The Examined Life with Phil Kallberg

Episode 94: Deconstructionism and Postmodernism (July 25, 2021)

In this episode, Phil Kallberg explains what Deconstructionism and Postmodernism are as they relate to stories. He also draws a distinction between the soft applications of these ideas and hard Deconstructionism and Postmodernism. While the soft variants of these ideas can at times be useful the hard variants are incoherent. (July 25, 2021)

Episode 93: Why Aliens are almost certainly Demonic (July 3, 2021)

In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg speaks in light of the US government's report on UFOs/UAPs, explaining why it's highly likely that many of the reported encounters with aliens are just encounters with demonic entities. If you already have a worldview that allows for belief in the demonic, then demons make more sense of these phenomena than extraterrestrial beings do. (July 3, 2021)

Episode 92: Why You Should Take the Vaccine (May 28, 2021)

In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains why you should take the COVID vaccine. He gives a practical and a moral argument for taking the vaccine and explains where some of the common objections people give to getting vaccinated go wrong. (May 28, 2021)

Episode 91: Thought Experiments and Stories (April 30, 2021)

In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg gives a very brief overview of thought experiments and explains how they demonstrate that one of the purposes of good stories is to train us to be better people. He also gives out a face palm and sigh award for cherry picking from the Bible. (April 30, 2021)

Episode 90: Types of Criticism (April 19, 2021)

In this episode of The Examined Life, Phil Kallberg explains the general ideas behind the types of criticism that are used in literature, film, and other types of media. When criticism is done well, it illuminates aspects of stories and media that we will otherwise not see. Also he recommends the book "The Genealogical Adam and Eve" by S. Joshua Swamidass. (April 19, 2021)