Hi Substack community!

I started a podcast with my friend Avery Trufelman, where we read classic works of philosophy and discuss what they can teach us about why we buy, wear, and value the things we do. It’s basically a podcast for people who love clothes, books, and big ideas.

In our debut episode, we talk about Bernard Mandeville, an Anglo-Dutch philosopher who wrote The Fable of the Bees in the early 18th century. Mandeville posed a simple but provocative paradox: private vices, public benefits. He argued that some of our greatest achievements come out of our least admirable impulses (we have skilled tailors, for instance, because people are vain). We unpack his argument and talk about how thinkers such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx might respond.

Each month, we’ll read a different philosophical text and explore what it can teach us about clothing and broader culture. You can use the episodes as Cliff Note or read along with us!

I will also be writing a short blog post for each episode, which you can find at Articles of Interest.