary jam, so we talk about that before launching into a s…

Recorded on 9/11 (a date not known primarily for its improv activities), only now making its way to you, this discussion between Mark and Bill talk child deification, pop philosophy vs. pop improv, foreign accents, and guns in schools in the hands of improvisers. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get all of our post-game discussions and ot…

Returning freedom fighters Andrew and Linda and join Bill and Mark to talk about philosophical liberalism: Its rationales and varieties. Plus, preschool orientation, and Greek gods creating a new world. Follow Linda @IrisCutter. Her weekly improv show is with the troupe Dumb John. Listen to Andrew’s philosophy podcast, Reductio, which has dwelt fur…

The New York University Prof and author of many influential books including the new Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy joins Mark and Bill to simulate debates about AI, cybersex, actor vs. character, and keeping children safe from reality. We refer to Nick Bostrom’s argument that we’re most likely now in a simulation. In a past…

The author of The Accomplished Creative, a sort of anti-self-help book based around Jeremy’s improv experience and what he learned as a philosophy major, joins Mark and Bill to talk impostor syndrome and benign violations, get real meta about Die Hard scenarios, and have a cheese intervention. Follow @JeremyRichards. Listen to Jeremy’s podcast Thin…

It’s our season three premiere, and the elephants are in the room! It’s St. Lawrence University philosophy prof Jenny (a frequent PEL guest) in the ring with UIC Theater instructor/Podcaster with Hey Riddle Riddle and Hello From the Magic Tavern Adal, along with Mark and Bill, of course. And the Bullshot is flying! Who will be hit? Who will master …

Philosopher Matt, host of the Elucidations podcast and frequent PEL guest, finally gets in on Philosophy vs. Improv in this, our Season Two Finale. And many is he a de dicto. Or is he a de re? Slowly learn the difference as we make things personal through scenes of shit-talking and crime reporting. Follow @ElucidationsPod. Hear more PvI. Support th…

How does new technology affect ethics? Anthony (who is on strike, but that doesn’t apply to improv) is an improviser with a computer science degree who now coaches kid TV actors. We talk personal identity, transhumanism, genetic engineering, AI, organizational ethics, Black Mirror, Beastars, and transporter virginity. Listen to more transporter tal…

The guests are away, and so Billy and Markaroony will play. This fast-paced, sweet-moving discussion covers the genius individual artist and how that might or might not allow collaboration, genres and definitions, strife, and more. Mark just can’t WAIT for a canoe, and getting CRAZY at the salad bar. Oops, we forgot to determine a winner, so YOU de…

Watch this episode as a video. This includes the full post-game segment, so you can see what you’re missing by not being a supporter to this podcast. Don’t you think it’s time you became one? Monica is an actor and writer who ran a live-on-stage philosophy podcast called The Happier Hour, and so naturally we talk about happiness, or flourishing (eu…

Watch this episode in its unedited video form. Chris has an act called “I Am the Show” where he improvises to a film that he hasn’t seen that’s playing silently, making up all the dialogue and sound effects. Here’s an example. Mark and Bill talk to Chris about being a spectator or critic of art: To understand a work, is it good or necessary to try …

We are ALL this mess. Genevieve is a comedian, podcaster, and she was a philosophy major who’s studying for her doctorate in Divinity (in the Science of Mind/New Thought tradition). We talk about the idea that “we are all one” (and thus we are all God, if you want to call the sum of all things by that name) that’s in various traditions. Ralph Waldo…

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of the Brain in a Vat podcast join Bill and Mark L. (aka Alf) to talk about rationality, broadly construed, while not moving a couch and not giving each other Christmas presents. Does “reason” by itself tell us what to do and what to believe? Is trypophobia really just bigotry? (It is not.) What’s the rationale …

Zach is an improvisor who’s written for MST3K, been a commentator for Resistance Pro Wrestling, and has been a recurring guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss competitiveness in all its forms. Is strife part of utopia, or would all conflict be removed in an ideal political situation? Is the controlled competitivene…

Tanner runs the popular daily podcast Practical Stoicism, so of course we brought him on to talk about on-board flight services and attitudes among retail service workers. Seriously, this is one of the most beefy philosophical discussions (about Stoicism and virtue, naturally) we’ve had on the show. Follow Tanner @stoicismtanner. Listen to PEL’s ep…

This episode is here, so why not listen? Philosophy vs. Improv advances to a new level of improvisation (aka half-assery) as Mark and Bill engage in a wide-ranging discussion (with scenes, of course) through the categorization of things, paradigm components and essences of things, historical advertisements, what goes in a museum, irresponsible loan…

Marla is an improviser from the Whirled News Tonight iO Theater show. We talk about obeying proper forms of behavior and drawing improv inspiration from outside sources. Plus, a thruple blind date and BBQ chain of custody. And introducing a new character, Lil’ Confucius. Follow Marla @MarlaCaceres and @marlacaceres. Hear more PvI. Support the podca…

We talk transcendental idealism and Schopenhauer with Cole, who teaches philosophy at the College of Southern Nevada. How does the idea that everything is ideas actually affect behavior? What if you think that reality is a swirling mass of chaos? What are you gonna do then? Huh? Also, the least effective confidential informant! Hear Mark talk about…

Mark and Bill act out a couple of scenes of a person trying to convince a stubborn person of something. But there’s a twist in the characterization! Also, before you were born, the world did not exist. Part of this came out of some comments in The Partially Examined Life’s second Wittgenstein On Certainty episode and anticipates our upcoming treatm…

Rachael was a mentor of Bill’s and works with him at the newly reopened iO Theater. So it’s like we have TWO improv instructors here. We run some scenes, talk a bit too much about chili, and touch on functionalism, idealism, napism, and other isms. Jump into the marzipan! Brucie and Frucie are waiting for you! Rachael has been a guest on many impro…

What does the shortness of our lives and the beauty of the world actually entail in terms of behavior and philosophy? Nick is a former pro skater who teaches philosophy at U. of San Diego and has written This Beauty about this question, as well as On Being Awesome. Mark and Bill (your philosophy/comedy puppets, here eternally to dance for your ente…

Voice actor Dee, who has a background in both improv and stand-up, talks to Mark and Bill about the meaning of life and engages in THREE scenes all about a parent trying to get some kids into a vehicle and on the road. Also, does COVID cause ennui? Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get all of our post-game discussions and other exclusive b…

As our first stand-up comedian (albeit one on sabbatical) guest, Matty has inspired us to largely ignore the philosophy on this one and instead look at these two different ways of producing comedy. Do the motivations of improv folks and comics differ? Which group is more annoying? We talk about unintentional comedy, how the search for social media …

A completely normal customer service transaction It’s back to just Mark and Bill today. We talk about the lost art of prank phone calls and act out some “customer service nightmares” with an eye to the foundations of law and creativity that defies artistic rules. The scenes are longer and riskier than normal. Long-overdue apologies to Dirwin Zook. …

The anonymous policy wonk who runs the Carneades.org YouTube channel joins Mark and Bill to discuss the core concept of his new book, Are All Lives Equal?: Why Cost-Benefit Analysis Values Rich Lives More and How Philosophy Can Fix It. Should economics really be measuring the value of life at all? Can it do this in any principled way? Can economist…

What is personhood? How can a group best collaboratively invent a scene? Sarah is a host of Marty and Sarah Love Wrestling and a repeat guest on Hello From the Magic Tavern. We fit in THREE scenes, some discussion of the various layers of what it is for something to be (or not be) person, and some musings about the weather and such. Follow us @sara…

Stephen West from the juggernaut Philosophize This! podcast joins Mark and Bill to learn to say no and talk about reason vs. emotion in grounding ethics. What do the voices in your head (or at your lunch table) say to you? Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get all of our post-game discussions and other exclusive bonus content. Learn more a…

Mark and Bill break former patterns by each bringing in not a lesson but a question, which we knew about beforehand, and those questions are about pattern-breaking and about what current philosophers worry about. With special surprising scenes conveying cutting-edge podcasting/instructional techniques. Hear more PvI. Support the podcast! You’ll get…

Jay Sanders, famed not only for his appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Day After Tomorrow and many many other screens and stages, joins us to talk tragedy, how he’s applied the lessons of improv to his scripted acting, and more. Jump into the improv maelstrom with us! In the post-game, we more about Jay’s projects and getting recog…

It’s all down to this. Which discipline, which host will prevail? Will a third-party cheater bust in and take the big prize? All stakes are on the table, and if this thinking isn’t critical enough, if these scenes aren’t congruent enough, if we fail the big scan-tron test that is life, then it’s all been for nothing. Get out your cushion and get in…

Skye teaches and Columbia and the City University of New York, and she recently published How to Be Authentic: Simone de Beauvoir and the Quest for Fulfillment. She joins Mark and Bill to talk about what authenticity might mean for an existentialist, how it relates to truth, responsibility, and picking a theme for your birthday party. For more on t…

We talk about observations and how they relate to theories and other types of preconception. Is there such a thing as pure observation? For our pen-pen-ultimate episode here of season one, I must say that these were some of my favorite scenes we’ve ever done. We tour a submarine and plan a party. There is no Chumbawamba in either case. Improv guy C…

Barry teaches at Vassar and hosts a documentary-style philosophy podcast called Hi-Phi Nation, and his most recent season had a four-episode run on David Lewis, America’s foremost philosopher of possible worlds (also covered by PEL), after Dr. Strange, of course. So we talk about that notion, in the philosophy of metaphysics and language, and also …