Michael P. Hodges is an expert in Wittgenstein’s philosophy, American Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, and Philosophy of Education. He has taught at Vanderbilt since 1968, with this year marking it his last. We discuss why Hodges signed a petition to have Joe Wyatt resign, the several roles he played at Vanderbilt, and the absurd stories of his time here.

Keivan Stassun holds the position of director at the Vanderbilt Initiative in Data-intensive Astrophysics (VIDA) and serves as a professor of Physics & Astronomy. He also acts as the co-investigator for NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission and has provided expert testimony to the US House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology. Stassun has been honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Engineering Mentoring and serves as the director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation.

Lincoln Murr is a senior at Vanderbilt pursuing his accelerated Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science. With seven years of experience in the blockchain industry, he has published over 250 articles and presented his research at conferences worldwide.  He also founded the Vanderbilt Blockchain and Anchor DAO, the first non-profit decentralized autonomous organization in Tennessee. Currently, Lincoln is finishing up his Master’s Thesis on single slot finality with support from the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship. After graduation, he will be joining Coinbase as an Associate Product Manager.

The Vanderbilt Fusion Project, one of the most selective organizations on Vanderbilt’s campus, has successfully developed a miniature nuclear fusion reactor. Representing the project are Catherine Knox, Chief People Officer and team lead for the Advanced Concepts team; Tommy Pennington, the CEO and co-founder of the Fusion Project; and Brayden Edman, the Chief Technology Officer and Head of Control and Electronics Systems for the project. We discuss the project’s inception, purpose, and future.

Professor Samar Ali is a research professor and co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy. She served as a White House Fellow during President Barack Obama’s administration, where she closely collaborated with Homeland Security. Additionally, she worked with former President Jimmy Carter on an international delegation observing the 2012 presidential election in Egypt. Ali co-founded Lodestone Advisory Group, a consulting firm, and currently serves as the CEO of Millions of Conversations, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing polarization. Furthermore, she holds the title of Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and leads an initiative with the Aspen Institute called “Who is Us: A Project on American Identity.”

Jon Kaas is a neuroscientist and professor here at Vanderbilt University. He is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and is responsible for discovering areas of the brain, such as the middle temporal area (MT) and the dorsomedial area. Professor Kaas has an h-index of 127, making him a very productive researcher on campus. Kaas’s research, in general, has demonstrated the great degree of plasticity that mature nervous systems have.

Sam Sliman is the president of Vanderbilt Student Government, having won the race through a joke campaign. He is also the co-founder of Swipes for a Cause, an organization on campus that collects unused meal swipes from students and donates them to local food banks. Recently, Sam was featured in a New York Times article titled “New York’s Hottest Steakhouse Was a Fake, Until Saturday Night.” The story details how Sam and his friends created a fake high-end restaurant, hosting New York aristocrats. We discuss campus speech regulations and Sam's involvement in the creation of this faux restaurant.

Larry Bartels is an American political scientist and the Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions and Shayne Chair in Public Policy and Social Science here at Vanderbilt University. Bartels has published books such as Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of The New Gilded Age, Democracy for Realists, and Democracy Erodes From The Top. He has both written for The Washington Post and The New York Times. In our conversation, we discuss how the most wealthy sway public policy and how primary races shape parties.

Dr. Blane Hollingsworth is trained in stochastic differential equations, probability, and Lotka-Volterra equations. He teaches undergraduates calculus and statistics for engineering here at Vanderbilt University. We discuss the nature of mathematics, the toll of constantly thinking like a mathematician, and learning to question our assumptions.

Ismail Kurun is doing a PhD in philosophy here at Vanderbilt. His research focuses on political philosophy and the history of philosophy. Kurun is currently developing a dissertation project on the adverse political effects of the quest for certainty. In our conversation we discuss abstractions, the virtue of epistemic humility, and movies.