Contact info

All inquiries can be directed to:

The Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA)
c/o Dr. Eric Thomas Weber
Dept of Education Policy Studies & Evaluation
The University of Kentucky
131 Taylor Education Building
Lexington, KY 40506
Phone: 859.257.1849
Fax: 859.257.4243
Email: PhilosophyBakesBread@gmail.com
Website: PhilosophyBakesBread.com
Facebook: FB.me/PhilosophyBakesBread/
Twitter: Twitter.com/PhilosophyBB

 

General info

Tag line

Philosophy Bakes Bread is a radio show and podcast that provides food for thought about life and leadership.

≤100 word version

Philosophy Bakes Bread is a syndicated and award-winning philosophy talk radio show and podcast that provides food for thought about life and leadership. Episodes run approximately 1 hour long and come out every two weeks. They typically feature interview guests and cover a wide variety of topics, from how to pursue happiness to finding wisdom in humor, and from race and justice to culture wars and leadership. You can find the show on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or wherever you download podcasts.

<200 word version

Philosophy Bakes Bread is a radio show and podcast that is intended to showcase the public importance of philosophy, both for our everyday lives and for leadership in the policy world. New episodes are released every other week as a syndicated radio show and podcast, airing on WRFL 88.1 FM in Lexington, KY, and KBLU 92.3 FM in Logan, UT. As a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA), the show sprung out of SOPHIA’s mission: to use the tools of philosophical inquiry to improve people’s lives and enrich the profession of philosophy through conversation and community building. The show launched in January 2017 and was named Favorite Talk Show and Overall Favorite Show by WRFL Lexington. The show boasts guests ranging from philosopher Martha Nussbaum to Vox.com co-founder and journalist Matthew Yglesias.

 

Show specs

• More than 70 episodes
• Each episode is about 1 hour long
• Free

 

Distribution formats

Podcast available on

iTunes

Google Play

Stitcher

Spotify

Airing on WRFL 88.1 FM in Lexington, KY, and KBLU 92.3 FM in Logan, UT

WRFL, 88.1 FM in Lexington, KY: Mondays at 2pm US ET

KBLU LP 92.3 FM Logan, UT: Mondays at 9am US MT.

 

Looking to engage beyond the media?

You can find a local SOPHIA chapter for public philosophy events/community and read about other public philosophy issues in the open-access, peer-reviewed digital journal Civil American by going to PhilosophersInAmerica.com and CivilAmerican.com, respectively.

 

AV material

Product photos

Product trailers

4 minute episode, featuring our 36 second audio trailer:

 

 

Full bios

≤100 word version

Both Dr. Eric Thomas Weber and Dr. Anthony Cashio once thought that they should be lawyers. When each of them found philosophy, they realized what their life’s work needed to be. Following in the footsteps of Socrates and John Dewey, they take philosophy to the streets with the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast. Weber is the Executive Director and Trustee of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) and Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Kentucky. Cashio is a Trustee of SOPHIA and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. Both are award-winning teachers.

300–500 word version

Both Dr. Eric Thomas Weber and Dr. Anthony Cashio once thought they should be lawyers. When each of them found Philosophy, they realized what their life’s work needed to be. Weber was captivated by Aristotle’s ideas about happiness. Cashio was enthralled by philosophers’ theories about how to live a full human life. They each pursued the philosophical life and met in graduate school at Southern Illinois University, where they earned their Ph.D.’s in Philosophy.

Their professional philosophy work is focused on two innovative projects. Weber is the Executive Director and Trustee of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA) and Cashio is a Trustee. They work together to advance the organization’s mission, which is to “use the tools of philosophical inquiry to improve people’s lives and enrich the profession of philosophy through conversation and community building.”

One way they do this is through the radio show and podcast Philosophy Bakes Bread. Following in the tradition of the thinkers that inspired the co-hosts, the podcast takes philosophy to the streets, in their case via the airwaves, providing “food for thought about life and leadership.” They put out new episodes twice a month, using an online audio recording platform to bring them into a virtual recording studio, with Weber in Kentucky, Cashio in Virginia, and their guests, who can be anywhere with a good internet connection.

When they’re not busy co-hosting Philosophy Bakes Bread or working on other SOPHIA initiatives, Weber and Cashio are professors. Weber is a Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky and Cashio is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise.

Weber has published four books, including Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue and Uniting Mississippi. He is also a newspaper columnist, having published in The USA Today, The Clarion Ledger of Jackson, MS, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, TN, and The Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky. He is also a frequent interview guest in opinion pieces for The Tehran Times of Tehran, Iran. He has won awards for teaching, student service, public scholarship, and organizational leadership.

Cashio is an accomplished philosophy teacher, winning two awards in 2016 from UVA-Wise: the faculty-nominated Outstanding Teaching award and the student-nominated Student Government Association’s Professor of the Year award. His research focuses on value systems, and how they relate to concepts like social justice, history, nonviolence, and the environment.

Together, Weber and Cashio have recorded and released over 70 episodes on the air and in their podcast since January of 2017. The show has garnered over 100,000 followers on its Facebook page and has had over 42,000 downloads of the podcast from over 100 countries.

 

Headshots

 

Product endorsements

 

Philosophy Breaks Bread is a wonderful, accessible ongoing discussion of philosophy, real life, and the relationship between the two — a great listen for anyone who’s interested in philosophical ideas and thinking.

Matthew Yglesias
Senior Correspondent, Vox.com

 

A breath of fresh air, ‘Philosophy Bakes Bread’ cooks up practical, accessible and relevant philosophy. These dialogues are a generative force for philosophy, and all the people and worlds they touch.

Patricia M. Shields, PhD

Professor of Political Science, Texas State University

 

Philosophy Bakes Bread sizzles. Who knew philosophy could be so much fun?

Larry A. Hickman, PhD
Director Emeritus, Center for Dewey Studies, and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University

 

Promotion information

Media appearances

• “How Can Philosophy Bake Bread?” Blog of the American Philosophical Association
• “Eric Weber” Engaged Philosophy
• “SOPHIA Wins Prize for Excellence, Innovation,” University of Kentucky News

 

Interviewer resources

Bio talking points

Dr. Eric Thomas Weber

• Recipient of awards for teaching, student service, public scholarship, and organizational leadership
• Executive Director & Trustee of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA)
• Author of four books about democracy, leadership, and justice.
• Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky

Dr. Anthony Cashio

• Recipient of the University of Virginia’s College at Wise Student Government Association’s Professor of the Year award and the faculty-nominated Outstanding Teaching Award in 2016.
• Trustee of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA)
• Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UVA – Wise

 

Show summary

Philosophy Bakes Bread is a radio show and podcast that provides food for thought about life and leadership.

• Philosophy Bakes Bread is a syndicated radio show and podcast that is intended to showcase the public importance of philosophy, both for our everyday lives and for leadership in the policy world.
• The show has won 2 awards from WRFL Lexington, 88.1 FM, which launched the show in January 2017
  • Won Favorite Talk Show in 2017
  • Awarded Overall Favorite Show in 2018
• As a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA), the show sprung out of SOPHIA’s mission: to use the tools of philosophical inquiry to improve people’s lives and enrich the profession of philosophy through conversation and community building.

 

List of interview topics and angles

• Championing civility, the humanities, & higher education
• Examining Ethics and Leadership
• Resisting anti-intellectualism and the remoteness of the “ivory tower”
• Modeling public philosophy
• Podcasting from radio

 

Sample interview questions

• What does the title of the show mean? Can Philosophy Bake Bread?
• What is Philosophy?
• You say the show offers “food for thought about life and leadership.” What does philosophy have to do with leadership?
• There are two things you’re not supposed to talk about in polite conversation: religion and politics, but your show does this all the time. Why is that? What do you do when topics are controversial?
• What are the humanities and why do we need them?
• Don’t we get our ethics on Sunday morning? Why do people study ethics?
• Is philosophy only for policy leaders or does it have a use for, say, someone working a minimum wage/blue-collar job?
• Is it possible to be so open-minded that your brain falls out?
• If everyone is entitled to their own opinion or philosophy, whatever it is, what’s the value of anyone’s philosophy?
• I’ve heard of public intellectuals, but what are public philosophers? Are there any exemplars of public philosophy?
• What is the process for creating each podcast? How do you select a topic and find guests?
• What inspires you to do this work?
• Your podcast has a radio audience and a podcast audience. What’s the difference between broadcasting over the radio versus in a podcast?

 

Fan Resources

Samples of the show

Our 3 most popular episodes:

1. 1. Ep 32, “The Public Philosopher and the Gadfly” with Dr. Tommy J. Curry (1hr 6mins):
      
      
   2. Ep 19, “On Anger and Forgiveness” with Dr. Martha Nussbaum (1hr 1min):
   3. Ep 49, “Public Philosophy and Polarization” with Matt Yglesias (1hr 1 min):

 

Want to try a snack-sized version first? Try out one of our short “breadcrumb” episodes. Our most downloaded breadcrumb episode is Ep 48, BC10, “How to Read Philosophy? The Answer Might Surprise You” with Dr. Nancy McHugh (12mins):

 

 

Samples for Sharing on Fans’ Own Social Media

Support Us on Patreon

1. A shoutout on the show and membership for 1 year in SOPHIA, $3 / month.
2. The benefits above plus PBB stickers, $5 / month.
3. The benefits above plus a t-shirt, $10 / month.
4. The benefits above plus a thank you in our “Top Contributors” list on PBB’s Web site, $20 / month
5. The benefits above plus a yearly video conference call to talk about the next year’s topics and guests, $100 / month.

Merchandise

Check out our Cafepress page!

Sample Listener Reactions