Civilizations across history have had an aristocracy to govern politics and culture. The advent of democracy levelled society and made us all equals, but can we ever truly rid ourselves of a ruling class which dictate trends and values? Join Enoch and Tim as they discuss the benefits and harms of an aristocracy and what is lost when we free ourselves from the ruling class.

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Recording Date: 23 May 2024

How far should we go when we plan our families and what should guide us when we consider fertility? Bioethicist Dr. Calum MacKellar joins Tim in conversation on the equality of all life and the growing challenges of eugenics as parents select which children to welcome into their families and which to turn away. What may have looked like the horrors of the 20th Century are making a resurgence in many western societies.

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Recording Date: 1 May 2024

Free speech is a bedrock of American democratic society and oftentimes protected above other rights. However, many who consider some rhetoric as harmful and potentially violent have called for certain limits to free expression such as Scotland’s hate crime law (entered into force April 1, 2024). Enoch and Tim freely express themselves on the benefits and challenges of free speech toward a flourishing society.

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Did you know that conditional on giving birth, the probability of having a C-section is 10 times more likely in Mexico than in Sudan? Perhaps more surprising is that people who give birth in our local hospital are more than two times as likely to have a C-section than in the next closest hospital.

Life is inherently risky. Sometimes these risks lead to situations where we need outside help. But what if that outside help is also risky? In this episode Enoch and Tim discuss the interaction of risk aversion, medical intervention, and cultural norms. Listen in and decide for yourself whether you are pro-cedure or anti.

Reports of loneliness are soaring in some the most wealthy and peaceful societies in world history. According to a CDC study from 2021, 57 percent of teenage girls “felt persistently sad or hopeless”, an alarming rise from the already high 36 percent of teenage girls who reported hopelessness in 2011. Enoch and Tim discuss the scale of the problem and consider what could possibly be causing so many individuals to feel isolated and alone. But choosing hope is always an option as possible solutions are plentiful for deeply interconnected lives!

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

What should be the top priorities when designing a country’s education system? There has been a slow movement in school curriculum away from the moral formation of the person and toward job preparedness. Enoch and Tim discuss the challenges of moral instruction under pluralism and ask each other what we most prioritize in the education of our children. Grab your copy of Plato’s Republic and sharpen those No. 2 pencils for the AP Biology exam as we talk about the purpose of education!

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Recording Date: 28 February 2024

Many societies are advancing assisted suicide as a viable option in the arsenal of the healthcare provider. But this breaks from longstanding duties of the physician to not administer poisons as evidenced in the Hippocratic Oath from antiquity. Enoch and Tim discuss the limits of individual autonomy and the morality of assisted suicide in a liberal democratic society.

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Recording Date: 21 February 2024

Who determines what land can be owned and the rules of ownership? From the freedom to roam in Scotland to communal decisions in Oaxaca to racial restrictions in American Samoa, the rules of private property are as diverse as the nations. Enoch and Tim discuss these differences and talk about some of the benefits and challenges of private property rights. But first, some trivia!

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton

Who would want to grant a legal monopoly to an individual or even a corporation? While we want to encourage research and development, creativity, and taking risks, we also love the competition of the marketplace and the resulting lower prices for our favorite inventions and creations. In this episode, Enoch and Tim discuss intellectual property rights and consider the optimal duration to grant monopolies through patents and copyrights all while having a lot of fun.

Credits: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Elliot⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (music) with additional thanks to the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wheaton

Thank you so much for making our first season a success. We've both been overwhelmed by the positive feedback regarding the podcast and have been pleasantly surprised that not everyone thinks we're crazy (or at least that there are so many people who enjoy joining in our craziness).

We've both temporarily moved out of the country which has made recording a bit of a challenge. We're exploring how we can continue to record from a distance, but it will be a few weeks at the earliest before we are able to start making new episodes again. Hope you'll join us for season 2 when it's available and until then, keep choosing better! (Maybe even after then).