In the first episode, join Luke and University of Sydney philosopher David Macarthur as they try to define ‘art’, and ask whether life is worth living without it.  Would such a life be, as George Bernard Shaw claims, ‘unbearable’?  David considers what the audience brings to the work of art, and claims that great art is emotionally gripping and stands the test of time. Nonetheless, we might wonder why it's important to engage with art. Is it because doing so gives us pleasure, or because great artworks challenge us, expand our minds, and make us morally better people? Through a discussion about artists such as Mozart, George Eliot, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare, David argues that appreciation of great artworks is a source of intimacy and community in otherwise isolated lives.

In the second episode Luke explores the question of forgiveness with his guest Lucy Allais, who is Professor of philosophy at both University of the Witwatersrand and Johns Hopkins University.  We are often encouraged to forgive those who wrong us, but is this always good advice? Lucy and Luke examine the nature of forgiveness, asking whether forgiveness is merely an emotional change in the victim, and whether forgiving is compatible with continuing to punish the wrongdoer.  In this episode, Lucy and Luke try to make sense of June Steenkamp’s choice to unconditionally forgive Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering June’s daughter Reeva, and who remains unrepentant.  

In the third episode in this new series, Luke speaks to Matthew Hammerton from Singapore Management University about our relationship to work. Do we live to work, or work to live?  Why are some people highly critical of the decision to focus on work and career rather than on family or community? Is it wise to find meaning and fulfilment primarily from work, or is this a risky choice?  And why do we aspire for a ‘work-life balance’ when personal relationships can be more fraught than relationships at work?

In episode four Luke speaks to University of Sydney’s Sam Shpall about friendship and flourishing. They explore the ways in which friendships can be closer or more distant, and discuss whether you have to like someone in order to be friends with that person. Friendship is often thought of as an essential part of a good life, increasing our happiness and giving meaning to our lives. Sam and Luke also examine some problems that can arise in relation to friendship, including rivalry between friends and excessive partiality towards one’s friends.

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