After a respite, the Interesting Times podcast is back with an illuminating conversation with Dr. Ann Pellegrini and Dr. Avgi Saketopoulou . They join us to discuss their fascinating and genuinely important new book entitled, Gender Without Identity . There is so much to say about this book, but I will leave it to the insightful observations shared by the authors in the conversation. However, I will say that this book was born of the very controversies and toxic politics that have increasingly e...
Apr 25, 2024•1 hr 33 min
We are excited to share our fascinating conversation with Dr. Juliet Hooker , professor of political science at Brown University. The themes discussed are drawn from her recent book, Black Grief, White Grievance: The Politics of Loss (Princeton University Press). This book directly engages with the important social, political, and historical forces linking black grief and white grievance. Further, it challenges us to consider what kinds of legitimate losses may be necessary in order to create an...
Nov 23, 2023•1 hr 14 min
This is Part III of our re-issues series. More details can be found on the page for Part I here . Part II can be found here . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com...
Oct 16, 2023•59 min
This is Part II of a re-issued series. More details can be found on the page for Part I here . Part III can be found here . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com...
Oct 16, 2023•56 min
Given the recent dark turn in this long running conflict I am republishing two conversations (broken into four episodes) from the past that deal with many of the underlying issues driving present day events. They all feature my old friend Mike Hilkowitz. These conversations were recorded in June 2021 and April 2023. The first grew out of what now seems to be relatively ‘small’ but quite intensive standoffs over the status of some residences in East Jerusalem. The second begins by focusing on the...
Oct 16, 2023•48 min
We were quite fortunate to have Dr. Rob Eschmann , associate professor of social work at Columbia University, join us to discuss his important and insightful new book: When the Hoods Come Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age (Univ. of California Press). Our conversation uses Dr. Eschmann’s book as focal point for delving into the complex terrain located at the intersections of race, racism, resistance, and digital media. Thanks as always for supporting the show! This is a public episode...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 12 min
In this episode we are pleased to welcome Dr. Hajar Yazdiha, who is the author of an insightful new book on the contentious politics of both ‘making’ and ‘claiming’ the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement more broadly. Dr. Yazdiha’s book, The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement , advances our understanding of these evolving, and ongoing, political processes which seek to make meaning out of the history inh...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 15 min
The Interesting Times podcast is back with a new episode featuring a discussion with Prof. Lydia Wilkes of Auburn University and Prof. Ira Allen of Northern Arizona University. We use the recent cases of data manipulation by Harvard professor Francesca Gino as a point of entry to explore much wider (and more important) issues tied to how ‘knowledge’ about society is produced. As promised in the show, here is a link to the blog Data Colada where several experts in the field of quantitative analys...
Jul 30, 2023•1 hr 11 min
After a winter hibernation, The Interesting Times podcast is back with an exploration of the many causes and consequences of the still unfolding upheaval in Israeli politics and society. To guide us through this complex situation I was fortunate to speak with Michael Hilkowitz. Mike has been living in Israel for over a decade and has worked as the chief content officer for the Israel Innovation Fund. He is currently near the completion of a master’s degree in security and diplomacy studies at Te...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 7 min
In this episode we once again welcome the ever-prolific Dr. James Batcho to dig into the nature of Rousseau’s critique of the Enlightenment in the 18th century and what it tells us about our present age. As always, thanks for listening and, if you have not already, please consider subscribing to The Interesting Times . Graeme Garrard’s book, discussed in the episode can be found here . Dr. Batcho’s books can be found here and here . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 36 min
This latest installment of The Interesting Times podcast features two exceptional guests well-positioned to explore the significant issues with the effective altruism (EA) framework. Though certainly the recent meltdown of the FTX empire and EA stalwart Sam Bankman-Fried provide a point of entry. As I discuss with Abagail Schneider of Regis University and Ira Allen from Northern Arizona University, the problems with EA go far beyond the person of Bankman-Fried and speak to much larger issues wit...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 7 min
The Interesting Times is back after some time away with a thoroughgoing breakdown and analysis of the election last week in the US. The last few days, you may have found yourself wondering what the middle-aged, American white guy who has lived in East Asia for at least fifteen years and is married to a woman from Busan, South Korea demo has to say about the election. Well, I am here to say than this is just the convo you’ve been looking for as myself and our two guests all fall squarely within t...
Nov 15, 2022•55 min
This is the second part of my discussion with Greg Graham, associate professor and chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. If you haven’t done so, I strongly recommend you check out Part 1 first. Thanks so much as always for supporting The Interesting Times . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com...
Aug 15, 2022•35 min
Excited to release our latest episode featuring Prof. Greg Graham from the University of Oklahoma where he serves as associate professor and chair of the Department of African and African American Studies. He is author of an exceptional book on development entitled Democratic Political Tragedy in the Postcolony . His employs the literary motif of tragedy to understand the post-colonial milieu and its discontents within both Jamaica and South Africa. We use this as a launching point for an explor...
Jul 31, 2022•1 hr 12 min
This and all episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or Stitcher . What is education ‘supposed’ to do? What role does technology have in achieving our educational goals as both students and teachers? Moreover, to the extent that we think of school as a place of learning, what exactly does it mean to ‘learn’? Education is an area of the social world that is highly fraught even in the best circumstances. However, the pandemic in conjunction with a contentious debates over the boundarie...
Jul 13, 2022•1 hr 40 min
Welcome to Episode 2 of The Interesting Times podcast. We are joined by the indomitable Ira Allen, an associate professor serving in both the English and political science departments at Northern Arizona University, to discuss the potential shapes of the lights at the end of the dark tunnel we seem to be becoming further encased in by the day. He wields a joyful and fascinating intellect that challenges us to think not only about grandiose possibilities but also the constraints that we must assu...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 34 min
Welcome to The Interesting Times podcast. We are happy to present our first original episode. Sadly, there is so much tumult afoot around the world that many people may be unaware of the political crisis racking Haiti at the moment. Fortunately, we are lucky to have Haitian national and scholar, Prof. Eguelson Leganeur join us to help better understand the ongoing situation as well as some of the broader social and historical forces at play. As a bonus, beyond being an intellectual and analyst o...
May 26, 2022•1 hr 19 min
As part of our new podcast channel we will be uploading audio versions of all of our essays. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com
May 14, 2022•26 min
For this episode we welcome the immanently estimable and multi-talented Dr. Miles White. Dr. White is both an accomplished jazz artist and a scholar of music and music culture. We use his exceptional book From Jim Crow to Jay-Z: Race, Rap, and the Performance of Masculinity (Univ. of Illinois Press) to dig into hip-hop culture, its politics, and evolution over the past several decades. It is a true honor to have such an authority on these matters grace our humble caverns with his presence. Wheth...
Dec 24, 2021•1 hr 10 min
We welcome George Khoury and Chris Tharp back down into the friendly confines of The Caves of Altamira. Beginning with a discussion of the recent elections we leave no stone unturned during our journey into the ever-widening chasm that is U.S. politics and society more generally. This one is a real humdinger nested in a doozy with nary a shred of poppycock, so stretch your ears, suit up, and hit the field. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 34 min
After a summer respite The Caves of Altamira is back. For this inaugural episode of what we are dubbing Season II, the good Dr. James Batcho once again drops into the caves. Fresh off completing the manuscript for his latest book James sketches out a set of perspectives that help make us sense of the ongoing interplay between compounding social ruptures and the ever-accelerating sphere of social media 'knowledge' production. It’s a doozy of a convo, so be sure to buckle up, and drop in. James’ p...
Sep 20, 2021•1 hr 15 min
After a brief respite we are back in The Caves of Altamira with Turkish political journalist Sevgi Akarcesme. Due to the increasingly dangerous situation for independent journalists in Turkey, Sevgi has been living in exile in the U.S. for nearly 5 years. Her harrowing story tells us not only a great deal about the rise of despotism in Turkey but also the gathering pace of authoritarianism across the globe. Despite being forced to flee Turkey, Sevgi has continued to give lectures across the U.S....
Jul 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min
This is the second half of a wide-ranging discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Mike Hilkowitz. If you haven't listened to Part I yet it is highly recommended to check that out first. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theinterestingtimes.substack.com
Jun 14, 2021•56 min
This week we welcome Mike Hilkowitz to The Caves of Altamira. Our conversation takes a relatively deep dive into several significant historical undercurrents shaping the most recent wave of violence in this long-simmering dispute. Our conversation winds its way from a property dispute surrounding two houses in East Jerusalem to the Camp David negotiation in the late 1990s to a broader discussion of Yasser Arafat, Hamas, and Israel’s relations in the region. This circumlocutious path itself speak...
Jun 02, 2021•59 min
Amid the endless churning of outrage and mutual recriminations we often find ourselves drifting further and further from the underlying rationale or purpose that motivated our engagement with the political discourse in the first place. We tend to be motivated by some notion of the good life and justice but yet increasingly devote little time to investigating these perennial questions. To help us dig into to such matters Dr. Gene Healy drops into The Caves of Altamira to impart his wisdom born of...
May 09, 2021•1 hr 28 min
The force of nature that is Chris Tharp wafts into The Caves of Altamira as we traverse the ever-burgeoning frontlines of the woke wars. Join us for a spirited discussion and debate over what exactly it means to be cancelled, the fundamental nature of the issues at hand, and ultimately what is at stake. We also try to place these contemporary contretemps in their broader historical context. All said, this is a conversation that moves beyond the simplistic dichotomies that tend to color these mat...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 24 min
The intrepid Simone Lee drops into The Caves of Altamira to discuss existentialism and the pursuit of an authentic life amid a world of hyperized everything. Simone breaks down some of existentialism’s core insights and demonstrates the many ways they can offer practical guidance for our everyday lives. In our discussion we delve into questions of what is natural, authentic, and artificial in terms of our own experiences as well as the broader social and political forces shaping us. As our lives...
Mar 20, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Professor Thakur Subedi drops by The Caves of Altamira for a fascinating discussion about both broad trends in Asian migration and some of the specific ways they have played out within the context of South Korea, Japan, and Nepal. Professor Subedi brings a host of academic knowledge and real-world experience to these topics which comes across throughout this deep dive into migration in Asia. Also, feast your ears upon our new theme music composed and produced by hyper-talented Jordan Lewis (a li...
Feb 27, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Please join me in welcoming noted author and artist Ryan Estrada to The Caves of Altamira for a discussion of his multi-award winning, highly acclaimed, graphic novel Banned Book Club. Listen to our real time reactions to an authoritarian plot in 2020s America as we prepare to discuss a book about combatting authoritarian plots in 1980s South Korea. Hear Ryan recount only learning after years of being together that his wife was once a person of interest to the military dictatorship of Chun Doo H...
Jan 31, 2021•54 min
Welcome to Episode 2 of The Caves of Altamira. Please join me and the good Dr. James Batcho as we contemplate why we've all decided to become annoying second year grad students and obsess endlessly over matters of ontology. Hear James warn me about unwittingly obliterating my son's soul. Join us again in welcoming the tortured souls of Nietzsche and Marx to the caves as they as they encounter their ebullient predecessor Jean-Jacques Rousseau in our dissection of how things have gone so awry and ...
Dec 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min
