In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Neil Shubin about polar science in the arctic and Antarctica. They discuss polar science, Arctic and Antarctica, hot ice, blue ice, life under the Antarctic ice, fossil discoveries, meteorites, climate change, and many other topics. Neil Shubin is a Paleontologist and Evolutionary Biologist. He is the Robert Bensley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and the Associate Dean for academic strategy of the Biological Scienc...
Mar 09, 2025•59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with C. Daniel Batson about his work on empathy and altruism. They discuss the empathy-altruism hypothesis, Bloom’s work on empathy, empathic concern, egoistic and altruistic motives, cooperation, future of altruism/empathy research, and many more topics. C. Daniel Batson is a social psychologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Kansas. He has a PhD in theology and PhD in Psychology both from Princeton University. His research has focused...
Mar 06, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Agnes Callard about Socrates and living a philosophical life. They discuss untimely questions, intellectual intimacy, savage commands, socratic ethics, truth inquiries, living a philosophical life, and many more topics. Agnes Callard is a philosopher and Associate Professor of philosophy and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Chicago. She has her Bachelors from the University of Chicago and her PhD from Berkeley. Her primary...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Albertus about land power. They define land power, land sovereignty, and discuss land ownership. They talk about the great reshuffle, settler reforms, collective reforms, land-to-tiller reforms, and cooperative reforms. They discuss federal vs. private lands, 1860 Homestead Act, land and race, Native Americans and land, El Salvador and land control, Venezuela’s land revolution, land reconciliation in South Africa, and many more topics. ...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 24 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sophia Rosenfeld about the modern history of choice. They discuss the concept of choice in different domains of society, choice and freedom in liberalism and neoliberalism, choice in shopping, choice in religion, choosing romantic partners, choice in politics, choice in reproductive rights, and many more topics. Sophia Rosenfeld is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania,...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 17 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Eugene Finkel about the Ukraine-Russian War. They discuss Russia’s 200 year crusade to end Ukraine, identity, shared histories, and impact of Mongol and Ottoman empires. They talk about the Donbas and Crimea regions, Putin’s version of history, Galicia and Eastern Front in WWI, Ukraine independence, and Stalin’s Russification of Ukraine. They discuss Ukraine post- Soviet Union, 2014 annexation of Crimea and start of the current war, the 2022 in...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 21 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christine Rosen about changes in our experiences within today’s society. They talk about the value of human experience, speed of change with technology, becoming users not individuals, embodied experience, and spatiality. They also discuss audience capture, institutional reform, our future experiences, and many more topics. Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on American history, society an...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jonathan Rauch about the impact of Christianity on democracy in the United States. They discuss Christianity without dogma, why secular America should care about Christianity, and if a secular religion is possible. They talk about why people are less religious, evangelical Christians aligned with MAGA, liberalism and post-liberalism, mormonism, future of Christianity and democracy, and many more topics. Jonathan Rauch is a Senior Fellow of Gove...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 15 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Rahul Bhatia about the many recent changes in India. They provide an overview of the recent social changes in India, the Citizenship Act and National Register, Citizenship based on religion, protests against the Citizenship Act, history of the RSS, Infosys, Modi, and many more topics. Rahul Bhatia is a journalist and author of The New India , a book of narrative reportage about the road to authoritarianism in India and its effects on ordinary c...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr 40 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James M. Bradley about the life and president of Martin Van Buren. They discuss how Van Buren built the modern political party system, background and upbringing of Van Buren, influence of Aaron Burr, Van Buren’s temperament, his time as New York State Senator, Attorney General, U.S. Senator, and Governor of New York. They talk about Van Buren being campaign manager for Andrew Jackson’s presidential campaign, Secretary of State for Jackson, Van ...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 26 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christopher Cox about Woodrow Wilson and his interactions with women’s rights. They discuss the complicated history and legacy of Woodrow Wilson, landscape of the women’s Suffrage movement, and the origins of Wilson’s racist and sexist ideas. They talk about his time at Bryn Mawr College, ignoring women’s rights as governor, and how he won the Presidency in 1912. They discuss his removal of African-Americans from the Civil Service division, his...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yardena Schwartz about the 1929 Jewish Massacre in Hebron. They give an overview of the 1929 Hebron massacre, review of Ottoman and British rule of Palestine, and talk about Hebron and holy sites in Palestine. They also discuss an independent Palestine, motivations and propoganda before the 1929 massacre, Haj Amin, lineage of Amin to present-day Palestinian leadership, October 7 massacre, and many more topics. Yardena Schwartz is an award-winni...
Jan 12, 2025•1 hr 17 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nathan Thrall about Palestinians living in Jerusalem. They discuss using narrative to discuss the Palestinian experience in Jerusalem, provide an overview of the geography, wall, and West Bank. They talk about sovereign rights, home, color ID cards for Palestinians in the West Bank, 1st intifada of 1987, October 7, future of Israel-Palestine relations, and many other topics. Nathan Thrall is is an American writer living in Jerusalem. In 2024, h...
Jan 06, 2025•1 hr 18 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lauren Oakes about forest and trees and the impact of climate change. They talk about the Global Tree Restoration study of 2019, impact of forests on the planet, and how we obtain data on forests. They talk about what is a forest, reforestation and afforestation, forest transition, and the Carboniferous period. They talk about the Land Gap Report, carbon accounting, offsets, incentive structures, ecosystem services, urban forests, and many more...
Dec 29, 2024•1 hr 19 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michel Brahic about prions. They provide an overview of proteins, prion proteins, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and importance of cells and ribosomes. They also talk about neuroanatomical regions relevant for prions, Lewy Body, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, memory, future of medical research, and many more topics. Michel Brahic, an expert in viral and prion infections of the brain, is Professeur Honoraire at Institut Pasteur in Paris. He has been Dire...
Dec 15, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah B. Hrdy about a natural history of fathers. They discuss fathers as caregivers, different roles, role of prolactin with male care, decrease of testosterone in new fathers, alloparenting, grandmother hypothesis, attachment in fathers, fatherhood in the 21st century, and many more topics. Sarah B. Hrdy is an anthropologist and primatologist who is professor emerita at the University of California-Davis. She has her PhD in Anthropology from ...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey Wawro about the Vietnam War. They discuss why the U.S. chose to get involved in Vietnam, Eisenhower’s approach, JFK’s approach, and the attempted coups in Vietnam. They talk about the domino theory, McNamara, U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1964/1965, the draft, high casualties of 1967/1968, public sentiment, LBJ not running for re-election, Nixon’s approach, legacy of the Vietnam War, and many other topics. Geoffrey Wawro is Distinguis...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 40 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nick Lloyd about the Eastern Front of World War I. They discuss the Eastern Front and why it has been neglected in popular understanding, major players and landscape of the Eastern Front, and the role of Galicia. They discuss 1915 and fall of Serbia, impact of the Russian Revolution, final years of the war, and many more topics. Nick Lloyd is Professor of Modern Warfare at King's College London based at the Joint Services Command & Staff Co...
Dec 01, 2024•46 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Robin Waterfield about his new English translation of Aesop’s Fables. They discuss the timeless nature of Aesop’s fables, translating the fables, selecting the 400 fables, and authorship of the fables. They also discuss categorizing the fables, their structure, morals and ethics in the fables, comparisons with other fables, and many other topics. Robin Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, and editor, specializing in Ancient Gr...
Nov 28, 2024•50 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paula Fredriksen about the various Christianities in the early 1st and 2nd centuries. They discuss how there are many Christianities, contradictions within the New Testament, integration of Jews and pagans in the Mediterranean in the 1st century, and Jewish diaspora. They also talk about the crucifixion of Jesus, the idea of Israel, and persecution of early Christians. They discuss early eschatology, early church fathers, Constantine, Asceticis...
Nov 25, 2024•57 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ben Goldfarb about road ecology. They define road ecology, discuss current landscape of roadways in the U.S., and discuss road crossings. They talk about the human impact of animal roadkill, Banff National park, current state of road crossings, Federal and State involvement, road crossings in cities, future of road crossings, and many more topics. Ben Goldfarb is an independent conservation journalist who has written fiction and non-fiction in ...
Nov 21, 2024•53 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alex Christofi about the history of Cyprus. They discuss Cypriot identity, Greek and Turkish involvement, and the origins and mythology of Cyprus. They talk about olive culture and royal purple, Cyprus in the Bible, Islam, the Ottomans, British involvement, independence, the 1974 coup d’etat, present and future of Cyprus, and many more topics. Alex Christofi is Editorial Director at Transworld Publishers. He is the author of numerous essays, re...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 24 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Benjamin Winegard about the 2024 U.S. Elections. They discuss their overall thoughts, examine the results and the county shifts nationwide, and talk about Trump and Trump-lite candidates. They talk about split-ticket voting, current state of MAGA, Latinos, gender, ballot measures, Trump’s 2nd term, how Democrats reset their agenda, and many more topics. Benjamin Winegard is an Assistant Professor of psychology at Lincoln University in Jefferson...
Nov 10, 2024•3 hr 1 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arlie Hochschild about pride and shame in Appalachia. They discuss the political Right in Appalachia and framework of pride and shame, demographic makeup of the population in Appalachia, current challenges in Appalachia, and the emotions of pride, shame, and guilt. They talk about the appeal of the far Right, immigration and nationalism, liberals abandoning the working class, how we repair the politics divides, and many other topics. Arlie Hoch...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jason Stanley about the importance of preserving history. They talked about why authoritarians attempt to erase history, fascist ideas, nationalism, immigration, book burning, classical education, how to defend history, and many other topics. Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and honorary professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. Before coming to Yale in 2013, he was Distinguished Professor in the De...
Nov 03, 2024•37 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mario Livio about finding life in our universe. They define life, discuss if we are alone, and the improtance of telescopes showing galaxies. They talk about the goldilocks zone, how life began on earth, proteins and genes, and building blocks of life on other planets. They talk about tidal forces, exoplanets, UAPs, intelligent life, and many more topics. Dr. Mario Livio is an astrophysicist, author, and speaker. He is a Fellow of the American ...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 6 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sheena Mason about race and culture. They talk about the increased focus on race, racelessness and the wayfinder, defining race/ism and history of the categories of race. They talk about culture, history, and ethnicity, mixed race and ethnicity, anti-racism, practical ways to end racism, and many more topics. Sheena Michele Mason is an assistant professor of English at SUNY Oneonta. She holds a PhD with distinction in English from Howard Univer...
Oct 27, 2024•1 hr 33 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Emily Herring about the life and philosophy of Henri Bergson. They discuss who he was and why he is forgotten, changes in his childhood, and how he choose philosophy. They talk about his concepts of Durée, freedom, and memory. They talk about his relationship with Proust, his global popularity, evolution, later life, his legacy, and many more topics. Emily Herring is a writer based in Paris. She has her PhD in the history and philosophy of scie...
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 59 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones about the history of the various Cleopatra queens. They discuss the 7 major Cleopatras, gender roles and norms in Egypt, and the context of the Antigonids, Ptolemies, and Seleucids. They talk about Cleopatra I, incestuous marriages, Potbelly and Cleopatra II and III. They discuss the ethnicity of Cleopatra VII, her various romantic relationships, her suicide, legacy of the Cleopatras, and many more topics. Lloyd Llewellyn-...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 13 min
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nathan J. Robinson about US foreign policy. They discuss his collaboration with Noam Chomsky, myth of American idealism, and positive elements of US foreign policy. They discuss US foreign policy in Latin America, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, and China. They talk about current threats of climate change and nuclear weapons and the future of US foreign policy. Nathan J. Robinson is editor of Current Affairs and a political co...
Oct 13, 2024•1 hr 2 min
