Recent Episodes

Hildegard von Bingen

September 20, 2026

Hildegard von Bingen was a 12th century mystic, polymath, and composer whose work spanned visionary theology, philosophy, cosmology, medicine, botany, and music. Her extraordinary intellectual accomplishments belie her humble claim to be “just a woman”. Was her humility justified in the face of the divine,…

Conscious Machines

June 5, 2022

Computers have already surpassed us in their ability to perform certain cognitive tasks. Perhaps it…

Brain displayed on computer screen, connected to lightbulbs representing emotions like joy, grief, and fear. Conscious machines concept.

Sanctuary Cities

May 1, 2022

In the U.S. there are over 500 sanctuary cities—municipalities that limit their cooperation with the…

US map highlighting locations of sanctuary cities.

The Doomsday Doctrine

April 3, 2022

The doctrine of mutually assured destruction is supposed to deter both sides in a war…

Clock face showing midnight with a fiery apocalyptic scene.

Reading the Troubled Past

March 13, 2022

Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe lambasted Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness as a deeply racist work that…

A collection of Great Books, a classic literature series.

Polyamory

February 13, 2022

In most if not all modern Western societies, monogamy is the dominant form of romantic…

Graphic of diverse hearts; "What Love Is and what it could be

The Examined Year: 2021

December 26, 2021

What happened over the past 12 months that challenged our assumptions and made us think…

Magnifying glass over 2021 on a yellow sticky note.

The Limits of Tolerance

December 19, 2021

In order to reach compromise, people try to be tolerant of others with different beliefs.…

Coexist: Religious symbols including a crescent moon, peace symbol, and cross.

What Is Religious Belief?

December 5, 2021

Many people profess to believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent God. Yet psychological data shows…

Diverse religious symbols including a cross, Om symbol, Star of David, and hand of Fatima illustrate the concept of religious belief.

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