Overthink

By: Ellie Anderson Ph.D. and David Peña-Guzmán Ph.D.
  • Summary

  • The best of all possible podcasts, Leibniz would say. Putting big ideas in dialogue with the everyday, Overthink offers accessible and fresh takes on philosophy from enthusiastic experts. Hosted by professors Ellie Anderson (Pomona College) and David M. Peña-Guzmán (San Francisco State University).

    © 2025 Overthink
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Episodes
  • Disagreement
    Dec 31 2024

    From the holiday dinner table to the Twitter fandom wars, disagreements are inescapable. In episode 120 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk through different types of disagreement (e.g. disagreements online vs philosophical disagreements) and consider why we have such a tough time dealing with those who don’t see things as we do. Is the format of social media platforms to blame for the bad faith disagreements that occur on them? What role do confidence and conviction play in disagreement? Can we have a world without disagreement, or is disagreement an inevitable feature of our social lives? And how can we navigate the “shitstorm” when others refuse to agree with us? Prepare to turn on disagreement mode as you listen to two doctors of disagreement reason their way through it all. Plus, in the bonus, they discuss ways of overcoming disagreement, the failure of our education system, and the importance of community in online disagreement.

    Check out the episode's extended cut here!

    Works Discussed:
    Byung-Chul Han, In the Swarm
    Catherine Elgin, “Persistent Disagreement”
    Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism
    Kathleen Kennedy, “When Disagreement Gets Ugly, Perceptions of Bias and the Escalation of Conflict”
    Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
    Alex J. Novikoff, The Medieval Culture of Disputation
    Brian Ribeiro, “Philosophy and Disagreement”
    Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty

    Support the show

    Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
    Website | overthinkpodcast.com
    Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
    Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
    YouTube | Overthink podcast

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    1 hr
  • Driving
    Dec 17 2024

    Have you ever wanted to go on a road trip with the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan? After listening to this episode, you certainly won’t! In episode 119 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk about the experience of driving and the moral and social dilemmas involved with it. How does driving alter our relationship with time and space? What is the “long distance truck driver problem”, and what does it have to do with animal consciousness? And how should we respond to the rise in self-driving cars? Buckle in and get ready for this ride into the philosophy of driving. Plus, in the bonus they dive deeper into the ethics of self-driving cars, exploring the repercussions hacking could have on self-driving cars. What moral philosophy should be programmed into the self-driving vehicles of the future? And who gets to decide?

    Check out the episode's extended cut here!

    Works Discussed:
    David Armstrong, A Materialist Theory of The Mind
    Kenneth Jackson, The Crabgrass Frontier
    Stamatis Karnouskos, “Self-Driving Car Acceptance and the Rule of Ethics”
    Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
    Catherine Millot, Life with Lacan
    Lynne Pearce, Drivetime
    William Ratoff, “Self-driving Cars and the Right to Drive”
    Mark Rowlands, Animal Rights: Moral Theory and Practice
    Paul Virilio, Speed and Politics: An Essay on Dromology
    Jamieson Webster, “Riding in Cars with Jacques Lacan”
    Andreas Wolkenstein, “What has the Trolley Dilemma ever done for us (and what will it do in the future)? On some recent debates about the ethics of self- driving cars”

    Support the show

    Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
    Website | overthinkpodcast.com
    Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
    Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
    YouTube | Overthink podcast

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    58 mins
  • Comfort
    Dec 3 2024

    Get comfy as you listen to this episode! In episode 118 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss all things comfortable…and uncomfortable. They talk through the conflation of comfort and luxury, modern architecture’s prioritization of comfort, and whether our need for comfort is the reason for our burning planet. With everything from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to “the comfort-industrial complex,” this episode will have you questioning what it takes for us to lead a full and happy life. Plus, in the bonus they get into the meaning of the phrase ‘too close for comfort’, alcohol as a destructive form of comfort, and the importance of attachment theory.

    Check out the episode's extended cut here!

    Works Discussed:
    Daniel Barber, “After Comfort”
    J L Bottorff et al., “The phenomenology of comfort”
    Matt Haig, The Comfort Book
    Ryan Heavy Head, “Blackfoot Influence on Abraham Maslow, Presented by Narcisse Kainai and Ryan Heavy Head at the University of Montana”
    Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler and Ann Malinowski, “Comfort: exploration of the concept in nursing.”
    A. H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation
    Teju Ravilochan, “The Blackfoot Wisdom that Inspired Maslow’s Hierarchy”.
    Peter Sloterdijk, Spheres trilogy
    Chögyam Trungpa, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

    Support the show

    Patreon | patreon.com/overthinkpodcast
    Website | overthinkpodcast.com
    Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
    Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
    YouTube | Overthink podcast

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    54 mins

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fun and clever podcast

fun and interesting podcast. They move from everyday social issues to philosophical analyses. The don't dumb down the philosophy too much, but also make it possible for non-specialsts.

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