{"id":195511,"date":"2026-01-20T17:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=195511"},"modified":"2026-01-21T17:42:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:42:51","slug":"first-philosophy-a-philosophy-podcast-for-beginners-and-advanced-listeners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/20\/first-philosophy-a-philosophy-podcast-for-beginners-and-advanced-listeners\/","title":{"rendered":"First Philosophy: a philosophy podcast for beginners and advanced listeners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Teachers come and go, but when philosopher Awee Prins retired, a group of former students felt strongly that his classes had to be preserved. They recorded his final series of lectures and turned them into the podcast series First Philosophy<\/em>. The first episodes have now been released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax Wassink<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The lectures of associate professor of Philosophy Awee Prins were an experience in themselves. That is something producer Max Wassink, Eddie Adelmund and hosts Sonia Shvets and Kas Molenaar are all very clear about. Sonia: \u201cAbove all, we want to show the joy of philosophy in everyday life, the way Awee could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The enthusiasm and love for philosophy come through in the commentary by Kas and Sonia, who, as the episodes progress, become increasingly attuned to one another (Sonia in episode 8: \u201cI\u2019ve prepared a viewpoint on this that\u2019s going to annoy you.\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\t

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The first eleven episodes of the podcast are online. You can listen to the podcast on Spotify<\/a> or watch it on YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The hosts agree on their favourite episodes \u2013 the ones about their favourite philosophers: Levinas and Heidegger. Kas: \u201cSonia is so passionate in the episode about Levinas, I absolutely loved seeing that. I had the most fun preparing and recording the episodes on Heidegger, but afterwards I did feel anxious about whether I\u2019d forgotten something or made a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bringing philosophy to life \u2013 according to his former students, Awee Prins was a master at it. Max believes Prins\u2019 expressive way of teaching played a major role. \u201cAs a video and podcast maker, I noticed how rhetorically powerful his teaching style was \u2013 almost like a piece of theatre. I think that\u2019s an aspect of knowledge transfer that often gets overlooked. And it\u2019s precisely that vivid, idiosyncratic approach that made the content really hit home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storyteller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kas and Sonia also highlight Prins\u2019 talent for storytelling to show how the philosophical method can be used. Kas: \u201cAwee weaves theory together with stories. As a student, those stories stick with you. And only later do you realise that every single story had a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Prins\u2019 approach to the philosophical question \u2018what is the right thing to do?\u2019 \u2013 a question that, according to Prins, cannot be answered through abstract scientific thinking, because that kind of thinking overlooks the reality of difficult or even impossible choices. He illustrates this using a story by Sartre about a soldier who must choose between defending his country or caring for his terminally ill mother: what is the right thing to do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhilosophy doesn\u2019t give you answers\u201d, Sonia explains, \u201cit\u2019s not there to pass judgement, but to ask questions. As a teacher, Awee had the gift of not delivering a tightly wrapped-up narrative, but leaving room for open ends \u2013 showing that there is more, without trying to explain everything. He doesn\u2019t ask rhetorical questions in his lectures \u2013 everything is open for further reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Older students sometimes say in surprise: I know everything he\u2019s saying and yet it feels like I\u2019m hearing it for the first time\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Layers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the stories, the lectures remain a journey of discovery \u2013 even for advanced listeners. Kas: \u201cOlder students sometimes say in surprise: I know everything he\u2019s saying and yet it feels like I\u2019m hearing it for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was only when Kas and Sonia, as graduates, listened back to the first-year lectures that they realised how brilliantly they were constructed. Prins was able to distil the essence of a vast amount of material into a two-hour lecture \u2013 one in which many layers could still be uncovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The big challenge for the podcast makers was to convey those layers in the podcast \u2013 making it accessible, but not like a textbook. In the podcast, Sonia and Kas occasionally pause the lecture to offer context for listeners without a background in philosophy. But their main contribution \u2013 in the spirit of Prins \u2013 is to make the material personal, for instance by responding to the questions Prins poses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first episode, for example, Sonia talks about the question \u2018what is landscape?\u2019, and shares the story of her grandparents\u2019 potato field, where her entire family would gather on the first Sunday of September to harvest the potatoes. For her, this landscape was not just a place where potatoes grow, but also a place of an \u2018enriching yearly reunion\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Awee Prins giving his farewell lecture.<\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHanna Radstake<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fun<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The podcast recordings took place at the university and in Max\u2019s basement. As preparation, Max provided the audio clips and transcripts of the lectures, which Sonia and Kas first reviewed separately and then discussed together at length. Kas: \u201cWe had so much fun recording \u2013 it never felt like a task we had to get through. The producer sometimes had to rein us in. Sometimes we had two hours of material and only used twenty minutes. But sometimes we used nearly everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, they emphasise: for future podcast makers, the key to a good podcast is not about hearing yourself talk. You have to pursue a goal \u2013 like sharing Awee Prins\u2019 lectures. At the very least, it should be a goal that\u2019s close to your heart, Max adds: \u201cIf you want to make something, choose a topic that you\u2019re genuinely interested in. A podcast is just as much a reflection of yourself as it is of the content you\u2019re presenting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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