• October 22nd, 7:00pm: "Is It Wrong to Wreck the Earth?" (Live Recording at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.)  One thing seems clear: from the point of view of future generations, there are too many people, doing too much damage to the ecosystem, essentially guaranteeing that those future generations will have a damaged earth, and have to invest incredible amounts of time, money and labor to repairing what can be repaired.   But future generations are made up of people who don't exist yet – what obligations do we have to them?  And what obligations, if any, to we have to our fellow fauna and the flora we all depend on?  Ken and John welcome environmental philosopher Kathleen Moore, author of Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water.

• October 23rd, 8:00pm: "Mind Reading" (Live Recording at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.)  Philosophers have long worried about whether we can rationally justify the belief that other people have minds.  In fact, we base many decisions every day not only on the belief that other people have minds, but on detailed beliefs about what is going on in those minds: what these other people believe, feel, hope, and fear.  The basis of our ability to "read" the minds of others is a lively area of research in psychology and the philosophy of psychology.  Ken and John discuss mind-reading with Shaun Nichols, from University of Arizona, author of Mindreading: An Integrated Account of Pretense, Self-awareness and Understanding Other Minds.

• November 20th, 7:00pm: "How Relevant is Jesus?" (Live Recording at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California.)  Some people think Jesus was the son of God, though many who are skeptical about that still think he was a great moral teacher. But if we really knew what Jesus would think about moral issues that he didn't confront while he lived, like abortion, terrorism, euthenasia, gay marriage or the destruction of old-growth redwoods, would it be that helpful? Would his moral vision have any implications for these issues? If so, would it be illuminating? The hosts of Philosophy Talk, Ken Taylor and John Perry, will discuss the moral philosophy of Jesus and its contemporary relevance with Andrew Fiala, Director of the Ethics Center at Fresno State University and author of What Would Jesus Really Do? The Power and Limits of Jesus' Moral Teachings. 

• 12 pm - "From the Minds of Babies"  Consciousness, morality, meaning and truth have perplexed and puzzled generations upon generations of philosophers. But could it be that we have been looking in all the wrong places to solve these imponderable mysteries? Could the minds of babies hold the key to philosophical progress? Join John and Ken for an enlightening discussion of the Minds of Babies and what they have to teach us about philosophy, with renowned developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik, author of The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell us about Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life.

• 3 pm - "Nihilism and Meaning"  The ancients believed in an enchanted universe -- a universe suffused with meaning and purpose. But with the dawn of modernity,  philosophy and science conspired together to disenchant the universe, to reveal it as entirely devoid of meaning and purpose. Must any rational and reflective person living in the 21st century accept such nihilism? Or is there a way to re-infuse the disenchanted universe with meaning and purpose? Join John and Ken for a thought-provoking discussion of Nihilism and Meaning with their guest Hubert Dreyfus, co-author of the forthcoming Luring Back the Gods.

• 12pm - “What are Words Worth?” Ken and John welcome back Professor Geoff Nunberg, author of The Years of Talking Dangerously,to explore how words shape our minds. Why do we adopt new words, or give old words new meaning? Can we eliminate a concept by renaming it, or eliminating the word for it?

• 3pm - "War, Sacrifice and the Media” John and Ken  probe the limits of the media representations of the real human costs of war and other forms of violence with Professor Judith Butler, author of Frames of War: When is Life Grievable? The media often presents a sanitized and one sided narrative of war, torture and other forms of violence that blots out the faces and silences the voices of many of the main victims —– the refugees; the victims of unjust imprisonment and torture; the immigrants virtually enslaved by their starvation and legal disenfranchisement.

Death is inevitable - why should we fear it?  A Virtual Life is now possible for anyone - is that a good thing?  Join hosts John Perry and Ken Taylor on Sunday September 28 at The Marsh Theater in San Francisco for two rousing recording sessions of Philosophy Talk.

• At 2:30, John and Ken probe The Terror of Death: How to Overcome It with best selling author and world-renowned Existential Psychotherapist, Irv Yalom.

• At 6:30, John and Ken explore Digital Selves: Avatars, Second Life, and Virtual Reality with special guest Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

Don't miss these opportunities to participate in deep discussion and meet John, Ken, and the whole Philosophy Talk Crew up close and personal.

Get your tickets now: $20 for one performance; $30 for both.  Tickets can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets, by phone at The Marsh's toll-free ticket hotline (1-800-838-3006), or in person at The Marsh's box office (located in the Marsh Café at 1070 Valencia Street).

The Marsh Theater  -- San Francisco's breeding ground for new performance -- is located at 1062 Valencia Street (near 22nd).

Philosophy Talk Records "Immigration" Show Live at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California

Philosophy Talk at the Smithsonian

Check out some shots of John and Ken recording a special for Oregon Public Broadcasting