End of Year Message from the Co-Directors
Plus Support our Efforts and Join our Community for 2026!
Detail from a fresco depicting the month of January at Buonconsiglio Castle in Trento, Italy, ca. 1400. Via publicdomainreview.org.
Being involved with The Philosopher at this moment is a privilege, a challenge, and somewhat of a call to intellectual arms: the humanities and social sciences seem to be under attack from every direction, devalued in our larger discourse and defunded at the institutions that have traditionally supported them. It is more imperative than ever that we shore up and expand viable spaces and organizations outside the beleaguered academy, like The Philosopher— for critical thinking, community building around ideas, and the cultivation of new and established voices in public philosophy. The world seems to want us to stop thinking; yet we see, with every subscription, every question posed in an “Ask The Philosopher” session, every registration for an event, every submission to our publications, that people all over the world are seeking to think, read, explore ideas, ask and attempt to answer hard questions, and create meaning—together.
Some stats. In 2025, we:
Published two issues of The Philosopher magazine, our just released late Autumn 2025 issue Crossing the Floods and our Spring 2025 issue Marx and Philosophy, providing a platform for more than 30 thinkers, writers, and artists, in print, and digital editions, with most pieces made freely available on the web and through substack at some point throughout the year
Published a second edition of the essay collection Philosophy in the Borders by Michael Bavidge, in print and digital editions
Presented 46 on-line public events, with ~6000 live attendees, including:
The AI and the Digital speaker series with convened by Dr.Audrey Burwoski
A mini speaker series on Historical Anxiety convened by NiIcholas Halmi
The Philosopher and the News podcast hosted by Alexis Papazoglou
Our ongoing and eclectic On Philosophy speaker series
Offered four Master Classes on Decolonial Thought, as well as a workshop on Philosophies of Crisis and another on Hannah Arendt and Exile
Gathered for several sessions of our informal philosophical salon “Ask the Philosopher”
Hosted an in-person launch event for our Marx and Philosophy issue at the Marx Memorial Library in London
Managed the exuberant afterlife of our events series on Youtube, where recordings logged 80k views in the last year
Welcomed 82K visitors from 150 countries to our website which hosts our extensive archive of articles
Grew our substack, topping off at more than 20,000 subscribers by year’s end
This year has also been a time of transition, as we welcomed a number of new managing editors and volunteers following our recruitment drive at the start of the year, and in anticipation of our long-time beloved Editor-in-Chief Anthony Morgan stepping down. The Philosopher shifted to an editorial collective model with Anthony’s guidance throughout the Spring, and was further supported by his copious, detailed notes after his departure in the Summer. He bequeathed to us the theme of “Crossing the Floods”, taken from a Buddhist parable about how to overcome suffering (a harbinger of some of the inevitable ups and downs of our first season without him?) which editors Nishok G U, Kate Warlow-Corcoran and James Andow made their own in brilliant fashion.
The Philosopher’s reach across print and digital media is staggering when compared with our small mostly volunteer staff and miniscule budget. It is also at the heart of our mission: making public philosophy of the highest caliber as widely available and accessible to as many people as possible while, as they say, keeping the lights on (or the zoom account active). Indeed, The Philosopher is growing and poised to grow even more. We want to be both responsive and responsible to the global community of readers, writers, and thinkers who engage with our work. And to do that, there are many unglamorous things that need tending. Postage, printing, and distribution costs have increased (thanks tariffs) and some of our basic digital infrastructure—like the website and our subscription management—needs significant updating in order for us to publish, promote, distribute, and archive The Philosopher at a level that matches the quality of the writing we champion. We want to continue to pay our contributors, facilitators, and designers, and pay them more when possible.
If you have joined a webinar this year, tuned into “The Philosopher and the News”, been inspired, challenged, or stimulated by an article on our free substack, submitted to or written for us, or browsed an article online, please consider chipping in however you can to help us keep doing what we have been doing, and more. In 2026 we are striving to meet our current moment head on, with an issue devoted to probing the philosophical dimensions, implications, and stakes of global finance; a robust schedule of speakers and conversations featuring a mini-series on Philosophies of the Global South; a workshop on the Socratic method in everyday life; and much more. As our year winds down, please consider supporting our efforts and joining our community. You can do so in a few ways:
Subscribe! Print and/or digital subscriptions are included with a patreon membership available at four levels : Wise, Learned, Sage, and Enlightened
Purchase a single print or digital issue (new option!)
Make a one-time year end gift : every contribution helps and is greatly appreciated
Thank you for your support and for your intellectual camaraderie.
Season’s Greetings and all best wishes for 2026!
Warmly,
Tara Emelye Needham
Andrés Saenz de Sicilia
Co-directors