John Kaag on Henry David Thoreau and Walden Pond

On July 4th 1845, David Henry Thoreau went to live in a small cabin near the shore of Walden Pond, in Massachussetts. He stayed there alone for two years, and wrote about his experiences in the book that became Walden. John Kaag, an expert on American Philosophy, author of American Philosophy: A Love Story, discusses Thoreau and Walden with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Sites podcast. 

Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) left instructions that his body should be turned into a kind of relic-statue, an auto-icon, after his death. The result is now in University College London. Bentham expert Philip Schofield discusses this fascinating object, and why Bentham was so keen it should be made, in this episode of the Philosophy Sites podcast series.

Karl Marx came to England in 1849, and settled in Dean Street, Soho, London, where he lived in extreme poverty for six years before his circumstances improved. Jonathan Wolff, author of Why Read Marx Today? discusses Marx's Soho years and their wider implications with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Sites podcast. 

Ludwig Wittgenstein's grave in Cambridge is a simple slab of stone with minimal inscription. In this episode of the Philosophy Sites podcast Ray Monk discusses Wittgenstein's grave, which leads to a discussion about his approach to design, culture, and death.