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EP32: Should We Blackball People With Immoral Views? (Interview With Jason Brennan)
Listen nowIn this episode I sit down with Jason Brennan, philosopher at Georgetown University, likely best known for the provocatively titled Against Democracy. We discuss many topics, including fallibility, moral judgment, and what we owe each other across deep disagreement
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EP31: Should Random People Rule Us? (Interview With Alex Guerrero on Lottocracy)
Listen nowAfter a long hiatus, we are back! This time Victor talks with Alex Guerrero about his recent book, Lottocracy: Democracy Without Elections. According to Guerrero,…
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EP30: Is Surveillance Capitalism Really That Bad? (On Königs “In Defense of ‘Surveillance Capitalism”)
Listen nowCritics like Shoshana Zuboff call Big Tech a parasitic system of control—but philosopher Peter Königs thinks that story is overblown. His 2024 Philosophy & Technology…
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EP29: Is Cultural Appropriation Really That Bad? (On Kershnar and Brey’s “In Defense of Cultural Appropriation”)
Listen nowIn this episode, we read In Defense of Cultural Appropriation, by Stephen Kershnar and Nathan Bray. In it, they argue that cultural appropriation is neither morally wrong nor socially harmful.
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EP28: Is it Okay to be a Moderate? (On Marcus Arvan’s “Why it’s OK to Be a Moderate”)
Listen nowIs moderation just fence-sitting, or is it a forgotten virtue? In this episode, we sit down with philosopher Marcus Arvan to discuss his new book…
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EP27: Should We Use Violence To Protect Animals? (On Ivar Hardman’s “In Defence of Direct Action”)
Listen nowIn this episode, we explore a very provocative argument in contemporary animal ethics: the moral defense of violent direct action to protect animals. The pseudonymous…
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EP26: Should We Defer To Marginalized Perspectives? (On Tilton and Toole’s Epistemology of Deference)
Listen nowTilton and Toole critically examine the prevailing trend of epistemic deference – where individuals are encouraged to accept the judgments of marginalized groups as their own. While acknowledging the importance of recognizing marginalized perspectives, they argue that habitual deference can inadvertently hinder the socially dominant from cultivating essential epistemic skills, such as empathy and critical inquiry.
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EP25: Is Liberal Socialism an Oxymoron? (On Matt McManus’ Liberal Socialism)
Listen nowIn this episode, we dive into Matt McManus’ The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism and ask whether the fusion of liberalism and socialism makes sense—or if it’s just a contradiction in terms.
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EP24: Do We Need Nuanced Academic Theories (On Kieran Healy’s Article “F**k Nuance”)
Listen nowIn this episode, we read Kieran Healy’s provocatively titled essay, “F**k Nuance,” where he argues that an overemphasis on nuance can hinder the development of…
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EP23: Is Monogamy Immoral? (EP19 follow-up Feat. Harry Chalmers)
Listen nowOn this episode, we return for a sequel to EP19’s topic: the potential immorality of monogamy. On that episode, we discussed Harry Chalmers’ paper “Is…
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EP22: Should We Abolish Elections? (On Guerrero’s Lottocracy)
Listen nowWhat if democracy isn’t broken, but its very foundation—elections—is the problem? In this episode, we unpack Alexander Guerrero’s provocative case for lottocracy: a system that replaces elected officials with randomly selected citizens. Guerrero argues that elections breed inequality, corruption, and short-term thinking, while lottocracy promises fairness and more authentic representation.
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EP21: Is There Space for Revolutionary Thought Online? (Interview with Mike Watson)
Listen nowIn this episode, we welcome Mike Watson, political theorist, artist, and author, to explore the intersections of digital culture, socialism, and existential thought. We read Mike’s new book where he explores how online culture shapes our understanding of community, addiction, and identity in the digital age.
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EP20: Are Humans Actually Irrational? (On Thaler and Sunstein’s Libertarian Paternalism) Feat. Gordon Katic
Listen nowIn this episode, we ask, how irrational are human beings really? To answer this, we read Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein’s classic essay on “libertarian paternalism” which argues that because human beings are easily manipulated by their surrounding “choice architecture”, governments should use this mechanism to encourage citizens to make better choices.
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EP19: Is Monogamy Morally Permissible (On Harry Chalmers’ Argument Against Monogamy)
Listen nowIn this episode, we examine Harry Chalmers’ provocative take: monogamy is morally suspect. Why should we treat restricting romantic partners any differently than restricting friendships? Since restricting our partner’s friends would seem pathological, so too, restricting sexual and romantic partners.
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EP18: Is Free Speech Actually Bad? (On Brian Leiter’s Case Against Free Speech)
Listen nowOn this episode, we dive deep into Brian Leiter’s “The Case Against Free Speech.” Leiter questions the sanctity of free speech, suggesting that not all speech deserves equal protection if it causes societal harm.
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EP17: Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First? (Smilansky’s Designer Ethics) Ft. Ben Burgis
Listen nowIn this episode, we delve into Saul Smilansky’s provocative paper, “Should We Sacrifice the Utilitarians First?” which introduces the concept of “Designer Ethics” (DE). Smilansky argues that individuals’ moral views should influence how they are treated in moral dilemmas
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EP16: Should Philosophers Stay Out Of Politics? (On van der Vossen’s Defence of The Ivory Tower)
Listen nowOn this episode, we read Bass van der Vossen’s “In defense of the ivory tower”. On this view, philosophers should stay in their lane. That lane being, the pursuit of Truth! Partisanship is opposed to truth and is a danger to academic integrity.
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EP15: Is Zoophilia Morally Permissible? (On Bensto’s Defence of Zoophilia)
Listen nowHide your cats, hide your dogs, we’re talking about Zoophilia. In a 2023 article, Bensto (pseudonym) attacks one of our most deeply entrenched social taboos: animal-human sex.
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EP 14: What if Moral Philosophy is Immoral? (On Brennan and Freiman’s Moral Philosophy’s Moral Risk)
Listen nowIn this episode, we debate a dilemma at the root of moral philosophical inquiry: either philosophers should avoid risky topics that could violate moral norms (such as expressive duties not to offend), or they must be granted some level of exemption from these duties in their professional work.
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EP13: What if There’s No Meaning to Life? (On Benatar’s The Human Predicament)
Listen nowThis week we ask probably the most commonly uttered philosophical question: is there a meaning to life? To help us approach an answer, we read the first few chapters of philosopher David Benatar’s The Human Predicament.
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EP12: Is Making Friends with the Far-Right a Good Way to Research Them? (ft. Benjamin Teitelbaum)
Listen nowWe interview Benjamin Teitelbaum about his controversial ethnographic methods and the unsavoury people he studies. “They go by many names: outsiders describe them as right-wing extremists, organized racists, or neofascists, and they tend to call themselves nationalists. I call them friends,” writes Teitelbaum.
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EP11: Is Post-Truth Actually Good? (On Fuller’s Post-Truth as Power Game)
Listen nowWe revisit a curious academic debate in science and technology studies, or STS. After 2016, some claimed that leftist humanities scholars played a role in creating the post-truth moment. And Steve Fuller argued that there’s nothing wrong with that.
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EP10: Is Equality of Opportunity Not Valuable? (On Stephan Kershnar’s Attack on Equality of Opportunity)
Listen nowThis week we have one of our first encounters with the Academic Edgelord final boss, Stephan Kershnar. We start with his argument against equality of opportunity. We’ll examine the case, and also ask what exactly Kershnar is in general: a useful gadfly, a dishonest ideologue, or just a petulant troll?
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EP9: Are There Enough Conservatives in Academia? (On Whittington’s Case for Ideological Diversity)
Listen nowOn this episode, we debate whether ideological diversity on campus matters. We consider the extent to which it is even true that ideological diversity is a problem on university campuses, and if it is, what the best ways to solve it might be.
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EP8: Should the Knowledgable Rule? (On Jason Brennan’s “Against Democracy”)
Listen nowOn this week’s episode, we read Jason Brennan’s 2016 book, “Against Democracy”. In it, Brennan offers a controversial argument for replacing democracy with an “epistocracy” – rule by the knowledgeable.
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EP7: Should We Support Affirmative Action? (On Pojman’s Case Against Affirmative Action)
Listen nowOn this episode, we read Louis Pojman’s 1998 article, “The Case Against Affirmative Action”. We debate whether any of his arguments against the practice of affirmative action have any merit from the perspective of left politics. We also consider whether class-based affirmative action is preferable.
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EP6: Is A.I. Going To Kill Us All? (On Richard Ngo’s A.I. Safety First Principles)
Listen nowMight a future AI actually take over and dominate, or potentially even destroy humanity like some Skynet-like scenario? Some technologists worry it might, and so does Ethan. We debate how seriously we should take the AI safety discourse.
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EP5: Is Whiteness Parasitic? (On Donald Moss’ “On Having Whiteness”)
Listen nowWhen psychoanalyst Donald Moss published his essay “On Having Whiteness” in 2021, it caused the right-wing media outrage machine to move into high gear. On our reading, they seemed to only react to what was in the abstract. We read the article.
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EP4: Is it Morally Wrong to Prefer Attractive Partners? (On ‘Lookism’ and William D’Alessandro)
Listen nowIf your partner is attractive, then you might be part of the problem. At least, that’s what one edgelord philosopher is suggesting. We discuss William D’Alessandro’s forthcoming paper, “Is It Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners?” (in the Journal of the American Philosophical Association). Is this “lookism” a kind of unjustified and harmful discrimination? If it is, is it realistic to expect us to modify our personal preferences for justice-oriented reasons?
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EP3: 5 Years or 5 Lashes? (On Moskos’ & Brennan’s Defense of Flogging)
Listen nowIf you were offered the choice of a brutal whipping or an extended stay in prison, which would you take? Probably the former. Is that an argument for flogging? Today, we debate the ideas of two lash-wielding edgelords
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EP2: Did the Unabomber Have a Point? (on Anarcho-Primitivism & Ted Kaczynski)
Listen nowThe ultimate Academic Edgelord has died: Ted Kaczynski, the domestic terrorist. He indeed was a scholar, with a few peer-reviewed works in mathematics. On this episode, we read his manifesto: Industrial Society and its Future. Why do so many people think the Unibomber was right?
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EP1: Are We the Academic Edgelords?
Listen nowThis is a scholarly podcast about scholarly provocateurs. Gadflys, charlatans, and shitposters sometimes get tenure, believe it or not. This is a leftist podcast that takes a second look at their peer-reviewed work, and tries to see if there’s anything we might learn from arguing with them. But on this episode, we ask: should we even be doing this? Does engaging with odious ideas actually make us the academic edgelords?
EP32: Should We Blackball People With Immoral Views? (Interview With Jason Brennan)
In this episode I sit down with Jason Brennan, philosopher at Georgetown University, likely best known for the provocatively titled Against Democracy. We discuss many topics, including fallibility, moral judgment, and what we owe each other across deep disagreement