I love this podcast. I am learning so much philosophy! I listen to one episode daily, and I feel so smart afterwards, like I just increased my number of neurons or something. Mr. West is so entertaining and he makes the concepts so easy to learn and approachable. I wish I could have a cup of coffee with him and discuss the episode at their conclusion. Thank you so much for this podcast. You are truly doing a wonderful public service. I am truly grateful.

Mr. West has a rare ability to explain the most complex thoughts in history in a way that’s accessible to average listeners.

I have been interested in philosophy for a long, long time. I tried to read various sources, etc., but always ended up with a swimming brain that wandered off. I found and tried this podcast recently, and it is EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for all these years. I have been listening in order, and Stephen explains the concepts in ways that even I can understand. THANK YOU, Stephen!

I mix of a philosophy overview and the context why the development of philosophy has been meaningful through time and meaningful today. Stephen does this with humor and aplomb, THANK YOU

Too many ads in the middle of the episodes totally disrupt the flow. Unsubscribing. Lex Fridman is the only podcaster who understands this and does it right.

As a beginner who starts to study more philosophy, the host uses a language that’s easy to understand those big concepts and gets you right into that world. I now listen to it everyday while walking my dogs. Please keep updating!!

Sad to see Steven sell out. His podcast was my introduction to philosophy and I loved it, but now I can clearly see his political standings. No longer impartial, very disappointing.

Fantastic podcast, love his delivery and I’ve learned so much.

The best philosophy podcast bar none. Love it and am having a great time listening to all the episodes, sometimes more than once. Kudos and keep it coming !!

I recently found this pod and after listing to several recent episodes I’m going back to listen to them all from the beginning. The early stuff is a little less polished, but still full of interesting and thought provoking information. If you like thinking about these big concepts, or enjoy learning about the historical context of the great thinkers, you’ll likely find something to enjoy here.

Love the smart, culturally astute and bold delivery. But #207…Isn’t climate change a real fear?

So I recently got into philosophy and listening to this podcast makes it even more interesting to learn about.

Recent episode: What an inaccurate and uneducated take on public libraries in the U.S. West should do some research before speaking with such confidence. Literally, do a quick google search or maybe visit one. Libraries do everything he pontificated about, and they are not empty. “More than 171 million registered users, representing over half of the nearly 311 million Americans who lived within a public library service area, visited public libraries over 1.35 billion times in 2016.” - IMLS

I am new to philosophy and this podcast has truly expanded who I am as a person, in ways I didn’t even knew were possible. Some episodes have quite literally blown my mind by helping me perceive things about the world and myself that were completely invisible to me before. Thank you.

Thank you for making this podcast it gave me so much structure i am 3 shows away from listening to every single episode. It has really helped grow as a person and mature mentally. I really appreciate what you are doing and what you continue to do. Just overall amazing job!!!!!

Thank you for being such a wonderful host, and helping me think more clearly.

No really I can’t!!!

My only criticism is that I want more episodes and longer show times!!!!

I am a consistent student of philosophy. This has to be the best philosophy podcast I have ever heard. Mr. West is absolutely incredible and explains the lesson in such an absorbable way. Very big fan!

...... It's great I'm 11 and my dad always put it on it's amazing

This podcast is causing me to see who I really am. Uncomfortable at times but I need this. Thank you Stephen West

Excellent analysis-assessment regarding complex ideas. Even if the listener doesn’t have a background in philosophy, this podcast will open doors for exploratory possibilities of new ideation associated with philosophy or ideas in general. I’m glad Mr West started his podcast. Grazie.

Listened to every episode. Highly recommend! Stephen West is extremely skilled at summarizing philosopher’s content and making it relatable to the modern day. I would like to personally thank Stephen for brightening my day when listening to the show on my commute. This podcast inspired me to get a bunch of philosophical texts and now I am hooked on reading them as a new hobby.

As a philosophy student, he makes understanding complex ideas much easier than most of my instructors. I find that when I am having difficulty in a class I’ll look for one of Mr. West’s previous podcasts to help explain things. Thanks. Keep 'em coming

Stephen does a great job making philosophy accessible to everyone without dumbing it down. No banter, no tangents, just high quality.

I may resubscribe at some point, maybe after the Zizak epoch has passed. Modern philosophy always seems to obtuse and yet derivative. The classics seem to convey much more clarity and meaning.

Not only is his topics interesting, but the delivery and flow keeps me engaged in active listening throughout the episode. Highly recommend!

Awesome podcast…but, the way the advertisements are input into the middle of the show is annoying and destroys the flow of thought.

Love this show 💪🏽 bringing me back to philosophy after college

Thanks and keep questioning everything and helping us to do the same!

Rupert Shortt What does Christian atheism mean? Slavoj Žižek claims to value Christianity’s ‘dissident’ credentials, but his atheist vision of reality rests on assumptions repeatedly challenged by Jesus Thoughts??

Thanks Mr. West, you are the philosophy professor we need, but don’t deserve.

What a fantastic episode to make me feel uncomfortable and unsure about my own actions in this post modern world.

Favorite Podcast

Just wanted to say that I bought his book freedom a disease without cure after listening to your podcasts about his ideas. It’s truly interesting and impressive how you turn complex ideas into something people can understand easily.

I love love LOVE this podcast. I’ve burned through all of his past episodes in a matter of a few months and I can’t get enough. West explains philosophy in a way that is clear and relatable without dumbing anything down. I love the way each episode makes me think of life from a new perspective and question my own way of thinking. If you have ANY interest in philosophy at all, I can’t recommend this podcast enough.

A podcast that changed my thinking and approach to life. I simply cannot recommend it enough. Stay amazing, Steve!

Just finished your four part anarchism series. Your analysis of the multiple perspectives made the series credibly insightful, though you never got the endpoint of anarcho- communism, which is Marx’s fourth stage, wherein the state melts away. Please consider a new episode or two on Hannah Arendt and her explanations on natality, plurality, and polity: on birth and beginning, on individuals as a composite individual in society, on Will and authority, individuals in communities, being responsible for and free in small community democracies to form governments that allude to the anarchism you explicate.

We would appreciate an episode on Tecno- feudalism ( coined by yannis Varufakis?)

Every time an episode comes out I’m so excited to listen! And then re-listen to make sure I understood it all, haha, no fault of the host because he is amazing and taking very complicated ideas and making them digestible and understandable. Better than any philosophy professor I’ve ever had. Thank you for doing this!!

Thank you so much for taking your time and energy to make us better human beings. We are all just running around being human ‘doings’ and not just being. And I mean ‘being’ as in becoming better versions of our selves for our own personal growth and how we show up for others. Thank you again for making philosophy palatable to my brain. U rock!

An incredible podcast, and to the guy who is mad about ads, please. This guy has been doing this for years, diligently, through patreon. Let him make money. Or how about: Pay $1 a month and get it without ads? lol.

I’ve always loved this podcast but the ads really kill it. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were only at the beginning, but having them throughout the show is really awful. It’s a shame he had to sell out.

This is a great place to start learning the ideas of philosophy!! Definitely grabbed my attention!!

Stephen, I heard you on Liza Powell O’Brien’s podcast. I am so amazed at your story, and the impressive endeavor that you took on! I immediately looked for your Podcast! I listened to it all day. I am really enjoying your delivery and the your methods of using analogies, historical examples, raltionships and comparison to make the content more comphrensive. I was would love to hear you speak to contemporary philosophers! Thank you so much for this well done podcast!

In my opinion, The show is put together well. Each episode brings something new and I’ve listened to all from the start.

I’ve listened in order from the first episode, and it has been tremendous. Each episode has been fascinating, insightful and fun. Each episode builds on the next, and you will soon know more than someone with a philosophy degree, and have more pleasure getting there. This man can make the most complex topics understandable, and he does not have an agenda. You can make up your own mind on each topic. Great stuff.

I took some philosophy courses in college and got something out of them, but nothing like this podcast. West has no discernible agenda other than to educate people on subjects that he clearly loves. While it may be fun to debate religion and politics with friends, you will soon learn that very little of what you think is original. Someone said it before more articulately than you. That’s been the wonder of this. This is the modern age, but all that has changed is our technology. We are not much different from thinkers who came thousands of years before us. Pretty fine...

Stephen does an excellent job of Steel-manning pretty much every philosopher/philosophy he covers. I usually come away thinking “oh now I get it! I agree with the ideas in THIS episode!” Only to say the same thing about the next episode that describes why the last episode was so wrong about so many of its claims. Plus, his sense of humor (which he uses somewhat sparsely but to great effect) and what appears to be genuine care for us the audience, just makes me want to hug him. -Proud patron

Stephen West has exposed me to so much philosophy that I would likely otherwise have been without. His research and ability to summarize deep thoughts in a conversational style is unique. Philosophize This! is a springboard into a deeply considered life.