Sophia

By Daniel A. Kaufman

Knowledge, Reality, Truth, Morality … Sophia is a show where we talk interesting people to explore the rich universe of philosophical investigation and inquiry.... more

4.4

77 ratings

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FAQs about Sophia:

How many episodes does Sophia have?

The podcast currently has 61 episodes available.

Sophia episodes:

August 26, 2021 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy (w/ E. John Winner)
E. John Winner and Dan Kaufman (Electric Agora) talk about the Marx Brothers and their relationship to American Comedy.
1:30 Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Musical Theater
11:20 The Jewish Marx Brothers and “Playing in Peoria”
22:00 Writing for the Marx Brothers / Relationship with George Kaufman
27:40 Becoming the Marx Brothers
34:00 Marxian Themes
55:30 The Marx Brothers and post WWII Jewish Comedy
1:00:00 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy

...more
1h 11min
August 26, 2021 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy (w/ E. John Winner)
E. John Winner and Dan Kaufman (Electric Agora) talk about the Marx Brothers and their relationship to American Comedy.
1:30 Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Musical Theater
11:20 The Jewish Marx Brothers and “Playing in Peoria”
22:00 Writing for the Marx Brothers / Relationship with George Kaufman
27:40 Becoming the Marx Brothers
34:00 Marxian Themes
55:30 The Marx Brothers and post WWII Jewish Comedy
1:00:00 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy

...more
1h 11min
August 26, 2021 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy (w/ E. John Winner)
E. John Winner and Dan Kaufman (Electric Agora) talk about the Marx Brothers and their relationship to American Comedy.
1:30 Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Musical Theater
11:20 The Jewish Marx Brothers and “Playing in Peoria”
22:00 Writing for the Marx Brothers / Relationship with George Kaufman
27:40 Becoming the Marx Brothers
34:00 Marxian Themes
55:30 The Marx Brothers and post WWII Jewish Comedy
1:00:00 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy

...more
1h 11min
August 26, 2021 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy (w/ E. John Winner)
E. John Winner and Dan Kaufman (Electric Agora) talk about the Marx Brothers and their relationship to American Comedy.
1:30 Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Musical Theater
11:20 The Jewish Marx Brothers and “Playing in Peoria”
22:00 Writing for the Marx Brothers / Relationship with George Kaufman
27:40 Becoming the Marx Brothers
34:00 Marxian Themes
55:30 The Marx Brothers and post WWII Jewish Comedy
1:00:00 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy

...more
1h 11min
August 16, 2021 MTV Turns 40?! (w/ Jay Jeffers and Daniel Kaufman)
Jay Jeffers (The Partially Examined Life) and Dan Kaufman discuss the beginnings of MTV and their recollections of it, on this 40th anniversary of the music channel.
3:40 - Aug 1 marks the 40th Anniversary of the launching of MTV in its “original iteration.”
6:20 - How Jay and Dan first got into KISS
13:30 - Jay and Dan discuss their personal histories with MTV / The importance of “Thriller.”
34:30 - Was MTV the beginning or the end of something? The 80’s vs. the 90’s. The impact of the Cold War.
51:30 - The atomization of music audiences and the fracturing of youth culture.
59:50 - Youth culture, social capital, and power.
1:18:25 - David Bowie confronts MTV on black representation on the channel.
Links: Rob Tannenbaum’s, I Want My MTV (2012). https://www.amazon.com/Want-My-MTV-Uncensored-Revolution/dp/0452298563
Why MTV doesn’t show music videos anymore. https://slate.com/business/2013/08/why-mtv-doesn-t-show-music-videos-but-does-show-the-vmas.html
David Bowie on black representation on MTV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg&ab_channel=MTVNews
Jay at the Partially Examined Life. https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/author/jay-jeffers/
The Buggles, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs&ab_channel=TheBugglesVEVO
Molly Ringwald on the cover of Time magazine in 1986. http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1986/1101860526_400.jpg
Dan's essay on “OK Boomer.” https://theelectricagora.com/2019/11/08/ok-boomer/
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1h 33min
July 29, 2021 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy (w/ E. John Winner)
E. John Winner and Dan Kaufman (Electric Agora) talk about the Marx Brothers and their relationship to American Comedy.
1:30 Vaudeville, Burlesque, and Musical Theater
11:20 The Jewish Marx Brothers and “Playing in Peoria”
22:00 Writing for the Marx Brothers / Relationship with George Kaufman
27:40 Becoming the Marx Brothers
34:00 Marxian Themes
55:30 The Marx Brothers and post WWII Jewish Comedy
1:00:00 The Marx Brothers and American Comedy

...more
1h 11min
July 10, 2021 The Cultural Significance of (Baby and Other) Food (w/ Amy Bentley an Kevin Currie-Knight)
In this episode, Amy Bentley (food historian, NYU) talks about the cultural and historical reasons we eat as we do. Amy and Kevin talk about why w eat three meals a day, how COVID might disrupt our eating habits, and the five historical factors that made baby food possible in the industrial age.
4:46 Why does Amy study food history? (Spoiler: it has to do with the role of gardening during World War II.)11:54: How industrialization led to our three-meal-a-day eating schedule23:01 - How has COVID messed with our three-meal-a-day cultural regimen? 34:29 - How baby food influenced (and was influenced by) culture36:38 - The perfect storm of factors that gave rise to baby food (industrialization, discovery of fruits and vegetables' importance, advertising, sexualization of breasts, etc) 54:10 - Baby food and its politicization via the "mommy wars"
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1h 6min
July 09, 2021 The Ethics of Compulsory State Education (w/ Crispin Sartwell and Dan Kaufman)
Crispin Sartwell (Dickinson College, Entanglements) returns to Sophia to talk about the issues he has with compulsory, state-sponsored k-12 education.
10:50 - Crispin’s schooling experience in Washington DC 20:20 - The tension between learning and compulsion / Formal Compulsion and oppressive atmospheres 25:50 - Compulsion of minors considered more generally 32:20 - What, specifically, is wrong with the fact that my 10-year-old had to go to school? Economic motives; interference by tech moguls; and elitist social engineering. 35:50 - Preparing young people so they can function in the economy. And what would my ten-year-old be doing, if not going to school? 45:50 - Compulsory vaccination for children and more generally. 48:30 - Serious flaws in the way we educate children and adolescents. The negative influence of social and psychological science and pharmacology. 54:30 - Preparing young people for a world in which being coerced and compelled is part of life. 58:50 - Compulsory and public education and equality.
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1h 20min
June 13, 2021 African Philosophy and Doing Philosophy from a Place (w/ Bruce Janz and Kevin Currie-Knight)
In this discussion, Bruce Janz (Central Florida) talks about his interest in African philosophy, and the importance of recognizing that all philosophy is affected by, and done from, a "place." We talk about what that means for how African philosophy can differ from philosophy in "the West" and the challenges this poses for Western ways of philosophy.
5:29 - Why and How a White Canadian Became Taken with African Philosophy18:53 - How and why African philosophy has had to prove that it has a valid place in philosophy26:31 - How African philosophy can help us highlight the importance of place/location to a philosophy's shape.36:45 - The underrated importance of audience to how philosophy is done49:07 - What does it mean to do philosophy from an African (and often colonized) place? 1:00:02 - Does the importance of place and "positionality" in philosophy mean the genetic isn't a fallacy?
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1h 19min
May 30, 2021 The Complex Relation Between Wanting and Doing (w/ Crispin Sartwell and Dan Kaufman)
In this episode, Dan talk with Crispin Sartwell of Dickinson College about Dan's essay, "Wanting and Doing." We discuss action, desire, and powerlessness as understood in Christian theology and contemporary addiction discourse.(Here's the article under discussion: https://theelectricagora.com/2021/05/25/wanting-and-doing/).
4:04 Wanting and doing in Christian and Addiction Discourse.36:54 Overeating and the Problem of Conflicting Desires.47:43 Habits.49:48 Actions and Events.
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1h 11min

FAQs about Sophia:

How many episodes does Sophia have?

The podcast currently has 61 episodes available.