Our hosts have ideas about what sort of books should have been included on the Voyager spacecraft, to support its heartwarming mission of spreading humanity to the stars. Would you have just sent the aliens your favorite book? Because maybe they don’t have the context to understand what a “Da Vinci Code” even is. And speaking of putting a lot of pressure on a book, TV creator Michael Schur’s How to Be Perfect put that pressure on itself. Philosophical ethics never sounded so good.

How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur

Works cited this episode:

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, William Shakespeare Bridgerton series, Julia Quinn Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk Twilight, Stephenie Meyer The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien The Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee The Ride of the Valkyries, Richard Wagner “Queen of the Night,” The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry The Three-Body Problem, CIxin Liu Contact, Carl Sagan The Art of War, Sun Tzu Silo, created by Graham Yost Fox in Socks, Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss Galaxy Quest, dir. Dean Parisot The Tragedy of King Lear, William Shakespeare The Office, developed by Greg Daniels Parks and Recreation, created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur The Good Place, created by Michael Schur The Apology of Socrates, Plato Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, dir. Ed Solomon The Simpsons and Philosophy, William Irwin, Mark T. Conrad, Aeon J. Skoble, editors Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts, David Baggett, Shawn E. Klein, William Irwin, editors The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy, Luke Cuddy, editor Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy, Erin McKenna, Scott L. Pratt, editors Radiohead and Philosophy, Brandon W. Forbes, George A. Reisch, editors Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig