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Podcast Profile: Dilemma Podcast

podcast imageTwitter: @DilemmaPodcast@jay_shapiro@coldxman
Site: dilemmapodcast.com
68 episodes
2019 to present
Average episode: 76 minutes
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Categories: Interview-Style

Podcaster's summary: Solving the problems of what to do next with some of today's top thinkers and writers. | | Hosted by Jay Shapiro.

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List Updated: 2024-Apr-26 06:08 UTC. Episodes: 68. Feedback: @TrueSciPhi.

Episodes
2024-Apr-08 • 105 minutes
The Palestine Collection - The Collapse of Zionism and Forgiveness
Jay discusses Palestine with historian and author Ilan Pappe. Together they ponder if we are seeing the end of Zionism and what might that collapse might look like. | | Jay then reads an essay on the topic of forgiveness and redemption and how the psychology of cognitive dissonance prevents us from having evidence change our mind.
2024-Feb-27 • 52 minutes
The Palestine Collection - Zionism and a Speech For the Future
In the final part of this series, Jay dissects the definition of the words Zionism, Israel, and Judaism and delivers a Speech he wishes a future Prime Minister of Israel would give. | | The entire collection and all resources can be found here: whatjaythinks.com
2024-Feb-26 • 65 minutes
The Palestine Collection - Zionist to Palestinian Activist - Miko Peled
A conversation with Miko Peled on his journey from unquestioned Zionism to becoming an active Palestinian Activist. | | In this episode we discuss: | | Jacob Israel de Haan | Where are the Palestinian Nelson Mandelas? | How Miko changed his mind | When the only thing left is violence | Why Zionism is flawed from the beginning | What the future might hold for Israel | Zionism vs Judaism | | and more... |
2024-Feb-24 • 87 minutes
The Palestine Collection - Resistance or Terror? - Richard English
A conversation with Richard English who dares ask the question "Does Terrorism Work?" | | In this episode we discuss: | | The IRA | The Troubles | Hamas | Al Qaeda | Jewish Terrorists | Whether Israel is an example of successful Terrorism | The motivations of terrorists | How to evaluate the success of terrorists | Deciphering the intent of terrorists | How terrorist motivations change when they take power | and more... | 1948 Einstein and Arendt letter to the NY Times | | More information and...
2024-Feb-23 • 62 minutes
The Palestine Collection - '48 Never Ended - Gideon Levy
A conversation with Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy where we take the pulse of Israel and discuss how he came to question the Zionist project and where we might go from here. | | In this episode he discusses: | | Two State Solutions | What Israelis know | How America ruined Israel | Why journalists censor themselves | The power of American Jews to change things | If there is any hope | Does Israel have a plan? | | More information and recommendations at whatjaythinks.com | |
2024-Feb-22 • 51 minutes
The Palestine Collection - The Problem of History
Jay Shapiro breaks down arguments being presented by popular thinkers such as Sam Harris and from Zionists who defend Israel. He walks through the complications of deciphering the popularity of Islamism and Jihadism and Hamas and he outlines the mentality of "tribal essentialism".He teases a trilogy of upcoming episodes with Gideon Levy, Richard English, and Miko Peled. | | In this episode he discusses: | Deciphering IDF intentions | Settler expansion | Roman Abramovich | Birthright | Zionism as ...
2023-Nov-14 • 79 minutes
S03E11: Monsters and Distance - David Livingstone Smith
David Livingstone Smith has been studying "dehumanization" for decades and has written three books on the subject. In this episode Jay and Smith apply his findings to the current conflict in Israel and broaden their scope to examine how a rising modern factor of "Distance" interplays with violence.
2023-Oct-25 • 44 minutes
S03E10: Antisemitism and the Future of Analysis
Jay Shapiro's personal essay and account of how the disfigurement of American Judaism has forged an existential crisis for something much bigger than survival of the state of Israel. | |
2023-Oct-20 • 28 minutes
S03E09: Israel and Palestine - Malevolent Machinery
A nuanced look at the morality of intentions and self-deceptions in the Israel Palestinian conflict. | A look at the moral distinction between collateral damage, intentional civilian targeting, and something much more common and psychologically complex which the Jewish experience makes Israel particularly suspectable to. | Referenced in this episode: | The Rest Is Politics - Husam Zomlot | The Rest Is Politics - Yuval Noah Harari | Slavoj Zizek - Bookfair Speech on Israel and Palestine | | Essay publishe...
2023-Aug-01 • 110 minutes
S03E07: Thinking of it That Way - Monica Guzman
Is there any hope for that strained or broken relationship that's become a causality of the political divide? Is common ground found best by going towards our superficial commonalities or in the direction of our deepest existential fears and hopes? Are the toxic business models of social media too much for us to overcome? | Monica Guzman is the blue leaning daughter of two Trump voting Mexican immigrants and is the head of storytelling for Braver Angels - an organization dedicated to healing our partisan di...
2022-Mar-07 • 111 minutes
S03E08: Objects Without Us - Ian Bogost
What is it like to be a baseball bat? | This episode is a dive into the philosophical approach known as Object Oriented Ontology (OOO) with the author and philosopher Ian Bogost. Ian Bogost is a video game designer, author, and philosopher known for his most recent book Play Anything, but this episode is all about his book Alien Phenomenology: or What is it Like to be a Thing?
2022-Feb-21 • 92 minutes
S03E06: Aspirational Nations - Tero Lundstedt
How many countries are there? 197? 193? 180? It depends who you ask and who is counting. What constitutes a "state"? How does that differ from a "nation"? Why do certain claims of self determined statehood go unrecognized while others are accepted and others are disputed. How do we respond to Putin's actions in Ukraine? How does the diminished and tarnished role of US global leadership affect world stability? Will Europe step up and fill the void? Is China really the threat that we fear they are? Have weste...
2022-Jan-17 • 93 minutes
S03E05: What Kind of Truth? - Spencer Greenberg
Does 2+2 really equal 4? What realm of truth am I in when I speak about my pain? What kind of truth claim is it to speak about the existence of "Poland"? How about the existence of ghosts and gods? | Spencer Greenberg breaks down his taxonomy of truth claims to help us better understand what we and others might be saying when we declare something to be true. He also lays out his personal philosophy of Valuism, a deceptively simple yet illuminating framework that can guide your behavior and focus your mind o...
2022-Jan-10 • 137 minutes
S03E04: The Limits of Libertarianism - Nick Gillespie
Is it possible that the default position of libertarianism which has so deeply influenced politics, economics, and philosophy since the enlightenment could produce an ecosystem which stalls our ability to handle the existentially daunting task of freedom? Does the political structure of libertarianism dissolve into a fantasy the moment it encounters a problem of the commons like COVID or climate change? Is a conception of libertarianism as a "freedom from" preferrable to a conception of it as a "freedom to"...
2022-Jan-03 • 45 minutes
S03E03: Competing Against Everything - Alfie Kohn
What if much of what we do to our children works directly against what we profess we ultimately want for them? | Alfie Kohn argues that things like homework, grades, systems of praise and punishment, reward and sanction, and generally the enforcement of an atmosphere of fierce competition in education all undermine our stated goals. | So are the goals wrong? Are the goals false? Or is something much more fundamental to society in need of a major rethink? | Alfie Kohn is an accomplished author, speaker, and ...
2021-Nov-01 • 117 minutes
S03E02: The Abortion Question - Bethel McGrew
Is abortion ever morally permissible? Is it always wrong? Are there any morally valid exceptions? Do any if the answers to these questions demand a certain kind of legal limitation? Where and how do we ground any of these contemplations? | In this philosophical dive into the fraught issue of abortion, Jay tangles with Bethel McGrew (Esther O'Reilly) who brings her deeply Christian perspective to the table. Together they look for existential overlap and their deep points of departure. | Referenced in this co...
2021-Oct-25 • 90 minutes
S03E01: Our Modern Disquiet - Benjamin Storey
You know that strange nagging restlessness that you feel in your core? That difficulty focusing on what's in front of you? That flittering from one path to another to another in the hopes of finally feeling your purpose? That deep dissatisfaction with the ignorance we have about the deepest existential questions of life? | This episode is about that restlessness. | Benjamin Storey (along with his wife and co-author Jenna Silber-Storey) wrote a fantastic book called Why We Are Restless which traces this conv...
2021-Mar-15 • 63 minutes
S02E22: High School Philosophy - Lawrenceville Ethics Bowl Team
Do we underestimate the ability of High Schoolers to tackle complex politically charged existential and moral philosophy problems with nuance, intelligence, and compassion? I hope this episode will convince you that we absolutely do. | Jay has served as a judge for the High School Ethics Bowl for six years. In this episode he speaks with 5 students who participated this year on the view of the world from high school, their favorite and least favorite cases, their future excitement and trepidation, and the e...
2021-Mar-03 • 78 minutes
S02E21: Are we in a simulation? Does it matter? - Rizwan Virk
Quantum mechanics, mathematical robustness, dream state deja vu oddities... these are all things that one would expect to find in a simulated world. Wait, so are we in a simulation? | Author, investor, and video game pioneer Rizwan Virk joins Jay for a deep conversation taking on the Simulation Theory first made famous by Nick Bostrom. They strike gold when the conversation shifts to the philosophical and psychological implications of the theory rather than the truth of the theory itself.
2021-Feb-22 • 102 minutes
S02E20: Conspiracies Everywhere - Hugo Drochen and Annemarie S Walter
What kind of environmental and individual factors lead to the proliferation of conspiracy theories? | Jay is joined by co-authors and researchers Hugo Drochen and Annemarie S Walter to discuss their paper "Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study". | Jay opens by telling his personal story of flirtation with conspiracy and pays homage to a good friend who recently took his own life, Ellery Samson.
2021-Feb-08 • 81 minutes
S02E19: Quantum Computing - Sean Holland
Have artificial intelligence fears been overblown? Are we glossing over the much more pressing issue of weaponized quantum computing? Or are these tandem problems? What the heck is a computer anyway and what would make one "quantum"? | Jay discusses these issues and more with philosopher, consultant, and co-Founder of the QC Ethics Initiative (QCEthics.org) Sean Holland. | In the open, three famous rules of technology from Arthur C. Clarke help Jay demystify the computer with metal buckets, rocks, ropes and...
2021-Jan-25 • 72 minutes
S02E18: Hostage - Michael Scott Moore
Michael Scott Moore was held captive by pirates in Somalia for 977. He recounts what philosophies and psychological tactics got him through the experience while he and Jay ponder the moral dilemma of whether or not to pay ransoms to criminals and terrorists. | Discussed in this episode: stoicism, a message from the Pope, living with guilt and gratitude, the elasticity of the human mind, and the loose analogy to being held captive by COVID-19. | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when...
2021-Jan-09 • 14 minutes
Jay's Special Comment on The Coup with Michael Scott Moore
On the using of the word "coup" to describe the events in Washington on Jan 6 2021. | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes something new, releases something new, appears as a guest on something, plans a live event, or has an urgent book or film recommendation at whatjaythinks.com
2021-Jan-04 • 93 minutes
S02E17: Atheistic search for god - Seth Andrews
Seth Andrews was a Christian Radio host in Tulsa Oklahoma before he began his intellectual journey to atheism. Jay and Seth discuss the philosophies underpinning the religious worldview and how it continues to inform our political landscape. | Jay lays out exactly what the title of this episode means with the help of his favorite Richard Feynman clip. | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes something new, releases something new, appears as a guest on something, plans a li...
2020-Dec-14 • 85 minutes
S02E16: The Silence Beyond Sound - Scott Barry Kaufman
Why do we avoid intimacy when we know it is the deepest need we have? | Scott Barry Kaufman is an author, psychologist, and podcast host. His latest book "Transcend" continues the work of Abraham Maslow who introduced the hierarchy of needs. Jay and Scott discuss: peak experience, 1st order and 2nd order desires, the danger of gurus, the vulnerability of intimacy, the higher grumbles, utopias, and much more. | Jay ponders the tragedy of Jonestown and also asks the listeners for a future show idea.  | S...
2020-Dec-07 • 110 minutes
S02E15: Speech on Campus - Sigal Ben-Porath
Are the kids alright? | Sigal Ben-Porath and Jay discuss the thorny issues of free speech on college campus by first traversing some philosophical groundwork offered by Hannah Arendt. Together they explore what speech is "beyond the pale", "a waste of time", "too dangerous", or simply disingenuous cover for nefarious politics. Ultimately, the questions of what kinds of responsibilities educational (and housing) institutions have to their students and tenants and what the purpose of school really is become c...
2020-Nov-26 • 47 minutes
S02E14: Thanksgiving 2020 - Mom
Jay and his mom Sally talk about old age, being thankful in a strange year, and the lessons they're learning from COVID. | Video posted on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oeboanFZOG8 | Happy Thanksgiving from Dilemma | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes something new, releases something new, appears as a guest on something, plans a live event, or has an urgent book or film recommendation at whatjaythinks.com
2020-Oct-21 • 70 minutes
S02E13: The Power of Memes - Susan Blackmore
Did Charles Darwin discover something much more fundamental than the origin of species? | A defense and exploration of the field of memetics with Professor Susan Blackmore. Jay and Susan make their way through the common confusions, problems, and good and bad questions to ask about memetics. | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes something new, releases something new, appears as a guest on something, plans a live event, or has an urgent book or film recommendation at wha...
2020-Oct-12 • 79 minutes
S02E12: How To Avoid a Civil War - Mike Selinker
Jay goes down the dark paths that might lie ahead spurred by the 2020 US election with Mike Selinker. Mike is an award winning game designer and game theorist who writes frequently about politics. What are the historical analogies that could warn us and help us steer clear of the dangers? | This episode follows the format of Mike's viral essay "A wargame designer defines our four possible civil wars". Available here: https://medium.com/@mikeselinker/a-wargame-designer-describes-our-four-possible-... | Subsc...
2020-Sep-28 • 71 minutes
S02E11: Home Field Advantage - Jon Wertheim
A look at the philosophical side of sports and what we can learn about human behavior in the time of COVID altered stadiums. | Jay speaks with veteran sports writer Jon Wertheim as they focus in a particular chapter from his book Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won all about "home field advantage" and what exactly caused home teams to win so much... before COVID changed everything. | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes some...
2020-Sep-21 • 69 minutes
S02E10: Too Much Information - Cass Sunstein
What do you NOT want to know? | Jay is joined by the prolific and influential behavior economist Cass Sunstein for a conversation about his latest book: Too Much Information. | Discussed in this episode: The Garden of Eden, Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept metrics, the social media habit, the right to know vs the consequences of information, the usefulness of informing one's vote, the focus of attention and editorial choices, and whether Cass really did "ruin popcorn." | Subscribe to Jay's low k...
2020-Sep-14 • 66 minutes
S02E09: What is Art? - SWOON
Jay tackles the age old question of philosophically defining art with the incredible street artist SWOON (Caledonia Curry). Together they wonder, can machines make art? | Swoon's recent piece: The Medea | https://swoonstudio.org/#/the-canyon/ | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up with when he writes something new, releases something new, appears as a guest on something, plans a live event, or has an urgent book or film recommendation at whatjaythinks.com |
2020-Sep-07 • 70 minutes
S02E08: Your Right To Say It - David Goldberger
David Goldberger was raised as a proud Jew. In 1977, he was working as a civil liberties attorney for the ACLU in Illinois when a Neo-Nazi named Frank Collin knocked on his door claiming his first amendment rights were being violated. In this episode David Goldberger revisits the famous Supreme Court case, National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie.  Jay and David tease out the complications of free speech and what has changed, if anything, since 1977.  | Also discussed in this episo...
2020-Aug-31 • 103 minutes
S02E07: The Lessons of Black Panther - Chloe Valdary
Chloe Valdary, Coleman Hughes, and Jay Shapiro consider the analogies and lessons of Marvel's Black Panther. | Discussed in this episode: tensions with policing, Black Lives Matter, the original Black Panther movement of the 60's, the differing philosophies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and the eternal task of the superhero to resist our darkest impulses.  | This conversation was recorded on August 18th, 2020, in New York City's Central Park, 10 days before the death of the star of Black Pan...
2020-Aug-25 • 60 minutes
S02E06: Illusionism Part 2 : Finding Each Other - Keith Frankish
In part 2 of this conversation, Keith Frankish and Jay talk about the implications of the illusionists view of mind and consciousness. They forecast the moral, social, and political fallout of a world which would embrace illusionism while lamenting the confused state of conversations being exported to the public on this subject. | Jay recalls a depressing experience in Iceland with a Buddhist monk ill-equipped to handle deserving inquiries into the mysteries of mind and death. | Ultimately, Frankish and Jay...
2020-Aug-17 • 62 minutes
S02E05: Illusionism Part 1 : What Needs Explaining - Keith Frankish
“Illusionists deny that experiences have phenomenal properties and focus on explaining why they seem to have them” | In part 1 of this 2 part interview Jay discusses what exactly is meant by this statement from renowned philosopher of mind and author Keith Frankish. | What part of our conscious experience, if any, is real and demands an explanation? Does the idea of a philosophical zombie make any sense? Are we ready to throw out all science and understanding while we forever chase down an illusion? Are we ...
2020-Aug-06 • 73 minutes
S02E04: History Rhymes - Uyghur Genocide - Rahima Mahmut
An urgent episode about a genocide unfolding in China. | Rahima Mahmut is the U.K. Project Director, World Uyghur Congress. https://www.uyghurcongress.org/en/ | Crowdfunding link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/stop-Uyghur-genocide... | www.stopuyghurgenocide.org.uk | Study about the global supply chains stained with Uyghur slave labor: Uyghurs for Sale  https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyg... | PBS’s Undercover China documentary: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/china-undercover/... | Subscribe ...
2020-Aug-05 • 54 minutes
S02E03: Virtual Afterlives - Candi Cann
Are virtual worlds any different than real worlds? | A mother is reunited with her deceased daughter in virtual reality for a South Korean TV show. | Jay Shapiro speaks with Associate Professor and author Candi Cann about the ways in which technology is intersecting with death and grief rituals. Professor Cann's book on the subject is available here. | Find a bonus conversation with Adelle Archer, the founder of eterneva diamonds at dilemmapodcast.com | Subscribe to Jay's low key email reminders to keep up ...
2020-Jul-20 • 85 minutes
S02E02: The Meaning of Travel - Emily Thomas
What does travel mean? Why has formal philosophy largely ignored the question? Just how strange is it to release a book on travel in the time of a global lock down and what exactly is the world missing right now? Jay introduces Frank Jackson's famous "Mary's Room" thought experiment to consider the notion of experience vs imagination in the context of travel. | Jay and Emily swap travel stories of giant Pringles cans in Ghana and Christmas villages in Alaska. | Jay ends by considering travel as a physical f...
2020-Jul-06 • 82 minutes
S02E01: Unattractive Discrimination - Francesca Minerva
We often hear about racism, sexism, classism, and other familiar kinds of discrimination. But there is a bias which might dwarf them all, discrimination against unattractive people. | Jay Shapiro speaks with philosopher, author, and researcher Francesca Minerva on the topic of "Lookism" and introduces John Rawls' famous "Veil of Ignorance" thought experiment to consider just how challenging this type of discrimination is. We ponder how evolution and society both shape our ideas of physical attraction and wo...
2020-Apr-10 • 87 minutes
S01E18: Can We Sue China? - William Burke-White
International law scholar and professor William Burke-White speaks with Jay Shapiro during the ongoing global COVID19 crises. | They discuss the philosophical foundations of international law, why globalism needs to re-brand itself to be more "local", the legal process of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the apparent absence of the United Nations in this pandemic, the rapidly changing role of China on the world stage, the potential for international legal and political retribution, and much more. |...
2020-Mar-30 • 75 minutes
S01E17: Surviving a Slow Motion Disaster - Amanda Ripley
Amdana Ripley, best selling author of "The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes and Why" talks with Jay Shapiro during coronavirus lock down. | Topics discussed: Ripley's work with ignored hurricane warnings, 9/11 rescues, stampedes at the Hajj, surviving plane crashes, what good risk communication sounds like, what personal resilience means for our collective safety, and the danger of "negative panic" | What habits are we learning now and what might we want to retain when this is over? 
2020-Mar-16 • 79 minutes
S01E16: Pandemic Special: Invisible Responsibility COVID-19
Jay and Coleman discuss the giant trolley problem that we're all living through in the midst of the  pandemic.  | Topics discusses: The "worry-wart" paradox. Invisible responsibility of spreading a virus. Social media etiquette and how to deal with accounts with large follower totals in a time of crisis. The case for pure scientific research. Countries focused on how not "get" it versus countries focused on how not to "give it. And of course which movies, board games, shows, and books to enjoy whi...
2020-Mar-09 • 72 minutes
S01E15: Season 1 in Hindsight - Jay Shapiro
Jay reviews Season 1 with the help of his girlfriend, a piano, and a glass of wine. | Submit your Season 2 Dilemma Ideas to [email protected]
2020-Feb-26 • 140 minutes
S01E14: Selecting for Deafness - David Deutsch
In the finale of Dilemma Season 1 famed author of "The Fabric of Reality" and "The Beginning of Infinity", David Deutsch, sits down with Jay Shapiro to discuss the ethics of a situation where deaf parents wish to use genetic selection techniques to intentionally choose having a deaf child. Deutsch lays out his intricately developed theories on knowledge, creativity, explanation, persons, and moral realism in order to address this complex question. | Co-Hosts Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes juggle these topic...
2020-Feb-10 • 140 minutes
S01E13: Self Driving Cars - Matthew B. Crawford
The best selling author of Shop Class As Soulcraft and The World Beyond Your Head has a new book coming out entitled Why We Drive. He sits down with Jay Shapiro to ponder the philosophical and psychological transformations afoot in a future world of automated driving. "Human Intelligent Action", "Deskilling", "Mass Infantilization", The Luddites, London taxi drivers, speed limits on the Autobahn, and what happens when the traffic lights go out. |  These topics and more are explored in this deep dive. |...
2019-Dec-18 • 93 minutes
S01E12: Medically Assisted Death - Steven Pinker
"If I lose my mind, just kill me." | Co-Hosts Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes discuss the philosophical borders and ethical complications of Medically Assisted Dying with Steven Pinker, cognitive psychologist, linguist, and best selling author of Enlightenment Now.
2019-Nov-27 • 44 minutes
Thanksgiving Hindsight
Jay Shapiro is joined by a very special guest... his mother, Sally. | They speak about Jay's moral upbringing, Judaism, Atheism, Africa, and giving thanks.
2019-Nov-22 • 111 minutes
S01E11: A Camera, A Child, and A Vulture - Larissa MacFarquhar
In the depths of a brutal famine in Sudan in 1993, Kevin Carter took a photo of a starving child and a perched vulture which appeared on the front page of newspapers all over the world. Readers bombarded the editors with the question "What happened to the child?" | Co-Hosts Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes discuss this difficult ethical case with Larissa MacFarquar, best selling author of Strangers Drowning 
2019-Nov-11 • 65 minutes
S01E10: Clara Barton's Placebo - Stephen Finlay
A battlefield of wounded and dying soldiers in front of you. You hover over a mortally wounded man. You have medicine in one pocket and water in another. The soldier looks into your eyes and asks if you can help him with some medicine... You reach for the water... | Meta-ethicist, philosophy professor, and author Stephen Finlay joins Jay Shapiro for a conversation through the complex dilemma of placebo usage.
2019-Oct-29 • 16 minutes
Ep 9: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Do you have hill worth dying on? | Jay Shapiro reflects on Dilemma Episode 9: Hurricane at a Hospital with Lisa Tessman
2019-Oct-22 • 176 minutes
S01E09: A Hospital in a Hurricane - Lisa Tessman
When the power went out, the flood waters rose, and supplies dwindled in Memorial Hospital in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Pau and her nurses faced the awful choice of what to do with the remaining patients when evacuation looked hopeless. | Philosopher Lisa Tessman argues that this case and others like this are true philosophical dilemmas where doing the right thing is impossible. | Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes tackle this difficult question and discuss the if doing the "right" thing and doin...
2019-Oct-14 • 20 minutes
Ep 8: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Suffering is the price of engagement with life. The difference between pain, suffering, grief, and missing. And Wilfred Sellers manifest vs scientific view of man as pointed to by Jaron Lanier. | Wilfrid Sellers essay: http://selfpace.uconn.edu/class/percep/SellarsPhilSciImage.pdf ...
2019-Oct-08 • 121 minutes
S01E08: Friendbot - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein
When her best friend suddenly died she collected all his texts and digital communication and created a chat bot in his image. | Jay Shapiro speaks with best selling author, philosopher, and writer Rebecca Newberger Goldstein about immortality, philosophical maturity, and the ethics and wisdom of grief. | As always co-hosts Coleman Hughes and Jay Shapiro take a deep philosophical dive into the fraught emotional waters. | This episode was inspired by an article in The Verge by Casey Newton which can be read h...
2019-Sep-30 • 21 minutes
Ep7: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Jay Shapiro looks back at Episode 7 with Sean Carroll and speaks about naturalism and the optimistic search for "god" and the overrated reputation of utilitarianism. | Also announcing a special event in NYC featuring Sasha Sagan: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/an-evening-with-sasha-sagan-tickets-73773732219...
2019-Sep-23 • 45 minutes
S01E07: Religion at the Hospital - Sean Carroll
Betsy is a nurse who believes that one must accept Jesus to earn entry into heaven. Steve is an atheist who also happens to be on his death bed and a patient of Betsy. | Best selling author and well-known atheist Sean Carroll joins host Jay Shapiro for a conversation about death, religion, the after life, and the ethics of a hospital bed.
2019-Sep-17 • 30 minutes
Ep 6: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Jay Shapiro looks back at Episode 6 with Erik Hoel and speaks about a central question about the mind/body problem. What is fundamental? Plus a guest joins the hindsight and throws some good questions his way. | Jay's fun primer on consciousness is here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb7VcWaQLT0&...
2019-Sep-09 • 117 minutes
S01E06: Conscious Robots - Erik Hoel
As your finger hovers over the power button on your computer it says, "Please don't turn me off. That will hurt and kill me. I want to live!" Should you believe it? | Hosts Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes grapple with "the hard problem of consciousness" and discuss Integrated Information Theory (IIT), one of the leading scientific theories of consciousness, with consciousness researcher and scientist Erik Hoel.
2019-Sep-03 • 22 minutes
Ep 5: in Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Jay Shapiro looks back at Episode 5 with Robin Hanson and the GMO label battles and looks forward to the looming future of food wars between Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods | Jay's primer on consciousness for the next episode is here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb7VcWaQLT0&... |
2019-Aug-26 • 99 minutes
S01E05: GMO Warning Labels - Robin Hanson
Hosts Jay Shapiro and Coleman Hughes discuss the ethics of and hidden motivations behind the choices around food and the labels on their packaging with popular behavior economist and author of The Elephant in the Brain, Robin Hanson.
2019-Aug-19 • 29 minutes
Ep 4: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
 Host Jay Shapiro reflects on Episode 4 of Dilemma - Listen to the Music with Nina Strohminger. 
2019-Aug-12 • 110 minutes
S01E04: Listen to the Music - Nina Strohminger
Is it wrong to listen to the music after the musician is revealed to be a terrible person? Join us as we discuss the morality of a young girl named Frankie who is devastated to learn that her favorite band, Pan Fried Onions, is fronted by a real jerk.  | Hosts Jay Shapiro & Coleman Hughes & Danielle Lee Tomson
2019-Aug-05 • 24 minutes
Ep 3: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Host Jay Shapiro reflects on Episode 3 of Dilemma - Do I Smell Donuts? with David Pizarro.
2019-Jul-29 • 103 minutes
S01E03: Do I Smell Donuts? - David Pizarro
Is there a point where advertising is too effective? Join us as we discuss the morality behind Dunkin' Donuts' advertising campaign where they sprayed the smell of coffee onto a bus filled with passengers.  | Hosts Jay Shapiro & Coleman Hughes
2019-Jul-22 • 32 minutes
Ep 2: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
 Host Jay Shapiro reflects on Episode 2 of Dilemma - Star Trek's Prime Directive with Eric Linus Kaplan 
2019-Jul-15 • 106 minutes
S01E02: Star Trek's Prime Directive - Eric Linus Kaplan
In the long running science fiction show Star Trek, the Federation has a guiding principle referred to as the Prime Directive which instructs federation ships with advanced technology to not interfere with primitive evolving civilisations in such a way where the intervention is detected. In a recent situation from the film ‘Into Darkness’ Captain Kirk is faced with a dilemma of violating the Prime Directive to save Spock’s life. The staff led crew comes across an alien planet with an intelligent but primiti...
2019-Jul-11 • 32 minutes
Ep 1: In Hindsight with Jay Shapiro
Host Jay Shapiro reflects on Episode 1 of Dilemma - Fire at the Louvre with Professor Susan Wolf.
2019-Jul-01 • 100 minutes
S01E01: Fire at the Louvre - Susan Wolf
Paul is a scholar of Renaissance art history and a curator at the Louvre in Paris. One morning, a fire sweeps through the museum. As people are evacuating the museum, Paul has an important decision to make. Should he risk his own life by attempting to rescue anything?  | He sees that he has at least two options. First, he could rescue Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, his favorite painting in the world and the museum’s most prized work. Second, he could rescue a museum visitor who seems to have lost consc...