In episode 115 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the meaning of hope, from casual travel plans, to electoral optimism, to theological liberation. They explore Kant’s ambitions for perpetual peace, and discuss the Marxian imperative to transform the world. Should we hope for what seems realistic, or reach for impossible utopias?

Ellie and David reflect on the highs and lows of friendship, from their own bond to Montaigne’s intimate connection to Étienne de La Boétie. From Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics to today’s loneliness epidemic, they question what friends do, how they hold each other accountable, and the deep ways in which our vices and virtues are shaped by our friends.

Awkward moments are everywhere you look. In episode 113 of Overthink, Ellie and David invite philosopher Alexandra Plakias to talk through her research on awkwardness. They discuss from oversharing online to uncomfortable silences, power, morality, and the core scripts of our social expectations.

Ellie and David analyze success in everything from Zhuangzi’s tales to the corporate world of buzzwords. They discuss party planning, tenure tracks, inspirational quotes, haters, why science seems so successful, and the pitfalls of thinking we’ve got it all figured out.

In episode 102 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss racial mixedness, from family-oriented models of mixed race to José Vasconcelos’ and Gloria Anzaldua’s idea of the ‘mestizo’ heritage of Mexican people. They work through phenomenological accounts of cultural hybridity and selfhood, wondering how being multiracial pushes beyond the traditional Cartesian philosophical subject.

In episode 101 of Overthink, Ellie and David speak with Dr. Shazeda Ahmed, specialist in AI Safety, to dive into the philosophy guiding artificial intelligence. With the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT, the lofty utilitarian principles of Effective Altruism have taken the tech-world spotlight by storm. Who is right about AI: the doomers or the utopians? And whose voices are part of the conversation in the first place?

In Episode 98, Ellie and David untangle the philosophy behind reputations. From Machiavelli’s advice to despots looking to stay popular, to disgruntled students venting on their professors online, they explore concepts like the Matthew effect, the homo comparativus, and informational asymmetry.

From Plato’s spotless Republic to Saudi Arabia’s futuristic The Line, they talk the foul and the vibrant of what it means to live in a city. Why are there so few public plazas in Brasilia? Why did David lose his wallet in Mexico City? How do gridded street layouts reflect colonial fantasies?

“They find our bodies repulsive.” On episode 96 of Overthink, Ellie and David bring on Dr. Kate Manne, philosopher and author of Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia. She explains the moral failures and biomedical perils of our fatphobic culture and diets. They look at the politics of fat, fatness, and fatphobia for questions of accessibility, justice, and intimacy, discussing the BMI, Ozempic, and more.

Night vision. Superhuman strength. And… kale salad? In episode 95 of Overthink, Ellie and David explore the weird world of biohackers, who leverage science and technology to optimize their bodies. The movement moves from the blurry ethics of self-experimentation to Cartesian dualism. The stakes are political, metaphysical, and ethical — and your hosts are here to make philosophical sense of it all.

In episode 94 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss everything debt, from student loans and bank bailouts to the importance of honoring one’s intellectual forebears. Your hosts explore how debt has structured social, family, and religious bonds across history, from Vedic India, to Plato’s Athens, and how the notion of being “indebted” to one’s cultural past conditions the experience of immigrants in America today.

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?

Time to be real! From romanticism to reality TV, from social media to existentialism, Ellie and David discuss Heidegger’s writings on Eigentlichkeit (authenticity); they go over sincerity, the self, and discuss drag queens as the peak of postmodern authenticity.

From Émile Zola to Edward Said, from Antonio Gramsci to… Joe Rogan? In episode 79 of Overthink, Ellie and David discuss the figure of the high-minded ‘intellectual’ and their role in today’s mass-media landscape. Who are intellectuals, what do they do, and what are they for? Can they, and ought they, participate in public debate?

Lived experience is a common term today, indicated through such claims as “As a queer Mexican immigrant” (we’re looking at you, David!). We get into the roots of the term in phenomenology —Erlebnis in German— and talk about how lived experience gets used in social sciences and humanities.

Cultural appropriation is a common charge today, but what does it mean? How do we determine in-group out-group identity, and who decides what the line is between appreciation and cultural appropriation? Two philosophy professors discuss.

Emotional labor is a term that many use in popular discourse without really understanding. Two experts explain the concept as originally defined by Arlie Hochschild and in terms of the exploitation of women under patriarchy, including Ellie Anderson’s concept of hermeneutic labor.

Fear of missing out - FOMO - the condition of the self that desires social connection to the point of a phobia of being left out. Why isn’t JOMO - the joy of missing out- a viable alternative?

Influencers have taken over the online world, promoting everything from brands to lifestyle changes. But, what does it mean to exert influence over somebody and how has the rise of social media created a whole new category of the influencer?

Deleuze suggests we’ve moved from a society characterized by Foucault’s panopticon to a society of control. Ellie and David talk TSA, smartphones listening to you, and more.