In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey West about scale and sustainability. They begin by discussing scale and how it is typically defined. They give an overview of the major relevant scaling laws including the logarithmic scale. They discuss the importance of metabolic rate and the magic number four. They talk about growth and scale and how these concepts are applied with aging along with the role of temperature on metabolism. They discuss fractals and how they work with s...
Jan 23, 2022•2 hr 5 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael McCullough on cooperation and kindness with humans. They discuss his professional background and why he wrote his most recent book along with how one can understand kindness and cooperation. They discuss the four instincts of care, reciprocity, judgments, intentions, and character evaluation. They also discuss a taxonomy of emotions, compassion, empathy, and other emotions. They talk about the axial age and development of the golden rul...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 52 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Benjamin Lipscomb about four women philosophers in the early 20th century who revolutionized ethical studies. They discuss how he came to write this book and how these four women came to know each other and discuss ethics. They talk about how facts and values are different and the towering presence of Aristotle's philosophy. They describe the environment of Oxford in the 1920s and how much misogyny and sexism played a part in academia during th...
Jan 13, 2022•1 hr 6 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Marie Favereau about the Horde and the Mongol empire. They discuss the Horde and the distinction between the Mongol empire and Mongol exchange. They talk about common misconceptions of the Mongols and the legacy and impact of the powerful figure in Chinggis Khan. They discuss the golden lineage and how the Mongols continued to be very organized after the death of Chinggis Khan with the hierarchy of the blue and white horde. They explain the con...
Jan 10, 2022•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Bill Sullivan about genes and how they impact various aspects of humanity. They define genes and DNA and the roles of genes within the environment. They also discuss the complicated dynamics of epigenetics. They talk about the genetics of taste and caffeine and how some genes are implicated in addictions to various substances. They also talk about the genetics of appetite and the gut microbiome, emotional states, and beliefs. They also discuss ...
Jan 06, 2022•1 hr 44 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Haig about evolution, causes, and the meaning of life. They discuss how bits of matter can help us understand purpose and value. They talk about the four causes of Aristotle, adaptation, group selection vs. cooperation, and the three types of genes. They discuss replicators and vehicles, types and tokens, memes, and the extended phenotype. They mention the gene selection network, instinct, using biology for understanding meaning, various ...
Jan 03, 2022•1 hr 42 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mark Atwood Lawrence about the foreign policy of the United States in the 1960s. They discuss why his book focuses on other foreign policy elements outside of Vietnam during the 1960s. They mention the political opinions of communism, how lower officials managed day-to-day foreign affairs, and why he used the term “third world.” They talk about the transition from Eisenhower to Kennedy and the style of governance that Kennedy used for foreign a...
Dec 30, 2021•1 hr 55 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Wolfram Eilenberger about four German philosophers at the turn of the 20th century. They focus on the central theme of whether one can separate the ideas from the biography of a person. They talk about the embodied view vs. the pursuit of eternal truths. They discuss how institutional changes have impacted philosophy in the modern era. They mention the challenges of analytic philosophy and why the four philosophers in his book do not focus on m...
Dec 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kenneth Catania about various animals that are outliers for evolution. They discuss how evolution helps understand these animals that are outliers. They talk about the anatomy and features of the star-nosed moles. They mention the importance of the neocortex in moles and shrews. They discuss the fascinating features of the tentacled snake and the electric eel along with the "zombie" effect the female jewel wasp conducts and many other topics. K...
Dec 23, 2021•1 hr 29 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Lane about the neuroscience of psychotherapy and enduring change. They give an overview of how the neuroscience of psychotherapy can impact enduring change. They provide an overview of memory and the integrated memory model. They mention experiences outside of memory and the three types of unconscious memory along with the cognitive map model. They discuss emotion focused therapy, defining emotion, the social constructivist model, and m...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 52 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Owen Flanagan about emotions, specifically the emotions of anger and shame. They discuss a definition of emotion and the distinction between feelings and affect. They discuss how emotions are active and whether one can choose their emotions. They dialogue about the social constructivist model of emotions and some of the critiques. They define anger and distinguish between different types of anger. They talk about why pain-passing and payback an...
Dec 16, 2021•2 hr 12 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Firth-Godbehere about the history of human emotions. They provide a definition of emotion and how it is different from affect and feelings. They explain emotional regimes, communities, and scripts. They talk about how the Greeks understood emotions and some of the differences between positive and negative emotions. They discuss the system of desire developed by the Hindus in India and the distinction between desire and disgust. They als...
Dec 13, 2021•1 hr 56 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stuart Shanker about the neuroscience and philosophical underpinnings of self-regulation. They discuss his clinical and research background in working with children and why he emphasizes a just society with self-reg. They discuss the 5-step method of self-reg and why stress management is important. They talk about infant development and the "4th trimester." They expound upon the evolutionary development of the triune brain and the current criti...
Dec 09, 2021•2 hr 37 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Danna Staaf about the history of cephalopods. They discuss the taxonomy of cephalopods and some of their anatomical features. They talk about how scientists understand cephalopods from the fossil record. They discuss the genesis of cephalopods and their first common ancestor along with the three sub-categories: ammonoids, coleoids, and nautiloids. They explain the importance of ammonoids, their shell, and how it became internalized. They mentio...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 27 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Coleman regarding toxic polarization in society. They define toxic polarization and what makes the current moment unique from other moments in social history. They talk about in-group/out-group dynamics and why dialogue is essential. They discuss attractors and the importance of Kurt Lewin's field theory. Peter explains his five-factor model of the way out (reset, bolster, complexity, movement, and adaptation) and how we can use complexit...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Gabriel Gottlieb about German idealism and the philosophies of Immanuel Kant and Johann Gottlieb Fichte. They define German idealism and where this period sits within the history of philosophy. They discuss the interaction between subject and object and how intersubjectivity plays a role. They mention the impact of Hume on German idealism and define Kant's terms of Apriori and Aposteriori. They talk about how one could understand experience fro...
Nov 29, 2021•3 hr 24 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Russell about Sovereignty. They discuss a definition of sovereignty and the historical arc on the claim of sovereignty. They discuss the idea of a deity giving sovereignty and the importance of Westphalia shifting from deity to state. They talk about what perfecting sovereignty is and the importance of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau on Sovereignty. They discuss popular sovereignty with the American and French revolutions along with the tragi...
Nov 25, 2021•1 hr 7 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Coltan Scrivner about morbid curiosity. They define curiosity and morbid curiosity along with the origins of morbid curiosity with critiques on terror management theory and negative trait bias. They discuss state vs. trait morbid curiosity and how morbid curiosity correlates with personality. They talk about his measure of morbid curiosity, what factors he found, and why he used factor analysis. They engage on horror films and why many people a...
Nov 22, 2021•1 hr 58 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Laura Galloway about her memoir where she details her experience of living in the Arctic Tundra. They discuss her professional background and reasoning for writing a memoir. They talk about the psychological impact of the death of her mother and how the relationship with her father evolved. They discuss her time in Los Angeles and New York City and how she decided to move to the Arctic Tundra in Norway. They talk about what the Arctic was like ...
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 14 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with George Bonanno on the many aspects of trauma. They discuss the many pitfalls of trauma and a working definition of trauma. They explain what potentially traumatic events (PTE) and acute stress reactions are and some of their differences. They describe the difference between PTSD and clinical trauma and trauma stressors. They also discuss risk factors and environmental variables along with complex and multi-generational trauma. They discuss resi...
Nov 15, 2021•1 hr 45 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah Richardson about the history of maternal-fetal effects. They discuss why human developmental plasticity is important for intrauterine growth and how this impacts the evolution of post-natal growth. The talk about the importance of Weismann's philosophy of science for maternal health. They mention maternal impressions theories and the complicated history of eugenics with maternal health. They discuss the importance of animal studies to und...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 28 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Henry Gee about the history of the earth. They start by discussing Henry's background and reasons for writing the book. They discuss the big bang and origins of the earth along with how the sun and planets formed in our solar system. They talk about the importance of gravity and how early life started in the oceans. They explain how life went from unicellular to multicellular and the formation of sponges. They discuss how life formed the anus t...
Nov 08, 2021•3 hr 7 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Samantha Rose Hill about the life and philosophy of Hannah Arendt. They begin by mapping out some of Arendt's early childhood and life experiences, specifically the death of her father. They discuss her various romantic relationships including the very complicated relationship with Martin Heidegger. They explore the differences between loneliness and isolation and talk about Arendt's work on totalitarianism. They also discuss Arendt's work on p...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 57 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul Bloom concerning suffering, pleasure, and meaning. They discuss the reasoning for Paul writing his new book on the darker side of pleasure and make the distinction between chosen and unchosen suffering. They question whether one should always finding meaning in suffering and talk about some of the illusions of reality. They talk about the notion of contrast and discuss the importance of aversive fictions and the role of imagination. They d...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 28 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arvid Ågren about the genetic implications of evolution. The discuss his background and reasons for writing his book. They explain the gene's-eye view of natural selection and how one can still understand evolution without genetics. They also discuss how genes are "immortal" and "selfish" and still cooperate together. They talk about adaptation and this concept's history along with the challenges of creationism and intelligent design. They also...
Oct 28, 2021•2 hr 42 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Batya Ungar-Sargon about journalism and the working class. They begin by discussing the history of journalism and the past emphasis of the working class being the main audience. They discuss why mass media has become highly polarized and the evolution of media being for elites. They talk about some of the incentives of media and speculate about some of the potential psychological explanations for the polarization in society. They discuss the im...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr 42 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Charles Murray about statistics, cognitive abilities, and social-political issues. They begin by providing a statistical overview of the bell curve, standard deviations, and the overlap of group mean averages. They discuss meta analyses and factor analyses and why they are important for IQ data. They also mention g and its importance for cognitive abilities. They provide definitions of terms such as race, ethnicity, and populations along with g...
Oct 18, 2021•1 hr 36 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kyle Harper about the history of plague and disease on the planet. They begin by talking about his reasons for writing his latest book and the two main theses of the book. They talk about the five taxa of pathology and the importance of globalization on disease. They discuss the three components of parasitism and how the evolution of disease evolves alongside hominoids. They talk about the importance of hunter-gatherers in the Pleistocene perio...
Oct 14, 2021•1 hr 59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kat Rosenfield about women, men, feminism, metoo, cancel culture, and free speech issues. They begin the conversation by discussing why Kat writes about cultural issues and the current state of feminism. They explore why dissent from other women is not always accepted within many women's rights groups. They discuss women in the workplace, the patriarchy, metoo, and women in film. They talk about whether one can separate the art from the artist ...
Oct 11, 2021•1 hr 47 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Dominic Packer about group identities. They start the conversation by discussing his partnership with Jay Van Bavel and their reasons for writing the book. The define identity and why it is an important construct. They discuss the delineation between self and personality and discuss in-group vs. out-group constructs. They mention the concept of cooperation with group identities and mention some of the classic social psychology experiments. They...
Oct 07, 2021•1 hr 32 min
