Season 3, Episode 7

“Music and philosophy” is often about Nietzsche and Wagner, or Kant and Mozart. But, in Robin James’s work, it can also be about pop, and feminist theory, and Peloton playlists. A conversation about Dr. James’s approach towards philosophy, with a focus on her new project on the musical and cultural implications of our contemporary focus on “vibes.”

Robin James is Editor for Philosophy & Media Studies, Palgrave Macmillan

If you’re interested in learning more about Dr. James’s scholarship, check out:

• The new book The Future of Rock and Roll: 97X WOXY and the Fight for True Independence
• The book The Sonic Episteme: Acoustic Resonance, Neoliberalism, and Biopolitics
• A 2022 newsletter post on the forthcoming vibes book
• A 2021 article on Spotify and Peloton in Real Life
• The article “Is the Post- in Post-Identity the Post- in Post-Genre?” in Popular Music

Sound Expertise is hosted by Will Robin (@seatedovation), and produced by D. Edward Davis (@warmsilence). Please subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and/or Spotify. Questions or comments? Email soundexpertise00 @ gmail

A written transcript of this episode is available here; thanks to Andrew Dell’Antonio for volunteering to prepare transcripts for the show!