In this episode, Josh and Ian discuss the recent Texas abortion "ban" and the confusion of political slogans. They talk about 5-6 week restriction on abortions in Texas and some of the points within the bill, working around the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision and soft totalitarianism, the difficulty of detecting pregnancies early on and family planning, some of the main reasons that women have abortions, the philosophical differences between "life", "human beings", and "persons", whether o...

In this episode, Josh and Ian talk about the 20 year anniversary of 9/11 and U.S. troops exiting from Afghanistan. They talk about the initial exit strategy of U.S. troops and citizens from Afghanistan, the Cold War and the formation of the Taliban, the Soviet Union and spread of communism, their original thoughts and feelings of the September 11th attacks and the fall of the Word Trade Center twin towers, war in the middle-east and the prospects of nation building, the critiques agains...

In this episode, Josh and Ian speak about the latest state mask mandates and the perception of tyranny by citizens. They talk about people's initial protests to mask mandates, the rise of the COVID Delta variant and how variants arise, the state of Oregon's latest pandemic restrictions, the psychology of wearing masks and similar legal preventative health measures, the difference between rights and privileges, individual liberties and the cognitive dissonance when private businesses act on th...

In this bonus episode, Josh and Ian discuss the latest Netflix special from comedian Bo Burnham. They talk about Burnham's relevance to the cultural zeitgeist and the background to the special's production, the staging of the special in light of the camera's presence, the evolution of art and content creation, generational divide, smartphones and screen time, the commodification of identity, online vs. in-person performances, the internet and information overload, attentions span and boredom,...

In this episode, Josh and Ian speak about cancel culture and state laws surrounding critical race theory. They discuss the necessity to talking about cancel culture, the differences between cancelling and accountability, understanding the current language of the culture, the history of "conservative" movements cancelling certain sectors of art and entertainment, the debate between creationism and evolution in public schools, the conservative impulse to defend the liberal ideology, political c...

In this episode, Josh and Ian speak with U.S. Navy veteran Grant Owens about war and the military industrial complex. They talk about the power of the U.S. military and its naval force, capitalism and the influence of China on the global economy, the difference between the Navy and other branches of the military, the selective service, the global threat from China and Russia, the war in Afghanistan and how technology has changed violent conflict, the amount of armed conflict the United States...

In this episode, Josh and Ian give an update on the latest political news from the G7 summit and the global pandemic. They talk about the COVID-19 vaccines and their side effects, the latest info-dumb on the Fauci emails, "trusting the science" and skepticism of authority, personal hygiene and rights vs. responsibility, the SARS-COV-2 "lab-leak theory" and hyper-politicization, tribalism and zealotry in American politics, W. Virginian Senator Joe Manchin and bipartisanship, the meaning behind...

In this episode, Josh and Ian talk about whether or not we live in a just world. They talk about Americans refusing to take the covid vaccine, principles and keeping your word, Plato's Republic and the inquisitive nature of Socrates, their own definitions of 'justice', acting in our own best interests, formal definitions of justice, restorative justice and being closer to the community, how resentment drives society apart, justice within the context of survival, the murder of George Floyd and...

On this B.S. Boulevard, Josh and Ian cover a variety of topics and give an update on their lives. They talk about early childhood and cognitive development, the nature of being human, children and the negation of their own bodies by adults, ambiguity and nuance in learning, being born into an already 'worlded' world, being open to exploratory conversations, negative images of the body, pleasure in suffering, the question of 'what is nature?', philosophical monism, the 'separation' of man from...

In this episode, Josh and Ian discuss the philosophical underpinnings and consequences of pessimism. They talk about the immediate future of the podcast, misconceptions about pessimism and parallel philosophies, world-view and personal attitude, HBO's True Detective and the public's understanding of pessimistic ideas, a deep dive into philosophical differences, political stagnation, techno-futurism and rational optimism, Arthur Schopenhauer and our relationship with suffering, finding j...