In Episode #231, philosopher and animal rights activist Dr. Jeff Sebo joins Osi to discuss why we need to expand our moral circle. Are humans truly more important than all other beings? Who deserves moral consideration—and what qualifies a being to "matter"? Jeff and Osi dig into these questions and challenge the way we think about ethics, responsibility, and the future.

Jeff Sebo works primarily on moral philosophy, legal philosophy, and philosophy of mind; animal minds, ethics, and policy; AI minds, ethics, and policy; global health and climate ethics and policy; and global priorities research. He is author of The Moral Circle (2025) and Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves (2022) and co-author of Chimpanzee Rights (2018) and Food, Animals, and the Environment (2018).

In Episode #230, social psychologist Dr. Kurt Gray joins Osi to unpack the deep divide between liberals and conservatives, and why we so often feel outraged by those who see the world differently. They discuss how our biggest conflicts, whether political, personal, or cultural, stem from one simple question: who do we believe is being harmed?

A social psychologist and an award-winning researcher and teacher, Kurt Gray uses interdisciplinary methods to study our deepest held beliefs and how to bridge moral divides.

Dr. Gray is a Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Organizational Behavior at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC, where he teaches about organizational ethics and team processes. Dr. Gray received his PhD from Harvard University.

In Episode #229, Dr. Bill von Hippel joins Osi to tackle a big question: Why do so many of us feel unhappy or unfulfilled, even while living in comfort with more freedom, choice, and opportunity than ever before? They discuss the deep evolutionary forces that shape who we are—and how understanding those forces can help us push back against the emptiness and isolation that often come with modern life.

Dr. Bill von Hippel is a renowned psychologist, author, and expert on human behavior. He spent over three decades as a psychology professor in both the United States and Australia, contributing extensively to the field.

Today, Bill writes books and conducts research for private companies. He has published more than 150 academic articles and chapters across various psychological topics, and his work has been cited over 15,000 times in the academic literature. His research has been widely reported in the media, including in The New York Times' ‘100 Ideas of the Year’, The Economist, USA Today, Le Monde, Il Mundo, Der Spiegel, and The Australian.

Bill is the author of The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From, and What Makes Us Happy, a critically acclaimed book that explores how the challenges faced by our early ancestors continue to influence our decision-making, relationships, and happiness today. Through compelling research and accessible storytelling, Bill explains how the evolutionary pressures that shaped our ancestors’ brains also govern the way we navigate social situations, pursue goals, and seek fulfillment.

He is also the author of The Social Paradox: Autonomy, Connection, and Why We Need Both to Find Happiness, further expanding on his exploration of human behavior and happiness, offering insights into the balance between autonomy and connection in leading a fulfilling life.

In Episode #228, Dr. Adam Ratner joins Osi to talk about vaccine hesitancy—especially around measles—and how it connects to the recent rise in measles cases in Texas. They dig into the history of measles and how it was once eliminated in the US, why some parents today are choosing not to vaccinate their kids, and the deeper mistrust many Americans feel toward the healthcare system.

Adam Ratner is a pediatric infectious diseases physician based in New York City and the author of Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children's Health. With extensive experience caring for patients during both the 2018-2019 measles outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, he has developed a deep focus on vaccine-preventable diseases that affect children and their families. Dr. Ratner currently serves as an associate editor for Clinical Infectious Diseases and is an editor for the textbook Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

In Episode #227, author Mike Pepi joins Osi to talk about the idea that technology is neutral—and why that’s a myth. They dig into the cycle of creating new technologies to solve problems caused by earlier ones, the hidden beliefs built into the platforms we use every day, and how those platforms shape the way we think, act, and connect with others.

Mike Pepi writes about art, culture, and technology. His work has appeared in frieze, e-flux, Flash Art, Art in America, DIS Magazine, The Straddler, The New Inquiry, Artforum, The Art Newspaper, this is tomorrow, 艺术界 LEAP, the Apollo Magazine blog, Spike Art, The Brooklyn Rail, Rhizome, and The New Criterion.

He organized Cloud-Based Institutional Critique (CBIC), a reading group focused on emerging digital technologies and their relationship to cultural institutions. In 2015, he guest-edited the Data Issue of DIS Magazine with Marvin Jordan. In 2018, he guest-edited a special issue of Heavy Machinery for SFMoMA's Open Space.

In Episode #226, podcaster and comedian Eddie McGee joins Osi for a wide-ranging conversation covering AI and the potential necessity of Universal Basic Income as millions of jobs face disruption, the recent DEI purge aimed at erasing Black history, the rising cost of living, and more.

Comedian and trucker Eddie McGee cohosts A Trucker's Mind Podcast, a show exploring current events and general topics about life, alongside cohost Keith Fings.

In Episode #225, humanist and Tech Agnostic author Greg Epstein joins Osi to talk about how we can stay thoughtful and ask the right questions in a world that’s being rapidly shaped by technology. They discuss what it means to think for ourselves instead of blindly trusting every new innovation—asking who really benefits from our faith in tech, how we can hold the industry responsible for its impact, and how we can stay connected to what makes us human in the middle of all this change.

Greg M. Epstein is the Humanist chaplain at both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and currently serves as president of the Harvard Chaplains Organization. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Good Without God, a landmark book that helped bring mainstream attention to the idea that secular individuals can lead lives of deep purpose, compassion, and community. His latest work, Tech Agnostic, builds on that foundation—exploring the intersection of technology, ethics, and humanism in an increasingly digital world. Greg’s writing on humanism, technology, politics, and ethics has appeared in The Boston Globe, CNN.com, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Salon, Critical Inquiry, and The Humanist.

In Episode #224, writer Adam Chandler joins Osi to dive into some of the most debated questions in American life: Is the belief that "hard work leads to success" a myth? Is success something we earn—or something we’re given? Drawing from his book 99% Perspiration, Adam takes a compelling look at how America’s obsession with hard work is unraveling in the face of growing inequality and economic strain. Together, he and Osi explore what happens when effort isn’t enough, how the myth of meritocracy took hold, why it still shapes our culture, and what it’s ultimately costing us.

Link to purchase 99% Perspiration: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/723824/99-perspiration-by-adam-chandler/

Adam Chandler is a journalist and author based in New York. A former staff writer at The Atlantic, his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Vox, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Magazine, Texas Monthly, Esquire, TIME, and elsewhere. Chandler is the author of Drive-Thru Dreams, which was named an NPR Favorite Book of the Year, an Amazon Best Book of the Year, and a Smithsonian Best Food Book of the Year. His second book, 99% Perspiration, explores the culture of work in American life is now available from Pantheon Books (Penguin/RandomHouse).

In Episode #223, author and Wall Street Journal reporter Mike Colias joins Osi to break down the huge changes happening in the car industry as it shifts from gas-powered engines to electric vehicles (EVs). The question isn’t whether EVs are coming—they’re already here. But how this transition plays out is the real story. They discuss the intense competition among car companies as they race to keep up with Tesla and fast-growing Chinese EV makers like BYD, along with the implications of a world where the U.S. and the rest of the world become reliant on China for the essential materials needed to build EVs.

Link to purchase Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles - https://www.amazon.com/Inevitable-Unstoppable-Transition-Electric-Vehicles/dp/1647825385

Mike Colias is a Wall Street Journal reporter and veteran of the US automotive beat. He is based in Detroit, where he has covered General Motors for fourteen years and, five years ago, added Ford to his duties. His agenda-setting coverage includes scoops on multibillion-dollar EV factory investments, executive hirings and firings, and closely guarded decisions to add or cut vehicle lines. With access to all the key players in the automotive industry, he has tracked the transition to electric vehicles from its earliest days, relying on hundreds of sources across the automotive sector. Colias has been a business journalist for more than twenty years.

In Episode #222, author and professor James Boyle joins Osi to discuss how AI’s growing ability to imitate human intelligence challenges our understanding of what it means to be a "person," pushing us to rethink the legal and moral lines that separate humans and intelligent machines.

Free link to The Line: AI and the Future of Personhood: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=faculty_books

James Boyle is William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law and founder of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School. He joined the faculty in July 2000. He has also taught at American University, Yale, Harvard, Boston University, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is the author of The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind, and Shamans, Software and Spleens: Law and Construction of the Information Society and the editor of Critical Legal Studies (Dartmouth/NYU Press), Collected Papers on the Public Domain, and the co-editor of Cultural Environmentalism @ 10 (with Larry Lessig). He has also published two graphic novels: Bound By Law, on fair use and the permissions culture in intellectual property, and Theft: A History of Music, a 2000 year long history of musical borrowing from Plato to rap, and an open access casebook on Intellectual Property (all with Jennifer Jenkins).  His newspaper articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Washington Post, The Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek and the Economist. Professor Boyle teaches Intellectual Property, Law and Literature, Jurisprudence and Torts.