In Episode 112 of Overthink, Ellie and David pick apart hyperreality: our reality today is so inundated by signs that the gap between reality and simulation has all but broken down. From its presence in Superman and Bridgerton to its uncanny role in legitimizing presidential power.

Ellie and David discuss fun, from its aesthetic opposition to the highbrow realm of beauty, to questions like: what role does fun play in the good life? How does fun relate to art, play, and ritual? Can you really have fun by yourself? And what happens when the lines blur between the fun and the political?

In episode 93 of Overthink, Ellie and David guide you through the philosophy of this emotion. From Aristotle to British charity telethons, pity lives in our moral and cultural worlds. But who is the object of our pity, and why? Where is the line between pity and compassion? How does pity interact with our social responsibilities and power structures?

In episode 81 of Overthink, Ellie and David talk everything from Shein to Ferragamo. They chart the history of clothing, and ask, questions about perception, class, injustice, consumption, and Y2K jeans.

Minds meet machines in episode 80 of Overthink. Ellie and David talk with guest Raphaël Millière, philosopher at Columbia University, on the aesthetics of AI and computer-generated art. They discuss early photography YACHT’s pop songs, emotional expression, and more. itself? Might DALL·E be the greatest artist of us all?

Bad movies, good-bad movies, and more. What’s the difference between Freddy Got Fingered and Citizen Kane? Matthew Strohl discusses his book Why It’s Ok to Love Bad Movies with philosophy professors Ellie Anderson and David Peña-Guzmán

Ellie and David talk about the sense of taste. What is gustatory experience? We discuss Hume’s theory of taste, including whether taste is merely a subjective experience or there are some things that objectively taste good, and more!

Film is a baby art form compared to many others (such as theatre, poetry, and painting). Ellie and David dive into what makes film a unique medium, and discuss the nature of movie theaters vs. watching movies at gome.

Ellie and David investigate the history of kitsch as an aesthetic category distinct from art. How does the superficiality and mass-reproducibility of kitsch explain its uses as a tool of propaganda?

Is disgust a moral emotion? How and why did it evolve, and do we have the power to change what disgusts us?

Just a hashtag, or so much more? Ellie and David discuss the promises and perils of “living your truth” and authenticity, speaking with Dr. Tamsin Kimoto.

Philosophers Ellie and David discuss the way that capitalism encourages us to treat artworks as commodities in the global market of the “art world”.

Have you ever tasted music or experienced numbers as having genders? If so, you might be a synesthete!

Why did Kant think women—and scientists—couldn’t be geniuses? Is genius innate? How is the concept of genius structured by sociological conditions, and what does this say about our views of art?