18 June 2025
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Dec 11, 2017 —
Daniel Kaufman & Bryan Van Norden
- Just how Euro-centric are American philosophy departments, anyway?
- Is racism baked into Western philosophy?
- A brief account of Western dalliances with Eastern thought
- Why new movements in philosophy must kill their ancestors
- Why do philosophy departments stay white? Subtle self-selection, Bryan says
- Is philistinism killing philosophy as a discipline?
Dec 7, 2017 —
Robert Wright & John Horgan
- John continues to ruffle the feathers of scientists and philosophers
- Concepts of consciousness, from pure materialism to panpsychism
- John: The solipsism problem will keep the mind-body problem problematic
- Daniel Dennett’s inordinate aversion to mystery
- John gives us the plot spoiler about his book-in-progress
- Bob thought he had Dan Dennett cornered. But then…
- Are we in a simulation? Perish the thought, says John
Dec 5, 2017 —
Noah Rasheta & Ellen Leanse
- Ellen’s new book The Happiness Hack as an owner’s guide to the human brain
- Distraction as a “dopamine hijack”
- Conditioning the mind for happiness
- The neurology behind self-inflicted emotional wounds
- How to change happiness from “destination” to “journey”
- Ellen’s tips for “hacking into” contentment and purpose
Nov 22, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Shaun Nichols
- Pondering free will before Thanksgiving’s excesses
- Shaun: Determinism is too complicated to be intuitive
- The benefits of blame
- Is “free” will just a matter of semantics?
- What game theory experiments tell us about moralistic anger
- Shaun: It’s okay to use determinism to forgive yourself
- Do the “uncaused effects” of quantum physics bear on the free will question?
Oct 29, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Craig Harline
- Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, 500 years later
- Luther was very hard on himself, and the consequences were huge
- Why Luther’s sermons went viral in 16th-century Germany
- Luther’s mark on future Protestant denominations
- The Diet of Worms and its improbably dramatic aftermath
- Why did Prince Frederick III of Saxony protect Luther?
Oct 12, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Ethan Nichtern
- Ethan’s unusual upbringing as a “Dharma brat” in the Shambala Buddhist tradition
- How a cult classic took on spiritual significance for its fans
- What the film’s iconic line “as you wish” says about idealized love
- How Buddhist teachings are reflected in the film’s treatment of family, friendship and romance
- Ethan’s take on his parent’s spiritual teacher, Chögyam Trungpa, the controversial founder of Shambala Buddhism
Oct 9, 2017 —
Daniel Kaufman & Daniel Tippens
- What is the “morality everywhere” problem?
- Hume on “the cautious, jealous virtue” of justice
- The moral responsibility of comedians
- What moral universalists get wrong about everyday choices
- A critique of Daniel Tippens’ concept of moral production
- Daniel Tippens explains what it takes to be morally courageous
- Can moral activists win?
Sep 24, 2017 —
Nikita Petrov & Tony Ortega
- Former Scientology executive Marty Rathbun’s private conflict with the Church
- New breakthroughs in media coverage of Scientology
- How the Church swiftly conquered US law and the IRS
- What makes Scientology different from other religions?
- How L. Ron Hubbard invented a reality for his followers
- Why Scientology isn’t concerned with the apocalypse
- The Church’s beef with professional psychology
Sep 7, 2017 —
Robert Wright & Alison Gopnik
- How a personal crisis brought Alison back to David Hume
- Hume’s (likely) chance encounter with Buddhism
- Lessons learned from 23-year-old Hume’s nervous breakdown
- Which ideas might Hume have borrowed from Buddhism?
- How meditation disrupts the ‘autopilot’ of adulthood
- Is introspection as valuable as neuroscience?
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