Wisecrack Edition

It’s common today to hear comedians compared to philosophers, especially as many prominent stand-up comedians seem more focused on social and political commentary. But is it reasonable to compare your favorite joke to a philosophical idea? Or are we fundamentally misunderstanding the relationship between comedy and philosophy? Let’s find out in this video: Are Comedians the New Philosophers?

Why You Talk Like Your Boss

DEI has become the scariest acronym of 2024, as politicians, media figures and activist groups insist that promoting diversity is destroying society as we know it. But how has the movement against DEI effectively inspired such outrage? Is this a new phenomenon, or does the backlash against DEI speak to something core about American society? Let’s find out in this video: DEI: Have We Lost Our Minds?

Between Academic Infractions and YouTube deep-dives, plagiarism has been all over the news recently. But when we look deeper it seems like the current debate might not be about plagiarism at all. And we might be completely missing the real threat of plagiarism in the meantime. We’ll explain in this video: The Politics of Plagiarism

Have Protests Gone Too Far?

Time! Does anybody have enough of it? In our era of self-optimization, it’s easy to feel like you’re always falling short of reaching your goals. But what if self-optimization isn’t really about us or our capabilities? What if the systems that pressure us to become more efficient are more nefarious than the productivity gurus might have you think? Let’s explore in this video: “Why We Don’t Have Enough Time to Be Human.”

Original Title: America Runs on Theft News reports make it sound like there is a shoplifting pandemic taking over America's cities. We're bombarded with videos of smash and grabs, and pharmacies have started putting all their products behind protective glass. So is America entering a new era of lawlessness? Or is this just distracting us from a way more dangerous wave of crime? We'll explain in this video on America's Shoplifting Pandemic.

Analyzed and Hosted by Michael Burns Directed by Michael Luxemburg Edited by Mark Potts Produced by Olivia Redden

In recent years, psychologist and public intellectual Jordan Peterson has been talking more and more about religion. And while at one point religion was used as a metaphor for social and philosophical ideas, these days it seems like he's had a personal religious conversion. But what are the theological and philosophical implications of this turn? Does Peterson actually understand the stakes of his new faith? Or is this all an act to help build his brand? Let's find out in this Philosopher Reacts to Jordan Peterson on Religion.

Why Americans Can’t Take A Joke Everyone seems to be offended these days. Are Americans collectively losing our sense of humor? The comedy landscape has changed in recent years to encourage polarization. When did jokes go from uniting us to dividing us? And what are the societal implications of not being able to share a laugh? Let’s explore in this video: “Why Americans Can’t Take A Joke.”

Are Wall Street Bros Ruining Culture? There’s no way to sugar coat it: The world of media and entertainment has been bleak lately. And while it’s easy to blame studios for putting out half-baked superhero movies, we think something way more complicated may be going on and it probably involves the wealthiest people in our society. We’ll explain in this video on How Wall Street Greed Killed Media.

Service work has always been hard, but it seems to have changed for the worse in recent years. With the arrival of apps like UberEats and the growing reliance on ratings systems, doing service work means doing more work, faster, all while placating increasingly entitled customers. So how did service work get so rough, and was it inevitable? Let’s find out in this video: The Service Industry: Are We All Servants Now?

The more we try to relax, the more stressed out we feel. What if the solutions to alleviating stress are actually making it worse? What are the forces that have convinced us that stress is our fault? Let’s explore in this video: Why You're Always Stressed

The Philosophy of Campus Protests: Can Students Change History? College students at places like Columbia, UCLA, and other universities across the United States have made national news for their recent protest actions. But can events like this actually change history? Are these students carrying on the legacy of civil rights, anti-war, and anti-apartheid protestors? Or is the media right in portraying them as over zealous and without clear goals? We'll try to figure it out in this video on the recent campus protests.

Is Anxiety Actually Good For Us? It seems like we live in an age of anxiety, with more and more people using everything from meditation to apps to medication to cope. But from a philosophical perspective, anxiety might actually be a necessary, and even healthy, part of existence. We know it sounds counterintutive, but we'll explain in this video on The Philosophy of Anxiety.

WTF Happened to Google? Google’s new AI Overview feature has become the laughing stock of the internet. But what if the search engine giant’s fumble that’s been so good for memes actually poses a lot of dangers for our world? We’ll explain in this video: Who Killed Google?

It’s Not Just Trump, All Presidents Are Criminals A president did a crime and got convicted, and now everybody is calling it “unprecedented.” But what if stepping outside the law when you lead the free world is less the exception, and more the norm? And what does it mean for a legal system, and a country, when the people in charge aren’t held to the same rules as the rest of us? Let’s find out in this video: Are All Presidents Criminals?

The Weird Politics of Homeschooling While homeschooling has been around for a while, it’s recently taken a decidedly political turn. More and more parents are keeping their kids home to protect them from the supposedly woke agenda of public schools. But how did homeschooling go from a counter-cultural movement to a conservative one? And what can this trend tell us about the larger push for privatization? We’ll explore in this video on Homeschooling and The Future of America.

Why Should We Vote? Many of us take voting to be our sacred civic duty, and consider it a moral activity. But could it be the case that we're overrating the importance of voting? And are there better ways to particpiate to the betterment of society? We'll try and figure it out in this video on the philosophy and ethics of voting (and not voting.)

The Boys Season Four: Is Satire Dead? The initial reaction to season four of The Boys was extreme, with some fans claiming that the show had gone “woke.” But does this miss the point of what the show is actually doing? And is there room left to create political satire when our political reality is becoming more and more like fiction? Let’s figure it out in this video on The Boys season four.

In tough times, it's natural to look to technology to save us: from disease, from inconvenience, from tedium. But can we really count on the tech industry to solve society's biggest problems? And if not, what does it mean that there's an almost religious discourse about the potential of things like AI or microchips for our brains? Let's find out in this video: Technology + Capitalism = Our New Religion?

Political Violence: Is It Bigger Than We Realize? In the wake of the attempted assassination on Donald Trump, politicians and media figures alike have been quick to unequivocally condemn political violence. But in doing so, are they actually distracting from bigger systems of political violence? We’ll explain in this video on Political Violence: How We Get It Wrong.

America is Becoming One Big Consumerist Theme Park Theme parks are fun family-friendly destinations, but underneath the fantasy lurks a more sinister reality. In this video, we’ll explore the dystopia lurking beneath theme park utopias and ask: Are our cities becoming theme parks too?

How Immigration Panic Fuels Fascism We tend to think of fascism as a far-right ideology. But what if examining the mainstream political discourse surrounding immigration suggests that right wing and left wing politicians have a lot more in common than we think? And what if both are leading us on a slippery slope to fascism? We’ll explain in this video: Are Our Immigration Policies Fascist?

Private cities aren’t a new idea, but they are gaining steam around certain corners of America's Silicon Valley elite. So why do billionaires want to run their own cities, and what does that mean for the rest of us? And most importantly: Should you move to a billionaire’s private island?

Can World of Warcraft Change Society? World of Warcraft’s long-term cultural influence has few parallels. Its most devoted players have logged millions of hours fighting epic raids and dancing on mailboxes. But is this game a type of escapism, or is something much deeper going on when you log into Azeroth? Let’s find out in this video: How World of Warcraft Shapes Humanity.

Why America Offers Freedom and Justice . . . for Some. When presidential candidate Kamala Harris addressed the Democratic National Convention, she evoked a powerful national mythology, one in which all Americans stand together as one people. But behind the sunny imagery, is there a more sinister reality? Let’s explore what’s really going on when politicians evoke “the American people,” and see what happens to those unlucky enough not to belong to that pretty picture.

There is a new wave of right-wing philosophers and theologians advocating for things like turning American into a non-democratic corporate monarchy ruled by a CEO, or merging the state into the Church and replacing our legal system with the Ten Commandments. And the scariest part is that these thinkers have the ear of people like vice presidential nominee JD Vance, and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. We’ll explore it in this video on Curtis Yarvin, Christian Nationalism, and the End of Democracy.

Who Really Benefits from Personality Tests? Personality tests might seem like a fun way to learn about ourselves, and even help us figure out an ideal career or romantic partner. But underneath the fun of knowing your Meyers-Briggs type is a history of pseudoscience, eugenics, and controlling business practices. We’ll explain in this video on The Dark Side of Personality Tests

What’s So Liberal About The Liberal Media? The media is liberal and everyone knows it . . . right? Well, what if the entire concept of the liberal media isn’t just a misnomer, but an actively harmful framework that’s making us less informed citizens? And what if a paper shortage in mid-century Europe can explain exactly how? We’ll unpack it all in this video: Is the Media Actually Liberal?

End Of Life Care Is Broken Getting old is incredibly expensive in America. And with a massive generation of boomers approaching their twilight years, it's about to have a devastating effect on not just the economy, but also on the lives of those taking care of aging parents. So how did we get here? And is there anything we can do to fix it?

What Did We Do To Deserve Jubilee? Jubilee has become one of the most popular channels on YouTube by creating space for open and honest debate. But are they really facilitating empathy and understanding? Or are they actually giving a platform to some harmful and hateful ideas under the guise of being open minded? Let’s find out in this video on Jubilee: The Myth of Empathy.

Is America a Paranoid-Schizoid Nation? In the wake of another contentious election is feels like many folks are quickly deciding who their friends are and who their enemies are with no room for anything in between. But what drives us to create these sorts of divisions? And in doing so, are we being driven by morality, or paranoia? This video aims to answer that question with some help from psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, and her use of the paranoid-schizoid position.

Pet parents: adorable or sinister? Pets have become more engrained in American culture than ever before, and have effectively become part of the family for many of us. But what does this say about us on a cultural level? And beneath all the cute chew toys and dog strollers, is something darker going on?

God's Not Dead 5 and the Persecution Fantasy of American Evangelicals For the fifth installment of the God's Not Dead film series, a small town pastor takes on the evil liberals in Washington who want to do things like . . . make health care a human right. And while we can laugh at the absurdity of it all, this film gives us a window into the unconscious of the American evangelical mind. In particular, it paints a picture of a deep persecution complex, one which is being used in the real world to motivate political action amongst evangelicals. We'll explain this edition of A Philosopher Reacts to God's Not Dead 5.

During our Holiday Mega Stream, we showed Michael some recent YouTube videos with no preparation to test his ability to offer some philosophical interpretations. This is the result of that experiment. Michael reacts to Bill Burr talking about Luigi Mangione, PragerU talking about comedy and culture, Silicon Valley philosophy, and more!