Chris Matheson has written a bunch of comic movies and has converted religious texts into funnier books on three occasions, most recently with The Buddha's Story. Mark, Erica, and Brian talk with him about what unifies these projects: Why the big ideas of science fiction, fantasy, religion, and philosophy are begging in a similar way to be made fun of. We get into the … [Read more...] about PMP#65: Cosmic Satire w/ “Bill & Ted” Writer Chris Matheson
Philosophy
PMP#63: Superhero Ethics (and The Boys) w/ Travis Smith
Is there no end to the seemingly endless fascination with superhero media? Mark, Erica, and Brian are joined by Travis, who teaches political philosophy at Concordia) to discuss. Travis sees their resonance as a matter of metaphor: How can we do more with the abilities we have? His book Superhero Ethics matches up heroes like Batman vs. Spider-Man for ethical comparison: Both … [Read more...] about PMP#63: Superhero Ethics (and The Boys) w/ Travis Smith
PMP#32: Judging “The Good Place”
Mark, Erica, and Brian discuss Michael Schur's NBC TV show. Is it good? (Yes, or we wouldn't be covering it?) Is it actually a sit-com? Does it effectively teach philosophy? What did having actual philosophers on the staff (after season one) contribute, and was that enough? We talk TV finales, the dramatic impact of the show's convoluted structure, the puzzle of heaven being … [Read more...] about PMP#32: Judging “The Good Place”
PMP#17: Comedy as Philosophy w/ Daniel Lobell
Are stand-up comedians the Modern Day Philosophers? This claim forms the premise of Daniel's podcast where interviews some of our best known and loved comedians, but really, only some comedians are trying to express original views on the world instead of just telling a good joke. Even so, do the words of comics telling their truth or pronouncing sentence on the world count as … [Read more...] about PMP#17: Comedy as Philosophy w/ Daniel Lobell
PMP#1: Pop Culture vs. High Culture
What is pop culture? Does it make sense to distinguish it from high culture, or can something be both? Meet Mark, Erica, and Brian in this first attempt at a conversation together, featuring a special appearance by our editor Tyler. We touch on opera, The Beatles, Fortnite, 50 Shades of Grey, reality TV, and more. Some of the articles we bring up in our discussion … [Read more...] about PMP#1: Pop Culture vs. High Culture