Philosophy Bites

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on Mattering

We are the kind of creature that cares whether or not we matter and how. What follows from this? Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, author of Mattering, discuses this with David Edmonds.

Monima Chadha on Responsibility Without Selves

Buddhist philosophy rejects the idea of the self. How then can there be any moral responsibility? Monima Chadha, Professor of Indian Philosophy at Oxford University, explains.  This episode was supported by the Ideas Workshop, part of the Open Society Foundations

Carissa Veliz on Prophecy

Predictions aren't quite what they seem to be, according to Carissa Véliz, author of the book Prophecy. They often are intended to persuade you of the inevitability of a certain outcome, and may be self-fulfilling to some degree. Yet they look like simple factual claims about what is likely to happen. We need to be far more aware of the role of prediction in our everyday lives, according to Véliz.

Chike Jeffers on Douglass and Du Bois

Frederick Douglas and W.E.B Du Bois were two prominent African-Americans who made a significant impact on the civil rights movement in the US. Douglas is particularly associated with the 19th Century abolitionism, and Du Bois with 20th C. pan-Africanism. In this interview Chike Jeffers puts them in their context and introduces some of their key ideas. This episode was supported by the Ideas Workshop, part of the Open Society Foundations.  

Alexander Guerrero on Lottocracy

Democracy isn't working so well, so why not use a lottery system to choose representatives instead? Alexander Guerrero discusses his version of this old idea in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.