Episodios

  • PvI#93: Poetry Stands its Ground w/ Shannon Bass and Audrey Kohler

    PvI#93: Poetry Stands its Ground w/ Shannon Bass and Audrey Kohler
    Jun 4 2025
    Shannon the philosopher and Audrey the poet are Seattle improv buddies that form a duo called Closer to Clarity that uses improv to answer audience members' big life questions (BLQs). Through these guests and their BLQs, philosophy and poetry face off and mind meld and do-si-do as we play through two wacky corporate office scenes and return once again to Empty Street™ for an attempted gas station poetry open mic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 m
  • PvI#92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer

    PvI#92: Postale au Naturale w/ Greg McBrayer
    May 12 2025
    Greg teaches philosophy (and is Interim Provost) at Ashland, loves Xenophon, and runs a podcast. We reflect on the dangers of radon and other "natural" things. How might one of our government agencies become more natural, and would we want that? Are fart jokes the most naturally funny kind? Then, Greg the trucker visits Empty Street and embezzles dead mules. Bill was thrust from the final portion of the call, so Mark and Greg engage in some philosophy podcast shop talk. He returns for the Post-Game after Greg's departure (actually, it was the next day) to reflect on the episode and specifically identify the naturalistic fallacy. You can choose to watch this on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 8 m
  • PvI#91: Community Breakdown (or Breakdance?) w/ Nick Armstrong

    PvI#91: Community Breakdown (or Breakdance?) w/ Nick Armstrong
    Apr 13 2025
    Mark and Bill are joined by the actor/improviser who directs Camp Improv Utopia and is involved in managing improv spaces such as Denver's Rise Comedy. We talk about the notion of community, with a scene about the neighborhood watch and a return to Empty Street to deal seriously in a public-service-announcement/after-school special sort of way with the issue of buying liquor underage. How does one foster a supportive improv community? Can we develop a community of returning Empty Street cast members? You can choose to watch this discussion on unedited video. In the post-game, Mark and Bill talk briefly about people who can't sympathize beyond their immediate circle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 7 m
  • PvI#90: Empty Street

    PvI#90: Empty Street
    Mar 24 2025
    Mark and Bill introduce a new potential setting and some characters for ongoing use in future improvisations. We talk about techniques for doing that and wrap up by getting an update from Bill on his substitute teaching and talking about what makes for a good teacher. You can choose to watch this on unedited video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    54 m
  • PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and Aaron from srsly wrong

    PvI#89: Improv 4 Change w/ Shawn and Aaron from srsly wrong
    Feb 19 2025
    Mark and Bill are joined by two north-of-the-border podcasters, Shawn Vulliez and Aaron Moritz, who incorporate both improv and philosophy in their dirty leftist podcast. We simulate conversation as competing knowers-of-the-good-life and talk about using improv for political purposes. Note that this was recorded back in December when we were in the thick of Luigi Mangione fever and not yet consumed with daily Presidential antics. Watch this on unedited video. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 m
  • PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy Fertel

    PvI#88: The Dark Side of Improv w/ Randy Fertel
    Feb 1 2025
    Randy is a literature guy who has written a couple of books about improv and here joins Mark and Bill to talk about WINGING IT: Improv's Power and Peril in the Age of Trump, wherein he basically blames improv for giving us the orange man. Our scenes are about Trumpers hustling a fast food joint and improv for dogs. Mark and Bill stick around for some post-game bringing in yet another metaphor: music and its stylistic development. Watch this as unedited video, if you so choose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 15 m
  • PvI#87: Mystic Toaster with Simon Critchley

    PvI#87: Mystic Toaster with Simon Critchley
    Dec 23 2024
    Simon is a professor at New York's New School for Social Research and moderates the New York Times' philosophy offering, The Stone. He joins Mark and Bill to discuss his new book, On Mysticism: The Experience of Ecstasy, and we used the occasion to explore how art and mysticism might be connected, including engaging in improv rituals. You can watch this on unedited video. We do some post-game discussion for the first time in a while (not on the video) where we reflect on the episode, and Mark connects it to PEL's current topic, Ludwig Feuerbach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 6 m
  • PvI#86: Friends with App-Platter Benefits w/ Sarah Shockey and Tommy Maranges

    PvI#86: Friends with App-Platter Benefits w/ Sarah Shockey and Tommy Maranges
    Dec 6 2024
    It's a TEAM PLAY episode just in time for the holiday season! Returning guests improviser and podcaster Sarah and recovering Philosophy Bro Tommy join Mark and Bill to talk AND EXPERIENCE friendship, with our longest single improv scene to date. What is friendship? Is it gendered? Do you know your friends enough to imitate them? Does one friendship or fast-casual restaurant have to die so that another may emerge? Can Bill even get to the end of the call? Watch this on unedited video. The image was swiped off Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 h y 5 m
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