Curious Apes

Pixel describes herself as "a reformed childhood spy, ex ballet dancer, Neopets millionare and forensic psychology degree holder" who makes "average opinionated political/current event/educational content." 

In this episode, we dive into Pixel's opinions are and what it's like to be one of the small percentage of people in the world who make their living on Twitch (and even more remarkable, does it by having difficult conversations!). 

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

Today my guest is Vaush, a self-described left-wing Youtuber known for his advocacy for libertarian market socialism and debates with other YouTubers.

Our discussion centers heavily around 3 keys topics: the culture wars, our current political discourse, and capitalism--its failures, its strengths, and its alternatives (eg: anarcho-syndicalism). 

Vaush has an incredibly popular Youtube that can be found at youtube.com/c/Vaush, and he can be found on twitter at twitter.com/VaushV

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Watch this conversation on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn5TDacKCXY

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

This week I sit down once again with my dear friends Jay Mutzafi and Donovan James, and then we have one of our favorite conversations: Does Free Will Exist? While I think we're each empiricist who realize the science currently supports the notion that free will DOES NOT exist, we each have separate ways we respond to that. Jay reinforces this position through his support of physics/materialism; I dissent (mostly because it's just more fun that way), and instead support the notion that we likely DO have free will and that science just hasn't discovered it yet; and Donovan often brings a balancing perspective between the two as he remains predominantly agnostic. 

To be clear: this isn't a debate. Though it may seem otherwise, no one is trying to win. The goal here is to push the boundaries, to think recklessly, and to put out ideas that very well may be wrong in the hopes it gets us to some unique avenues of thought. And we hope along the way it provides you with some interesting thoughts to reflect on as well.  

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Want to ask a question, provide feedback, or share your thoughts on the show or a topic, then feel free to leave a voice message at https://anchor.fm/society-in-question/message or send an email to [email protected]. You can also find more information at SocietyInQuestion.com

Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

I recently wrote an essay exploring "How Ideological Extremists Are Undermining Their Own Goals" and I thought for this episode I would try something a little different, exploring this essay as a solo podcast. 

The main focus of that essay (and therefore this episode) is dedicated to showcasing how the hostility of the "us" vs "them" dynamic that is currently dominating the culture wars, both in the streets and online, is neurobiologically counter-productive. I explore how the stress, fear, anxiety, and sense of social rejection brought about by this approach actually makes people incapable of empathizing with, learning about, and being supportive of your movement, and instead increases radicalism in a way that worsens society for everyone. 

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

In this episode we sit down with Eric Kuafmann, a professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London who commonly writes on the dynamics of demographic change. In this episode we discuss these ideas as they relate to his 2018 book White Shift, which explores how immigration and populism will play out as we navigate a future where white people steadily become the minority. This naturally takes us on a journey through your typical culture-war-like topics, including identity politics, bipartisanship, self-censorship in the universities, and much more.

You can find Eric on Twitter at https://twitter.com/epkaufm

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

In this episode, I'm joined by Colin Wright, who is an evolutionary biologist and the managing editor at Quillette--the online magazine dedicated to free thought. We discuss the sex and gender debate currently dominating much of social justice zeitgeist, which includes exploring the legal and cultural ramifications of those who seek to step outside society’s traditional definitions of male and female.

This shouldn’t need to be said, but because of the hate mail I’ve

You can find Colin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SwipeWright and read his work at his site: https://www.realityslaststand.com/

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

In this episode, my good friend Donovan returns to answer questions randomly selected from a list of philosophical questions we found online. This takes us on a meandering tour through topics such as self-deception, self-actualization, immortality, suffering vs meaning, religion's place in the world, the downfall of human civilization, binary thinking, climate change, the failures of our government, the culture wars, and much more. 

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

In this episode, I'm joined by one of my favorite contemporary thinkers, John Vervaeke, a professor at the University of Toronto where he lectures on psychology, cognitive science, and Buddhism. John has a phenomenal series on Youtube called 'Awakening From the Meaning Crisis,' where he explores how science and spirituality have lessons of ancient wisdom and knowledge that can help us through our epidemic of depression, ennui, and nihilism. We explore concepts from this series heavily, which includes an exploration of the culture wars, religion, video games, the flow state, and much more.    

You can also find his recent co-authored book: Zombies in Western Culture.

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton - Twitter - Instagram

(Originally recorded in the Spring of 2020)

In this episode we sit down with social scientist and political theorist, Justin Murphy, who spent five years as a lecturer at the University of Southampton before realizing that academia was ironically stifling his ability to be a truly creative and productive freethinker. Upon this realization, he set his focus on online content creation. This resulted in a very active presence on Twitter, as well as a Youtube channel, a podcast, a book about French philosopher Gilles Deleuze, and now an exclusive and burgeoning online community specifically created for independent and ambitious thinkers.

Our conversation in this podcast deals heavily with this journey of Justin's, his thoughts on the pros and cons of academia for the young and ambitious, as well as the many lessons he's learned along the way. If you're looking to get insight into what works and doesn't work in the world of online content creation, especially for intellectuals, then this might be one for you.

Find Justin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jmrphy.

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton

(Originally recorded in the Spring of 2020)

On this episode, we're joined by Aella, previously one of the world's top-paid cam girls who is now a prominent figure in the online intellectual community. We enjoy an incredibly playful conversation surrounding her background, social dynamics, authenticity, and enlightenment.

Follow Aellas work via her website Knowingless and on her Twitter.

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Hosted & Produced by: Steven Parton