Abstract

The radio is a unique and powerful medium, particularly well‐suited for the sharing of ideas and teaching techniques of inquiry through demonstration. In this chapter, the author offers a few short comments on the goals of public philosophy before turning to a broader theoretical analysis of the radio. Walter Benjamin's work from the 1920s and 30s offers particularly illuminating insights into how we experience the medium of the radio. An analysis of his writings about the radio points to many of the practical questions anyone pursuing public philosophy on the radio should consider. The author concludes by noting some important contemporary examples of public philosophy on the radio and a few words about the future of philosophy through radio.