Phi Fic

Stendhal’s Red and Black (Le Rouge et le Noir) - Phi Fic Ep. 46

One of Nietzsche’s favorite novels, Le Rouge et le Noir contains some of the most profound psychological analysis in all of fiction.  The novel tells the story about a young man from a modest background who seeks a glorious career, but ends up in enormous trouble as a result of his love affairs.  The novel is divided into halves, with the first half being about a job where he ended up having affair with his boss’s wife, and the second half being about another job where he has a passionate ro...

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Join Nina, Daniel, Fabrice, and Rob us as we discuss Edith Wharton's 1913 satire of American ambition, The Custom of the Country.

The Poetry Episode (Dickinson, Baudelaire, Bishop, Byron)

Each of the four contributors picked a different poem to read and discuss for this episode.  The poems we picked are listed below.  Also below are links to the poems and the starting point for each segment. Emily Dickinson, "The Brain is Wider Than the Sky" - 2:35 https://drupal.yalebooks.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/TOC/edelman_wider.pdf Charles Baudelaire, "The Albatross" - 13:05 https://fleursdumal.org/poem/200 Elizabeth Bishop, "The Art of Losing" - 29:45 https://www.poetr...

Want to join the Phi Fic podcast?

We’re looking for people to come join the show as regular contributors to the Phi Fic podcast.  The idea of the show is to discuss literature from a philosophical perspective.  I will be handling all the back-end work and costs associated with running the show, so you can focus on the readings and contributing to our discussion.  We’re hosted on the website for the Partially Examined life, and we usually get over a thousand listeners per episode, so this is a great opportunity to get your vo...

PHI FIC #43 Bleak House by Charles Dickens

An unwritten novel by Virginia Woolf

Phi Fic #41 Paradise Lost by John Milton

Phi Fic #40 The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway

Phi fin #39 Point Omega by Don DeLillo

Phi Fic #38 Howard's End by EM Forster

Phi Fic#37 The Sound and the Fury

In this episode we struggle, spin and madly rub our eyes as we work through the puzzling and enigmatic beauty of William Faulkner’s "The Sound and the Fury". The post Phi Fic#37 The Sound and the Fury first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #37 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Phi Fic #36 The Canterbury Tales–Part Two

In this episode, we are discussing the Pardoner's Tale from the Canterbury Tales, a book of stories by the Late Medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer. This follows up on our last episode, where we discussed other selections from the book about a group of not-quite-pious pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral...telling each other stories. The post Phi Fic #36 The Canterbury Tales–Part Two first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #36 Canterbury Tales-- Part Two

Phi Fic #35 12 Stories by James Baldwin

Join us with Mark Linsenmeyer in a previous discussion on two short stories by James Baldwin: “This Morning, This Evening, So Soon” and “Sonny’s Blues.” Both are included in the collection Going to meet the Man (1965). Hear more Phi Fic. The post Phi Fic #35 12 Stories by James Baldwin first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Repost Phi Fic #35 12 Stories by James Baldwin

PhiFic #34 The Canterbury Tales-Part One

On selections from the Canterbury Tales by the 14th century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.  In this Part One of our readings, we discuss the General Prologue, the Miller’s Tale, and the Wife of Bath’s Tale. Why read Chaucer?  He wrote in a time that felt like it was falling apart and perhaps becoming something completely different.  His world was hardly a static medieval idyll: it was marked by the Black Plague, a crisis of religious authority, and the breakdown of England’s political orde...

Phi Fic #34 The Canterbury Tales Part 1

Repost: The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

We are Reposting our Discussion on The Machine Stops by EM Forster because The Machine is stopping. Stay Safe! 'Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it Continue Reading …

PhiFic #33 Repost: The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster

We discuss a cautionary tale written in 1909—on the threat of ungoverned technology. The story follows two characters—Vashti and her son, Kuno, during a time of post-apocalyptic earth. Mankind has been forced to relocate and live underground because the air on the earth’s surface has apparently become unbreathable. As a result, people live in empty rooms—or pods—underground, surrounded by buttons which, when activated, determine their day. Hear more Phi Fic. The post PhiFic #33 Repost: Th...

Repost: The Machine Stops by EM Forster

Phi Fic #32 Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The novel follows the emotional demise and world of Dick Diver. Diver, a Yale-educated psychiatrist, and his wife, Nicole—once his patient and a diagnosed schizophrenic—are extremely well-to-do (thanks to Nicole’s family), and are living as expats in the French Riviera. While there, Dick meets Rosemary Hoyt, a teenage movie actress phenom whose beauty and innocence attracts him despite his commitment to Nicole. He ends up having an affair with Rosemary, as his identity and sense of meaning ...

Phi FIc #32 Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Phi Fic #31 Sula by Toni Morrison

Phi Fic #30 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez Part 2

We also discuss the themes which Nathan, Laura, Jennifer and Daniel each found to be what resonated most: the circularity of time, memory, loss, humanity, and the caution the novel leaves us with about living life. The post Phi Fic #30 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez Part 2 first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #30 (Part 2 of 2) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Phi Fic #29 (Part 1 of 2) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Phi Fic #28 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Phi Fic #27 Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

Join Cezary Baranieckli, Laura Davis, Nathaniel Hanks, Daniel Johnson, and Jennifer Tejada, as we spend a very long (and with audio issues) episode deconstructing and being reshaped, by our reading of this unspeakably remarkable novel.   The post Phi Fic #27 Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #27 Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

Phi Fic #26 The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster

Cezary Baraniecki, Laura Davis-Chanin, Nathaniel Hanks, Daniel Johnson, and Jennifer Tejada discuss the novel.

Phi Fic #25 “At the Mountains of Madness” by H. P. Lovecraft

“I could not help feeling that they were evil things—mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss." Join Nathan and Laura, with Mark Linsenmayer, Daniel Johnson, and Jennifer Tejada, as we follow H.P. Lovecraft up the Mountain and discover where true madness lies! Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com. The post Phi Fic #25 “At the Mountains of Madness” by H. P. Lovecraft first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #25 At The Mountains Of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft

Laura Davis-Chanin, Nathaniel Hanks, Daniel Johnson, Mark Linsenmayer, and Jennifer Tejada discuss the novel.  Support through Patreon or directly contact us at [email protected]

PhiFic #24 “Ulysses” by James Joyce

Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves. –Ulysses For our discussion of this historically difficult but wholly worthwhile classic, Nathan, Laura, and Daniel are joined by Phillip Cherny. It was recorded for our original Not School group, long before that group evolved into a podcast. Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com. The post P...

Phi Fic #24 Ulysses by James Joyce

Phi Fic #23 “To The Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf

This discussion first appeared in our Not School Group and the readers at the time were Nathan, Laura, Daniel, and Dan Johnson. As an early recording, please bear with the sound quality—many thanks! Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com. The post Phi Fic #23 “To The Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #23 To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Phi Fic #22 “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf

Listen as Dylan Casey from The Partially Examined Life Podcast joins us to discuss this remarkable novel, in which many scholars believe Woolf found her voice. Written in a stream of consciousness, the plot of the book is written inside the souls, struggles. and angst of the characters. The post Phi Fic #22 “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #22 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Phi Fic #21 “Foe” by J.M. Coetzee

Join us as we delve into Coetzee's rich, complex exploration of story and authorship in this novel that presents an origin story of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Coetzee writes about Susan Barton, a castaway at sea who discovers an island inhabited by two men, Robinson Crusoe and Friday. Once rescued, she seeks the renowned author Daniel Defoe to help tell her story, but struggles to communicate her experiences. Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast.com. The post Phi Fic #21 “...

Phi Fic #21 Foe by J. M. Coetzee

Phi Fic #20 “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad

It is my belief no man ever understands quite his own artful dodges to escape from the grim shadow of self-knowledge. –Lord Jim Listen along as we discuss this richly complex novel of responsibility, guilt, shame, and redemption. Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast. The post Phi Fic #20 “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #20 Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

Phi Fic #19 “Death in Venice” by Thomas Mann

To rest in the arms of perfection is the desire of any man intent upon creating excellence… –Death in Venice Join us for our discussion of the extraordinary novella of beauty, desire, and morality. Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast. The post Phi Fic #19 “Death in Venice” by Thomas Mann first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #19 Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

Phi Fic #18 “The Trouble with Being Born” by E.M. Cioran

“This very second has vanished forever, lost in the anonymous mass of the irrevocable. It will never return. I suffer from this, and I do not. Everything is unique—and insignificant.” –Emil Cioran Join us as we dive into this beautiful work of nonfiction (yes, we veered from the path a bit) and luxuriate in the charmingly dismal prose of one of life's master skeptics. Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast. The post Phi Fic #18 “The Trouble with Being Born” by E.M. Cioran first a...

Phi Fic #18 The Trouble With Being Born by E.M. Cioran

Phi Fic #17 “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino

"The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it..." Hear more Phi Fic discussions at PhiFicPodcast. The post Phi Fic #17 “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino first appeared on The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast.

Phi Fic #17 Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino

Phi Fic #16 Stories by Clarice Lispector