This is an episode from UMass Boston’s ‘Ethics in Action’ Podcast mini-series on brain-computer interfaces that I currently co-host with sociologist and bioethicist James Hughes. In this episode, we are joined by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner. Dr. Sorgner is a philosophy professor at John Cabot University in Rome, Director and Co-Founder of the Beyond Humanism Network, Fellow Continue reading "58. Cyborg Ethics (with Dr. Stefan Lorenz Sorgner)"...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 22 min
In this episode, I speak with my former student, Aiden Gilroy. Aiden is currently a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy, and working as a research writer for the Notre Dame New AI Project. Aiden has a particular focus on digital privacy and is the founder of a Continue reading "57. AI and the Good Life (with Aiden Gilroy)"
May 08, 2025•1 hr 30 min
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Walter Veit, an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Reading. Walter is a wide-ranging philosopher working primarily at the intersections of the philosophy of cognitive and biological sciences, the philosophy of mind, and applied ethics. His recent research focuses on animal minds, welfare, ethics, and evolution. Continue reading "56. Evolution, AI, and Animal Minds (with Dr. Walter Veit)"...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 12 min
This is an episode from UMass Boston’s ‘Ethics in Action’ Podcast mini-series on brain-computer interfaces that I currently co-host with sociologist and bioethicist James Hughes. In this episode, we are joined by Luke Roelofs. Dr. Roelofs is an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Arlington. He is the author of numerous articles Continue reading "55. Brain-to-Brain Interfaces (with Dr. Luke Roelofs)"...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 5 min
This is an episode from UMass Boston’s ‘Ethics in Action’ Podcast mini-series on brain-computer interfaces that I currently co-host with sociologist and bioethicist James Hughes. In this episode, we are joined by Steffen Steinert. Dr. Steinert is an Assistant Professor in the Ethics and Philosophy section at Delft University of Technology. His research focuses on fundamental Continue reading "54. Rewiring Emotions (with Dr. Steffen Steinert)"...
Nov 16, 2024•1 hr 2 min
This is an episode from UMass Boston’s ‘Ethics in Action’ Podcast mini-series on brain-computer interfaces that I currently co-host with sociologist and bioethicist James Hughes. In this episode, we are joined by Susan Schneider. Dr. Schneider is the founding director of the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic University, where she is the William F. Dietrich Continue reading "53. AI, Consciousness, and the Future Mind (with Dr. Susan Schneider)"...
Nov 16, 2024•1 hr 21 min
In this episode, I speak with Dr. Kirsten Martin about her work on digital privacy. Kirsten is the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of Technology Ethics at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. She researches privacy, technology ethics, and corporate responsibility, and has published on these topics in leading academic Continue reading "52. Digital Privacy (with Dr. Kirsten Martin)"...
Oct 09, 2024•54 min
In this episode, I speak with my friend Darian Spearman about phenomenology, and in particular, Edmund Husserl’s book The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology. Darian is currently an assistant professor of philosophy at Gonzaga University.: https://www.gonzagabulletin.com/news/philosophy-professor-brings-decolonial-and-africana-thought-to-gu/article_7f99d70a-accd-11ed-98a4-0b1ac5d53228.html
Sep 17, 2024•55 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Walter Veit about the science and philosophy of consciousness. Walter is an interdisciplinary scientist and philosopher who is currently completing his PhD dissertation at the University of Sydney, Australia. He has published on a wide range of topics, including the topic of animal consciousness and animal Continue reading "50. Naturalizing Consciousness (with Dr. Walter Veit)"...
Apr 25, 2021•1 hr 34 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Dr. Heather Browning about animal ethics. Dr. Browning received her PhD from the Australian National University in 2020 and is currently a postdoctoral research officer at the London School of Economics working as a part of the Foundations of animal Sentience Project. Dr. Browning and I Continue reading "49. Animal Ethics (with Dr. Heather Browning)"
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 9 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with the philosopher Quassim Cassam on the topic of extremism. Dr. Cassam is a professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick and has made contributions to many different areas of the field. A lot of his earlier work focuses more on traditional topics in epistemology, like Continue reading "48. Extremism (with Professor Quassim Cassam)"
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 29 min
In this episode I discuss virtual reality technology. Here are a few links to relevant articles:
Apr 03, 2021•48 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with my brother Brad Turner about Buddhism, the purpose of life, the possibility of the afterlife, the existence (or nonexistence) of God, the concept of rebirth and nirvana, and the nature of consciousness and the self.
Mar 14, 2021•1 hr 28 min
In this episode I discuss the idea that we are currently living in an age of heightened existential risk. Here are links to articles/books that I reference in the episode: The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity (Toby Ord 2020): https://www.amazon.com/Precipice-Existential-Risk-Future-Humanity/dp/0316484911
Mar 01, 2021•45 min
In this episode I discuss the topic of artificial intelligence and automation. Here are links to articles that I reference in the episode: GPT–3 Guardian Article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3 MIT Task Force Article: https://news.mit.edu/2019/work-future-report-technology-jobs-society-0904 ‘What is AI?’ Article: https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-ai-everything-you-need-to-know-about-artificial-intelligence/
Feb 08, 2021•37 min
In this episode I discuss how social media is deranging society and democracy by turning all of human communication into a public performance.
Feb 06, 2021•21 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Professor Susanna Siegel. Dr. Siegel is the Edgar Pierce Professor of philosophy at Harvard University. She has made significant contributions in many different fields of philosophy, and is especially well known for the work that she’s done in the philosophy of perception. In this episode I Continue reading "42. Schadenfreude and Authoritarianism (with Professor Susanna Siegel)"...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr 35 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I have a wide ranging conversation with my friend Darian Spearman about many different topics, including healthcare, 2020 politics and culture, capitalism, social media, and the state of contemporary journalism.
Aug 27, 2020•2 hr
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with professor Michael Morrell about the nature of democracy. Dr. Morrell is currently a political science professor at the University of Connecticut. He received his PhD in political science from Arizona State University in 1998. Here I speak with Dr. Morrell about a range a different Continue reading "40. The Nature of Democracy (with Professor Michael Morrell)"...
Jul 23, 2020•1 hr 18 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Hunter Gentry about the so-called extended mind thesis in philosophy. Hunter received his master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Houston, and is currently a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work primarily focuses on perception, memory, and control. Our discussion Continue reading "39. The Extended Mind (with Hunter Gentry)"...
Jul 18, 2020•1 hr 14 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with my brother Brad (aka B-rad 3) about Buddhism, the idea of karma, and the metaphysics of consciousness.
Jul 11, 2020•1 hr 20 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with my colleague Eric Berg about anarchism. Eric is a self-described anarchist and is currently a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Connecticut. Here we talk about many different things related to anarchism, such as the distinction between anarchism and chaos, the distinction between anarcho-communism, Continue reading "37. Anarchism (with Eric Berg)"
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr 25 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with my friend Benji Buchanan. Benji is an entrepreneur and currently a computer science student at the University of Connecticut. We talk about a range topics, including Benji’s experience in the military and what it was like for him to undergo buds navy seal training, mindfulness, the Continue reading "36. Mindfulness and the Attention Economy (with Benji Buchanan)"...
Mar 08, 2020•1 hr 19 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Dr. Philip Goff, who is a professor of philosophy at Durham University. Professor Goff’s research focuses on the philosophy of consciousness and the question of how to integrate consciousness into our scientific worldview. In recent years, Professor Goff has become one of the leading proponents of Continue reading "35. Is the Universe Conscious? (with Professor Philip Goff)"...
Feb 29, 2020•1 hr 11 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Zori Lane and Gino De Angelis, who are the leaders of the University of Connecticut chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. We discuss many topics, including socialism versus capitalism, the concept of ‘fully automated luxury communism’, healthcare, the 2020 presidential election, and cancel culture.
Feb 22, 2020•2 hr 7 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Professor Evan Perkoski. Dr. Perkoski is a professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut whose research focuses on terrorism and insurgency. Topics discussed include: terrorist technological innovations (e.g. suicide bombings, sarin gas attacks, aerial hijackings, cyberattacks), domestic terrorism, the logic of strategic nonviolence, the Continue reading "33. Terrorism (with Professor Evan Perkoski)"...
Feb 20, 2020•1 hr 10 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Professor Charles Lansing about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Dr. Lansing is an associate professor of history at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, especially the Third Reich and the postwar German states, the Holocaust, European intellectual Continue reading "32. Nazi Germany and the Holocaust (with Professor Charles Lansing)"...
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 11 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Dr. C Thi Nguyen, who is an associate Professor of Philosophy at Utah Valley University. Dr. Nguyen and I discuss work that he has conducted in social epistemology. Topics covered include the hyper specialization problem, the concept of a cognitive island, the distinction between filter bubbles Continue reading "31. The Intellectual Apocalypse (with Professor C Thi Nguyen)"...
Dec 05, 2019•1 hr 24 min
This is a solo episode in which I talk about internet meme culture. In the episode, I discuss the origin of the ‘meme’ concept, the increasing role that memes are playing in political discourse, and the absurdist nature of contemporary memes.
Nov 16, 2019•50 min
In this episode of Tent Talks, I speak with Dr. Michael Patrick Lynch, who is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut. Among other things, Professor Lynch is the author and editor of ten books and director of the Humanities Institute at the University of Connecticut. His research concerns truth, Continue reading "29. Know-It-All Society (with Professor Michael Patrick Lynch)"...
Oct 25, 2019•57 min
