American Socrates

About American Socrates

Think Deeper. Live Better. Most podcasts give you answers. American Socrates gives you better questions. Host Matt Rupert — Professional Philosopher, Part-time Podcaster — applies the lost art of Socratic thinking to the decisions, relationships, and cultural debates shaping everyday American life. This is not a philosophy class. It's not another self-help podcast. Just rigorous, honest thinking that helps you sift through the rhetoric and live more deliberately. New episodes every Wednesday. Check your assumptions at the door. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere you listen. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/corals/mountain-pine License code: NT1UAGETRXVL46SM

Publisher

Matt Rupert

Category

education · society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

6 Mar 2025

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

97 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   What Does It Mean to Do Your Duty?

   Send us Fan Mail In this episode we explore the mechanics of Kant's moral system. From a description of duty to the application of imperatives including the categorical imperative, how is Kant Deontology supposed to offer us moral guidance. Support the show Question Everything!

2. 

   14 Oct 2026

   Are Good Intentions Good Enough?

   Send us Fan Mail What makes an action morally good: What actually happened, or what you meant to do? This episode opens a study of Kantian ethics by making the positive case for intention as the foundation of moral evaluation. Aristotle argued that intention reveals character more accurately than action ever can; the same deed can flow from generosity, vanity, or guilt, and only the intention tells you which you're dealing with. Kant went further: the good will is the only thing in the world ...

3. 

   7 Oct 2026

   What if the Consequences Don't Matter?

   Send us Fan Mail Is consequentialism, the idea that what makes an action right or wrong is entirely its consequences, the right framework for morality at all? This episode examines three structural failures that can't be fixed: moral luck, the doing/allowing collapse, and the license for atrocity. Consequentialism captures real moral truths, but it fails as a complete moral theory. And the alternative, a morality grounded not in outcomes but in the dignity of persons, might be where the cure ...

Who has been a guest on American Socrates

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Iris Marion Young
• Stephanie Kelton
• Dr Darrick Hamilton
• Dr Stephanie Kelton

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

54

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32