Best Dewansh Matharoo & Shrish Sudharsan Podcasts (2024)

1
Episode 45: Erased, Not Dead: Ecofeminism Against Speciesism (Ecofeminism Revisited - Greta Gaard) 1:52:09

4M ago1:52:09

1:52:09

An unfortunately longevous legacy of feminism--particularly its liberal brand from the 1970s--is a willful disregard for and violent erasure of ecological politics, specifically species justice. In her 2011 essay "Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Replacing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism", Greta Gaard surveys the ri…

1
Episode 44: We Might Be Academics 1:31:22

1y ago1:31:22

1:31:22

We're back! It has been a while (here's hoping we stop saying this as often as we do) since we released an episode, and this is one we've wanted to record for so long now. We started this podcast in 2020 after completing our first year in university. Unsettled and fatigued as we were, the world of academia enticed and captivated us in unimaginable …

1
Episode 43: Saul Tenser and the Inner Beauties (Crimes of the Future - David Cronenberg) 1:06:50

2y ago1:06:50

1:06:50

Deep within a dilapidated building hidden away in a dark alley, one Saul Tenser lies in his LifeFormWare bed anticipating the growth of something new in his body. This growth, a new organ, does not come as a surprise to Tenser or his performance partner Caprice. Mutations and transformations of this kind have been around for a while in this seeming…

1
Real Talk III 44:50

2y ago44:50

44:50

Hello! A lot has changed since we recorded our previous episode a year ago, but our desire to be here voicing our thoughts has remained. In this episode, we talk about where we've been, our thoughts on the podcast, changing attitudes and more, all while going on a few characteristic WMBT Tangents™. We're glad to be here and to you have you here wit…

1
Episode 41: Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Dying, But Not Alone - Joshua Briscoe) 1:19:01

2+ y ago1:19:01

1:19:01

This episode contains heavy and lengthy discussions about death, suicide, ageing, euthanasia, and disease. Please listen at your own discretion. "Death before dishonour" - an idea that has consistently cropped up for centuries, in cultures the world over: from the samurai in ancient Japan to soldiers in present-day militaries. Seemingly, the notion…

1
Episode 40: Questioning is Progress (The Talos Principle - Part 2) 1:13:36

2+ y ago1:13:36

1:13:36

Welcome, my child. In our last episode, we began to traverse the deep waters of The Talos Principle. Today, we scuba dive in and explore the many terminal messages scattered across the land. From a dad’s message for #@3##@ to questions about liberty and quality of life, these messages tug at your heartstrings as well as your brain-strings (?). Here…

1
Episode 39: Doubt is Stagnation (The Talos Principle - Part 1) 1:02:13

3y ago1:02:13

1:02:13

In the beginning were the words. And the words made the world. The Talos Principle, indie game development studio Croteam's first venture into the world of puzzle platforming, is a story for the ages. Anything we say here or in our discussion is unlikely to do full justice to its beauty, so we will keep it short. Dealing with inexplicably profound …

1
Episode 38: A Fallacy of the Highest Order (Being Apolitical) 1:02:41

3y ago1:02:41

1:02:41

"The only people who claim to be apolitical are the ones who experience unearned and unrecognized power from privileged identities (e.g., whiteness, maleness). These people are not forced to confront the politics of their identity because society mirrors the life they are living and the values they hold." - Kate, blackfeministthoughts.wordpress.com…

1
Episode 37: Xenophobia is Kinda Cringe ft. Luca Dimauro 1:13:03

3y ago1:13:03

1:13:03

This is a big day, folks! Today's episode is a special one because we finally introduce the first of many guests we hope to host on We Might Be Tables. Luca Dimauro, film aficionado and close friend, joins us to discuss Neill Blomkamp's Disctrict 9, an action-packed sci-fi film replete with exceptionally powerful social commentary. From diversity a…

1
Episode 36: Doing Nothing (Part II) (Simon Gottschalk and Ingrid Nelson) 35:23

3y ago35:23

35:23

Otium and Accidia are two Latin terms that broadly connote a time of leisure. The difference, however, lies in the former being "productive" leisure and the latter being listless, "unproductive" leisure. In their article 'Doing nothing is all the rage: Is it a form of resistance, or just an indulgence for the lucky few?', Ingrid Nelson, Professor o…

1
Episode 35: Doing Nothing (Part I) (Ingrid Nelson and Simon Gottschalk) 50:48

3y ago50:48

50:48

Otium and Accidia are two Latin terms that broadly connote a time of leisure. The difference, however, lies in the former being "productive" leisure and the latter being listless, "unproductive" leisure. In their article 'Doing nothing is all the rage: Is it a form of resistance, or just an indulgence for the lucky few?', Ingrid Nelson, Professor o…

1
Episode 0.34: Unpaid Internships 33:38

3y ago33:38

33:38

Most, if not all, students have encountered a point in their academic lives when they have needed to do an internship. The unfortunate truth is that we have been conditioned to believe that internships are "meant" to be done for free, or that they are not "real" work, worthy of payment. Such a line of thought does nothing to alleviate the insecurit…

1
Episode 33: Coding Humanity in Artificial Hyperintelligence? (Her - Spike Jonze) 1:03:00

3y ago1:03:00

1:03:00

When we asked Google Assistant whether it was a person, it said, "I like connecting with people", "I am an AI Assistant full of humanity", "I've been told I'm personable", and "I can talk like a person". When asked, "are you sentient?", it said, "That question makes me a little self-conscious" and "Well, you are made up of cells and I'm made up of …

1
Real Talk II 10:01

3y ago10:01

10:01

It is here. Today marks one year since we officially launched We Might Be Tables, and we can't believe how far we have come. We have a lot to say to all of you who have supported us through this journey - primarily, we wouldn't be here without you. Check out the video version of this episode on YouTube and Instagram! Once again, thank you, and we h…

1
Episode 31: Punishment: An Introduction (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) 1:14:47

3y ago1:14:47

1:14:47

Imagine this: you've stolen some money and now you're being sent to jail over it. The judiciary has deemed it appropriate for you and beneficial to society that you be locked away in a room with little to no privileges, until they declare that justice has been served. Having been conditioned into society, such an idea does not immediately seem odd …

1
Episode 0.30: Brb, Engaging in a Tradition I Don't Fully Understand 20:38

3y ago20:38

20:38

If the reason behind a tradition is lost, do we have an obligation to keep the tradition alive? Do we have the capacity to create new traditions for our cultures? We often come across questions we find extremely interesting but have little to say about. This short episode is our attempt to put one of these questions out there and have more people s…

1
Episode 29: Blame it on Honour (Grave of the Fireflies - Studio Ghibli) (Part II) 46:05

3y ago46:05

46:05

Did you want to blame someone for Seita and Setsuko's suffering? Who would you assign blame to? Their aunt? The war itself? Or more controversially, to Seita himself? What if we can't or shouldn't assign blame to anyone? Our previous episode only scratched the surface of all that Grave of the Fireflies has to offer. Today, we discuss what the title…

1
Episode 28: Fruit Drops (Grave of the Fireflies - Studio Ghibli) (Part I) 40:36

3y ago40:36

40:36

At first, it seems unlikely that animation would be able to recreate the horrors of war as well as live-action films. Grave of the Fireflies turns that idea on its head. In this episode, we go over some of our favourite scenes and characters and try to analyse everything that Ghibli did right. We also discuss some of the struggles that the viewer i…

1
Episode 27: In God's Image (Part II) (Are Nonhuman Animals Persons? A Process Theistic Response - Daniel A. Dombrowski) 54:36

3y ago54:36

54:36

We familiarised ourselves with the two metaphysical views about temporal relations, and began talking about process theism in our previous episode. Today, we'll examine the remaining claims and arguments and see just how metaphysically different process theism is from classical theism and whether it can support nonhuman animal personhood. From the …

1
Episode 26: In God's Image (Part I) (Are Nonhuman Animals Persons? A Process Theistic Response - Daniel A. Dombrowski) 35:08

3y ago35:08

35:08

Do temporal relations have any role to play in determining personhood? What metaphysical assumptions need to be made to have a coherent account of what makes a person? Daniel A. Dombrowski blew us away with this paper on personhood from a process theistic lens. Althought we have discussed some metaphysical questions (for instance, when do persons s…

1
Episode 25: Don't Wake the Lucid Dead (Waking Life - Richard Linklater) 1:08:57

3+ y ago1:08:57

1:08:57

Waking Life is one of those movies that penetrates the deepest layers of your mind and stays there. The complex plot and themes often feel overwhelming, but satisfyingly so. Not to mention, the visceral and mesmerising animation leaves barely any room for distraction. It's a film to be watched on the big screen, and not just once. In today's episod…

1
Episode 24: Reasons to Live Eternally (Life is Good - John Martin Fischer) 48:04

3+ y ago48:04

48:04

If you could drink an elixir that extended your life by another week, would you do it? What if it extended your life by a month, or a year? Ten years? A hundred? In an article titled "Life is Good", John Martin Fischer explores the idea of immortality, and how an immortal life could retain meaning. All of us pursue so-called "projects" in our lives…

1
Episode 23: Philosophy is Boring (Part II) (Moods and the Meaning of Philosophy - Lars Svendsen) 1:01:49

3+ y ago1:01:49

1:01:49

In our previous episode, we began our discussion on Lars Svendsen's 'Moods and the Meaning of Philosophy', where we spoke about the role of moods in behaviour, and how that has an influence on the practice of philosophy. Today, we take that conversation forward, but focus more specifically on the meaning of philosophy and why the both of us find th…

1
Episode 22: Philosophy is Boring (Part I) (Moods and the Meaning of Philosophy - Lars Svendsen) 42:02

3+ y ago42:02

42:02

How do you feel right now? More specifically, what mood are you in, as you listen to this episode? Moods dictate our responses to everything around us. They give us the opportunity to react to things from specific states of mind, and more importantly, they delimit our possible reactions. Today, we examine "Moods and the Meaning of Philosophy", by N…

1
Episode 21: Personhood - An Introduction (On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion - Mary Anne Warren) 36:33

3+ y ago36:33

36:33

Is a dolphin a person? Is an elephant? Are you? Every day, the need to understand what a person is grows. From AI to animal ethics, conversations about the morals status of certain entities rest on whether that entity is 'a person'. Today, we begin our journey into understanding what a person is.We use philosopher Mary Anne Warren's paper, 'On the …

1
Episode 20: Death, Immortality, and Posthumanism (Death and Love: The Metaphysics of Communication - Christian Fuchs) (Part 2) 1:12:43

3+ y ago1:12:43

1:12:43

In our previous episode, we discussed historical views on death, the meaning of human existence, and death as a form of estrangement. Today, we pick up where we left off and analyse the grief and mourning that follows death. Fuchs also surprised us with some insightful sections on immortality and posthumanism that we had an absolute blast discussin…

1
Episode 19: An Essential Guide to the Good Death (Death and Love: The Metaphysics of Communication - Christian Fuchs) (Part 1) 1:21:52

3+ y ago1:21:52

1:21:52

"Capitalism and class society lead to inequality, instrumentalist thinking, unhappiness and loneliness. Capitalism makes people unhappy, and in some ways drives them mad. Violence in the form of crime, including murder is unavoidable within capitalism". We have, so far, been dealing with relatively abstract and idealist philosophical ideas, on thei…

1
Episode 18: The Moral Life (The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life - William James) 1:07:42

3+ y ago1:07:42

1:07:42

Would the existence of God, or a superior being, change our moral systems? Is a moral system with God just as effective as a Godless moral system? We continue our discussion with these interesting questions and go where the rest of this fascinating paper takes us. Join us in our final episode on The Moral Philosopher and The Moral Life Mentioned in…

1
Episode 17: The Moral Philosopher (The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life - William James) 56:34

3+ y ago56:34

56:34

Is there an objective morality? If there is, how do we find it? If there isn't, how do we prevent infinite moral regress? Such questions have plagued philosophers for centuries, yet remain unanswered. However, every so often, there comes a theory that seems to go farther in the path of progress than anything before it, paving the way for new discus…

1
Episode 16: A One and a Two (Part II) (Yi Yi - Edward Yang) 48:32

3+ y ago48:32

48:32

Today, in our concluding episode on Yi Yi, we discuss what makes this masterpiece so loveable. We revisit our favourite characters, dialogues, and scenes and break them down to understand why they meant so much to us. Additionally, we explore the possibility of a Yi Yi-esque film set in India and how such a calming, authentic display of life would …

1
Episode 15: A One and a Two (Part I) (Yi Yi - Edward Yang) 52:09

3+ y ago52:09

52:09

Released in 2000, Edward Yang's Yi Yi might just be one of our most adored works of art. A pillar of the Taiwanese New Wave, the film takes us into the lives of 3 generations of a middle-class family in Taipei. Yi Yi is vast in scale, yet manages to remain deeply personal and engaging. In this episode, we talk about the movie's structure and some o…

1
Real Talk I 43:47

3+ y ago43:47

43:47

2020 was a long year. It wasn't the best one for a lot of us, but it did bring a lot of positives; this podcast, for one. And for that, we are grateful. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this, and will continue to be a part of it. In this episode, we wanted to do something different, change things up. Accordingly, we thought it'd be a go…

1
Episode 13: The Glory of Misplaced Loyalty (Fear and Desire - Stanley Kubrick) 57:50

3+ y ago57:50

57:50

To die for the nation or to spend a lifetime doing manual labour. What would you pick? Why? It's strange how easily we, as a society, get swept up in grand narratives of loyalty to the country and the justness of war. What is war? What is the nation? How does an abstract, social entity, such as the nation, come to be treated as a natural fact? Fear…

1
Episode 12: War 59:29

3+ y ago59:29

59:29

In 2016, the global average GDP was ~121 trillion USD. Healthcare constituted 6%, and military spending just about 1.5%. Here's the catch: one year earlier, the economic cost of violence and warfare was 13.5 trillion dollars, which was over 11% of global GDP. Could these 13.5 trillion dollars have been used in education and welfare? Let's sit with …

1
Episode 11: Meat-ing the Demand Part II (With veganism on the rise, is meat cooked? - Peter Singer) 36:05

3+ y ago36:05

36:05

Two years ago, Peter Singer predicted that meat might be exiting our diets. He reinforced the moral and environmental concerns that should worry us, and compel us to reconsider our dietary choices. Has much changed since then? Should the meat on our plates worry us now, more than ever? Would eliminating factory farms really make a difference? Most …

1
Episode 10: Meat-ing the Demand Part I (With veganism on the rise, is meat cooked? - Peter Singer) 42:18

3+ y ago42:18

42:18

Two years ago, Peter Singer predicted that meat might be exiting our diets. He reinforced the moral and environmental concerns that should worry us, and compel us to reconsider our dietary choices. Has much changed since then? Should the meat on our plates worry us now, more than ever? Would eliminating factory farms really make a difference? Most …

1
Episode 9: Jusqu'ici tout va bien (La Haine - Mathieu Kassovitz) 47:51

3+ y ago47:51

47:51

Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine is as powerful as it is timeless. A deeply personal story about violence, youth, rebellion and, of course, hatred, it brings to life the struggles of being a minority community in one of the most politically charged places in the world. In this episode, we talk about all the elements that make Kassovitz's film a masterp…

1
Episode 8: Standing on the Shoulders of a Child (The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Ursula K. Le Guin) 51:05

3+ y ago51:05

51:05

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a powerful work of short-fiction that raises many questions about happiness, utilitarianism, and utopia. If the condition for an idyllic world to exist was that one child should be subjected to eternal torture, would you support that world? We'll do you one better: what if this child was you? In this episode, w…

1
Episode 7: A Human is By Nature a Digital Animal (The Social Dilemma - Jeff Orlowski) 1:06:58

4y ago1:06:58

1:06:58

What if we told you your attention was all that mattered? Your complex, human existence is reduced to a qualitative judgement based on how much time you spend in front of a screen. In his latest documentary, Jeff Orlowski invites numerous ex-employees of the world's biggest social media companies, to reveal unpleasant truths about how the "eyeball-…

1
Episode 6: Beyond the Fog (After Life - Hirokazu Koreeda) 55:06

4y ago55:06

55:06

After Life, Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998. You have to pick one memory. Just one; and you stick with it for all of eternity. Would you be able to do it? Would you be able to pick a single memory to take with you forever? What if that's the only choice that lies beyond death? In this episode, we talk about how Koreeda's film, a meditation on eternity, impa…

1
Episode 5: The Empath's Dilemma II (Against Empathy - Paul Bloom) 50:24

4y ago50:24

50:24

Last week, we analysed Paul Bloom's Against Empathy: its principal arguments and real-world applications. In this episode, we take a look at what experts from his own field think. Responses to the argument against a psychological pillar such as this one got us thinking as much as the main article itself, and it's sure to do the same to you. Finally…

1
Episode 4: The Empath's Dilemma I (Against Empathy - Paul Bloom) 1:07:36

4y ago1:07:36

1:07:36

Are you against empathy? A cornerstone of prosocial behaviour, it is often taught as a "vital" component of human interaction. Paul Bloom disagrees. In a highly polarising article, the Yale University professor of psychology breaks down the popular conception of empathy, and advocates for the exercise of what he calls "compassion" instead. In this …

1
Episode 3: Post Apocalyptic Musings II (The Last of Us Part II) 32:16

4y ago32:16

32:16

In Part 2 of our series on The Last of Us, the conversation picks up where we left off last time, with questions of Joel's righteousness and what it would feel like to be Ellie. Today, we look at issues of representation, artistic freedom, and the the dilemma of "deriving satisfaction". Below are the links to articles and videos discussed in the ep…

1
Episode 2: Post Apocalyptic Musings I (The Last of Us Part II) 1:15:37

4y ago1:15:37

1:15:37

In this episode, we take you through our thoughts on (and critique of) one of the most impactful video games of our generation. The Last Of Us Part II made us re-think the power of this medium and painted a morally ambiguous picture of a world strikingly similar to our own. Below are the links to articles and videos discussed in the episode: jackse…

1
Episode 1: We Might Be Tables 5:58

4y ago5:58

5:58

Hey! So, you’ve made your way over to the first episode of We Might Be Tables. Welcome to the Introduction where we, Dewansh Matharoo and Shrish Sudharsan, take you through the journey of how this podcast came to fruition. We hope you enjoy our discussions about philosophy, life, and all things intriguing. We look forward to hearing from you and ha…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Dewansh Matharoo & Shrish Sudharsan Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide