Naked Humanity

Do our phones rob us of our humanity? What about genetic engineering, or other technologies? Stefani chats with Columbia PhD candidate Joe Fisher about the wild ride we're on in a rapidly changing world. They discuss how human nature changes over time, how technology impacts our ideas and culture, and how today’s technology is over-turning everything we thought we knew about who we are.

Nowadays there are atheist meetups, atheist book clubs, and even atheist churches. Is atheism becoming a religion?! Today Stefani talks about the similarities and differences between American atheism today and fundamentalist Christianity. Ultimately, they are very different, but what they have in common is alarming and something we must pay attention to.

Hateful, anti-feminist rhetoric is on the rise in the West. What does atheism have to do with it? This week Stefani chats with Princeton PhD student of American religions Caroline Matas about how today’s atheism is becoming politicized by the right, the relationship between atheism and anti-feminism, the power of victimhood, and America’s religious and spiritual crises.

A testament to the potential for New Year’s Resolutions to do actual good, today Stefani tells the story of the year she resolved to be celibate. Tune in and learn about her history of traumatic relationships with men and how forswearing romance transformed her into a self-sufficient and happy human.

Is there a relationship between fundamentalist forms of religion and trauma? Stefani chats with fellow Oxford scholar Tyler Tully who grew up experiencing and witnessing severe trauma in an Evangelical community. These days Tully specializes in researching these kinds of suffering, so they get to the bottom of how and why trauma happens in religion. They also discuss how religion isn’t made to feel good, the importance of empathy, and Brad Pitt’s ideas about religion.

Most of us know Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th--but what else is mythical about Christmas? In this episode, Stefani walks you through the history of Christmas from ancient European wine making practices, to the medieval poor demanding luxuries from the rich, to the banning of Christmas in Boston, to riots in New York, and more. As it turns out, the history of Christmas is full of socioeconomic and political upheaval - from which there is much we can learn.

All cultures have their problems, but we can still learn from one another. In this brief episode Stefani discusses research that has been conducted on the differences in mental health and happiness between East and West, and the lessons we could learn from the Chinese about how to be happy.

We all know that the “East” and “West” are different--but just how deep do these differences reach? This week Stefani chats with fellow Oxford PhD candidate Mari Ovsepan about her personal experiences growing up in an Eastern culture that has a more extended, collective sense of self, and now living in the hyper-individualistic West. They discuss Mari’s experiences of coping with the West, the ecstasy of encountering others, why the medievals were right about imagination, and what each culture can spiritually and emotionally learn from the other.

Which is more important, nature, or nurture? In this short episode Stefani explains the debate, weighs the pros and cons of each, and explains why each is ultimately wrong. What are we left with, then? Finally good science--and a revolution in how we understand humanity--that’s what.

We often talk about the brain like a computer, but is that really how it works? This week Stefani chats with philosopher Nat Barrett who argues that most cognitive scientists completely misconceptualize the brain. There's some radical change underway today in terms of how we understand the brain--and Barrett is at the cutting edge of understanding. Tune in and learn both how we become the way we are and the role the brain plays in our thoughts and feelings.