
Sutras & Stuff: A Philosophy Podcast
By Malcolm Keating
In this informal bite-sized podcast, we'll talk about a range of ideas found in Indian philosophy, along with their connections to the modern day. Your host is a philosopher who reads Sanskrit texts and thinks about how the modern and premodern are intertwined.

S3 E4: Christine Tan
Sutras & Stuff: A Philosophy Podcast • By Malcolm Keating • Mar 16
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16:37
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S3 E8: Cathay Liu
In this episode, I talk with Cathay Liu, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore, about philosophical systems and both Indian and European philosophy in the 17th century.
Further Resources
Rene Descartes https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/
The Tarkasamgraha at https://archive.org/details/tarka-samgraha-ramkrishna-mission/mode/2up
How to Think Like a Nyāya Philosopher, Annambhatta's Primer on Reasoning (Part 1 of 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14Q87r24Is
The Craft of Research https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo23521678.html
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
15:12
May 15, 2022

S3 E7: Neil Mehta
In this episode, I talk with Neil Mehta, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about what exists and what we can say about it.
Further Resources
Neil Mehta’s website: http://www.profneilmehta.com/
Theory of Two Truths in India: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-india/
Graham Priest’s website: https://grahampriest.net
Metaphysics of grounding: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/grounding/
Nagarjuna: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna/
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
16:34
May 01, 2022

S3 E6: Matt Walker
In this episode, I talk with Matthew Walker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about ancient philosophy, therapeutic arguments, reading practices, and the Bhagavad Gita.
Further Resources
Matt Walker’s website: https://sites.google.com/site/mattwalker2000/home
Aristotle on the Uses of Contemplation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/aristotle-on-the-uses-of-contemplation/14962F5B7153012A256FB48B5A27CCE8
Aristotle https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/
Zhu Xi https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zhu-xi/
Emotions in Indian Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-emotion-india/
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
15:43
April 14, 2022

S3 E5: Jay Garfield
In this episode, I talk with Jay Garfield, Professor of Philosophy at Smith College, about the Buddhist philosopher Candrakirti and how teaching Indian philosophy at Yale-NUS impacted his understanding of Western philosophers like Hume.
Further Resources
Jay Garfield’s website: https://jaygarfield.org/
David Hume:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/
The Concealed Influence of Custom (Jay Garfield): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-concealed-influence-of-custom-9780190933401
Candrakirti and Hume on the Self and the Person (Jay Garfield): https://jaygarfield.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/candrakicc84rti-and-hume-on-self.pdf
Madhyamaka philosophy (and Chandrakirti):
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/madhyamaka/
https://iep.utm.edu/madhyamaka-buddhist-philosophy/
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
14:42
April 01, 2022

S3 E4: Christine Tan
In this episode, I talk with Christine Tan, Philosophy Lecturer at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, about Indian materialism, skepticism, and overlaps with Chinese Philosophy.
Further Resources
Christine Tan’s website: https://tanchristineabigail.com/
Guo Xiang: https://iep.utm.edu/guoxiang/
Cārvāka: https://iep.utm.edu/indmat
Podcast Episodes on Jayanta Bhatta’s play:
Part 1: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/episodes/Episode-9-Much-Ado-about-Religion--Part-1-eovu0c
Part 2: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/episodes/Much-Ado-about-Religion-Part-2-epn4fc
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
16:37
March 16, 2022

S3 E3: Kathryn Muyskens
In this episode, I talk with Kathryn Muyskens, Philosophy Lecturer at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, about the Buddhist philosopher Shantideva and bioethics, health care, and compassion.
Further Resources
Kathryn Muyskens’ papers on Philpapers: https://philpeople.org/profiles/kathryn-muyskens
Shantideva:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/shantideva/
https://iep.utm.edu/santideva/
YouTube video on Shantideva with Connie Kassor and Stephen Harris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQVLrbk0yKM
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
14:37
March 01, 2022

S3 E2: Andrew Bailey
Content note: There's one instance of the "F-word" in English towards the end of the interview.
In this episode, I talk with Andrew Bailey, Associate Professor of philosophy at Yale-NUS College in Singapore about the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna and analytic metaphysics, Gandhi on technology, and Nyaya philosophers on inference.
Further Resources
Andrew Bailey’s website: https://www.andrewmbailey.com/
Nagarjuna: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nagarjuna/
David Lewis: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/david-lewis/
Peter Van Inwagen: https://philosophy.nd.edu/people/emeritus/peter-van-inwagen/
Gandhi's Hind Swaraj: https://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/hind_swaraj.pdf
Annambhatta lecture (1 of 4): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14Q87r24Is
Music Credits:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
16:58
February 14, 2022

S3 E1: Bryan Van Norden
In this episode, I talk with Bryan Van Norden, Professor of philosophy at Vassar College in the United States about how he came to Indian philosophy, what he enjoys about teaching it, as well as connections between ideas about knowing in Indian and Chinese philosophy.
Further Resources
Bryan Van Norden’s website: http://www.bryanvannorden.com/
“Less Commonly Taught Philosophies” bibliography: http://www.bryanvannorden.com/suggestions-for-further-reading
The Questions of King Milinda:
My YouTube videos on this text start here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBqC43PK8Q
Mengzi (Mencius)
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mencius/
https://iep.utm.edu/mencius/
Mozi and Mohism
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mohism/
https://iep.utm.edu/mozi/
Music Credits
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
15:40
January 30, 2022

Much Ado about Religion: Part 2
How does a 9th century Nyaya philosopher addresses the intersection of religious conflict and ruling power in India? Are feelings of offense reason to exclude certain religious practices? What lessons can we take from Nyaya philosophers on religious toleration, and are they internally consistent here?
To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit Library translation of Much Ado about Religion by Csaba Dezsö, published 2005 by NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/
Maniacal laugh sound effect from: https://freesound.org/s/367738/
16:46
January 31, 2021

Episode 9: Much Ado about Religion, Part 1
Join our hero Sankarshana as he travels around the kingdom, vanquishing foes...with reason. Part 1 of 2.
To read the whole play, get the Clay Sanskrit Library translation of Much Ado about Religion by Csaba Dezsö, published 2005 by NYU Press. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/
12:08
January 15, 2021

Episode 8: Equivocating and other ways to lose
When is a door not really a door? When it's ajar! That old joke equivocates on two meanings of "ajar" In this episode we look at how equivocation can impact our reasoning, like when we ask, When is a doctor not really a doctor? We explore a few other ways that reasoning can go wrong and force us to lose in a debate. And listen until the end to hear what's planned for Episode 9.
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Much Ado About Religion adapted from the Csaba Dezsö translation in the Clay Sanskrit Library, New York: NYU Press, 2005. https://nyupress.org/9780814719794/much-ado-about-religion/
Definition of "doctor" from
Merriam-Webster Online
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-doctor
OED
"doctor, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, December 2020. Web. 20 December 2020.
Clips:
Good Morning America, December 15, 2020
"Women rally behind Jill Biden after WSJ op-ed asks her to drop 'Dr.'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJHm2rzMJ-Q%200:49
“Hair-raising hare” (Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies, 1946)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnPRB00xgoQ
"Expertise" (Sutras (and stuff) Season 1, Episode 6)
https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/edfmbj
Billy Madison (Universal Pictures, 1995)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec7rCsNFn30
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sounds:
Monastery Bell
https://freesound.org/people/florianreichelt/sounds/440606/
Buzzer
https://freesound.org/people/qubodup/sounds/211103/ by qubodup
12:51
January 01, 2021

Counterfeit Reasons
When is a reason not a reason? According to Nyaya philosophers, when it's all smoke and no fire. In this episode we'll talk about how reasoning can go wrong when people use "counterfeit reasons," which don't actually support their claims.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lu5_5Od7WY
Ruptly, "USA: "Democrats had this election rigged right from the beginning" Dec 2, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7tRZ28dvg
CBS Evening News, "Trump continues to deny election results despite legal losses" Dec 7, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dvLEScIKkg
12:24
December 15, 2020

Debating
If you've ever watched a political debate on TV, you may wonder what the point is. After all, aren't both participants committed to their own viewpoints, and just aiming to win? Why would we ever think that debate is a useful activity. Nyaya philosophers were big proponents of debate, but not the kind of debate you see on network TV. In this episode we'll explore why they think arguments between two opposing parties aren't just a spectacular waste of time.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Monty Python, "Argument Clinic"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDB5gbtaEQ
President Trump: If Joe Biden wins... (Sept 25, 2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK4jZTD1Y-w
Trump and the truth: His supporters weigh in (CNN, Dec 16, 2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8mJO78dXdc
16:28
November 23, 2020

Doubting
Doubts can feel paralyzing, but according to the early Nyaya philosopher Uddyotakara, the right kind of doubt is actually useful. In this episode we'll apply his thinking about doubt to the 2020 US presidential election.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
CNBC, September 29, 2020, Donald Trump on Election Integrity, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHysqu3gnSc
Washington Post, November 4, 2020, Biden confident he’s on track to win election
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWbuWdwSjmI
15:53
November 06, 2020

Testify!
In this increasingly partisan world, many of us are listening only to people we already agree with. But can we learn things from the speech of people on the "other side"? In this episode, we learn how Nyaya philosophers think testimony can be a powerful tool for conveying knowledge, regardless of religion or political affiliation.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Allen Guelzo on the Ben Shapiro Show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfy89mRW1SQ
Gerald Horne on Democracy Now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPyG8i2YxtQ
14:54
October 23, 2020

Announcement about Episode 4
Sutras (and stuff) will return next week for a new episode. Apologies for the delay and thanks for your patience!
03:21
October 16, 2020

Inferring
The climate is changing due to human activity. Scientists today are arguing for this crucial claim, warning us that it has dire consequences. But how can we know that the past has an effect on the present? How can we draw connections between unseen things and what we observe? In this episode, we’ll see how Nyaya philosophers could help science communicators like Bill Nye in their mission to demonstrate the reality of climate change. And we’ll see if climate change deniers have a snowball’s chance in Oklahoma of refuting it.
Clips:
Bill Nye on climate change: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UEhUFLuD7A
Bill Nye on Rachel Maddow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm05Mcah0i8
Jim Inhofe in the US Senate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0a_60PMR8
Sound Effects
https://freesound.org/people/Aurelon/sounds/476655/
https://freesound.org/people/mike_stranks/sounds/341605/
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
15:39
October 01, 2020

Knowing
We can’t directly see it but we know it exists by extending our vision with special tools. We can reason about when it’s present based on associations. We can share facts about it with each other. And we can learn its name by comparing it to other similar kinds of things. I’m talking about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, and in this episode we’ll focus on how early Nyāya philosophers might explain our knowledge about this disease, and how they think all human beings have the ability to know using a special set of natural abilities.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sound:
Zapsplat.com
dersuperanton at https://freesound.org/s/435876/
FreqMan at https://freesound.org/s/20049/
Trump clip from Feb 27, 2020 (AP footage): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15XjckAOTwU
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Complete translation of the Nyaya-sutras: Ganganatha Jha, The Nyaya-sutras of Gautama, Volume 1, 2, 3, and 4, Motilal Banarsidass Publishing, 1984.
14:35
September 18, 2020

Introduction to Season 2
How can we become better thinkers and better human beings? What’s the connection between critical thinking and reducing suffering? In this intro episode to Season 2, we’ll learn about the Indian tradition known as “Nyaya,” who says these things are very closely related, and whose ideas we’ll be focusing on in detail this coming season.
Music:
Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sources:
Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips, The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries, Hackett Publishing, 2017. https://www.hackettpublishing.com/new-forthcoming/the-nyaya-sutra
Complete translation of the Nyaya-sutras: Ganganatha Jha, The Nyaya-sutras of Gautama, Volume 1, 2, 3, and 4, Motilal Banarsidass Publishing, 1984.
Vol 1 https://archive.org/details/nyayasutrasofgautamaganganathajhavol1mlbd_202003_324_z/
Vol 2 https://archive.org/details/nyayasutrasofgautamaganganathajhavol2mlbd_202003_441_o
Vol 3 https://archive.org/details/nyayasutrasofgautamaganganathajhavol3mlbd_202003_171_B
Vol 4 https://archive.org/details/nyayasutrasofgautamaganganathajhavol4mlbd_202003_922_k
11:17
September 04, 2020

Announcement: Season One Ending
When I started this podcast in February 2020, I envisioned a first season of ten episodes. I wrote, recorded, and scheduled the most recent episode (Episode 8) before the nationwide protests against police brutality began in the United States, which is my country of origin and my current home while I am on leave from my college. Given current events, even though I strongly believe that philosophy, and even premodern Sanskrit philosophy, has an important role to play in shaping a more just and equitable society, I have decided to put a pause on recording and disseminating these episodes. I'll be taking the summer off to focus elsewhere, and plan to return in the fall with the second season.
Why not write more episodes which focus on connections between social justice, the current protests, and Sanskrit philosophy? Perhaps I will in the future, but right now I feel like my voice isn't the one that needs to be heard. Rather, as a white person, I want to listen to, and have my fellow Americans hear, the voices of black people, along with others historically oppressed in this country. I plan to return September 1, 2020, with a new season.
01:48
June 04, 2020

Episode 8: Binging
Binge-watching. You sit down, popcorn and soda at the ready, and before you know it, three hours have gone by and Netflix pops up with a message: “Are you still watching?” While binge-watching is a fairly new English phrase (attested by the OED back to 1998 in verb form) in the sense of “overindulgence,” binging goes back to the 19th century, associated with gluttony. While binging on television may be a particularly modern phenomenon, the connection between gluttony and aesthetic taste is not. Today on Sutras (and Stuff) we’ll look at the Sanskrit thinker Abhinavagupta on aesthetic gluttony. Would he binge-watch the Tiger King or even the Ramayana on Netflix?
Sources
Locana commentary on Anandavardhana’s Dhvanyaloka, Jeffrey Moussaeiff Masson, M.V. Patwardhan, Daniel H.H. Ingalls, Harvard University Press, 1990. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674202788
Śāntarasa and Abhinavagupta's Philosophy of Aesthetics, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, J. L. Masson, M. V. Patwardhan, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1969. On Amazon.
The Triadic Heart of Siva: Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-dual Shaivism of Kashmir, Paul E. Muller-Ortega, State University of New York Press, 2010. https://www.sunypress.edu/p-857-the-triadic-heart-of-siva.aspx
For further listening & reading:
History of Philosophy podcast about rasa more generally: https://historyofphilosophy.net/node/764
This episode's sounds are from
Sandpiper tweeting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sandpiper
Spotted sandpiper alarm call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdqpvJ7FO4w
Sideways Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBzJR4Emxvo
Community Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWRuxQyzFcM
Theme music from Ramayana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJJTPXLlWDU
14:01
May 29, 2020

Episode 7: Craving
Do you wish things were different right now? Is there some experience you used to have that you miss? Are you having unpleasant feelings? If so, you've got a lot in common with Buddhist practitioners and philosophers from the 4th century CE. In this episode, I speak with Bryce Huebner, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. We talk about how some Buddhist philosophers think our mental lives are interrelated with our emotions, how this idea relates to contemporary cognitive science, and why that may help those of us who are wishing things were different right now.
Sources and Links
Bryce Huebner is Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Yogacara Buddhism, cognitive science, and the relationship between the two check out:
Jonathan Gold, Paving the Great Way
Maria Heim, The Forerunner of all Things
Evan Thompson, Waking, Dreaming, Being
17:01
May 15, 2020

Episode 6: Expertise
Who should you listen to? Now, more than ever before, we have access to advice from a range of self-proclaimed experts. Anyone with a webcam and an Internet connection can dole out advice. But how do we tell if someone is trustworthy? In this episode, I test some so-called experts based on the requirements from Nyaya philosophers. Let's see who makes the cut...
Sources and Links
Quotes from Caraka’s Compendium are from
Domink Wujastyk’s The Roots of Ayurveda and the Caraka Samhita Online
Quotes from the Nyayasutra are from
The Nyaya-sutra: Selections with Early Commentaries translated by Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips
Clips of Dr. Phil and Dr. Fauci are from
The Laura Ingraham Show on Fox News (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GLwsH8EwgA), an interview with Dr. Phil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDGKsWPOq1w ), and an interview with Dr. Fauci (https://achievement.org/achiever/anthony-s-fauci-m-d/#interview)
16:19
May 01, 2020

Teaser: Episode 6
Who should you listen to? Now, more than ever before, we have access to advice from a range of self-proclaimed experts. Anyone with a webcam and an Internet connection can dole out advice. But how do we tell if someone is trustworthy? In the next episode, I test some so-called experts based on the requirements from Nyaya philosophers, with a litle help from Caraka. Let's see who makes the cut...
Background music by junkfood2121 on freesound, used under Creative Commons Attribution License.
*Oops! This is a trailer for episode six!
00:47
April 24, 2020

Episode 5: Contagion (part two)
Love, happiness, and disease. These are a few things that today we call "contagious." But how did thinkers in the Indian subcontinent, before the discovery of viruses, understand diseases and their treatment? This podcast is part two of a two-part interview with Patricia Sauthoff, an expert in the history of alchemy and medicine in India.
Sources and links
Dominik Wujastyk, The Roots of Ayurveda
Caraka Samhita online
Patricia Sauthoff is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alberta with the The AyurYog project.
15:10
April 17, 2020

Episode 4: Contagion (part one)
Love, happiness, and disease. These are a few things that today we call "contagious." But how did thinkers in the Indian subcontinent, before the discovery of viruses, understand diseases and their treatment? This podcast is part one of a two-part interview with Patricia Sauthoff, an expert in the history of alchemy and medicine in India.
Sources and links
A Planet of Viruses, Carl Zimmer
Patricia Sauthoff is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alberta with the The AyurYog project.
16:37
April 03, 2020

Announcement: Opening up the "phone lines"
I want to hear from you. Send me a voice message through Anchor or email me at sutrasandstuff@gmail.com and I might use your messages on an upcoming episode. Be well, everyone.
01:07
March 28, 2020

Episode 3: Reclining
If you’re going to recline your seat on an airplane, you should do it gently. And if you’re going to kill your enemy with the shyena ritual, you should build a brick altar. But should we do either of these things? Mimamsa and the logic of troubling commands.
Sources and Links
BBC clip from “Corona Virus: What is social distancing?”
Kei Kataoka (2011), Kumarila on Truth, Omniscience, and Killing.
Elisa Freschi, Andrew Ollett & Matteo Pascucci (2019), "Duty and Sacrifice: A Logical Analysis of the Mimamsa Theory of Vedic Injunctions, History and Philosophy of Logic."
Our guest speaker today was Elisa Freschi, currently at the University of Vienna, joining the University of Toronto in fall 2020.
16:06
March 27, 2020

Episode 2.1: Disease and debate
What does an ancient Sanskrit text have to tell us about reasoning about the coronavirus and debating with people about its treatment? Caraka’s Compendium, a medical treatise, gives some guidelines for when to bother debating with people, and whom we should trust with our health.
Sources & links
Online Searchable Caraka Samhita
Translation of Caraka Samhita from the episode
Philosophy and Medicine in Classical India Project
BBC Interview with Prof. Robin Shattock, Imperial College London
The Trish Regan Show and the coronavirus
13:23
March 20, 2020

Episode 2: The Man
Taylor Swift does it, and so does Kalidasa. How does figurative speech work and why do we enjoy it so much? In this episode, I talk about how figurative language from Sanskrit poetry to William Shakespeare to Taylor Swift. Sources and Links Taylor Swift, “The Man” music video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqAJLh9wuZ0 Yigal Bronner, Extreme Poetry http://cup.columbia.edu/book/extreme-poetry/9780231151603 Kālidāsa, Raghuvaṃśa https://archive.org/details/raghuvamsaofkali00kliduoft/page/n5/mode/2up Malcolm Keating, Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/language-meaning-and-use-in-indian-philosophy-9781350060777/ Richard III Soliloquy https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56973/speech-now-is-the-winter-of-our-discontent Official podcast website
15:37
March 13, 2020

S1 E1: Threads
(This is an audio remastered version of an episode which first aired February 29, 2020.)
Introduction to the podcast and, what do sutras and Twitter have in common? What do ancient Sanskrit aphorisms have in common with modern Internet communication? In this episode, Malcolm talks about sutras and Twitter, bedbugs and textual interpretation.
Sources & Links
Reply All: Bedbugs & Aliens: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/kwh23r/148-bedbugs-and-aliens
English translation of the Nyāya-sūtra by Matthew Dasti and Stephen Phillips: https://www.hackettpublishing.com/the-nyaya-sutra-4119
A paper (in French) about Sanskrit insults: https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/186660/1/Verpoorten_2002-tournures-pejoratives.pdf
Official podcast website: www.sutrasandstuff.com
13:22
February 29, 2020