Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics have made him one of the most influential figures in modern Western philosophy. In this podcast, I discuss Kant's theory of morality.

The renowned American neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the mysterious heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are “you”? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human? All this he tries to answer in his book called The Brain.

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century. What we are seeing right now is only a glimpse of its decade-long history. Many of you who have been asking for book recommendations on this subject, which I do make in this podcast alongside giving you an overview on the history of it.

William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American short story writer. He wrote many, many short stories, all of which deserve to be read, and one of which I narrate in this podcast. Hope you will enjoy.

Perumal Murugan’s tender yet truthful essays capture the life of a strong, independent and extraordinary woman: his mother. She raised her children with the income from just a few acres of land that she managed on her own, tending to the cattle and crops with maternal concern, all the while minding her unruly husband. I read out one of the essays which revolves around the food she would cook.

A Confession, or My Confession, is a short work on the subject of melancholia, philosophy and religion by the acclaimed Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. It was written in 1879 to 1880, when Tolstoy was in his early fifties and going through a kind of mid-life crisis. I read out the last couple of pages in this podcast.

Farzana Shaikh in her book Making Sense of Pakistan argues the country’s decline is rooted primarily in uncertainty about the meaning of Pakistan and the significance of ‘being Pakistani’. This has pre-empted a consensus on the role of Islam in the public sphere and encouraged the spread of political Islam. I read a few excerpts from the book to give you an idea of it.

Rupert Spira in his book The Transparency of Things tries to look clearly and simply at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it. A series of contemplations leads us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is philosophy combined with spirituality - something that has been the culture in the East. The author contemplates on the nature of our experience and allows us to do the same as well.

Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. But that's not the reason I discuss it in today's podcast. My reason is to show you the funny side of hypochondria in these difficult times of Coronavirus.

The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. In this podcast, I read out a few lessons from this collection.