Shows / The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast
Life is complicated. It is afflicted with more big questions than big answers. As one is tested by the suffering and irrationality of life, the questions become more compelling and imperative, and the answers become more urgent and necessary in order to be a good person and to live a happy life. What does it mean to be a good person? What is a happy life? What is love? Who am I before I was told who I am? Why haven’t I found myself yet? Why do I have regrets? Is the world just? Everything seems…
Episodes
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow the Greatest Minds Solved Life’s Everyday Dilemmas: What Would Aristotle, Camus, Socrates, and Bonhoeffer Do?
What if Aristotle could tell you how to recognize true friendship? What if Camus could teach you how to live without guarantees? What if Socrates could show…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy Chasing Pleasure Isn’t Enough: Plato’s Key to Achieving Happiness
This isn’t an episode about becoming more like Plato. It’s about becoming more like yourself, your best self. Plato simply offers you a map. Why do so many…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow Great Minds Solved Life’s Everyday Dilemmas: What Would Siddhartha, Kierkegaard, Weil, and Nietzsche Do?
Four ordinary people must face life’s hardest private decisions: Whether to leave a path that no longer feels true, whether to love without being loved back…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastIs AI Art Real? Can Something Without A Soul Still Touch Yours?
I heard a new song that moved me more deeply than I expected. Then I discovered the singer isn’t human. That moment opened a question I can’t let go of. If AI…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhat the Death of Socrates Still Teaches Us About Living Well!
In this episode of The Laughing Philosopher, we return to one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of philosophy. We will witness the death of…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastBonhoeffer Warned Us: The Real Danger Isn’t Evil, It’s Stupidity!
The philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis just weeks before World War II ended. But before his death he left behind a chilling insight that…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow Socrates and Kierkegaard Saved Me from A Life Unlived!
What if the life you are living isn’t really your life at all? Many of us spend decades chasing approval, success, and recognition, only to discover far too…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast14 Philosophers, 14 Life Hacks: Timeless Wisdom That Actually Works!
In this episode of The Laughing Philosopher, you’ll discover fourteen remarkable life hacks you were never told and you won’t find in any rulebook. Because…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastSchopenhauer’s Brutal Wisdom: Why Intelligent People Struggle in A Stupid World!
Are you smarter than everyone around you, and yet, somehow more miserable? Arthur Schopenhauer would say that’s not weird, it’s normal. In this episode of The…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastRetreat Is Not the Answer: How Do Great Philosophers Confront A Troubled World?
When the world feels broken, the temptation is to step back, tune out, and give up. But history’s greatest philosophers didn’t retreat when their societies…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHume’s Guillotine: Why What Is Doesn’t Decide What Should Be
What does a Scottish philosopher’s “guillotine” have to do with your daily decisions? In this episode, we explore David Hume’s famous Is-Ought Fallacy — why…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastBecoming Wise: Why Knowing Nothing Changes Everything
What if the first step to becoming wise is admitting you know nothing? In this episode, we discover how to think like Socrates and unlock the secrets of…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastTrue to Oneself: Seven Ways Integrity Shapes Our Lives
What does it really mean to live with integrity? In this thought-provoking episode, we explore seven powerful ways integrity shapes our lives and why living by…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastShould You Care What the Majority Think? Socrates’ Guide to Not Giving A Damn!
Should you care what other people think? Socrates says NO! In this episode, we explore what ancient philosophy can teach us about modern social pressure…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastSeneca’s Stoic Method for Mastering Anger and Averting Conflicts
Got a temper? So did the ancient Romans. But one of them, the Stoic philosopher Seneca, had a radically different approach to anger, and it still works today…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastSocrates’ Path to Virtue: Ten Footsteps to Good Character
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all believed that what you are matters far more than what you have. Good character is your most precious possession. In this…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastApocalypse Now?: Philosophy and the Fallacy of Doom!
The sky is falling. Do you feel there is no hope for the future? Does everything you hold dear feel like it’s about to blow up? Stoking apocalyptic fears and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastMemento Mori: Stoic Secrets to Transform Fear of Death into Fearless Living!
We live in terror of death. We cling to youth and claw at life, afraid to let go. Once we conquer the greater fear of death, our lesser fears lose their power…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastThe Anatomy of Belief: Why Do Smart People Believe Stupid Things?
Smart people can be stupid and believe absurd, weird, and crazy things. We are remarkably poor at distinguishing truth from falsehood and even worse at…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastThe Paradox of Likability: Why Do Other People Actually Like Us More Than We Think They Do?
People like us more than we think they do. Why are we so negative about ourselves? You didn’t develop that negative voice in your head all by yourself. We are…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastChallenging Our Instinct to Judge: Stoic Wisdom on Labeling Others and Ourselves
Normal and abnormal people do not exist. Sane and insane people do not exist. Conformists and nonconformists do not exist. The labels exist, but not the…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastFrom Emptiness to Empowerment: The Liberating Optimism of Nihilism
What does it mean to live your life as if nothing matters? Nihilism rejects conventional wisdom that everything matters. Nihilism means nothing matters. It…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastThe Metaphysics of Heartbeats: Three Philosophical Truths for Instant Happiness
Do you want to feel happy right where you are, right now? Listening to your heartbeats will lead you to three philosophical insights and instant happiness: You…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastEmil Cioran as Architect of Purpose in a Purposeless Universe
He was a French philosopher. His philosophy of life is simple yet profound. We would have been better off not being born. Life sucks. We are born for no…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWeber’s Divine Workaholic: Are You Chasing Capitalism’s Earthly Burnout Or Calvinism’s Heavenly Rewards?
Religion is the accidental force behind why we chase endless productivity, why working harder feels morally right and hardly working feels morally wrong, and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastPlato, Schopenhauer, and Spinoza: Is Peering Behind the Human Curtain A Backstage Pass to the Cosmos?
Our first experience of the world is our true self. Concealed behind our outward appearance, a bag of skin, inside ourselves, our unique, subjective…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastYour Perfect Day: What Would It Be Like?
What is a perfect day? Perfection is within our grasp each and every day. One must choose today to be a perfect day by choosing wisely to do three easy and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastKierkegaard’s Upside of Down: Ever Notice How Bad Times Lead to Good Things?
Let us unpack Kierkegaard’s insight that today can only be known by living forwards, but only be understood by looking backwards. Life, at any given moment, is…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastMaking Friends: Aristotle’s Practical Wisdom for Modern Relationships
Aristotle’s wisdom can make you a more likable person with more and better friends. For Aristotle, without friends, no one would want to live. Friendship is…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastSocrates and Xanthippe: Five Hidden Triggers Can Sabotage Your Relationship
Romantic relationships are difficult and perilous and no soft affair. They seem to fail as often as they succeed. Five hidden triggers can sabotage even the…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow to Dodge Philosophy’s Six Deadly Landmines or Ruin Your Life
It’s not easy to ruin your life. To get to the wrong place, you must do the right things. The Laughing Philosopher’s guide presents six foolproof steps to a…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastBoethius’ Stoic Path: Resilience and Serenity in Adversity
Unjustly imprisoned and awaiting execution, Boethius, Roman philosopher and statesman, would write his most famous work, “The Consolation of Philosophy”…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastIs talking to yourself a sign of normalcy or inner discord?
The person you will talk to the most in your life is you. The most important conversations you will ever have are with yourself. Whether it is chatting with…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastIn the labyrinth of belief, which path leads to wisdom?
"Know yourself” is Socrates’ imperative. Why? There is no perfect life. No one is infallible. Everyone makes mistakes because some of our beliefs and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy is beauty beautiful? Philosophy decodes its secrets!
What are the secrets of beauty? How does each of six major schools of philosophy interpret the beauty of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” the 1972 film, “The…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy do we keep tripping on life’s same banana peel?
Life is too complicated. So, we use shortcuts to safely navigate life’s risks and dangers unharmed. And the more we take shortcuts, the more established and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastCan you live better by letting go of you?
The illusion of selfhood is holding you back. You are more than who you think you are. Selflessness will free you to try new paths to self-improvement. You…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow does Jung’s Shadow illuminate your unique brilliance?
Carl Jung describes the Shadow as the repressed half of yourself assembled from features of your personality judged to be unacceptable. The Shadow is the other…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastAre you unleashing Jung’s Shadow and igniting your creative superpowers?
You are a stranger to yourself. The self you know and experience is partial and incomplete. Who you think you are doesn’t match who you really are. The…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastIs radiant happiness amid life’s chaos truly attainable?
How can we free ourselves from life’s chaos? While kayaking across a lake, your best friend is killed by a swan after getting too close to the bird’s nest…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastToxic Friendships? How to recognize bad friends.
Run away from friends who want you to fear something, who never question themselves, who won’t let you think for yourself, who try to change you into the…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastAre you cultivating Voltaire’s garden?
Voltaire’s garden is inside ourselves, within our own mind. Empty your life. Mind your own garden. Do what you love. Build a wall. Your mind is your kingdom…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhat is a dog’s philosophy of life?
Dogs have a philosophy of life with 12 guiding principles: Dogs love to learn. Humans are special. Dogs don’t compare themselves to other dogs. Dogs value a…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy do mistakes happen?
The goodness and badness of human behavior is determined using intentions and outcomes. Yet, as Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet proves, judging mistakes is…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastIs having children morally wrong?
We invest more thoughtful, rational decision making in adopting a dog than in creating a new person. Procreation should not be automatic. To be a conscious…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy does truth hurt?
Why does it hurt to tell and to be told the truth? Why does truth hurt more than lies? Without false beliefs, fantasies, and illusions, truth wouldn’t hurt. It…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWould Socrates point silverware up or down in the dishwasher?
Why do utterly pointless things having no purpose or benefit? The real cost of pointlessness is the number of heartbeats one must pay for it.
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastHow should I live, knowing I will die?
Why is finding life’s meaning so difficult? Look right in front of your eyes! Eight of life’s most profound truths are hidden by familiarity.
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhat is life asking of me?
Why is finding life’s meaning and purpose so difficult? Actually, it’s easy, once you understand why you’re looking for two things as different as the menu and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastPhilosophically, is abortion right or wrong?
Let’s reason out the abortion debate through the mind of a philosopher, addressing the big questions and finding answers that agree with your own wisdom and…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastConfucius matters today?
Is this who I want to be? Is this the best I can be? What is my best purpose in life? The philosophy of Confucius will teach you how to live a virtuous life of…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhy is everyone looking at you?
Once you make the psychic connection between your need for belonging and acceptance, and your feeling that everyone is judging you, you will no longer be a…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“How is true happiness achieved?”
“Happiness is the purpose of life. And it’s simple. We just make it complicated. Follow this easy recipe. You can eat all you want and you won’t gain weight.”
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“What is a clinging person to do in a changing world?”
“The answer is: Suffer. That is all. Think clearly about an ordinary pencil and it will teach you five insanely Zen ways to be happy in a changing world.”
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“Logic or emotion? Mr. Spock or Dr. McCoy?”
“Logic or emotion alone cannot navigate all human experience. Choose poorly when to use logic and reason or passion and emotion and life makes no sense. Choose…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“Are these the biggest lies you still believe?”
“Almost from the moment of birth, you’ve been taught to accept many half-truths, total falsehoods, uncritical assumptions, and lies about the world that you…
The Laughing Philosopher's PodcastWhat is a Cat’s Philosophy of Life?
Unlike humans, cats have figured out how to live a happy life guided by wisdom and good sense. Humans can learn much from cats. The truth is right in front of…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“Why live if life is meaningless?”
“Why? Not despite life’s meaninglessness, but because of it. Only in meaninglessness can freedom exist, and you are free to choose how to give purpose to your…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“What the hell is wrong with people?”
“People let themselves be controlled. People fear solitude. People get love wrong. People live and die for illusions. People waste time like they’re immortal…
The Laughing Philosopher's Podcast“At what point should you just stop caring?”
“Do you care more about someone than they care about you? Do you give more to a relationship than you take from it? Here are six ways to achieve balance…