One of the more utopian promises of technology has always been that it will free us from the necessity of work - but not having to work poses its own problems. What will we do instead? how will we make money? and what might a leisure-oriented society look like? Technophiles - from the early cybernetics enthusiasts to today's AI promoters - have looked to ancient Athens as an example of a society where citizens were free to engage in culture, reflection and political participation. But was ancient Athens really such a place? and how likely is it that today's tech lords will deliver 'the good life' to us all?Guest: <a href="https://cas.la.psu.edu/people/michele-kennerly/">Michele Kennerly</a>, Associate Professor Communication Arts and Sciences, and Classics and Mediterranean Studies, Pennsylvania State UniversityProducer: David Rutledge<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo273772823.html">Automated Athens: Ancient Greek Ideals in the Early Age of Automation</a> by Michele Kennerly (University of Chicago Press 2026)

One of the more utopian promises of technology has always been that it will free us from the necessity of work - but not having to work poses its own problems. What will we do instead? how will we make money? and what might a leisure-oriented society look like? Technophiles - from the early cybernetics enthusiasts to today's AI promoters - have looked to ancient Athens as an example of a society where citizens were free to engage in culture, reflection and political participation. But was ancient Athens really such a place? and how likely is it that today's tech lords will deliver 'the good life' to us all? Guest: Michele Kennerly, Associate Professor Communication Arts and Sciences, and Classics and Mediterranean Studies, Pennsylvania State University Producer: David Rutledge Automated Athens: Ancient Greek Ideals in the Early Age of Automation by Michele Kennerly (University of Chicago Press 2026)

One of the more utopian promises of technology has always been that it will free us from the necessity of work - but not having to work poses its own problems. What will we do instead? how will we make money? and what might a leisure-oriented society look like? Technophiles - from the early cybernetics enthusiasts to today's AI promoters - have looked to ancient Athens as an example of a society where citizens were free to engage in culture, reflection and political participation. But was ancient Athens really such a place? and how likely is it that today's tech lords will deliver 'the good life' to us all?Guest: <a href="https://cas.la.psu.edu/people/michele-kennerly/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Michele Kennerly</a>, Associate Professor Communication Arts and Sciences, and Classics and Mediterranean Studies, Pennsylvania State UniversityProducer: David Rutledge<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo273772823.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Automated Athens: Ancient Greek Ideals in the Early Age of Automation</a> by Michele Kennerly (University of Chicago Press 2026)

Technology and the lure of ancient Athens

Australian feminist philosopher Kate Manne memorably coined the term "himpathy" to describe what happens when a man commits a crime against a woman and finds himself the object of disproportionate sympathy. But as useful as this description is, the psychological mechanism behind himpathy remains unexplored in Manne's account. To remedy this, we're turning this week to Catharine Macaulay, a fascinating late 18th century English philosopher whose work on sympathy provides some valuable psychological insights.Guest: <a href="https://elenakgordon.wixsite.com/elena-gordon">Elena Gordon</a>, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College DublinProducer: David Rutledge<a href="https://jmphil.org/article/id/2553/">Catharine Macaulay on cultivating our sympathetic potential</a> - Elena Gordon in Journal of Modern Philosophy Volume 7 (2025)About <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/catharine-macaulay/">Catharine Macaulay</a>*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

Australian feminist philosopher Kate Manne memorably coined the term "himpathy" to describe what happens when a man commits a crime against a woman and finds himself the object of disproportionate sympathy. But as useful as this description is, the psychological mechanism behind himpathy remains unexplored in Manne's account. To remedy this, we're turning this week to Catharine Macaulay, a fascinating late 18th century English philosopher whose work on sympathy provides some valuable psychological insights. Guest: Elena Gordon, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College Dublin Producer: David Rutledge Catharine Macaulay on cultivating our sympathetic potential - Elena Gordon in Journal of Modern Philosophy Volume 7 (2025) About Catharine Macaulay *The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture event page, registrations close on September 17

Australian feminist philosopher Kate Manne memorably coined the term "himpathy" to describe what happens when a man commits a crime against a woman and finds himself the object of disproportionate sympathy. But as useful as this description is, the psychological mechanism behind himpathy remains unexplored in Manne's account. To remedy this, we're turning this week to Catharine Macaulay, a fascinating late 18th century English philosopher whose work on sympathy provides some valuable psychological insights.Guest: <a href="https://elenakgordon.wixsite.com/elena-gordon" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elena Gordon</a>, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College DublinProducer: David Rutledge<a href="https://jmphil.org/article/id/2553/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Catharine Macaulay on cultivating our sympathetic potential</a> - Elena Gordon in Journal of Modern Philosophy Volume 7 (2025)About <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/catharine-macaulay/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Catharine Macaulay</a>*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture" rel="noopener noreferrer">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

Sympathy, himpathy and feminism

If I pick up a tree branch and smash your window with it, you're going to be angry, and your anger will rightly be directed at me. But if a tree branch smashes your windscreen during a cyclone whose intensity has been caused by global warming, you're still going to be angry — but who or what exactly should you be angry with? This week, a conversation about responsibility for systemic injustice.Guest: <a href="https://stephaniecollins.xyz/">Stephanie Collins</a>, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Monash University MelbourneProducer: David Rutledge*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

If I pick up a tree branch and smash your window with it, you're going to be angry, and your anger will rightly be directed at me. But if a tree branch smashes your windscreen during a cyclone whose intensity has been caused by global warming, you're still going to be angry — but who or what exactly should you be angry with? This week, a conversation about responsibility for systemic injustice. Guest: Stephanie Collins, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Monash University Melbourne Producer: David Rutledge *The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture event page, registrations close on September 17

If I pick up a tree branch and smash your window with it, you're going to be angry, and your anger will rightly be directed at me. But if a tree branch smashes your windscreen during a cyclone whose intensity has been caused by global warming, you're still going to be angry — but who or what exactly should you be angry with? This week, a conversation about responsibility for systemic injustice.Guest: <a href="https://stephaniecollins.xyz/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stephanie Collins</a>, Associate Professor in Philosophy, Monash University MelbourneProducer: David Rutledge*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture" rel="noopener noreferrer">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

Getting angry at the system

Ever since AI was founded in the 1950s, people have talked and written about 'intelligence' as though we all broadly agree on what that word means. But there's considerable debate on that score, and among the debaters are philosophers - like this week's guest - who question the degree to which machines can be said to be intelligent at all, and think that claims of intelligence can all too easily deflect attention from the real ethical issues around AI.Guest: <a href="http://www.timcrane.com/">Tim Crane</a>, Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, AustriaProducer: David Rutledge*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

Ever since AI was founded in the 1950s, people have talked and written about 'intelligence' as though we all broadly agree on what that word means. But there's considerable debate on that score, and among the debaters are philosophers - like this week's guest - who question the degree to which machines can be said to be intelligent at all, and think that claims of intelligence can all too easily deflect attention from the real ethical issues around AI. Guest: Tim Crane, Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, Austria Producer: David Rutledge *The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture event page, registrations close on September 17

Ever since AI was founded in the 1950s, people have talked and written about 'intelligence' as though we all broadly agree on what that word means. But there's considerable debate on that score, and among the debaters are philosophers - like this week's guest - who question the degree to which machines can be said to be intelligent at all, and think that claims of intelligence can all too easily deflect attention from the real ethical issues around AI.Guest: <a href="http://www.timcrane.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tim Crane</a>, Professor of Philosophy at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, AustriaProducer: David Rutledge*The 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture* - Alexandre Lefebvre on 'The return of the moral state: philosophy and the good life', Thursday September 24 at 6.30 pmRegister on the <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/2026-alan-saunders-lecture" rel="noopener noreferrer">2026 Alan Saunders Lecture</a> event page, registrations close on September 17

How smart are machines, anyway?

First episode in a five-part series. Liberal democratic theory has traditionally held that it's up to individual citizens to decide for themselves what constitutes the good life, and that the state should have nothing to say on the matter. But increasingly, a number of states around the world are taking it upon themselves to decide what the good life means, and to offer various combinations of carrot and stick in getting their citizens to fall into line. And while many liberals denounce this as authoritarianism, and accuse "good life state" leaders of being motivated by greed or power, this week we're asking if the picture is a little more complex.This episode is a recording of the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture, produced in collaboration with the <a href="https://aap.org.au/">Australasian Association of Philosophy</a>.Guest: <a href="https://www.alexlefebvre.com/">Alexandre Lefebvre</a>, Professor of Politics and Philosophy at The University of SydneyProducer: David RutledgeLiberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Princeton University Press 2024)

First episode in a five-part series. Liberal democratic theory has traditionally held that it's up to individual citizens to decide for themselves what constitutes the good life, and that the state should have nothing to say on the matter. But increasingly, a number of states around the world are taking it upon themselves to decide what the good life means, and to offer various combinations of carrot and stick in getting their citizens to fall into line. And while many liberals denounce this as authoritarianism, and accuse "good life state" leaders of being motivated by greed or power, this week we're asking if the picture is a little more complex. This episode is a recording of the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture, produced in collaboration with the Australasian Association of Philosophy. Guest: Alexandre Lefebvre, Professor of Politics and Philosophy at The University of Sydney Producer: David Rutledge Liberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Princeton University Press 2024)

First episode in a five-part series. Liberal democratic theory has traditionally held that it's up to individual citizens to decide for themselves what constitutes the good life, and that the state should have nothing to say on the matter. But increasingly, a number of states around the world are taking it upon themselves to decide what the good life means, and to offer various combinations of carrot and stick in getting their citizens to fall into line. And while many liberals denounce this as authoritarianism, and accuse "good life state" leaders of being motivated by greed or power, this week we're asking if the picture is a little more complex.This episode is a recording of the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture, produced in collaboration with the <a href="https://aap.org.au/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australasian Association of Philosophy</a>.Guest: <a href="https://www.alexlefebvre.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexandre Lefebvre</a>, Professor of Politics and Philosophy at The University of SydneyProducer: David RutledgeLiberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Princeton University Press 2024)

The Unsteady State part 1: Politics and the good life

The structure of the universe is written in stone—maybe. Dana Goswick talks metaphysics.

Stones rolling and the joy of ordinary objects

Forget the meaning of life; an ethical definition of awesome is far more important.

Awesome ethics and the art of mushroom blading

She might not be in vogue these days, but for one Cambridge philosopher Enid Blyton is serious moral business.

Enid Blyton—the moral of the story

What makes the human mind so distinctive? Perhaps the answer is in your dreams.

Robot dogs dream of consciousness

The nature of Family could be more than a Christmas puzzle.

Parental guidance recommended

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

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The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone&nbsp;is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.

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