Philosophy Universe

Alfredo Mac Laughlin•philosophyuniverse.blog

Society & Culture

Philosophy

Fiction

Science Fiction

A podcast on science fiction, philosophy and fantasy! Short episodes, airs every two weeks.

Last refreshed: July 20th, 2025 at 4:40 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

9. Discover Your Superpowers! Training Montages and Virtue Ethics

Part of the Ethics Tutorial, we explore the notion of "habit" in ethics and its importance in our lives.

Mar 01, 2024•18 min•Ep. 9

8. The Ethics of Mr. Spock

Continuing with our "ethics tutorial", we look at a figure that exemplifies a variety of ethical theories. What better way to get introduced to them than by the hand of Mr. Spock?

Jan 23, 2024•19 min•Ep. 8

7. An Interview with Randy Richards, author of "The Unseen Hand of Peter Gyges"

An interview with Randy Richards, author of "The Unseen Hand of Peter Gyges" (2015), a modern retelling of Plato's classic fable.

Jun 30, 2023•31 min•Ep. 7

6. Plato and the First Ring of Power

What would you do if you could become invisible? Would you still play by the rules? Are we good only because others can see us? This is the beginning episode in the "Ethics Tutorial" miniseries. With the story of Gyges and his magical ring, Plato introduces one of the fundamental questions of ethics.

Jun 20, 2023•13 min•Ep. 6

5. Book Burning in the 21st Century: Ray Bradbury and Cancel Culture

We couldn't leave Fahrenheit without touching on some, sadly, burning topics of present times -- censorship, cancel culture and, yes, book burning. Is it true that extremes touch? And what does Bradbury have to say about this whole issue? Bear with us on this slightly longer episode, as we slog through dangerous territory trying to make some sense of it all.

Apr 19, 2023•25 min•Ep. 5

4. Distracted to Death: The World of Fahrenheit 451

Sergeant Beatty spills the beans to Montag, and we learn about the dangers of going too fast through life.

Jan 12, 2023•18 min•Ep. 4

3. A World Turned Upside Down: Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451

This is the first of a three-episode series on Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, Fahrenheit 451 . I highly recommend that you read the book before listening to this episode, as it contains major spoilers! (Also, as it is a great book totally worth your time...)

Dec 13, 2022•19 min•Ep. 3

2. Can you escape the Cave? Plato and the first dystopian story

In this episode we explore how dystopian stories share the structure of Plato's famous "allegory of the Cave," and we look into various possible meanings and warnings to be learned from that story. Original art and music. Includes snippets of "Gestation" from the game "Cave Story" ("Doukutsu Monogatari"). It has no relation to Plato's cave, but it is a beautiful game released for free by its creator. This is our little homage.. Thanks to cavestory.org. (You can download the music and the game.)...

Nov 16, 2022•19 min•Ep. 2

1. Captain Pike and the Evil Genius: Can Pike Escape the Cage?

Original music and artwork. This episode contains sound effects from Star Trek, the original series. Here's the link to Descartes' " Discourse on Method " (in Project Gutenberg ).

Nov 01, 2022•18 min•Ep. 1

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