The Reality of Time
January 1, 2017
St. Augustine suggested that when we try to grasp the idea of time, it seems…
What Is Game Theory?
August 16, 2026
Game theory is a set of mathematical techniques for thinking about how people should choose when their choices interact. But real people aren’t exactly rational actors. Can a mathematical model explain real-world decisions? How can game theorists account for the fact that we don’t always…
Risky Business: The Business of Risk
December 25, 2016
There is an element of risk – either to ourselves or to others – in…
Seeing Red: The World in Color
December 18, 2016
Is the red you see indeed the very same red that anyone else does? What…
Weapons of Mass Destruction
December 11, 2016
The United States recently threatened military action against Syria in response to the Syrian government’s…
Conspiracy Theories
December 4, 2016
Some claim that the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 was actually…
Science and Gender
November 27, 2016
What does gender have to do with science? The obvious answer is ‘nothing.’ Science is…
Acting Together
November 20, 2016
Many goals are too complex for one person to accomplish alone. Every day, we pool…
2016 Election Special
November 6, 2016
In this re-broadcast of our special episode from the lead-up to the 2016 election, John…
Memory and the Self
October 30, 2016
Ever since John Locke, philosophers have wondered about memory and its connection to the self.…
Moral Luck
October 16, 2016
It seems reasonable to believe that we can only be blamed or praised for actions…
Dangerous Demographics: The Challenges of an Aging Population
August 28, 2016
All over the world, people are living longer and having fewer children than ever before.…
An Eye for an Eye: The Morality of Revenge
July 10, 2016
We are often taught that vengeance is a reprehensible or unworthy motivation and that, as…
The Limits of Self-Knowledge
June 26, 2016
Descartes considered the mind to be fully self-transparent; that is, he thought that we need…
Life as a Work of Art
June 5, 2016
We know what it means for a painting to be beautiful. But what about a…
The Moral Lives of Animals
May 29, 2016
From Aristotle and Kant to Hume and Darwin, philosophers and scientists have long denied the…
When Is It Wrong to Save a Life? Lessons from the Trolley Problem
May 15, 2016
A trolley is approaching a track junction, and you happen to be standing by the…
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