ONLINE: Philosophy With a Public Edge. Or: Why (and How) Thorn is “Giving Away a Philosophy Degree for Free”

To join the conversation, please RSVP to rsvp@humanities.wisc.edu receive a link to this virtual Zoom event.

press release: A Conversation with Olly Thorn, Creator of Philosophy Tube. Or: Why (and How) Thorn is “Giving Away a Philosophy Degree for Free”

Oliver “Olly” Thorn is the creator of  Philosophy Tube, a wildly popular YouTube channel that takes an insightful and delightfully irreverent approach to figures such as Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel in order to understand some of today’s most pressing issues like toxic masculinity, dataveillance, and transphobia. His channel has been called “raw and bruising” and also “an extravagant educational show that teaches philosophy to a global audience hundreds of thousands strong.”  Thorn started Philosophy Tube out of his desire to give away his philosophy degree for free in response to rising university tuition fees in the UK.

Olly is a self-styled “renegade philosopher” and, through his YouTube channel, is redefining what it means to be a public intellectual. Philosophy Tube currently has 719,000 subscribers. 

In this virtual Humanities Without Boundaries conversation, we discuss both the form and content of Olly’s YouTube videos. Olly will discuss how he started the show, his methodology for making it, and the rejection of competition, in particular. Interlocutor Emily Fletcher, Associate Professor of Philosophy, and one other guest will lead a lively conversation with Olly around how and why he creates his monologues, his take on public intellectuals and the internet, and what it means to be an influencer in 2020 and beyond. The conversation will be moderated by Russ Castronovo, director of the Center for the Humanities.

We also invite you to watch two of Olly’s YouTube videos in advance of the conversation, which we’ll discuss together: 

• “Men. Abuse. Trauma.” 
• “Data” 

Please RSVP to rsvp@humanities.wisc.edu receive a link to the conversation.