Martha C. Nussbaum

Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets. Offering privileged moments with great thinkers from fields ranging from moral philosophy to cultural theory, Examined Life reveals philosophy's power to transform the way we see the world around us and imagine our place in it.

“What is this life—and this death?” Gustav Mahler famously asked when composing his second symphony. Does consciousness “continue” on a higher cosmic level, he wondered, or is it “only an empty dream?” Narrated by renowned baritone Thomas Hampson, this film explores the musical, biographical, and philosophical background of the monumental work. Viewers are treated to beautifully produced historical reenactments as well as interviews with many of the world’s most respected Mahler scholars and biographers, including Henry-Louis de La Grange, Donald Mitchell, Morten Solvik, and others. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum and theologians Catherine Keller and Neil Gillman also add their insights. Woven throughout is a critically acclaimed performance of the symphony featuring members of the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of maestro Neeme Järvi.

AXIS OF EVIL is an experimental-feature-documentary-essay that features interviews with sixteen artists, scholars, and activists, including Howard Zinn, Daniel Ellsberg, Bernardine Dohrn, Martha Nussbaum, and others, talking about the concept of evil, its usefulness as a framework for US foreign policy, and evils that they've encountered in their lives. The interviews are illustrated with postage stamp art, archival footage, and other elements that interact with, illustrate, and comment on the statements of the interviewees.

Bryan Magee traces the history of western philosophy over two millennia, discussing the ideas of the past with an expert guest or contemporary philosopher.