Winamp Logo
WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life Cover
WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life Profile

WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life

English, Religion, 1 season, 25 episodes, 1 day, 6 hours, 41 minutes
About
Join us each month as we engage in philosophical discussions about the most common-place topics with host Jack Russell Weinstein, professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota. He is the director of The Institute for Philosophy in Public Life.
Episode Artwork

"A Philosophy of Gaming"

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)
1/14/20241 hour, 32 minutes, 4 seconds
Episode Artwork

Our November Podcast Mistake

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.
11/29/202335 seconds
Episode Artwork

"Why do we dehumanize people?"

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.
11/12/20231 hour, 21 minutes, 29 seconds
Episode Artwork

The Ethics of Cryptocurrency.

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.
10/9/20231 hour, 28 minutes, 11 seconds
Episode Artwork

“How to Give Sex Advice”

Jack visits with advice columnist Jack Savage
9/10/20231 hour, 16 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

“The Myths of Whiteness”

Jack Russell Weinstein visits with David Mura, the author of “The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives.”
8/13/20231 hour, 19 minutes, 20 seconds
Episode Artwork

“Who is Responsible for War Crimes?”

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.
7/9/20231 hour, 26 minutes, 1 second
Episode Artwork

“The Case for Nonhuman Rights"

Jack visits with Jeff Sebo, the author of “Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves: Why Animals Matter for Pandemics, Climate Change, and Other Catastrophes.”
6/11/20231 hour, 10 minutes, 39 seconds
Episode Artwork

“Consolation, Solace, and Leadership”

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.
5/14/20231 hour, 11 minutes, 56 seconds
Episode Artwork

"The Philosophy of Depression"

“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.
4/8/20231 hour, 30 minutes, 44 seconds
Episode Artwork

Bonus Episode: "Philosophy in the Classroom"

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.
3/13/202347 minutes, 7 seconds
Episode Artwork

What is it like to be a philosophy student?

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.
3/12/20231 hour, 36 minutes, 48 seconds
Episode Artwork

Privacy is Power

“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.
2/12/20231 hour, 10 minutes, 37 seconds
Episode Artwork

"A Philosophical Look at Immigration and Migration"

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."
1/8/20231 hour, 11 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

“The Argument for Unions”

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).
12/11/20221 hour, 13 minutes, 28 seconds
Episode Artwork

“What Makes a Movie Good?”

Host Jack Russell Weinstein explores the question “What Makes a Movie Good?” with Jinhee Choi, Reader in Film Studies at King's College London.
11/13/20221 hour, 23 minutes, 45 seconds
Episode Artwork

"Philosophical Concerns About Today's Supreme Court"

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."
10/9/20221 hour, 15 minutes, 54 seconds
Episode Artwork

"Are Indian Tribes Sovereign Nations?"

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.
9/11/202252 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

"On Liberty and Libertarianism”

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.
8/14/202252 minutes, 59 seconds
Episode Artwork

"What Does it Mean to Be African?"

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)
7/10/20221 hour, 2 minutes, 22 seconds
Episode Artwork

“What Do Community Colleges Do?”

UND distinguished professor of philosophy, Jack Russell Weinstein, visits with Brian Huschle, Northland Community and Technical College.
6/12/20221 hour, 20 minutes, 24 seconds
Episode Artwork

“How to Think Like A Hindu”

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Swami Sarvapriyananda.
5/8/20221 hour, 25 minutes, 2 seconds
Episode Artwork

"Ask Me Anything"

In this special episode, Ashley Thornberg presents Jack with philosophical questions submitted by listeners.
4/10/20221 hour, 41 minutes, 40 seconds
Episode Artwork

“What is a Model Minority?”

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."
3/13/20221 hour, 13 minutes, 21 seconds
Episode Artwork

"Love, Hate, or Eat: How Humans Relate to Animals"

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.
2/13/20221 hour, 15 minutes, 20 seconds