The Staff Lounge Talks the book behind the podcast
Since late 2024, one of us has written the minutes after every coffee-break conversation. Those minutes are becoming a book: six questions, argued from three sides, with the readings that shaped them and the questions we still can't close.
- 6questions
- 3voices
- 1staff lounge
Listeners whose questions shape an episode can be credited in the book, always with their permission.
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Six questions, three ways to answer them
Each chapter starts where the episode started: one question asked over coffee. Then the positions we argued, the thinkers we leaned on, and what we still couldn't settle.
Chapter 01 · PerceptionIs perception everything?
How much of what you see is really yours, and how much did you inherit?
Explore the question →
Chapter 02 · CharacterWhat is a strong character?
Rock or air: holding firm, or knowing when to move.
Listen to the episode ↗
Chapter 03 · SuccessWhat should we count as success?
Who first told you what success looks like, and do you still agree?
Explore the question →
Chapter 04 · WealthDo you need wealth before you can have friends?
Money works like salt: it brings out the taste, but nobody makes a meal of it.
Explore the question →
Chapter 05 · PowerWhen does power corrupt?
Does power change the people who hold it, or show who they already were?
Explore the question →
Chapter 06 · ToleranceWhere does freedom end?
Tolerance as an art, not as passive acceptance.
Explore the question →
Every chapter is built from the minutes we've kept since 2024, edited and checked against the recordings.
No chapter ends on a verdict. Each closes with the questions that stayed open, so you can carry on thinking.
Questions from listeners that shape an episode can appear in the book, with your name only if you agree.
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Who is responsible
Jean-Maurice Henkel, iamjeanmaurice.com, for the Philosophy Talks podcast. Contact: philosophytalks@proton.me.
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Last updated 4 October 2026 · consent text version 2026-10-04