Academic Edgelords
Episodes
EP32: Should We Blackball People With Immoral Views? (Interview With Jason Brennan)
28 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I sit down with Jason Brennan, philosopher at Georgetown University, likely best known for the provocatively titled Against Democracy...
EP31: Should Random People Rule Us? (Interview With Alex Guerrero on Lottocracy)
22 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
After a long hiatus, we are back! This time Victor talks with Alex Guerrero about his recent book, Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections. According...
EP30: Is Surveillance Capitalism Really That Bad? (On Königs “In Defense of ‘Surveillance Capitalism”)
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Critics like Shoshana Zuboff call Big Tech a parasitic system of control—but philosopher Peter Königs thinks that story is overblown. His 2024 Phi...
EP29: Is Cultural Appropriation Really That Bad? (On Kershnar and Brey’s “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”)
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we read “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”, by Stephen Kershnar and Nathan Bray. In it, they argue that cultural appropriati...
EP28: Is it Okay to be a Moderate? (On Marcus Arvan’s “Why it’s OK to Be a Moderate”)
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is moderation just fence-sitting, or is it a forgotten virtue? In this episode, we sit down with philosopher Marcus Arvan to discuss his new book Why...
EP27: Should We Use Violence To Protect Animals? (On Ivar Hardman’s “In Defence of Direct Action”)
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore a very provocative argument in contemporary animal ethics: the moral defense of violent direct action to protect animals....
EP26: Should We Defer To Marginalized Perspectives? (On Tilton and Toole’s Epistemology of Deference)
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into Emily Tilton and Briana Toole’s forthcoming chapter, “Standpoint Epistemology and the Epistemology of Deference,”...
EP25: Is Liberal Socialism an Oxymoron? (On Matt McManus’ Liberal Socialism)
11 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we dive into Matt McManus’ The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism and ask whether the fusion of liberalism and socialism ma...
EP24: Do We Need Nuanced Academic Theories (On Kieran Healy’s Article “F**k Nuance”)
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we read Kieran Healy’s provocatively titled essay, “F**k Nuance,” where he argues that an overemphasis on nuance c...
EP23: Is Monogamy Immoral? (EP19 follow-up Feat. Harry Chalmers)
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we return for a sequel to EP19’s topic: the potential immorality of monogamy. On that episode, we discussed Harry Chalmers’ pape...
EP22: Should We Abolish Elections? (On Guerrero’s Lottocracy)
08 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What if democracy isn’t broken, but its very foundation—elections—is the problem? In this episode, we unpack Alexander Guerrero’s pro...
EP21: Is There Space for Revolutionary Thought Online? (Interview with Mike Watson)
02 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we welcome Mike Watson, political theorist, artist, and author, to explore the intersections of digital culture, socialism, and exis...
EP20: Are Humans Actually Irrational? (On Thaler and Sunstein’s Libertarian Paternalism) Feat. Gordon Katic
05 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we ask, how irrational are human beings really? To answer this, we read Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein’s classic essay...
EP19: Is Monogamy Morally Permissible (On Harry Chalmers’ Argument Against Monogamy)
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we examine Harry Chalmers’ provocative take: monogamy is morally suspect. Why should we treat restricting romantic partners any di...
EP18: Is Free Speech Actually Bad? (On Brian Leiter’s Case Against Free Speech)
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we dive deep into Brian Leiter’s “The Case Against Free Speech.” Leiter questions the sanctity of free speech, sug...
EP17: Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First? (Smilansky’s Designer Ethics) Ft. Ben Burgis
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into Saul Smilansky’s provocative paper, “Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First?” which introduces t...
EP16: Should Philosophers Stay Out Of Politics? (On van der Vossen’s Defence of The Ivory Tower)
05 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode, we read Bass van der Vossen’s “In defense of the ivory tower: Why philosophers should stay out of politics“. In it...
EP15: Is Zoophilia Morally Permissible? (On Bensto’s Defence of Zoophilia)
20 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Hide your cats, hide your dogs, we’re talking about Zoophilia. In 2023, the very edgy Journal of Controversial Ideas published “Zoophilia...
EP 14: What if Moral Philosophy is Immoral? (On Brennan and Freiman’s Moral Philosophy’s Moral Risk)
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back! For our relaunch episode, we chose an article that helps us reflect on this podcast’s mission: “Moral Philosophy’...
EP13: What if There’s No Meaning to Life? (On Benatar’s The Human Predicament)
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we ask probably the most commonly uttered philosophical question: is there a meaning to life? To help us approach an answer, we read the fi...
EP12: Is Making Friends with the Far-Right a Good Way to Research Them? (ft. Benjamin Teitelbaum)
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In ethnography there has been a long-standing tradition to prioritize the interests of research participants through a scholar-informant solidarity. ...
EP11: Is Post-Truth Actually Good? (On Fuller’s Post-Truth as Power Game)
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We revisit a curious academic debate in science and technology studies, or STS. After 2016, some claimed that leftist humanities scholars played a ro...
EP10: Is Equality of Opportunity Not Valuable? (On Stephan Kershnar’s Attack on Equality of Opportunity)
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we have one of our first encounters with the Academic Edgelord final boss, Stephan Kershnar. We enter the Kershnar-sphere by looking at his...
EP9: Are There Enough Conservatives in Academia? (On Whittington’s Case for Ideological Diversity)
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Academia is often stereotyped as a radical left-wing institution. This is especially true among conservatives who even see universities as “Mar...
EP8: Should the Knowledgable Rule? (On Jason Brennan’s “Against Democracy”)
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most political theorists assume that some form of democracy is the only legitimate political regime. Jason Brennan thinks this is an under-examined a...
EP7: Should We Support Affirmative Action? (On Pojman’s Case Against Affirmative Action)
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In June 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that “Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Claus...
EP6: Is A.I. Going To Kill Us All? (On Richard Ngo’s A.I. Safety First Principles)
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many agree there is plenty of reason to worry about existing A.I., including how it perpetuates structural racism, invades privacy, erodes workers...
EP5: Is Whiteness Parasitic? (On Donald Moss’ “On Having Whiteness”)
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When psychoanalyst Donald Moss published his essay “On Having Whiteness” in 2021, it caused the right-wing media outrage machine to move into...
EP4: Is it Morally Wrong to Prefer Attractive Partners? (On ‘Lookism’ and William D’Alessandro)
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If your partner is attractive, then you might be part of the problem. At least, that’s what one edgelord philosopher is suggesting. We discuss Will...
EP3: 5 Years or 5 Lashes? (On Moskos’ & Brennan’s Defense of Flogging)
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you were offered the choice of a brief-but-brutal whipping or an extended stay in prison, which would you take? Probably the former. Is that an ar...
EP2: Did the Unabomber Have a Point? (on Anarcho-Primitivism & Ted Kaczynski)
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The ultimate Academic Edgelord has died: Ted Kaczynski. This domestic terrorist was also a real scholar, with a few peer-reviewed works in mathem...
EP1: Are We the Academic Edgelords?
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflies, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is ...