Interviews

Posted on 31 December 2010

Peter's colleague Professor MM McCabe joins him in the first interview of the series of podcasts, to talk about Heraclitus.

Posted on 16 January 2011

World-leading expert Malcolm Schofield of Cambridge University speaks to Peter about the development of Presocratic philosophy, from the Milesians to Parmenides and the reactions he provoked.

Posted on 23 January 2011

Peter's colleague Raphael Woolf joins him to discuss Socrates as he is portrayed by Plato: the gadfly of Athens. But was he an ascetic? And could it really be true that virtue is knowledge?

Posted on 4 March 2011

What is Plato's understanding of knowledge, and how does he think that knowledge relates to virtue? Peter tackles these questions with his King's colleague MM McCabe in this interview.

Posted on 10 April 2011

Peter talks to Fiona Leigh of University College London about Plato's Sophist, which revises the theory of Forms to explain how falsehood is possible.

Posted on 7 May 2011

Frisbee Sheffield, an expert on Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus, chats to Peter about love and friendship in the erotic dialogues.

Posted on 11 June 2011

Hugh Benson of the University of Oklahoma chats to Peter about Aristotle's views on philosophical method, and whether he practices what he preaches.

Posted on 10 July 2011

Peter talks to Sir Richard Sorabji about Aristotle's physics, focusing on the definition of time and the eternity of the universe.

Posted on 18 September 2011

Peter chats with Dominic Scott of the University of Virginia, and talks about Aristotle's audience, method and conclusions in the Nicomachean Ethics.

Posted on 16 October 2011

Peter's colleagues MM McCabe and Raphael Woolf join him for a special 50th episode interview, to discuss Aristotle's reactions to his teacher Plato.

Posted on 18 December 2011

James Warren of Cambridge University talks to Peter about Epicurus, his atomism, his hedonism and the Epicurean arguments against the fear of death.

Posted on 22 January 2012

David Sedley of Cambridge University chats with Peter about the development of the Stoic school, from the early days to the imperial age.

Posted on 19 February 2012

Peter chats about Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus with John Sellars, an expert on Roman Stoicism and the reception of Stoicism in the early modern era.

Posted on 18 March 2012

Peter talks to Raphael Woolf about the method and philosophical allegiance of Cicero, focusing on the work On Ends (De Finibus).

Posted on 1 April 2012

Leading Hellenistic philosophy scholar Tony Long talks to Peter about the self, ethics and politics in the Stoics, Epicureans and Skeptics.

Posted on 15 April 2012

Jim Hankinson, a leading expert on philosophical themes in Galen, joins Peter to discuss this greatest doctor of the ancient world.

Posted on 20 May 2012

Jan Opsomer helps Peter to understand principles, Plato interpretation, and Plutarch in a wide-ranging discussion of Middle Platonism.

Posted on 24 June 2012

How did the mathematics of figures like Euclid and Archimides relate to ancient philosophy? Peter finds out in an interview with Serafina Cuomo.

Posted on 25 August 2012

James Wilberding joins Peter to show that contrary to what is often claimed, Neoplatonists did make contributions to the philosophy of nature. Topics include Plotinus on the cosmos and Porphyry on embryology.

Posted on 23 September 2012

Anne Sheppard discusses ancient aesthetics, touching on poetry, visual art and music in thinkers from Plato to Proclus.

Posted on 30 September 2012

Dominic O'Meara speaks with Peter about political philosophy and mathematics in Neoplatonism.

Posted on 21 October 2012

Sir Richard Sorabji, founder of the Ancient Commentators Project, joins Peter to discuss the history of ancient commentary on Aristotle.

Posted on 28 October 2012

A special double interview with Caroline Humfress (Birkbeck College London) and Michael Trapp (King's College London) celebrates reaching 100 episodes by looking at the cultural status of philosophy in the ancient world.

Posted on 23 December 2012

George Boys-Stones joins Peter to discuss philosophy in the Bible and the Greek Church Fathers.

Posted on 3 February 2013

Peter speaks with Sarah Byers about the Stoic influence on Augustine's ethics and theory of action.

Posted on 17 February 2013

In a final episode on Augustine, Charles Brittain joins Peter to discuss the theory of mind presented in "On the Trinity".

Posted on 10 March 2013

John Marenbon joins Peter to discuss Boethius' solution to the problem of divine foreknowledge.

Posted on 5 May 2013

A double dose of Peters, as Pormann joins Adamson to discuss medicine and philosophy in the Islamic world.

Posted on 2 June 2013

Deborah Black joins Peter to talk about al-Farabi's innovations concerning knowledge and certainty.

Posted on 7 July 2013

Peter is joined by Farhad Daftary, a leading expert on the Shiite group known as the Ismā'īlīs.

Posted on 22 September 2013

Peter talks to leading Avicenna scholar Dimitri Gutas about Avicenna's sources, philosophical methods, and influence.

Posted on 13 October 2013

Why did al-Ghazālī judge "the philosophers" to be apostates? Peter finds out from Frank Griffel.

Posted on 17 November 2013

A special 150th double interview episode on the transmission of philosophy from Arabic into Latin.

Posted on 1 December 2013

Averroes scholar Richard C. Taylor joins Peter to talk about Averroes' views on the relation between Islam and philosophy.

Posted on 29 December 2013

Peter chats with Sarah Pessin about the Neoplatonism of Jewish philosophers such as Isaac Israeli, Ibn Gabirol, and Maimonides.

Posted on 9 February 2014

Sarah Stroumsa tells Peter about Maimonides' cultural surroundings and attitudes towards philosophy and the Islamic tradition.

Posted on 9 March 2014

Tamar Rudavsky joins Peter to talk about the two great medieval Jewish thinkers after Maimonides: Gersonides and Crescas.

Posted on 6 April 2014

Leading scholar of medieval Jewish thought Gad Freudenthal joins Peter in a concluding episode on Andalusian thought.

Posted on 7 June 2014

Peter is joined by Mohammed Rustom in a discussion about Sufi authors including Ibn 'Arabī, al-Qūnawī, and Rūmī.

Posted on 13 July 2014

Robert Wisnovsky joins Peter to discuss the enormous body of unstudied philosophical commentaries in the later Eastern Islamic world.

Posted on 10 August 2014

Sajjad Rizvi talks to Peter about Mullā Ṣadrā's views on eternity, God's knowledge and the afterlife.

Posted on 26 October 2014

Anke von Kügelgen joins Peter to discuss developments over the last century or so, including attitudes towards past thinkers like Avicenna, Averroes and Ibn Taymiyya.

Posted on 30 November 2014

We celebrate reaching episode 200 with a special double interview on the problem of defining medieval philosophy.

Posted on 7 December 2014

Stephen Gersh (who was Peter's doctoral advisor!) joins him to discuss the sources and influence of Platonism in the Middle Ages.

Posted on 11 January 2015

Anselm expert Eileen Sweeney discusses his approach to philosophy and the devotional aspect of his works.

Posted on 8 February 2015

John Marenbon returns to the podcast to discuss Abelard's views on necessity and freedom.

Posted on 15 March 2015

In this special episode, Peter chats with the hosts of the History of the Crusades, History of Byzantium, and British History podcasts.

Posted on 29 March 2015

Andrew Arlig joins Peter to discuss medieval discussions of mereology (the study of parts and wholes).

Posted on 17 April 2015

A discussion about Roman law and its reception in the medieval period, with ancient law expert Caroline Humfress.

Posted on 17 May 2015

Kent Emery joins Peter to discuss the effects of monastic and university culture on medieval philosophy.

Posted on 10 July 2015

Charles Burnett tells Peter about the role of magic in medieval intellectual life.

Posted on 2 August 2015

Medieval ideas about what animals do and do not have in common with humans, and how we should treat them.

Posted on 25 October 2015

Was medieval logic "formal"? Peter finds out from Catarina Dutilh Novaes.

Posted on 6 December 2015

Therese Cory tells Peter what 13th century philosophers thought about self-awareness.

Posted on 13 December 2015

An interview with Brian Black about the philosophical and social aspects of the Upaniṣads.

Posted on 21 February 2016

Peter speaks to Rupert Gethin about the no-self theory, and its implications for Buddhist ethics and meditation practices.

Posted on 28 February 2016

Scott MacDonald joins Peter to discuss Thomas Aquinas' views on human knowledge.

Posted on 1 May 2016

An interview with Jessica Frazier about philosophical ideas and arguments in the Vedas, Upanisads and later Hindu texts.

Posted on 5 June 2016

Does medieval art tell us anything about medieval theories of aesthetics? Peter finds out from Andreas Speer.

Posted on 3 July 2016

An interview with Martin Pickavé on voluntarism and the interaction of will and intellect, according to Henry of Ghent.

Posted on 10 July 2016

Mīmāṃsā expert Elisa Freschi speaks to Peter about philosophical issues arising from the interpretation of the Veda.

Posted on 31 July 2016

Medieval discussions of the Trinity charted new metaphysical territory, as we see in this interview with Richard Cross.

Posted on 2 October 2016

Francis Clooney joins us to discuss the religious and philosophical aspects of Vedānta.

Posted on 6 November 2016

Peter hears about Duns Scotus' epistemology from expert Giorgio Pini.

Posted on 27 November 2016

A leading expert on the founding text of Yoga tells us why, when, and by whom it was written, and what it has to do with modern day yoga practice.

Posted on 4 December 2016

A conversation with Tom Pink about medieval theories of freedom and action.

Posted on 5 February 2017

The First Family of Indian Epistemology joins us to discuss the theories and later influence of the Nyāya school.

Posted on 26 March 2017

An interview with Susan Brower-Toland covering Ockham's views on cognition, consciousness, and memory.

Posted on 30 April 2017

Monima Chadha takes Peter through Buddhist-Hindu debates over mind and self.

Posted on 21 May 2017

Sara Uckelman soundly defeats Peter in the medieval logical game of "obligations."

Posted on 2 July 2017

An interview with Monica Green reveals parallels between medicine and philosophy in the middle ages.

Posted on 23 July 2017

A discussion with Jan Westerhoff, an expert on the great Buddhist thinker Nāgārjuna, dealing with the notion of emptiness, the tetralemma, and Nāgārjuna's reception in India and Tibet.

Posted on 30 July 2017

Peter speaks to Jack Zupko about John Buridan's secular and parsimonious approach to philosophy.

Posted on 24 September 2017

The medievals were too firm in their beliefs to entertain skeptical worries, right? Don't be so sure, as Peter learns from Dominik Perler.

Posted on 1 October 2017

We're joined by Marie-Hélène Gorisse for a look at the Jain theory of knowledge.

Posted on 26 November 2017

Graham Priest joins Peter to discuss non-classical logic and its connections with Buddhist patterns of reasoning.

Posted on 3 December 2017

Martin Pickavé returns to the podcast to talk about theories of the emotions in Aquinas, Scotus and Wodeham.

Posted on 21 January 2018

An interview about the status of nonhuman animals in ancient Indian philosophy and literature.

Posted on 28 January 2018

Peter is joined by Isabel Davis to discuss marriage, sex and chastity in Chaucer, focusing on the Wife of Bath's speech.

Posted on 18 March 2018

The host of the History of India podcast joins us for the final episode on India.

Posted on 8 April 2018

Bob Pasnau joins Peter to discuss ideas about substance from Aquinas down to the time of Locke, Leibniz and Descartes.

Posted on 22 April 2018

Three guests to celebrate 300 episodes! Rachel Barney, Christof Rapp, and Mark Kalderon join Peter to discuss the importance of ancient philosophy for today's philosophers.

Posted on 6 May 2018

Peter King, Catarina Dutilh Novaes, and Russ Friedman discuss their approaches to medieval philosophy and its contemporary relevance.

Posted on 24 June 2018

Egyptologist Richard Parkinson joins us to talk about the context and meaning of the Eloquent Peasant and other literary works of ancient Egypt.

Posted on 15 July 2018

Peter is joined by Andrew Louth for a discussion of John of Damascus and his theological use of philosophy.

Posted on 16 September 2018

Teodros Kiros discusses his work in political philosophy and the history of Ethiopian philosophical thought.

Posted on 23 September 2018

Dominic O'Meara speaks to Peter about Michael Psellos, focusing especially on his political philosophy.

Posted on 28 October 2018

Peter speaks to Souleymane Bachir Diagne about Islamic scholars in West Africa.

Posted on 25 November 2018

A conversation with Sam Imbo on approaching oral traditions as philosophy and the Ugandan thinker and poet Okot p'Bitek.

Posted on 16 December 2018

Katerina Ierodiakonou discusses Byzantine commentators on Aristotle, including Michael of Ephesus.

Posted on 10 February 2019

Oliver Primavesi tells us how Greek manuscripts are used to establish the text of authors like Aristotle.

Prof Primavesi runs the Munich School of Ancient Philosophy together with Christof Rapp and Peter Adamson.

Posted on 3 March 2019

An interview with Nkiru Nzegwu on matriarchy, sexuality, and gender fluidity in Africa (with a quick chat at the end about her work on African art).

Posted on 24 March 2019

Historian Judith Herrin joins us to talk about competition and mutual influence between Islam and Byzantium.

Posted on 14 April 2019

An interview with Kai Kresse (pictured here with Ustadh Mahmoud Mau) who discusses his efforts to do "anthropology of philosophy" on the Swahili Coast.

Posted on 12 May 2019

Co-host Chike Jeffers and Peter chat about the themes and questions raised by the podcast so far.

Posted on 16 June 2019

The series on Byzantium concludes as guest Michele Trizio discusses the mutual influence of Byzantium and Latin Christendom.

Posted on 23 June 2019

Justin E.H. Smith joins us to discuss Anton Wilhelm Amo against the background of ideas about race in early modern philosophy, including Leibniz.

Posted on 22 September 2019

Jill Kraye returns to the podcast to discuss the nature of humanism, its relation to scholasticism, and its legacy.

Posted on 3 November 2019

An interview with Sabrina Ebbersmeyer about the relation of emotion to reason and the body, and panpsychism, in the Renaissance.

Posted on 10 November 2019

An interview with Doris Garraway on the background, intellectual basis, and legacy of the Haitian Revolution.

Posted on 22 December 2019

An interview with James Sidbury about the emergence of a self-conscious African identity in the diaspora.

Posted on 9 February 2020

An interview with Denis Robichaud on how, and why, Plato was read in the Italian Renaissance.

Posted on 16 February 2020

Melvin Rogers joins us to discuss David Walker, Maria Stewart, and Hosea Easton.

Posted on 5 April 2020

An interview with Cecilia Muratori, an expert on the surprisingly modern ideas about non-human animals that emerged in the Renaissance.

Posted on 7 June 2020

Wilson Moses speaks to us about his research into early black nationalism, with reference to Crummell, Douglass, and others.

Posted on 14 June 2020

Leading Machiavelli scholar Quentin Skinner joins Peter to discuss morality, history, and religion in the Prince and the Discourses.

Posted on 11 October 2020

An interview with David Lines on the Renaissance reception of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.

Posted on 22 November 2020

An interview with Dag Nikolaus Hasse on the Renaissance reception of Averroes, Avicenna, and other authors who wrote in Arabic.

Posted on 10 January 2021

Co-host Chike joins Peter to look back at series two and ahead to series three.

Posted on 17 January 2021

An interview with Guido Giglioni, who speaks to us about the sources and philosophical implications of medical works of the Renaissance.

Posted on 21 February 2021

We chat with Tommy Curry about African-American thought between the turn of the century and the Harlem Renaissance.

Posted on 28 February 2021

Brian Copenhaver joins us to explain how Ficino and other Renaissance philosophers thought about magic.

Posted on 4 April 2021

Vanessa Wills speaks  to us about Marx and his Africana legacy, with a special focus on black women Marxists.

Posted on 11 April 2021

For our finale of the Italian Renaissance series we're joined by Ingrid Rowland, to speak about art, philosophy, and persecution in Renaissance Rome.

Posted on 16 May 2021

An interview with Michael Dawson, who explains Marcus Garvey's black nationalism and how this and other political ideologies, like socialism and liberalism, have fared from the time of Garvey down to the present day.

Posted on 20 June 2021

Learned ignorance, coincidence of opposites and religious peace: Paul Richard Blum discusses the central ideas of Nicholas Cusanus.

Posted on 27 June 2021

Leonard Harris explains how Locke's value theory was the basis for his aesthetics and theories of democracy and race.

Posted on 12 September 2021

How radical was Luther? We find out from Lyndal Roper, who also discusses Luther and the Peasants' War, sexuality, anti-semitism, and the visual arts.

Posted on 17 October 2021

Guest Liam Kofi Bright discusses Du Bois' ideal of value-free science and the place of science within his wider thought.

Posted on 6 February 2022

Interview guest Carole Boyce Davies joins us to talk about the radical ideas of Claudia Jones.

Posted on 12 March 2022

John Sellars returns to the podcast to discuss Lipsius' work on Seneca and the early modern Neo-Stoic movement.

Posted on 17 April 2022

An interview about the role of the emotions, including anger and feelings of dignity, in the non-violent protest campaign of King.

Posted on 8 May 2022

Comets! Magnets! Armadillos! In this wide-ranging interview Lorraine Daston tells us how Renaissance and early modern scientists dealt with the extraordinary events they called "wonders".

Posted on 15 May 2022

Chike joins Peter to look back at our coverage of Africana philosophy in the first half of the 20th century.

Posted on 3 July 2022

Peter celebrates reaching 400 episodes together with the hosts of three great philosophy podcasts: Elucidations, Hi-Phi Nation, and the Unmute Podcast (Matt Teichman, Barry Lam, and Myisha Cherry).

Posted on 18 September 2022

We're joined by a leading Fanon expert to talk about a range of themes in his work: Negritude, psychiatry, and violence.

Posted on 25 September 2022

A chat with Ramus expert Robert Goulding on the role of mathematics in Ramist philosophy, not to mention some juicy academic quarrels in Paris.

Posted on 18 December 2022

A chat with Ann Blair about the "Theater of Nature" by Jean Bodin, and other encyclopedic works of natural philosophy. (Pictured: Prof Blair holding the annotated copy of Bodin's Theatrum she describes in the episode.)

Posted on 22 January 2023

Two scholars of the same name join us to shed further light on freedom fighter and political theorist Amílcar Cabral.

Posted on 12 February 2023

No doubt that we're in good hands with interview guest Henrik Lagerlund, who brings his expertise in the history of skepticism to bear on the French Renaissance. Including a look ahead to Descartes!