A Podcast from Phronisis
"One argument, one episode at a time."
Listen on SpotifyAbout the Show
The World in Arguments is a podcast that teaches logic, argumentation, and critical thinking by analysing real arguments from public life; spoken by politicians, scientists, founders, artists, philosophers, and anyone in between.
Most critical thinking resources exist at the wrong level: too academic to be useful day-to-day, too time-intensive to build into a habit, and too disconnected from the actual arguments people encounter in the wild. This show is built to fix that.
Each episode takes one argument and puts it through a three-step method: clarify exactly what is being claimed, map the logic behind it (steelmanning it into its strongest form), and test whether it actually holds. The goal is not to win debates; it is to understand them.
The host, Michalis Papadopoulos, is a marketer by background and a fellow learner of logic. He acknowledges his own biases openly and commits to presenting the most charitable version of every argument before critiquing it. Listeners are always invited to form their own conclusions.
The Method
What is the argument actually claiming? Strip away framing, rhetoric, and noise; find the precise claim being made.
What is the logic behind it? Lay out the premises, trace the reasoning, and steelman the argument into its strongest possible form before critiquing it.
Does it hold? Identify gaps, fallacies, and missing evidence; then give an honest verdict on whether the argument succeeds on its own terms.
All Episodes
Episode archive
New episodes every two weeks
EP. 01
Donald Trump responds to CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins' questions on the Epstein files. Seven logical fallacies in under five minutes; red herrings, argument from ignorance, whataboutism, false dichotomy, circular reasoning, and ad hominem attacks; flagged in real time and broken down one by one.
EP. 00
The show introduces itself by making and analysing its own founding argument: the world produces more information than we can process, we are not well equipped to evaluate it, and therefore we need better tools for curation, analysis, and interpretation. A demonstration of the format; and an honest statement of intent.
Frequently Asked
A podcast from Phronisis that teaches logic and critical thinking by analysing real-world arguments from politicians, scientists, founders, and public figures. Each episode takes one argument, clarifies what it claims, maps the logic, and tests whether it holds.
Steelmanning is the practice of reconstructing the strongest, most charitable version of an argument before critiquing it. Rather than attacking a weak interpretation, steelmanning asks: what would have to be true for this argument to work? The show uses it as its default approach because the goal is understanding, not winning.
A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning. It occurs when invalid arguments are used, or irrelevant points are introduced without supporting evidence. Common fallacies include red herrings, ad hominem attacks, false dichotomies, circular reasoning (begging the question), and appeals to popularity.
The host, Michalis, acknowledges openly that he is biased; like everyone else. The commitment of the show is to stick to the facts, steelman every argument before critiquing it, and let listeners form their own conclusions. What you do with the analysis is always your responsibility.
New episodes are released every two weeks. The show is available on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.