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True stories each week of the things we wish we hadn't done. Smart, dark, wry, and surprising, this is a show for anyone who's made a big decision or regretted a small one. Hosted by philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith and produced by The Ethics Centre.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ true confessional storytelling • moral dilemmas, regret, accountability • bystander inaction, vigilance • scams, theft, plagiarism, rule-following harms • relationships and sudden departures • human behavior in crisis settingsThis podcast presents weekly true stories about morally complicated moments—decisions people made, actions they took, or failures to act—that they later struggle to understand or regret. Hosted by philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith and produced by The Ethics Centre, it treats these accounts as confessions and case studies in everyday ethics, blending dark, wry storytelling with reflection on why people do what they do under pressure.
Across the stories, listeners encounter dilemmas involving authority and rules, personal loyalty and abrupt breakups, creative ambition and plagiarism, the impulse to intervene in public conflict, and the blurred line between persuasion and exploitation in financial dealings. Several narratives explore complicity and bystander behavior: what it feels like to follow orders that harm others, to stand by during violence or harassment, or to justify questionable choices in the moment and reassess them years later. Others focus on self-image—wanting to be a hero, a good person, or a successful professional—and how that desire can lead to rationalizations, mistakes, or harm.
The show’s broader interest is less in neat moral lessons than in the psychology of regret, the messy trade-offs behind “doing the right thing,” and the way memory, context, and later insight can reshape how someone judges their own past. Some content also points listeners toward The Ethics Centre’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which features recorded talks and discussions on a wide range of social and political issues.
| Episodes: |
A FODI message from Stephen Fry2026-Feb-24 1 minute |
Festival of Dangerous Ideas Trailer2021-Feb-28 less than a minute |
All's fair in love and war2021-Jan-19 22 minutes |
And a toy xylophone2021-Jan-12 18 minutes |
The sincerest form of flattery2021-Jan-05 22 minutes |
Two kinds of bully2020-Dec-29 17 minutes |
The art of the scam2020-Dec-22 22 minutes |
Do the right thing2020-Dec-13 25 minutes |
Bystanders standing by2020-Dec-07 18 minutes |
All in one basket2020-Nov-24 17 minutes |
Little Bad Thing Trailer2020-Nov-01 1 minute |