Hotel Bar Sessions

The HBS hosts discuss the many paradoxes of ennui. 

Most of our podcast episodes are about “big” issues, “interesting” topics, “provocative” conversations, or “important” matters… but the truth is tha…

The HBS hosts discuss how the Luddites were right about why we hate our jobs. 

The term “luddite” generally functions as an insult these days. It is something people are accused of, and a term that no…

The HBS hosts parse the difference between mistakes, half-truths, embellishments, and outright lies.

George Costanza (from the TV series Seinfeld) once insisted: “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” T…

 The HBS hosts consider the sands through the hourglass.

It seems as if, when we’re young, the solution to all of our problems is just getting older—when will people take me seriously? when will I un…

The HBS discuss Hegel, the black radical tradition, and the history of Philosophy with Biko Mandela Gray and Ryan J. Johnson.

This week we are joined by Biko Mandela Gray and Ryan J. Johnson to talk a…

The HBS hosts discuss post-COVID demands to get "back to normal."

In 2020 the NCAA canceled its basketball tournaments for the year. Over the next several months, mitigation measures became more wides…

The HBS hosts chat about heroes without capes. 

In a world saturated with fictional caped crusaders and masked vigilantes, we want to redirect our attention to the unsung champions who make a tangible…

The HBS hosts dig into Jacque Derrida's philosophy to see if it really is responsible for everything that's wrong with the world.

There are very few philosophies that are blamed for so much as deconst…

The HBS hosts return to the movies to learn why men are cheaper than guns.

The Magnificent Seven, produced in 1960 and directed by John Sturges, has a significant place in the history of the western i…

The HBS hosts don their nightgowns, cozy up to the fire, and contemplate wax.

There is, perhaps, no more famous statement in the history of philosophy than Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am.” T…

The HBS hosts discuss the meaning of trust, and how it is built, broken, and restored.

Trust acts as both a glue and a sieve, holding together our personal and professional worlds while filtering and…

The HBS hosts ask Chris Long how philosophers contribute and how best to value their contributions. 
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This week, we are joined in the bar by Christopher Long to talk about thought leaders, universitie…

The HBS co-hosts learn why it's not just about pronouns.

In recent years, society has witnessed a seismic significant shift in our understanding of gender. For some, the binary notion of gender, once …

The HBS hosts explore what is lost when we choose documentation over narration.

We live in an era that can be said to be documented more than it is narrated. First, on the most immediate level every e…

The HBS hosts wonder if "collegiality" is a virtue... or just a cover for prejudice. 

Everyone who works with others has colleagues. In the academic world, the term "colleague" usually refers to the m…

The HBS hosts wonder why it is so hard for us to think of ourselves as "we, debtors"?

Debt has an odd function within modern capitalist societies. On the one hand, the economy cannot function without …

The HBS hosts are joined by John Protevi to talk about case studies, COVID, and the political philosophy of mind.

At first glance, a "political philosophy of mind" would seem to be an oxymoron of sort…

The HBS hosts chat about the symbiotic relationship between cultural products and their fandoms.

For a long time, the image of the fan and fan culture was summed up by an infamous skit by William Shat…

The HBS hosts are joined by Will Paris to talk about Du Bois, public philosophy, podcasting, and carving out "problem spaces."

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois famously asked the question “…

The HBS hosts discuss why humanlike robots are sooooo creepy.

In 1970, a Japanese roboticist by the name of Masahiro Mori published a short essay in the journal Energy entitled “The Uncanny Valley," i…