None: Recent Episodes
None
In 2021 I facilitated a lengthy discussion between two philosophers who take different views on the best way to advance trans rights about why the debate is such a fraught one, Catarina Dutilh Novaes and Mary Leng. This is part one.
Previews of parts two and three are currently available exclusively for supporters.
In many ways medieval Islamic philosophy and the works of Friedrich Neitzsche couldn’t be more different. But as we see in this podcast, both provide interesting, rich challenges to modern western egalitarian ideals. Guests are Carlos Fraenkel (McGill University) and Mathias Risse (Harvard Kennedy School of Government). Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
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Harmony is as core a value in classical Chinese thought as Freedom is in the modern west and it is often thought that the two conflict, with major political implications. However, the three broadly Confucian scholars in this episode deny there is a fundamental conflict between freedom and harmony. They are Shenyang Li ( Nanyang Technological University), Anna Sun (Kenyon College) and David B. Wong (Duke University). Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
The third podcast in a series examining the relationship and tensions between hierarchy and equality sees three very different scholars all with roots in China asking us to rethink hierarchy through the lenses of history, economics, feminism, daoism, mathematics and artificial intelligence. My guests are Jiang Qian (independent scholar), Robin R. Wang (Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Pacific Studies at Loyola Marymount University) and Taisu Zhang (Associate Professor at the Yale Law School). Produced in association with the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.
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This is the second podcast in a series examining the theme of the relationship and tensions between hierarchy and equality. This episode looks at Confucian perspectives on the issues. My guests are Stephen C. Angle, Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University; Joseph C.W. Chan, professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong; Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History at Harvard University and Justin Tiwald, Associate Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University. Produced in association with the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.
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This is the second podcast in a series examining the theme of the relationship and tensions between harmony and freedom. This episode approaches this issue from the intimate to the global. My guests are Philip Pettit, L.S. Rockefeller University Professor of Politics and Human Values at Princeton University; Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir, professor of philosophy at the University of Iceland; and Leif Wenar, Chair of Philosophy and Law at King’s College London. Produced in association with the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.
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Are freedom and harmony political goals that complement or compete with each other? Joining me are Rajeev Bhargava, Director of the Institute of Indian Thought at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies; Anton Koch, professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg; and Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Professor at the University of Johannesburg. Produced in association with the Berggruen Philosophy and Culture Centre.
In a culture that values equality, what is the role and function of hierarchy in America today? With Kwame Anthony Appiah, Stephen Macedo and Carlin Romano. Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
The last of three podcasts on conceptions of self, East and West, asks whether the West suffers from “too much self”. With Rebecca Goldstein, Peter Herschock, Pico Iyer, Jay Ogilvy and David Wong. Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
The second of three podcasts on conceptions of self, East and West, looks at the idea of the relational self. With Roger Ames, Daniel Bell and Jin Lee. Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
The first of three podcasts on conceptions of self, East and West, looks at how the self needs to be cultivated. With Akeel Bilgrami, Thomas Kasulis and Edward Slingerland. Produced in association with the Berggruen Institute’s Philosophy and Culture Centre.
In the latest microphilosophy podcast I talk to the author of The Virtues of Our Vices Emrys Westacott about how the moral importance of everyday actions and the rightness of wrongness. The discussion was recorded live at Foyles bookshop in association with the Bristol Festival of Ideas.
In the latest microphilosophy podcast I talk to the author of The Atheist’s Guide to Reality, philosopher of Science Alex Rosenberg, about what science has to tell us about how we should live. We’re also joined by Samir Okasha, author of Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction. The discussion was recorded live at Foyles bookshop in association with the Bristol Festival of Ideas.
To coincide with the publication of The Shrink and The Sage, Julian Baggini and Antonia Macaro, authors of the book and the FT Weekend Magazine column of the same name, talk to philosopher John Sellars about the relationship between ancient Stoic philosophy and modern psychotherapy.
In the latest microphilosophy podcast I talk to Richard Lloyd Parry, author of People Who Eat Darkness, and Tobias Jones, author of Blood on the Altar about how the experience of writing about true, gruesome crimes has affected their understanding of evil and human nature. The discussion was recorded live at Foyles bookshop in association with the Bristol Festival of Ideas.
Sketch of discussion by Michelle Cioccoloni
Mary Warnock In the latest microphilosophy podcast I talk to Mary Warnock about her latest book, Dishonest to God: On Keeping Religion out of Politics. The interview was recorded live at the Arnolfini Centre as part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas.
In his book, In Defence of Dogs, John Bradshaw provides a fascinating insight into the inner life of dogs, raising issues of consciousness and animal ethics. This podcast was recorded at Foyles bookshop in Bristol in association with the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Bradshaw was in conversation with Julian Baggini and Prof. Christine Nicol.
As homo sapiens develops more and more technologies for changing itself, what will, and should, the humans of the future look like? In Humanity 2.0, Steve Fuller addresses these questions. This podcast was recorded at Foyles bookshop in Bristol in association with the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Fuller was in conversation with Julian Baggini and Darian Meachem.
Do we suffer from a lust for certainty? This is an edited version of a talk given to a Sea of Faith Network conference in London earlier this year.
John Gray In this programme I talk to John Gray about some of the ideas that emerge from his latest book, The Immortalization Commission: The Strange Quest to Cheat Death. The podcast was recorded at the Bristol Festival of Ideas in May, at the Arnolfini.
Brian Christian
Can artificial intelligence teach us about what it means to be human? That is the fascinating question behind Brian Christian‘s recent book, The Most Human Human. In this programme, Julian Baggini is in conversation with Christian, recorded live at the Bristol Festival of Ideas at the Arnolfini Centre earlier this year.
Richard Swinburne
After a hiatus, I’m replacing my Philosophy Monthly podcast with a new series, microphilosophy. Each one will be an interview, talk, discussion or feature, no longer than half an hour but usually much shorter.
This first edition is an interview with the philosopher and theologian Richard Swinburne, conducted for my new book, The Ego Trick. More podcasts relating to the book will follow over coming weeks.
Recorded at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival of Literature, this discussion on Utopias features myself; editor of The Faber Book of Utopias, John Carey; and Karen O’Brien, professor of literature at Warwick University.
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This skeptical edition features founder of The Skeptic magazine, Wendy Grossman; journalist, broadcaster and writer Simon Hoggart; and psychologist Christine Mohr. Recorded at the Bristol Festival of Ideas to mark the publication of Why Statues Weep, the best from the first twenty years of The Skeptic. You can buy the book at 10% discount here: just enter the code SKEPTIC at checkout.
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In this edition I talk to philosopher of biology John Dupré and the problems with genes, and the Nobel-prize winning Amartya Sen about the idea of Justice. Plus, guest reporter Antonia Macaro talks to John Heaton about Wittgenstein and therapy.
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