The New Thinkery

Named after the infamous Thinkery from Aristophanes’ Clouds, The New Thinkery is a weekly podcast devoted to political philosophy -- its history, its appearances in literature and film, and its relevance to how we live now. The show is hosted by Greg, Alex, and David, three friends with serious academic backgrounds who manage to make discussions of Plato’s Republic or Machiavelli’s Prince feel like a conversation over drinks rather than a seminar. The format varies. Some episodes are deep readings of a single text -- they have spent entire hours on Tocqueville’s Democracy in America or Aristotle’s Politics. Others bring in outside scholars for interviews, like a recent conversation with Eric Buzzetti and Devin Stauffer on the work of Christopher Bruell. The show also takes detours into film analysis and literature when a philosophical thread runs through them, which keeps things unpredictable. With 263 episodes since 2020, there is a substantial archive covering both canonical and overlooked works in the Western political thought tradition. The New Thinkery carries a 4.9-star rating from 238 reviews, placing it among the highest-rated philosophy podcasts available. Episodes typically run 45 to 60 minutes and drop weekly. The hosts strike a balance between academic seriousness and genuine warmth -- they clearly enjoy each other’s company, and that ease makes dense material more approachable. A strong choice for anyone interested in political philosophy who finds most academic podcasts too dry and most popular ones too shallow.