Episodes

  • The Physics and Spirit of Crystals with Aaron Breidenbach

    The Physics and Spirit of Crystals with Aaron Breidenbach
    Sep 5 2025
    A conversation about crystals and their mysterious quantum powers with Dr. Aaron Breidenbach. Songs in this episode: “From the Beginning” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and “Crystalised” by The xx.
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    39 mins
  • The Wind: A Monologue

    The Wind: A Monologue
    May 8 2025
    A monologue in which our host, Professor Robert Harrison, gets swept up by the spirit of the wind and carried toward some indeterminate destination. Songs in this episode: “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, “Annabelle Lee” by Glass Wave, and “The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix.
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    28 mins
  • World War I, Modernism, David Jones with Tim Noakes

    World War I, Modernism, David Jones with Tim Noakes
    Apr 15 2025
    A conversation about David Jones’ “In Parenthesis” with Tim Noakes, Head of Public Services, Special Collections at Stanford University. Songs in this episode: “A Fool No More” by Peter Green, and “Machine Gun” by Jimi Hendrix.
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    52 mins
  • Cyber-Intimacy with Jeanne Proust

    Cyber-Intimacy with Jeanne Proust
    Mar 26 2025
    A conversation about sex, intimacy, and human relations in the era of AI with Jeanne Proust, Vice President of the Public Philosophy Network. Songs in this episode: “Reckoner” by Radiohead, and “She’s Not There” by The Zombies.
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    45 mins
  • The Destructive Character: A Cover

    The Destructive Character: A Cover
    Feb 20 2025
    A monologue in which our host, Professor Robert Harrison, performs a “cover” of Walter Benjamin’s essay titled “The Destructive Character,” first published in 1931.
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    6 mins
  • Carl Jung with Laura Wittman

    Carl Jung with Laura Wittman
    Feb 11 2025
    A conversation about Carl Jung, the Red Book, and Jung’s descent into the unconscious with Laura Wittman, Associate Professor of French and Italian at Stanford University. Songs in this episode: “Into the Night” by Julee Cruise, and “End of the Night” by The Doors.
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    48 mins
  • What is the Virtual? with Jan Söffner

    What is the Virtual? with Jan Söffner
    Dec 12 2024
    A conversation about the real, the actual, and the virtual with Jan Söffner, Visiting Professor in German Studies at Stanford University and Chair of Cultural Theory and Cultural Analysis at Zeppelin University. Songs in this episode: “Echo” by Glass Wave, and “Compared to What” by Ray Charles.
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    46 mins
  • Language, Music, and Meaning with Julie Sedivy

    Language, Music, and Meaning with Julie Sedivy
    Nov 12 2024
    A conversation about the origins of language and everything in between with Julie Sedivy, a psycholinguist and author of Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love. Songs in this episode: “From the Beginning” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and “Belly Button Window” by Jimi Hendrix.
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    38 mins