Episodes
David Edmonds discusses the life and work of Derek Parfit who died in 2017 in this episode of the Bio Bites strand of Philosophy. David is the author of a recent biography of Parfit.
Published 04/10/24
Published 04/10/24
Yascha Mounk discusses some of the ways in which focussing on gender, racial, and sexual identities can distort political argument and be counterproductive for oppressed minorities.  
Published 04/10/24
J.L.Austin was the best known exponent of what came to be known as Ordinary Language Philosophy. He was also a war hero. In this episode of the Bio Bites strand of the Philosophy Bites podcast David Edmonds discusses Austin's life and work with his biographer Mark Rowe.
Published 03/14/24
In this episode James Klagge discusses the life and times of Ludwig Wittgenstein with David Edmonds. This is part of our mini series on the biographies of philosophers, Bio Bites.
Published 02/19/24
What happens when people have sexual desires for one another? Agnes Callard from the University of Chicago discusses sex, eroticism, and much more in conversation with Nigel Warburton.  Not surprisingly, this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast involves mention of sex.
Published 11/27/23
Augustine is usually described as a pessimist with a bleak view of human evil and corruption. Michael Lamb thinks that is a simplistic reading. Augustine has interesting things to say about hope as a virtue.   
Published 10/16/23
AI has changed our lives already and looks set to have a huge impact. How should we adapt our thinking about political philosophy in the light of this? The philosopher Seth Lazar explores this question in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 
Published 09/27/23
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Nigel Warburton interviews Hannah Dawson (editor of The Penguin Book of Feminist Writing) on Mary Wollstonecraft and her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).
Published 09/27/23
What is the relationship between law and morality? How do they differ? Scott Hershovitz discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 
Published 08/16/23
Digital ethics is a new field. But what is it, what is its scope? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Carissa Véliz, author of Privacy is Power and editor of The Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics, discusses these topics with Nigel Warburton. Philosophy Bites is brought to you by the team of David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton. We've been running since 2007.  
Published 06/20/23
You might not have an obligation to risk your life saving other people, but if you do, you should go for saving the greatest number. That's more or less what Theon Pummer believes. Listen to him discussing the morality of rescue with David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast  
Published 05/08/23
In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast David Edmonds interviews Will MacAskill on the controversial idea that we ought to give the interests of future people substantial weight when deciding what we ought to do now.   
Published 03/09/23
What is loneliness and why is it harmful? How does it differ from just being on your own? In the latest episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, Kieran Setiya discusses this important topic with Nigel Warburton.    
Published 03/09/23
How should we live? This is the basic question for all of us. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Edith Hall, author of the book Aristotle's Way, gives a sympathetic answer to Aristotle's take on this question. 
Published 11/27/22
We have all had transformative experiences. But do they have philosophical relevance? Laurie Paul believes they do. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast she discusses this fascinating topic with Nigel Warburton. 
Published 10/08/22
How do you solve the question of collective self-government by citizens? Josiah Ober discusses a fundamental problem of democratic societies: how we come to agree on courses of action when we commit to living within a democracy. His argument is that we need to become civic friends, a concept he explains in the conversation.
Published 09/08/22
Skye Cleary approaches questions of human authenticity throught he lens of French Existentialism, and particularly through Simone de Beauvoir's thought. She is in conversation with Nigel Warburton.
Published 08/01/22
Developments in AI are coming very quickly. But it's not easy to work out how to deal with the ethical questions that AI generates. Peter Railton discusses AI and Ethics with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast
Published 07/01/22
We all make some modifications to our bodies. But often this is in response to social pressures. So is there something to say for the largely unmodified body? Clare Chambers thinks so. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast she spells out why. The interviewer is David Edmonds. 
Published 06/20/22
Peter Singer is probably the most famous living philosopher. He recently won the million-dollar Berggruen Prize and promptly gave all that money to charity.  His positions on this, on animals, poverty, altruism, and much else besides are underpinned by his consequentialism. Here, in conversation with Nigel Warburton he explains his consequentialism and its implications.
Published 05/19/22
Spying raises many ethical issues, but these are rarely discussed - at least by philosophers. Cécile Fabre, author of a recent book on the topic, Spying Through a Glass Darkly, discusses some of these issues with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.  This episode is sponsored by The New European newspaper.
Published 04/20/22
In this digital age, how can we organise society and the public sphere in ways that will preserve the sense of individual dignity? Ro Khanna, Congressman for Silicon Valley, and author of Dignity in a Digital Age, discusses this important topic with Nigel Warburton. 
Published 03/18/22
In Oxford during the Second World War four women philosophers came to prominence. Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Iris Murdoch, and Mary Midgley were friends and met to discuss their ideas, particulary about ethics. Benjamin Lipscomb, author of a recent book about them, The Women Are Up To Something, speaks to David Edmonds in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 
Published 01/22/22