WHY? - Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life

Jack announces his new book, Israel, Palestine, and the Trolley Problem.

Jack sits down with Gwenda-lin Grewal, philosopher and writer, to explore the unexpected intersections between philosophy and fashion. They explore how style reflects deeper questions about identity, perception, and the human condition, and consider the ways in which clothing can serve as both personal expression and philosophical inquiry.

In this episode of the WHY Podcast, Jack sits down with Mark C. Taylor, Professor of Religion at Columbia University, to discuss how the humanities and the natural world intersect. They talk about how literature, philosophy, and art can provide new insights into our connection with nature and offer paths toward a more sustainable and harmonious relationship with the environment.

In this episode of the WHY Podcast, Jack sits down with Krista Thomason, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Swarthmore College, to explore the intriguing idea of finding value in negative emotions. Krista, author of Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good, delves into how emotions like shame, guilt, and anger can, paradoxically, lead to personal growth and a deeper moral life. Drawing from her expertise in philosophy of emotion and moral philosophy, Krista offers thought-provoking insights on how negative feelings can be an essential part of a meaningful life. Tune in for a conversation that challenges conventional views and reimagines the role of uncomfortable emotions in our pursuit of well-being.

In this episode of the WHY Podcast, Jack sits down with Avram Alpert, author of The Good-Enough Life, to explore the philosophical question: "When is life good enough?" Alpert, a writer, teacher, and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Art and Theory Program in NYC, discusses the themes of the book, which challenges the notion of perfectionism and advocates for a more realistic, fulfilling approach to life. Drawing from experience, history, and his academic background, Alpert offers insights on how we can live well without striving for unattainable ideals.

In this episode of WHY: Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life, host Jack Russell Weinstein speaks with Richard Kearney, a distinguished philosopher and author of Touch: Recovering Our Most Vital Sense.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein interviews Michael Rosen, a distinguished professor of Ethics and Politics at Harvard University and author of Dignity: Its History and Meaning. Their conversation explores the multifaceted nature of dignity, tracing its historical evolution and examining its significance in contemporary discourse. Rosen, who specializes in political theory and the history of ideas, shares his insights on how dignity shapes our understanding of ethics, rights, and social justice. Throughout the discussion, Jack and Michael engage with various philosophical traditions, emphasizing the importance of dignity in both individual lives and collective society.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Marina McCoy, professor of philosophy at Boston College. She is the author of the books Plato on the Rhetoric of Philosophers and Sophists (Cambridge University Press, 2007) , Wounded Heroes: Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy (Oxford U Press, 2013), and Image and Argument in Plato's Republic (SUNY, 2020). Her interests range from ancient philosophy to ethics and the philosophy of mass incarceration and environmental ethics.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Cecile Fabre, political philosopher, and Senior Research Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. She is also Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and affiliated with the Faculty of Philosophy, the Department of Politics and International Relations, and Nuffield College, Oxford. Her research interests are in theories of distributive justice; the philosophy of democracy; just war theory; the ethics of foreign policy, with particular focus on the ethics of economic statecraft and the ethics of espionage.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Simon Philip Walter May, visiting professor of philosophy at King's College, London, and at Birkbeck College, University of London. May is the author of "Love: A History," published by Yale University Press, 2011.

If you haven't already listened to the June episode, you may need to refresh your download to get the long version. The shorter broadcast version was initially posted.

Jack visits with Adam Lovett, the author of "Democratic Failures and the Ethics of Democracy." (University of Pennsylvania Press) Lovett is a lecturer at Australian Catholic University in the School of Philosophy.

Emily McTernan, author of On Taking Offence, talks about the role of being offended in modern life.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Luke William Hunt. Hunt is a former FBI agent, and currently an associate professor at University of Alabama, Department of Philosophy. His most recent book is "Police Deception and Dishonesty – The Logic of Lying."

Jack visits with Mark Robert Rank, the author of the forthcoming book, The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us."What shapes our economic fortunes? Perhaps what immediately comes to mind are attributes such as education, skills or labour-market experience. Demographics such as age and your parents' socioeconomic status might also be considered."Yet surprisingly, according to a wide range of social scientists, these factors are only able to explain about 35 per cent of the variance in earnings. In other words, 65 per cent of the differences in individual income defy our standard assumptions."— Quote from an essay by Dr. Rank.

“Should we abolish prisons?” Host Dr. Jack Russell Weinstein discusses that with Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy at Harvard University.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Frank Lantz, the director of the New York University Game Center. For over 12 years, Lantz taught game design at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. "His writings on games, technology, and culture have appeared in a variety of publications. In 2012, The New York Times referred to Lantz as a "reigning genius of the mysteries of games" following his design of iPhone puzzle game Drop7." (Wikipedia)

We initially sent out the wrong audio! If you downloaded the mistake, please delete that, refresh your feed, and try again. That should give you the correct conversation as Jack visits with David Livingston Smith in an episode titled: "Why do we dehumanize people?" You can also find that audio HERE.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with David Livingston Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of New England, author of "On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It" from Oxford University Press.

Catherine Flick is a Reader in Computing and Social Responsibility in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University. She also currently has a visiting fellowship at Staffordshire University.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein is joined by author and podcast host Dan Savage to discuss "How to Give Sex Advice."

Jack Russell Weinstein visits with David Mura, the author of “The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives.”

In an encore presentation from 2018, host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Matthew Talbert and Jessica Wolfendale, co-authors of the book, War Crimes: Causes, Excuses, and Blame.

Jack visits with Jeff Sebo, the author of “Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Catastrophes.”

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Michael Ignatieff, author of “On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times.” Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has held senior academic posts at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, and Toronto. Most recently, he was rector and President of Central European University.

“The Philosophy of Depression,” with Andrew Solomon, a writer on politics, culture and psychology. Solomon wrote “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression,” which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and was included in The Times list of one hundred best books of the decade.

On this bonus episode, Jack Russell Weinstein and Ashley Thornberg explore philosophy in the classroom, his students, and how to present philosophers he doesn't agree with.

In a special episode, Jack visits with four of his students — Samuel Amendolar, Terese Azure, Madilyn Lee, and Sara Rasch — about what it's like to study philosophy.

“Data, Technology, and the Power of Privacy.” Philosophers Jack Russell Weinstein and Carissa Véliz discuss how internet companies track and sell private information, and how this is changing politics and society.

In an encore presentation from January 2020, host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Adam Hosein, philosophy professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Hosein is the author of "The Ethics of Migration: An Introduction."

Jack Russell Weinstein visits with philosophy professor Mark Reiff of the University of California at Davis. Mark R. Reiff is the author of five books: In the Name of Liberty: The Argument for Universal Unionization (Cambridge University Press, 2020); On Unemployment, Volume I: A Micro-Theory of Economic Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); On Unemployment, Volume II: Achieving Economic Justice after the Great Recession (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); Exploitation and Economic Justice in the Liberal Capitalist State (Oxford University Press, 2013), and Punishment, Compensation, and Law: A Theory of Enforceability (Cambridge University Press, 2005).

Host Jack Russell Weinstein explores the question “What Makes a Movie Good?” with Jinhee Choi, Reader in Film Studies at King's College London.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Andrew Seidel, the author of "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American;" and "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom." He's also co-editor of an academic text, "Law and Religion: Cases and Materials." From his online bio: "Andrew graduated cum laude from Tulane University ('04) with a B.S. in neuroscience and environmental science and magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School ('09, part of the first post-Katrina class), where he was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Award for excellence in environmental law. He studied human rights and international law at the University of Amsterdam and traveled the world on Semester at Sea. Andrew completed his Master of Laws at Denver University Sturm College of Law ('11) with a perfect GPA and was awarded the Outstanding L.L.M. Award for his work as the Erik Bluemel International Environmental Law Fellow."

The University of North Dakota recently announce that it found Native American human remains in storage, and has begun the repatriation process. With that current headline in mind, we offer an encore episode with George “Tink” Tinker, the Clifford Baldridge Emeritus Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, where he was still teaching at the time of this 2014 conversation.

Political freedom lies at the core of any democracy. Yet some people claim that even countries like America and England aren't free enough. What does a free society look like and how much liberty is necessary for the moral life? In this encore presentation from 2011, Jack visits with James Otteson. At the time, he was Professor of Philosophy and Economics at Yeshiva University, but has since moved to Notre Dame, where he is the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics. He is also the Rex and Alice A. Martin faculty director of the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, and the faculty director of the Business Honors Program in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. And if that's not enough, he's also Senior Scholar at The Fund for American Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute. His latest book is Seven Deadly Economic Sins, published by Cambridge University Press in 2021.

Jack Russell Weinstein is here to preview this Sunday's Why radio show as he visits with Firoze Manji. Manji is a Kenyan activist with more than 40 years' experience in international development, health, human rights, teaching, publishing and political organizing. He is the recipient of the 2021 Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association. (Wikipedia)

UND distinguished professor of philosophy, Jack Russell Weinstein, visits with Brian Huschle, Northland Community and Technical College.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Swami Sarvapriyananda.

In this special episode, Ashley Thornberg presents Jack with philosophical questions submitted by listeners.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Emily S. Lee, professor of philosophy at California State University at Fullerton, and the author of "Race as Phenomena: Between Phenomenology and Philosophy of Race."

This encore episode from April 2012 examines our relationship with animals. Why do some cultures eat dogs and others invite them into their bedrooms? Why do some people find spiders disgusting but others consider them a delicacy? Who enjoyed a better quality of life—the chicken on a dinner plate or the rooster who dies in a Saturday-night cockfight? What can we really learn from experiments on mice?On the next episode of WHY? we'll talk with author Hal Herzog about human attitudes towards animals, examine how rational we are when it comes to pets, and ask what all this tell us about ourselves. Drawing on more than two decades of research in the emerging field of anthrozoology, the new science of human–animal relations, Hal offers surprising answers to these and other questions related to the moral conundrums we face when considering the creatures with whom we share our world.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Main Street's Ashley Thornberg discusses various aspects of race and the importance of holidays with UND philosophy professor Jack Russell Weinstein.