We need food. We need water. Food and water feed our bodies. If Aristotle is right we need friends; friends who are "useless". They are the most valuable of friends. But what does friendship feed? Friendship does not feed the body. Perhaps our need for friendship, perhaps this highest expression of virtue, reveals that there is more to us than can be measured in a test tube; there is more to us than the body.

"Friendship is a necessity", wrote Aristotle. This is especially true in trying times. But not all friendships are worth pursing and maintaining. Who are your friends and why does it matter? These questions (and more) explored in today's episode.

The greatest of all paradoxes is celebrated in Easter. In Easter a symbol of death becomes a sign of life. An instrument of torture becomes the signature of hope. Easter reminds that If you want to live forever, you must die. If you want to be first, you must make yourself last. The only way up is down. Happy Easter.

When we hear the word useless we may think of the word "worthless". But a useless thing can also be priceless. Beauty, friendship, worship, love: these things are useless. What does it say about us that we need useless things? There is something strange about us. What does it say about the world we live in that it is filled with useless things? There is something strange about it.

Very few philosophies are all darkness or all light; most are a mixture. If a philosophy was darkness though and through, no one would take it seriously. Or would they? This week we look at a philosophy that is more darkness than light; a philosophy that is, perhaps, the dominant ethical and aesthetic philosophy in the world today. Today we examine the futility of utility.

St. Patrick's Day tells us that there is a will in the fabric of the world. Perhaps there is leprechaun in the green of the tall grass. Perhaps there is a Banshee's scream in the howl of the wind. Thoughts on drinking, religion, and fairytales in today's episode.

What, if anything, does sexual desire reveal about who we are and what is best in life? Our guest today is the greatest philosopher of the Enlightenment, and one of the most influential philosophers of all time, Immanuel Kant. Join us as we explore the "cans" and "Kants" of sex.

Should we allow ourselves to be moved by the vicissitudes of life or should we seek to have a "stiff upper lip?" In other words, are you a Stoic or Hedonist? Cat or dog? Snob or slob? All that and more in episode XII of A Strange Fire.

"This is our dilemma - either to taste and not to know, or to know and not to taste", wrote C. S. Lewis. Such is the nature of love. Love , it seems, cannot be captured by philosophy, for "love is wiser than philosophy", wrote Oscar Wilde. C. S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, and the virtue of love on this episode of A Strange Fire

Pain and fear may break a man. But not all pain and suffering end in affliction. Sometimes pain and fear can end in happiness. Pleasure, pain, and happiness: the subject of this weeks episode of A Strange Fire.