In our latest installment of Better Know a Philosopher we talk about Simone de Beauvoir. A French philosopher who lived during the Suffrage movement and had interesting ideas about Feminism. Opening Invocation: Source: Thomas Smith's Question Hero of the Week: The Philosopher Queens
Oct 12, 2018•56 min
Today we bring on the host of Habeas Humor Podcast , Charone Frankel. We discuss the philosophy of "beyond a reasonable doubt". Is it appropriate? What does it actually mean? References: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-02/trump-says-it-s-a-very-scary-time-in-america-for-men https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=fss_papers Opening Invocation: Suggested by: Daniel Source: "The Book of Di...
Oct 06, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Presumption of innocence in the law vs. society. He said, she said, but apparently only "he" is telling the truth? In this episode we go to where the rubber of philosophy meets the road of our daily lives. We discuss the Judge Kavanaugh hearings from a philosophical angle, and of course, more about octopi. Opening Invocation: Aaron Hero of the Week: Octopuses on MDMA...
Sep 28, 2018•58 min
We are once again fortunate enough to bring on Jesse Rabinowitz for this discussion on Mind Body Dualism. This time we jump right into the weeds so think you can't see the tails from the Velociraptors. Opening Invocation: Jesse
Sep 20, 2018•57 min
For this months segment of Better Know A Philosopher, we talk about Angela Davis. A highly dynamic figure who's still making speeches and continuing her activist path from the Black Panthers, to Occupy Wall Street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrSIm2RXN4o Opening Invocation: "The Book of Disquiet" by Pessoa Hero of the Week: This thing: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bnpv85/the-emerging-fetish-of-laying-alien-eggs-inside-yourself...
Sep 13, 2018•40 min
For this weeks episode we welcome on Alonzo Fyfe, a philosopher and proponent of Desirism. We discuss this ethical model and how it relates to morality. References: Desirism Facebook Atheist Ethicist Desirism Opening Invocation: Ben Thompson Hero of the Week: John McCain
Sep 06, 2018•1 hr 1 min
This episode could also be named, "Aaron and GW try to pronounce peoples names". We dive into this question about art going too far. Getting into the weeds of what constitutes too far objectively, and how that relates to our subjective opinions of too far. Reference Material: https://www.therichest.com/shocking/15-performance-artists-who-took-their-art-way-too-far/ Opening Invocation: Grosse Pointe Blank Hero of the Week: Another Octopus
Aug 30, 2018•58 min
Today we're joined by the lovely ladies from Delightful Bitchcraft and Secular Soup Podcast. We talk about everything from kids and bullying, the mormon church, and how the womb is your first apartment. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/climate-change-parenting.html Opening Invocation: Natural History Museum Hero of the Week: Joe Radinovich Anonymous...
Aug 23, 2018•1 hr 1 min
Another installment of Better Know A Philosopher. This time we're diving into David Hume. During out conversation we even go into the weeds of some ways philosophers talk and argue, and why slave owners suck. Opening Invocation: The Animatrix Hero of the Week: Susan Unterberg
Aug 16, 2018•1 hr 4 min
Today we're joined with Eran Segev, the president of Australian Skeptics. We talk about what the organization does, their convention coming up in October, and the lovely anti-vaccination movement. Opening Invocation Muppets (Thanks to @Ghostwoods @MichaelToole @camgarrity) Hero of the Week: Anonymous
Aug 10, 2018•1 hr 1 min
What is a Staw-man (or as we call it Staw-bot) fallacy? What about a Steel-bot? We dive into both of these types or arguments and dig into the importance of Steel-boting and why we do it. Opening Invocation: Jesse Rabinowitz from Zen Buddhism Hero of the Week: Bo Burnham (film Eighth Grade)
Aug 02, 2018•1 hr 6 min
Today we're joined by fellow podcaster Stephanie Lepp of Reckonings podcast. This wonderful podcast interviews people who've had a major life changing moment or moments that altered their ideology or belief of something. Opening Invocation Jesse Rabinowitz Source: Zen Buddhism Hero of the Week Anonymous
Jul 26, 2018•1 hr 1 min
We kick off our first official Better Know A Philosopher with John Rawls. Essentially the father of modern liberalism. Aaron takes us through a bit of his life and we dive deep into his main argument. Opening Invocation listener: Petra Partake Hero of the Week Speakers of Nexus 2018
Jul 19, 2018•49 min
In this episode we talk with Stephen Stich, a Philosophy professor at Rutgers University about his career, addressing moral/ethical issues in the classroom, and much more. Opening Invocation Norse Mythology Information provide by Stephen Stich: Here is a link to our Templeton "Geography of Philosophy" Project website: https://www.geographyofphilosophy.com/ And here's a link to a Templeton site based on an interview with my co-PI, Edouard Machery: https://www.templeton.org/grant/the-geography-of-...
Jul 13, 2018•1 hr 6 min
This is our grand 50th episode of Embrace The Void! Aaron and GW do a little VoidNews and then launch into a new segment called, "Get to know a Philosopher". Opening Invocation @atheist_house Hero of the Week Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Jul 07, 2018•1 hr
Today we're joined with Cory Johnston host of the Brainstorm Podcast talking about the equality of opportunity vs. the equality of outcome. Opening Invocation Evan Mathews Hero of the Week Dr. Kim TallBear Her podcast mediaINDIGENA
Jun 28, 2018•47 min
Making up for not having an episode last week, we're having a double this week. In this episode we take a deep dive into Daoism. Aaron takes us though a few of the 80+ chapters in the Tao Te Ching. Opening Invocation Mad Men Hero of the Week Terrance Mannery
Jun 22, 2018
In this episode we talk with comedian and philosopher Myq Kaplan. We talk about just about everything from politics, jokes, what the hell philosophy is, and much more. Opening Invocation Aaron Hero of the Week Letitia Chai
Jun 21, 2018•1 hr 1 min
This is the unedited version of episode 46. The only thing I have done is put the audio regions in the right alignment, and made it a touch louder overall so it's not too quite to be unlistenable.
Jun 07, 2018•52 min
AKA GW's big day! Today we dive deep into the art and technique of sound design/editing. GW talks about editing the ETV podcast, dives into compression, different types of audio editing techniques, DAW's like Reaper , and we get super in the weeds talking about K-System Metering . Opening Invocation Her Hero of the Week This Guy!...
Jun 07, 2018•49 min
This is a heavy one. We bring on a friend of the show, Abe, to help us understand what's happening in Jerusalem. Later we attempt to discuss possible solutions and outcomes. Opening Invocation Dune, Litany against Fear
May 31, 2018
Today we dive deep into a topic we (mostly Aaron) constantly reference: Moral Luck. We start with the root of the concept from Thomas Nagel's Moral Luck . We then dive into the factors that contribute to it, how it affects all aspects of our existence, and what a world might look like where Free Will as a concept is eliminated. Opening Invocation Jordan Peterson's Beatitudes Hero of the Week Yanni, or maybe Laurel...
May 24, 2018•53 min
Guest Jody debates Aaron on Daniel Dennett's position on Free Will. We try to define what Free Will is and how that relates to a determinist philosophical view. We also examine the relationship of Free Will with consciousness. Opening Invocation This Is America - Childish Gambino Hero of the Week Duplex...
May 17, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Antinatalism is essentially a philosophical look at whether people should or should not have children. One doesn't consent to being born. Is a parent morally responsible for any suffering their child causes in their life? Opening Invocation Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Hero of the Week Mandy Manning https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/02/teacher-of-the-year-award-trump-mandy-manning...
May 10, 2018•53 min
Part two of our lncel episode. Definitely listen to part one first.
May 04, 2018•50 min
This is part one of a two part episode where we talk about Incel's, and we're graced with a returning guest Bethany Futrell (host of She Talks Atheism, and cohost of The Inciting Incident Podcast). We discuss the people, the communities, what they represent, and why they exist. Opening Invocation From listener and fan @HBOUFO (Twitter) Hero of the Week The women that told their stories to get 3 convictions of Bill Cosby
May 03, 2018•54 min
In this episode we are very glad to have the podcast veteran Ari Stillman. They're currently pursuing a masters degree in psychology at The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. We discuss different areas of research, especially in areas of trauma and PTSD. We also cover some in the area of gender and the Non-Binary community. Ari Stillman http://www.thegaytheistmanifesto.com/ https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-cis-are-getting-out-of-hand https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-sjw-circle-jerk ht...
Apr 26, 2018•1 hr 5 min
After we've signed our respective NDA's, we dive into Virtue Theory. Looking at what it means to have a virtue in something, and relate it to the Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. Moral Saints Opening Invocation: Milgram Experiment Hero of the Week: James Comey
Apr 19, 2018•52 min
As promised, here's the episode where we talk about pejoratives, and other language that could be unknowingly harmful to specific groups of people. We are joined by the amazing Marissa McCool and Priss to help us understand those perspectives that we cis white men might be missing. Marissa McCool http://rismccool.com/ Priss Twitter: @prissunicorn References Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Opening Invocation The Elevator Game (with Lu Lyons) Hero of the Week Aiden McCool For Trans Men...
Apr 12, 2018•1 hr 3 min
What is consciousness? The short of it: nobody knows. This episode we dive into a really hotly debated topic, consciousness. What is it? How do we test it? Do animals have it? Do machines have it? Does Aaron's calculator have it? DOES THIS PODCAST HAVE IT? Does it even exist? References: What is it like to be a bat Smarty Plants Opening Invocation: Dealer's Choice (Source: Tax Day) Hero of the Week Liberty Mutual (not a sponsor) http://thehill.com/homenews/media/381049-liberty-mutual-to-st...
Apr 05, 2018•51 min