Philosopher's Zone
The simplest questions often have the most complex answers. The Philosopher's Zone is your guide through the strange thickets of logic, metaphysics and ethics.
Insights from recent episode analysis
On the show
- Nick Land1 ep
- Mark Schroeder1 ep
- Sameema Zahra1 ep
Also: Stephanie Collins, Alexander Howard, Peter J. Verovšek, Taylor-Jai McAlister, Tim Crane
Audience Interest
Podcast Focus
Publishing Consistency
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Based on 1 signal.
Built from
By chart position
- 🇦🇺Australia · PhilosophyHOME#670K to 368K
- 🇮🇳India · Philosophy#836K to 191K
- 🇺🇸United States · Philosophy#949.3K to 49K
- 🇮🇩ID · Philosophy#145.3K to 28K
- 🇨🇦Canada · Philosophy#384.0K to 21K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
146K to 772K🎙 ~2x weekly·242 episodes·Last published 6d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
292K to 1.5M🇦🇺48%🇮🇳25%🇺🇸6%+9 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
161K to 850K
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
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Total Plays
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Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/21/26 | 04 | Unsteady State | Confucianism and crisis | With liberal democracy in crisis around the world, we're talking about Confucianism and how Confucian political theory addresses such problems as economic inequality and rampant individualism. This week's guest is interested in developing a reconstructed Confucianism that incorporates aspects of American pragmatist philosophy — in particular the work of John Dewey, who visited China in the 1920s and made a huge intellectual and cultural impact there.This episode is fourth in a five-part series.Guest: Sor-hoon Tan, Professor of Philosophy at Singapore Management UniversityProducer: David RutledgeConfucian Democracy: A Deweyan Reconstruction of Confucianism by Sor-hoon Tan (SUNY Press 2004)The crisis of liberal democracy and the Confucian challenge: a pragmatist response by Sor-hoon Tan in Journal of Social and Political Philosophy (2022)Toward Confucian economic democracy: a relational alternative to possessive individualism by Sor-hoon Tan in Democratic Theory: An Interdisciplinary Journal (2026)01 | Unsteady State | Politics and the good life - The Philosopher's Zone, October 4 202602 | Unsteady State | Who owns Antarctica? - The Philosopher's Zone, October 11 202603 | Unsteady State | What the Right gets wrong about Nietzsche - The Philosopher's Zone, October 18 2026 | 43m 57s | ||||||
| 10/14/26 | 03 | Unsteady State | What the Right gets wrong about Nietzsche | Friedrich Nietzsche is a difficult figure to pin down politically. He's popularly known as the favourite philosopher of the architects of the Holocaust, and of today's neo-Nazis and far-right ideologues who venerate strength, domination and the exercise of traditionally male-coded virtues. But then there's the other Nietzsche, the Nietzsche who was a fierce critic of German nationalism and antisemitism, and whose work has gone on to become central to feminism and queer theory. What can Nietzsche tell us about today's febrile climate of state and gender politics?This episode is third in a five-part series.Guest: Adrian Daub, Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies at Stanford University, co-host of the podcast In Bed With the RightProducer: David RutledgeThe Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global by Adrian Daub (Stanford University Press 2024)What Tech Calls Governing by Adrian Daub (Stanford University Press 2026)Episode 1 | Unsteady State | Politics and the good life - The Philosopher's Zone, October 4 2026Episode 2 | Unsteady State | Who owns Antarctica? - The Philosopher's Zone, October 11 2026Episode 4 | Unsteady State | Confucianism and crisis - The Philosopher's Zone, October 25 2026 | 39m 11s | ||||||
| 10/7/26 | 02 | Unsteady State | Who owns Antarctica? | What can Antarctica teach us about statehood and sovereignty?The continent has no government, no citizens, no permanent human population. Its native inhabitants are mostly seals and penguins who, as far as we know, take little interest in politics.But according to this week's guest, Antarctica offers a remarkable political experiment, one that challenges some of our most basic assumptions about territory and political community.Since the Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1961, the usual question of who owns the territory has been set aside. Instead, Antarctica is governed according to a model of 'joint guardianship', raising the intriguing possibility that this remote frozen continent might have something crucial to teach us about how politics could work elsewhere.This episode is second in a five-part series.Guest: Alejandra Mancilla, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo, NorwayProducer: David RutledgeFrom Sovereignty to Guardianship: Governing Antarctica, Governing the World by Alejandra Mancilla (Oxford University Press 2026)Episode 1 | Unsteady State | Politics and the good life - The Philosopher's Zone, October 4 2026Episode 3 | Unsteady State | What the Right gets wrong about Nietzsche - The Philosopher's Zone, October 18 2026Episode 4 | Unsteady State | Confucianism and crisis - The Philosopher's Zone, October 25 2026 | 34m 49s | ||||||
| 9/30/26 | 01 | Unsteady State | Politics and the good life | What if your government decided what 'the good life' looks like, then rewarded you for living it and penalised you for straying?In a growing number of countries, that's already happening.Liberal democratic theory has long held that the good life is for each citizen to define for themselves, and that the state should stay out of it. But some governments are now rejecting that idea, defining the good life for their citizens and using a mix of incentives and penalties to bring people into line.Many liberals call this authoritarianism, and accuse the leaders behind it of being driven by greed or a desire for power.But this week we're asking if the picture is more complex, and if liberals are making a dangerous mistake in misunderstanding the appeal of the 'good life state'.This episode is a recording of the 2026 Alan Saunders Lecture, produced in collaboration with the Australasian Association of Philosophy.Guest: Alexandre Lefebvre, Professor of Politics and Philosophy at The University of SydneyProducer: David RutledgeLiberalism as a Way of Life by Alexandre Lefebvre (Princeton University Press 2024)Episode 2 | Unsteady State | Who owns Antarctica? - The Philosopher's Zone, October 11 2026Episode 3 | Unsteady State | What the Right gets wrong about Nietzsche - The Philosopher's Zone, October 18 2026Episode 4 | Unsteady State | Confucianism and crisis - The Philosopher's Zone, October 25 2026 | 1h 10m 05s | ||||||
| 9/23/26 | Technology and the lure of ancient Athens | One of the more utopian promises of technology has always been that it will free us from the necessity of work - but not having to work poses its own problems. What will we do instead? how will we make money? and what might a leisure-oriented society look like? Technophiles - from the early cybernetics enthusiasts to today's AI promoters - have looked to ancient Athens as an example of a society where citizens were free to engage in culture, reflection and political participation. But was ancient Athens really such a place? and how likely is it that today's tech lords will deliver 'the good life' to us all?Guest: Michele Kennerly, Associate Professor Communication Arts and Sciences, and Classics and Mediterranean Studies, Pennsylvania State UniversityProducer: David RutledgeAutomated Athens: Ancient Greek Ideals in the Early Age of Automation by Michele Kennerly (University of Chicago Press 2026) | 45m 10s | ||||||
| 9/16/26 | Sympathy, himpathy and feminism | Australian feminist philosopher Kate Manne memorably coined the term "himpathy" to describe what happens when a man commits a crime against a woman and finds himself the object of disproportionate sympathy. But as useful as this description is, the psychological mechanism behind himpathy remains unexplored in Manne's account. To remedy this, we're turning this week to Catharine Macaulay, a fascinating late 18th century English philosopher whose work on sympathy provides some valuable psychological insights.Guest: Elena Gordon, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at University College DublinProducer: David RutledgeCatharine Macaulay on cultivating our sympathetic potential - Elena Gordon in Journal of Modern Philosophy Volume 7 (2025)About Catharine Macaulay | 38m 02s | ||||||
| 9/9/26 | interpersonal conflictphilosophy+4 | Mark Schroeder | University of Southern CaliforniaPrinceton University Press+1 | — | interpersonal conflictphilosophy+5 | — | 30m 54s | ||
| 9/2/26 | feminismcross-cultural support+4 | Sameema Zahra | Australian Catholic University Brisbane | — | feminismcross-cultural support+5 | — | 38m 26s | ||
| 8/26/26 | systemic injusticeresponsibility+3 | Stephanie Collins | Monash University Melbourne | — | angersystemic injustice+3 | — | 36m 33s | ||
| 8/19/26 | Cultural Marxismpolitical correctness+4 | Alexander Howard | University of Sydney'Cultural Marxism' is a conspiracy theory for our time+1 | — | Cultural Marxismpolitical correctness+5 | — | 45m 54s | ||
| 8/12/26 | philosophydemocracy+4 | Peter J. Verovšek | University of GroningenABC | — | Jürgen Habermasliberal democracy+4 | — | 42m 05s | ||
| 8/5/26 | visual artphilosophy+3 | Taylor-Jai McAlister | Macquarie University | — | visual artphilosophy+5 | — | 32m 49s | ||
| 7/30/26 | artificial intelligencephilosophy+3 | Tim Crane | Central European University | Vienna, Austria | AIintelligence+4 | — | 32m 01s | ||
| 7/23/26 | Hegelphilosophy+5 | — | — | — | Hegelphilosophy+5 | — | 36m 19s | ||
| 7/16/26 | eco-griefenvironmental loss+3 | — | ABCEco-grief and environmental loss | — | eco-griefenvironmental crisis+3 | — | 28m 58s | ||
| 7/9/26 | space colonizationethical challenges+3 | — | billionaire tech entrepreneurs | MoonMars | spacecolonization+5 | — | 32m 37s | ||
| 7/2/26 | commercial surrogacyethics+4 | — | Australia | — | surrogacypregnancy+5 | — | 32m 57s | ||
| 6/24/26 | beliefemotion+5 | — | ABCPhilosopher's Zone | — | beliefemotion+5 | — | 35m 30s | ||
| 6/16/26 | communicationcrisis+3 | — | Collins Dictionarypermacrisis | — | permacrisiscommunication+4 | — | 34m 02s | ||
| 6/11/26 | sportAI+4 | — | AICan sport survive AI? | — | elite sporthuman performance+3 | — | 37m 35s | ||
| 6/4/26 | puritypollution+4 | — | ABC | — | defecationsanitation+5 | — | 36m 00s | ||
| 5/27/26 | bad faithepistemic sabotage+4 | — | vaccinesclimate change | — | bad faithquestions+5 | — | 28m 58s | ||
| 5/21/26 | climate changevulnerability+3 | — | ABC | colonial rule | climate changenatural disasters+3 | — | 31m 45s | ||
| 5/12/26 | Buddhismself+4 | — | Buddhist philosophy | — | Buddhismself+5 | — | 39m 05s | ||
| 5/7/26 | philosophycommon sense+3 | — | — | — | philosophycommon sense+3 | — | 35m 24s | ||
| 4/30/26 | economicsmoral philosophy+3 | — | Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations | — | Adam Smitheconomics+3 | — | 32m 15s | ||
| 4/22/26 | artificial intelligencefriendship+3 | — | Artificial intelligencechatbots | — | AIfriendship+3 | — | 36m 19s | ||
| 4/15/26 | Enlightenmentphilosophy+4 | — | Christianity | — | EnlightenmentImmanuel Kant+4 | — | 35m 13s | ||
| 4/9/26 | speech actsAI+3 | — | AI | — | speech actsAI+4 | — | 34m 41s | ||
| 4/1/26 | assisted dyingburdensomeness+3 | — | ABC | — | assisted dyingburden+3 | — | 29m 00s | ||
| 3/25/26 | metamodernismpostmodernism+4 | — | ABCpostmodernism+1 | — | metamodernismpostmodernism+5 | — | 38m 07s | ||
| 3/18/26 | legal gender statusgender uncoupling+3 | — | ABC | — | legal genderbirth certificate+4 | — | 35m 19s | ||
| 3/11/26 | medieval philosophyJewish philosophy+4 | — | Medieval Jewish philosophyIslamic culture | — | medieval philosophyJewish thought+4 | — | 30m 46s | ||
| 3/4/26 | feminismsocialism+4 | — | — | — | Clara ZetkinInternational Women's Day+4 | — | 37m 43s | ||
| 2/26/26 | contemporary philosophyaccelerationism+3 | Nick Land | ABCnew book+2 | — | Nick Landaccelerationism+3 | — | 33m 57s | ||
| 2/18/26 | technologyclimate change+4 | — | ABC | — | planetary civicstechno-catastrophe+3 | — | 43m 26s | ||
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Chart history for Philosopher's Zone
Peaked at #6 in Australia, top 10 in 3 of 49 tracked markets, currently #6 in Australia.
| Market | Genre | Peak | Current | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | — | #6 | #6 | — |
| AE | — | #7 | #7 | — |
| India | — | #8 | #8 | — |
| AR | — | #13 | #13 | — |
| ID | — | #14 | #14 | — |
| TH | — | #21 | #21 | — |
| VN | — | #22 | #22 | — |
| South Africa | — | #22 | #22 | — |
| IS | — | #31 | #31 | — |
| Canada | — | #38 | #38 | — |
| PH | — | #38 | #38 | — |
| HK | — | #41 | #41 | — |
| KE | — | #41 | #41 | — |
| Finland | — | #45 | #45 | — |
| SG | — | #45 | #45 | — |
| TR | — | #46 | #46 | — |
| New Zealand | — | #48 | #48 | — |
| GR | — | #48 | #48 | — |
| MY | — | #52 | #52 | — |
| Ireland | — | #60 | #60 | — |
Chart Positions
49 placements across 45 markets.
Chart Positions
49 placements across 45 markets.