TrueSciPhi

Podcast Profile: Little Bad Thing

Site • RSS • Apple Podcasts
11 episodes
2020 to 2026
Median: 18 minutes
Collection: Philosophy

Description (podcaster-provided):

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 confession-style stories • moral dilemmas, regret, accountability • bystander inaction, vigilante impulses • scams, theft, plagiarism • relationships, abrupt departures • workplace rules, obedience, unintended harm • ethical reflection, dark wry storytelling

This podcast features weekly true stories about moments of moral compromise, impulsive choices, and actions that linger as regret. Hosted by philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith and produced by The Ethics Centre, it centers on first-person accounts in which ordinary people recount decisions that seemed justified, necessary, or harmless at the time, but later revealed unexpected consequences.

Across the stories, listeners hear about ethical pressure in high-stakes settings and everyday life alike: following institutional rules that harm vulnerable people, leaving a relationship abruptly without fully understanding why, and wrestling with ambition that tempts someone toward plagiarism or other shortcuts. Other episodes examine confrontation and restraint—what happens when someone tries to intervene against harassment, or when a bystander fails to stop something terrible and later interrogates their own inaction. Financial and social wrongdoing also appear, including participation in dubious investments, scams, and disputed acts like taking something that only later feels like theft.

A recurring theme is the gap between intention and outcome: doing what seems “right” in the moment, only to find the aftermath complicated, destabilizing, or ethically ambiguous. The show’s approach blends confession, reflection, and philosophical interest in responsibility, harm, and self-justification—how people explain what they did, what they owed others, and what they can live with after the fact. It also occasionally points listeners to related long-form conversations from the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which tackles broad social and political topics through public talks and debates.

Episodes: