Philosopher's Zone

Philosopher's Zone asks how philosophy became centered on language, with David Rutledge framing the “linguistic turn” through dictionaries, bandicoots, and Richard Rorty's 1967 anthology.

David Rutledge interviews Chris Fleming about the inadequacy of viewing conspiracy theorists as individually irrational, proposing instead a model of distributed intelligence.

David Rutledge interviews Chris Cousins of the University of Glasgow about whether AI-generated promises, commands, and offers have the force of human speech acts.

The Philosopher's Zone examines whether feeling like a burden can make assisted dying appear morally courageous, using Captain Lawrence Oates's 1912 Antarctic death as a comparison.

David Rutledge interviews Seattle-based researcher Greg Demba about metamodernism, a cultural framework defined by Timotheus Vermeulen and Robin van den Acker in their 2010 paper “Notes on Metamodernism.” Demba describes metamodernism as an oscillation between modernist sincerity and postmodern irony, with renewed attention to “interiority” and “felt experience.” He uses Jonathan Richman, Fleabag, Wes Anderson, and Everything Everywhere All at Once to show how works can combine self-aware humor with emotionally serious expression.

On The Philosopher's Zone, David Rutledge interviews Davina Cooper of King's College London about whether Britain should abolish legal sex and gender status.

A discussion on medieval Jewish philosophy and its historical context of intellectual exchange between Judaism and Islam, exploring how ancient philosophical questions remain relevant today.

Philosopher's Zone examines Clara Zetkin's role in creating International Women's Day, first celebrated on March 19, 1911, after a 1910 Socialist Women's Conference in Copenhagen.

David Rutledge interviews Melbourne philosopher Vincent Ley about Nick Land's accelerationist philosophy and Ley's book Unknown Lands: Decoding Nick Land's Accelerationist Philosophy.

On ABC Radio National's Philosopher's Zone, David Rutledge interviews Rosie Bredotti about whether “planetary civics” can guide AI, climate change, migration, and space exploration.

David Rutledge interviews Chris Fleming about the inadequacy of viewing conspiracy theorists as individually deficient and explores distributed intelligence as an alternative model for understanding belief formation.

Philosopher Naomi Schumann discusses the moral significance of discomfort when navigating between dominant and marginalized worlds, particularly regarding transgender and queer experiences.

David Rutledge interviews renowned moral philosopher Raimond Gaita about his essay on the irreducible humanity of others and his philosophical journey.

This episode explores analytic philosophy's unusual relationship with its own history, arguing that it has been shaped by social and political contexts despite its self-image as ahistorical.