Meaningless Problems
An original short story by Doe Wilmann every single week for at least a year.
Episodes
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be really, really, ridiculously good looking?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Would your minute by minute experience of the world be any different if you were more attactive?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
Good looks
Greggs
Contemplating ...
Ten years ago something happened in Chloe’s village. But she’s not allowed to talk about it.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Can events or things cause happiness, or is happiness more fundamental?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
House Parties
Parks
Unexplainable...
A woman wants to buy their pub for five million pounds. But the deal will include all the pub’s memories.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
What is the true value of your memories?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
Pubs
Memories
Contemplating the meaning of life
Any...
A short story about a man who gets toothache whenever he experiences happiness.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
What would you do if you got toothache whenever you experienced happiness?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
Toothache
Happiness
Contemplating the meaning of life&n...
What happens when a well known comedian accidentally discovers the secret of the universe?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
How would your life change if you knew that you literally were everyone who has ever lived?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
The Egg by Andy Weir
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
Reinca...
Alan lands a job at the world’s happiest company. What could possibly go wrong?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
How does monitoring emotions affect our emotions?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
Happiness
Companies
Invasions of privacy
Contemplating the meaning o...
Governments are always promising to make things better. What would happen if they actively tried to make things worse?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Have you ever noticed that trying to force something to happen can make it less likely?
Come and see my new play - While We Wait - on at Arches Lane Theatre 3rd-7th March 2026. Tickets here: https://buytickets.at/waitwithme/1962304
You might ...
Kenny finds church to be a mystical experience - but not for the reasons you might expect.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Is there a single truth that connects religions, psychedelic experiences, and near enough every story ever told?
Come and see my new play - While We Wait - on at Arches Lane Theatre 3rd-7th March 2026. Tickets here: https://buytickets.at/waitwithme/1962304
You might enj...
A new technology makes it possible for a mother and father to forgive their son’s killer. Should they use it?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Given the possibility to let it go, can it ever be right to hold on to hatred?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical fiction
Specul...
For ten years, Eric has cared for his vegetative state brother with no hope he’ll ever recover. A scientific breakthrough changes everything.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Would you accept a blissful inner life if it meant no interaction with the outside world?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you thi...
Sylvia’s understanding of reality is shaken by an encounter with her dressing gown cord, a padlock and a snake.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Can evolutionary psychology fully explain human behaviour or is there something deeper at play?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical f...
A new technology turns every human being into a super genius, ushering in heaven on earth. There’s just one problem: it doesn’t work in Liverpool.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
If it’s possible to use technology to increase our intellectual and emotional intelligence, does this destroy the idea that certain people are ‘good’ and others are ‘bad’?
You mi...
What happens when every married woman on earth wakes up with the desire to divorce her husband?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Where do your desires come from?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fiction
John Wyndham
Spur of the moment decision...
He’s given his daughter an imaginary friend and she’s become quite attached. Does this make him a bad dad?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Do you think there’s any harm in kids having an imaginary friend?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fict...
Jerry’s new boyfriend appears to be perfect in every way. But he has a dark secret at the bottom of his garden.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Can an argument be logically correct but still ultimately wrong?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical fiction
Speculative fictio...
This is a story about two people called Brian. One is spiritually enlightened. The other is depressed. But do they have more in common than they realise?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
What are the two different versions of you? And do they ever have differing interpretations of the same event?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
...Some theories about the existence of god are silly. This one is literally… silly.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
What other qualities would a maximally great god have?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
God
Atheism
Stephen Fry
Christopher Hitchens
Alan Watts
Fiction that makes you think
Philosophical fiction&n...
In the near future, it is widely agreed that children would be better off if they never learnt how to speak.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Would you sacrifice your ability to speak if it meant never having another negative or stressful thought?
Written and performed by Doe Wilmann
Thanks to Katie Empett and Ross Hindle for reading early versions of this episode and providing notes.
Artwo...
If life is a game, Harvey Rain is determined to win. But what does winning actually look like? And what does this mean for the other players?
Something to consider when reading/listening:
Is it true that the only thing worse than not getting what you want is getting it?
You might enjoy this episode if you like:
Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eag...
When Poppy announces she wants to kill herself, her playwright husband employs a peculiar coping technique.
Something to consider when reading/listening:
To what extent does negative visualisation make you grateful for what you have?
Comedy - Philosophy - Stoicism
If you’d like to read the script of this episode go to https://www.fairobserver.com/author/doe-wilmann/
You might enjoy this epi...
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