Philosophy vs. Improv

About Philosophy vs. Improv

Philosophy vs. Improv

Publisher

Mark Linsenmayer

Category

comedy · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

13 Jul 2021

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

130 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   PvI#125: Mrs. Nussbaum’s Credit Card (Season 6 Premiere)

   (https://www.patreon.com/philosophyimprov) Mark, Mary, and now new co-host Jus’ Jenny begin our new endeavor that includes reading Martha Nussbaum’s book The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics (1994). We read the introduction of that for this session, but YOU certainly don’t have to read it. (Though we encourage this; if you just search the web for the title and “pdf,” I’m betting you’ll find a version you can follow along with, though I would not be so disregarding of Martha’s intellectual property to provide you with such a link.) The point is to reflect on, over the next several months, the classical traditions of what we would now call the self-help movement but what they considered to be clinical philosophy: Using philosophical truths to live more rationally, happily, and productively. And if that sounds like BS cult sales talk, yes, that’s exactly what we need to guard ourselves against. Bringing in Nussbaum, an undisputedly A-list philosopher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Nussbaum), as our virtual guide should help here. We hear about Mary’s AA experience and what her stereotypes about philosophy are. We act out some puddle self-improvement and a dirty poetry slam. How do you teach a feeling, like the feeling that enough is enough and this improv scene should end already? Hear more PvI (https://philosophyimprov.com/). Follow us at patreon.com/philosophyimprov (https://patreon.com/philosophyimprov) to get an ad-free experience and post-game chatter for many episodes, now absolutely free, or kick in a dollar or whatever to get the remaining bonus content. You may choose to experience this via unedited video (https://youtu.be/4OrzC7P0jes): Here’s the relevant scene explaining the episode title from (https://youtu.be/Ckwhv3_nVrc?si=92dKE9N7d5B2Vinp) The Jerk (https://youtu.be/Ckwhv3_nVrc?si=92dKE9N7d5B2Vinp). Here’s that episode of The Partially Examined Life about Sartre on race (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2019/03/25/ep211-3-sartre/). And here’s the PEL interview with Nussbaum herself (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2016/08/01/ep144-1-nussbaum/). Image note: My MidJourney subscription has officially gone, so as with the previous couple of episodes, I’m getting our images from Google Gemini, which in this case has delivered upon my request to depict single-celled organisms in a puddle, and as in our scene, they are all apparently happy, though this was not part of my query. WHAT SECRETS DOES GEMINI KNOW ABOUT THE MICRO WORLD THAT IT ATTRIBUTES TO IT SUCH JOY??!!

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Interlude: Philosophy vs. Theater w/ David Epstein

   In between seasons here, we’ve got some business, which is that not too long after our Redacted episode (https://www.patreon.com/philosophyimprov/posts/bonus-episode-157088283), I did a follow-up episode with that same acting coach, whom I can now reveal to be my old high-school classmate David L. Epstein, who runs Actor Class (https://www.actorclass.com/staff/) off of Times Square, after many years acting, directing, and writing plays. He was also the lead in the Partially Examined Life reading of Life Is a Dream (https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2019/05/27/la-vida-es-sueno-calderon/), a play that he recommended to us for its philosophical content. He did not react well to the standard PvI format, so instead I just interviewed him about his career and his insights about Broadway, Shakespeare, contemporary entertainment, theory in acting, and more. This was recorded back in July, so our references to the film Apex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_(2026_film)) were current at the time! …And the Odyssey had not yet come out. I begin and end this recording with some musing about this free-form format and what the PEL universe might do in the future regarding drama. Next episode we’ll be kicking off the new PvI season, with our new format, new (additional) hosts, stay tuned! Hear more PvI (https://philosophyimprov.com/). Follow us at patreon.com/philosophyimprov (https://patreon.com/philosophyimprov) to get an ad-free experience and post-game chatter for many episodes (not this one), now absolutely free, or kick in a dollar or whatever to get the remaining bonus content including our Redacted episode. You can choose to watch this on unedited video (https://youtu.be/n0ZYkuZpgGU):

3. 

   8 Sept 2026

   PvI#124: Navel Evaluation (Our Season 5 Finale)

   We wrap up Mary’s first year with the podcast, and changes are afoot for our upcoming season, but why? Let’s explore to the point of physical discomfort! We act out an odd annual employee review, a dramatic pitch for a new play, and the navel-gazing club. We talk about celebrating and escalating, high points of season 5, how comedy is never a matter of “trying to be funny” but grows out of authentic experience, Mary’s dramatic history, making unpleasant characters redemptive, Morbius, our wish lists for the future , and more. Get started reading Martha Nussbaum’s (https://toleratedindividuality.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/therapy-of-desire-theory-and-practice-in-hellenistic-ethics.pdf) Therapy of Desire (https://toleratedindividuality.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/therapy-of-desire-theory-and-practice-in-hellenistic-ethics.pdf) now. Image note: This was my second try with Google Gemini, and in this case it initially generated an image for “performance evaluation” that was way too detailed and (as is inevitably the case with these AIs, looked like it was drawn FOR children instead of drawn BY children), so I asked it for the same but cruder, and so it left out some details and misspelled some words, as I guess AIs “think” that children do. Hear more PvI (https://philosophyimprov.com/). Follow us at patreon.com/philosophyimprov (https://patreon.com/philosophyimprov) to get an ad-free experience and post-game chatter for many episodes (including this one), now absolutely free, or kick in a dollar or whatever to get the remaining bonus content including our Redacted episode. You can choose to watch this on wholly unedited video (https://youtu.be/m1gG_U-Vpi4):

Who has been a guest on Philosophy vs. Improv

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

• Khafiz Kerimov
• Nicholas Bellinson
• Kolby Granville
• Shannon Bass
• Audrey Kohler

Reach and audience

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

YouTube views

514,394

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

15 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 75 / 100

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

Quality

81

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

85