American Socrates
Think Deeper. Live Better.
Tired of shallow takes and surface-level answers? American Socrates helps you cut through the noise and see the world more clearly. This is a podcast for anyone who wants to think for themselves, challenge assumptions, and live a more intentional, meaningful life. Host Charles M. Rupert brings the power of critical thinking and timeless philosophical insight into everyday questions—like how to find purpose, make good decisions, grow as a person, and navigate a world full of misinformation and confusion.
From art to relationships, social justice to success at work, no topic is off-limits. This isn’t a lecture on famous philosophers. It’s a wake-up call for your mind.
New episodes every Wednesday. Ready to see what you've been missing?
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/corals/mountain-pine
License code: NT1UAGETRXVL46SM
Episodes
62 episodes
Is the Good Life An Easy Life?
After a long day of emails, meetings, and micro-decisions, an easy life feels like salvation. This episode examines the seduction of convenience and the psychology of decision fatigue: how constant low-stakes choices for institutions, platforms...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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29:38
Is Foul Language Immoral?
This episode examines how so-called “clean speech” is less about ethics than about power, class, and control. From the linguistic fluidity of taboo in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales to the euphemism treadmill that turned our “cocks” in...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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30:14
Why Be Good?
If being good doesn’t pay, why be good at all? This episode takes the cynical case seriously, channeling Thrasymachus in Republic: justice serves the strong, and injustice often works. The problem isn’t confusion about ethics—we know what cheat...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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30:45
What is a Good Life?
Most people hear “hedonism” and think excess, but this episode revisits Epicurus to recover a very different account of the good life and its ethics. Rather than maximizing pleasure, Epicurus argued for minimizing misery—freedom from physical p...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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29:05
What Can Philosophy Do for Us?
Philosophy isn’t just for professors or ivory-tower thinkers — it’s a practical tool for anyone trying to navigate chaos, confusion, and the daily grind. In this capstone episode of American Socrates, we explore how philosophy can help...
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Season 1
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Episode 54
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38:57
Is MAGA Rage based on Ignorance?
When people stop believing in anything, power fills the vacuum. In this episode of American Socrates, Matt explores how moral collapse and despair feed the rise of authoritarian movements — from Bonhoeffer’s warning about “stu...
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Season 1
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Episode 53
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40:25
Why Do We Obey?
Why do ordinary people follow orders, even when those orders feel wrong? In this episode, we explore the psychology, culture, and structures behind obedience, showing how authority works — and when it becomes dangerous.We start with Hobb...
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Season 1
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Episode 52
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35:59
Is Progress Always Good?
We’re taught to believe that history moves forward — that reason, science, and reform steadily bend the “arc of the moral universe” toward justice. Public health doubled our lifespans, civil rights expanded dignity, unions gave us weekends, and...
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Season 1
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Episode 51
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33:00
Am I My Job?
In this episode of American Socrates, we ask a hard question: are you your job — or are you something more? From stocking groceries as a teenager to grinding in restaurant kitchens, host Matt shares his own working-class story of being...
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Season 1
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Episode 50
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29:33
How Can You Think for Yourself Without Going Crazy?
In this episode of American Socrates, we explore how to think for yourself in a world flooded with misinformation, conspiracy theories, and social-media noise. We trace the roots of independent thought from Descartes’ method of doubt t...
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Season 1
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Episode 49
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30:42
Does Happiness Matter More Than Meaning?
In this episode of American Socrates, we dive into one of life’s biggest questions: should we chase happiness or search for meaning? Drawing on Epicurus’ ancient philosophy of pleasure and Viktor Frankl’s powerful reflections from ...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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27:52
Who Wants Government Run Health Insurance?
In this episode of American Socrates, we break down the debate over health care in America: should it be a free-market commodity, or a right guaranteed to all? We examine the philosophies behind private insurance and government-adminis...
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Season 1
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Episode 47
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27:59
What is the Social Responsibility of Corporations?
In 1970, economist Milton Friedman declared that the only social responsibility of business is to increase profits. Half a century later, his doctrine still shapes our economy, our politics, and our daily lives. But what does “profit first” rea...
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Season 1
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Episode 46
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27:59
Who Invented the Idea of Debt?
Debt isn’t just money owed — it’s one of the oldest tools of social control. In this episode of American Socrates, we explore David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 Years and traces the history of debt from ancient Mesopotamia ...
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Season 1
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Episode 45
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29:30
Why Do Poor People Exist?
In this episode of American Socrates, we explore the myths about poverty in the United States. Poverty isn’t caused by laziness or bad choices—it’s built into the system. From outdated government definitions of poverty to wage stagnati...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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29:18
Is Working Hard Really a Virtue?
In this episode of American Socrates, we explore the true value of work and challenge the myth that effort automatically equals virtue. From the Protestant Work Ethic to modern corporate life, we examine how meaningless labor can drain...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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26:03
Is Your Job Bullshit?
In this episode of American Socrates, we break down David Graeber’s groundbreaking book Bullshit Jobs and explore why so many modern jobs feel pointless, frustrating, or downright meaningless. From flunkies and goons to box-ti...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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28:36
Careers are Dead. What Comes Next?
In this episode of American Socrates, we explore why traditional careers are disappearing and what it means for workers today. From generational trades like millers and shoemakers to the mid-20th-century “sweet spot” of lifelong career...
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Season 1
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Episode 41
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23:37
Do You Own Your Labor, Or Does Your Boss?
In this episode of American Socrates, I take on the question of who really owns our labor and what it means to be free in a system that rents out our lives by the hour. Drawing from Locke, Marx, and the reality of working-class struggl...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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30:59
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Marx?
Most of us grow up hearing warnings about Karl Marx — socialism steals, communism destroys freedom, and Marxism equals totalitarianism. But how much of that is true, and how much is fear shaped by caricature? In this episode of American Soc...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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28:39
Do We Live with Less Freedom Than Medieval Peasants?
In this episode of American Socrates, we take a deep dive into life before capitalism, exploring feudalism, debt, and the shift to modern wage labor. From the predictable obligations of medieval serfs to the precarious freedom of today...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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28:09
