Socrates at the Bus Stop

Philosophy for beginners, one question per ride

Theo Lachance2 episodes2 min of audio42 playsEpisodic

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S1 · E2Apr 13, 20260:4731 plays Preview

What do I owe my parents

A listener wrote in from Dakar asking whether she must support parents who were not kind to her. Theo brings in Confucius, Aristotle and a modern philosopher of family to answer without flinching.

S1 · E1Feb 1, 20260:4911 plays Members

Is it wrong to lie to be kind

Theo starts with the white lie everyone tells and sets Kant, who says never, against the utilitarians, who say it depends. By the end you will know which side you were already on.

About the show

Socrates at the Bus Stop is for people who have always wanted to read philosophy and never got past the first chapter. Theo Lachance taught introductory philosophy to first-year students in Montreal for eleven years and learned that the best way in is a question, not a reading list. Each weekly episode takes one question a person might ask on an ordinary commute, is it wrong to lie to be kind, do I owe my parents anything, what makes me the same person I was at ten, and spends 30 minutes walking through how two or three thinkers answered it. Theo reads short passages aloud, translates the jargon on the spot, and admits where he disagrees. Every fourth episode is a listener call-in where ordinary people argue their case. No prior reading is assumed, and you will never be told that a question is too simple to ask.

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