How can we talk, or think, about "private parts" in a philosophical way?

In this provocative and unexpectedly tender episode of Hotel Bar Sessions, co-hosts Leigh M. Johnson, Rick Lee, and Talia Mae Bettcher unpack the philosophical complexities of “private parts.” What starts as a playful premise quickly becomes a deep exploration of bodily privacy, modesty, and the moral and social codes that govern our most intimate physical boundaries. Drawing from cultural history, personal anecdotes, and ethical theory, the hosts ask why some body parts are marked as “private,” what makes them morally charged, and why euphemisms often stand in for anatomical accuracy in public discourse.

The conversation traverses the gendered policing of exposure, the politics of public breastfeeding, the different textures of shame and vulnerability, and the legal and ideological battles over trans access to public bathrooms. Talia introduces a key distinction between boundary transgression and boundary traversal—highlighting how intimacy requires consented crossings of private lines, while violations mark moral failure. Leigh and Rick connect these questions to broader cultural scripts of modesty and the performance of decency, noting how certain bodies—especially trans, fat, Black, and disabled bodies—are denied privacy altogether.

As the episode unfolds, the hosts reflect on how “private parts” are not just physical zones, but sites of personal storytelling, social construction, and erotic creativity. Drawing on insights from queer and trans subcultures, the trio explores the ways that intimacy, vulnerability, and even pleasure are shaped by the boundaries we erect and the ones we dare to cross. What makes a body part private, they ask, and what possibilities for connection—ethical, emotional, political—open up when we reimagine the limits of privacy itself?

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/private-parts

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Can the University be saved? Should it be saved?

In this sobering and timely episode of Hotel Bar Sessions, co-hosts Leigh M. Johnson, Rick Lee, and Talia Mae Bettcher tackle the existential crisis facing higher education in the U.S. and beyond. Nothing is off limits in this conversation! From the increasing defunding of universities to their alignment with neoliberal capitalism, we're looking at the deeper values and societal roles that universities are meant to serve—and how far many institutions have strayed from that mission.

The metastasis of administrative bloat. The erosion of shared governance. The complicity of universities in sketchy politics and business. It's all on the table. Talia laments the pressure to sell philosophy as a vocational asset; Rick draws a poignant line from medieval liberal arts education to today’s hyper-quantified outcomes-based models; Leigh reminds us that universities are increasingly inaccessible, both financially and ideologically, especially for those who have been sold college as the “next step” with little clarity on its value or purpose. All three of our hosts are also here for a critique of recent state interventions in University operations, of course, particularly those tied to the elimination of DEI programs and the suppression of student protest.

In a climate where both the left and right are disillusioned with Higher Ed, we're asking the hard questions: Is the university still worth saving? And if so, what would it take to rebuild it from the inside out? From indictments of NCAA excess to calls for renewed commitment to general education and moral formation, this episode dares to imagine what universities should be—and who they're really for.

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/the-future-of-the-university

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If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!

Follow us on Blue Sky @hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

In this episode of Hotel Bar Sessions, your favorite philosophical trio—Leigh Johnson, Rick Lee, and Talia Bettcher—dive headfirst into the squirmy, complicated world of cringe. From wedding speeches gone wrong to tone-deaf icebreaker confessions, they unpack the peculiar affective cocktail we experience when someone's self-presentation dramatically misfires. Cringe isn’t just about secondhand embarrassment—it's a visceral, full-body response that blends aesthetic, moral, and even ontological dissonance.

Leigh kicks off the discussion by proposing that cringe moments represent aesthetic failures that are rarely just personal—they feel universal. Drawing on Kant, Foucault, Butler, and even Kierkegaard, the hosts unpack how cringe exposes the fragile choreography of our social performances. Talia and Rick help flesh out how laughter at cringe can be a nervous coping mechanism, an act of social policing, or even a weird kind of solidarity. Whether it's Succession’s Kendall Roy, real-life icebreaker disasters, or awkward philosophical conference moments, they ask what makes cringe feel so charged—and sometimes so politically consequential.

Ultimately, this episode suggests that cringe is a kind of social flare-up: a breakdown in dialogical flow, a misfire in performance, a moment when norms wobble and the audience winces. But it’s also a space for critique. Who gets to decide what's cringe and why? Is labeling something as cringe always an act of control, or can it sometimes challenge the boundaries of the “we” who makes those rules? This episode may be uncomfortable, but it’ll definitely leave you thinking—and maybe cringing at your past self just a little less harshly.

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/cringe

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If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!

Follow us on Blue Sky @hotelbarpodcast.bsky.social, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!