Philosophy For Our Times

Epizódy

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  Rehumanising science | Carlo Rovelli - Part 1 15.09.2026 38min

  Are electrons real? What is the connection between physics and Buddhism? Is now the time to rehumanise science?Eastern philosophies have been an integral part of scientific thought and the development of multiple fields for millennia. Individuality and innovation have resulted in breakthrough after breakthrough, pushing the boundaries of the known in an ever-advancing march. However, Carlo Rovelli argues that science, especially physics, is leaving its philosophical roots behind, to the detriment of clarity and productive discourse.Theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli is a pioneer of theories like Loop Quantum Gravity, White Holes, and the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics. His books include Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, which has been translated into 41 languages and sold over a million copies, as well as the bestselling Reality Is Not What It Seems (2015) and White Holes (2023). He was named one of the 100 most influential thinkers in the world by Foreign Policy magazine, and is Emeritus Professor at the Centre de Physique Théorique of Marseille, as well as holding positions at the Santa Fe Institute and the Perimeter Institute.Don't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such talks live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Taking down the cultural elite | Catherine Liu 08.09.2026 37min

  What is managerialism? Why is the meritocracy sliding into technocracy? Does suffering make us seem more pure?We tend to think that today’s progressive politics advances equality through moral awareness and identity. But Catherine Liu argues that it has been captured by the professional managerial class, which replaces material redistribution with virtue signalling and cultural status. In this interview, Liu examines how universities, identity politics and trauma culture can obscure class struggle and what a renewed working-class politics might look like.Catherine Liu is an American cultural theorist, critic, and professor of Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Irvine. A sharp public intellectual, Liu is best known for her incisive critiques of elite liberalism, academic hypocrisy, and the commodification of virtue. She brings together Marxist cultural analysis with polemic flair, offering a compelling—and at times confrontational—challenge to the moral self-image of the contemporary professional class.Don't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such talks live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The chains of freedom | Daniel Markovits, Elizabeth Anderson, Yaron Brook 01.09.2026 47min

  Is freedom always an absolute good? For freedom to be beneficial and practical, does it need constraining? Are attacks on freedom really the first step to tyranny?From freedom from tyranny and poverty to the right to free speech, we assume freedom is always desirable. But critics argue the consequences of freedom are less obviously desirable than we imagine and frequently unknown. Kafka wrote, "It is often better to be in chains than to be free," and Sartre that, "we're condemned to be free" since we are responsible for everything we do. And in wealthier countries where citizens are freer from the hunt for basic necessities like food, water, and housing, studies show depression and anxiety are more prevalent, not less.Daniel Markovits is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. He is the author of the bestselling book The Meritocracy TrapElizabeth Anderson is Professor of Public Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Michigan. She specialises in moral, social and political philosophy, as well as feminist theory and the philosophy of economics and the social sciences.Yaron Brook is an entrepreneur, writer, activist, and political scientist. He is currently chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute and host of the Yaron Brook Show.Isabel Hilton hosts.Don't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such talks live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The secret history of cool | Joel Dinerstein 25.08.2026 29min

  Joel Dinerstein unpicks the surprisingly intricate history of coolness, from its roots in jazz, development as a term and explosion in usage throughout the 20th century.
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  Rebalancing the global order | Kishore Mahbubani 18.08.2026 33min

  Kishore Mahbubani argues that the downfall of the West is not an upheaval but a historical rebalancing of world affairs.
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  The future of the right | Sohrab Ahmari, Gawain Towler, Rachel Maclean, Mark Littlewood 11.08.2026 44min

  Sohrab Ahmari, Gawain Towler, Rachel Maclean and Mark Littlewood discuss whether what it means to be 'right-wing' has fundamentally changed.
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  Love is more than magic | Alain de Botton 04.08.2026 35min

  Alain de Botton discusses the philosophy behind who we love, exploring Freud, the Ancient Greeks and voyeurs.
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  In the name of reason | Steve Fuller, Miriam Schoenfield, Dan Sperber 28.07.2026 40min

  Steve Fuller, Miriach Schoenfield and Dan Sperber discuss what 'reason' looks like in this unprecedented era of human existence.
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  The mind is not a machine | Iain McGilchrist 21.07.2026 21min

  Iain McGilchrist argues that to understand mind and matter, we need to restore the right hemisphere to its rightful primacy and move beyond matieralism.
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  Anxiety and the soul's itch | Sarah Wilson 14.07.2026 26min

  Social philosopher Sarah Wilson explores what anxiety - or the 'soul's itch' - can tell us about living life more meaningfully.
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  Truth, beauty and other misconceptions | Lisa Randall 07.07.2026 22min

  Physicist Lisa Randall discusses the allure and dangers of equating beautiful advances with scientific achievement.
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  The world after liberalism | Maurice Glasman & Sohrab Amari 30.06.2026 32min

  Maurice Glasman and Sohrab Amari discuss whether we are witnessing the end of liberalism, and if so, what will follow it.
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  Why artists shouldn't fear AI | Jaron Lanier 23.06.2026 30min

  Jaron Lanier, a visionary computer scientists, composer and futurist, explores what art and creativity will look like in the AI age.
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  Copying consciousness: the future of mind uploading | Anders Sandberg 16.06.2026 37min

  Anders Sandberg discusses the ever-increasing possiblity of 'mind uploading', and the philosophical and ethical questions which it produces.
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  The return of idealism | James Tartaglia 09.06.2026 28min

  Philosopher James Tartaglia explores the idealist view of consciousness in which experience is divided into the phenomenal and the transcendent.
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  Reimagining the right | Richard Tice 02.06.2026 29min

  Richard Tice explains how Reform has disrupted the two-party system and the seemingly contradictory left and right-wing policies behind it.
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  Is philosophy becoming irrelevant? | Mary Midgley 26.05.2026 27min

  Does philosophy still matter in today's world? If so, why are students less and less interested in studying in it?In a special episode from the IAI archives, Mary Midgley addresses the declining interest in philosophy among young people. Instead of an outdated discipline for old people with too much time on their hands, Midgley argues that philosophy is more important than ever if we wish to understand the world around us, beyond the narrow spheres of the traditional sciences. Don't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such talks live, check out our philosophy festivals: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  Who's afraid of gender? | Judith Butler 19.05.2026 40min

  Why has gender identity become such a controversial talking point?
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  Human perception is imagination | Nadine Dijkstra 12.05.2026 14min

  Nadine Dijkstra is a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. Her research in Imaging Neuroscience explores how the brain generates mental images and differentiates them from actual perception. Utilizing neuroimaging, psychophysics, machine learning, and computational modeling, Dijkstra addresses fundamental questions about the overlap between perception and imagery.Recently, Dijkstra has been leading the Imagine Reality Lab at UCL's Department of Imaging Neuroscience, focusing on the intersection of imagination and reality. Dijkstra's 2023 paper in Nature Communications showed the brain evaluates images against a 'reality threshold' to distinguish between images and perception. Her work also investigates how changes in these neural processes could impact mental health.Check out our new series, Ideas for Our Time: https://youtu.be/nYS4FylZJ2QDon't hesitate to email us at [email protected] with your thoughts or questions on the episode!To witness such debates live buy tickets for our upcoming festival: https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/And visit our website for many more articles, videos, and podcasts like this one: https://iai.tv/You can find everything we referenced here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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  The brain filters consciousness | Alex Gomez-Marin 05.05.2026 30min

  Neuroscientist and theoretical physicist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that the brain may not produce consciousness, but instead may filter or permit it.