More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/disinformation-and-future-democracy.

The 2020 election and startling events that followed show that the US is as polarized as ever. Not only is there fundamental disagreement over values and goals, but people can’t seem to agree on the most basic, easily verifiable facts, like who actually won. With so many seemingly living in an alternative reality, how do we continue the business of democracy together? Should we adopt paternalistic policies towards fellow citizens who are so profoundly divorced from truth? And does our current plight suggest that the project of liberal democracy is failing? Ray and guest co-host (emeritus) John Perry stay informed about their guest, attorney and political analyst Dean Johnson, co-host of KALW's Your Legal Rights.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-masculinity.

Strong, in control, and stoic—these are traits of the ideal masculine man. Men who fail to conform to this ideal are often penalized, particularly if they are men of color, queer men, working-class men, or men with disabilities. So how do we create different visions of masculinity that make room for all kinds of men? Should we abandon the idea of masculinity altogether, or would that be throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Which models of masculinity will bring us closer to gender justice in the 21st century? The philosophers man their mics with Robin Dembroff from Yale University, author of "Real Men on Top: The Metaphysics of Patriarchy" (in progress).

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/are-we-living-simulation.

With rapid advances in Virtual Reality technology and the like, it’s now possible for us to become absorbed in completely made-up worlds. We might wonder how soon it will be till we reach a point where VR is so good, we can’t tell it apart from the real world. But what if we’ve already reached that point? How would we know if we were currently living in a simulated reality, or are there always telltale signs? And if we were in a simulation, what difference would it make—pragmatically or morally—in how we live our lives and treat other people? Josh and Ray don't fake it with David Chalmers from NYU, author of "Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy."

More at www.philosophytalk.org/shows/culture-industry.

What's your favorite movie? Did you watch that season finale last night? No spoilers! Popular cultures pervades modern life. But what if pop culture was actually more pernicious than we ordinarily think? Could it be systematically deceiving us—eroding our ability to think for ourselves and fight for change? That's what the 20th century German philosopher Theodor Adorno thought. The Philosophers get cultured on Adorno's life and thought with Adrian Daub from Stanford University, co-author of "The James Bond Songs: Pop Anthems of Late Capitalism."

What books should thoughtful people read this summer? Josh and Ray talk to the authors and editors of new and recent books as they compile their annual Summer Reading List:

• Michael Schur, creator of TV's "The Good Place" and author of "How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question"

• Lori Gruen, Professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University and co-editor of "The Good It Promises, The Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism"

• Gabriella Safran, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Stanford University and author of "Recording Russia: Trying to Listen in the Nineteenth Century"

More at http://philosophytalk.org/shows/hegel.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is without doubt one of the most influential philosophers of all time. He has, however, been largely ignored by American "analytic" philosophers of the twentieth century. John in particular, and Ken to a lesser extent, don't know nearly as much about Hegel and his philosophy as they should. They will be lively if somewhat obtuse students for Allen Wood, Stanford's resident expert on virtually all aspects of modern philosophy, when Philosophy Talk goes to the bookshelf and pulls down the big volumes of Hegel's collected works.

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/weird-wants.

Philosophers from Thomas Aquinas to Elizabeth Anscombe have claimed that wanting something means seeing the good in it. Even if what you want is bad overall, like procrastinating on important work, you can still desire it for its positive qualities. But don't we sometimes want things because of their badness, not in spite of it? Isn't there joy in doing something totally pointless, or even in breaking the rules? And is it really impossible, logically speaking, to want to be bad? Josh and Ray unravel our weird wants with Paul Bloom from the University of Toronto, author of "The Sweet Spot: The Pleasures of Suffering and the Search for Meaning."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/making-better-world.

Some philosophers think that morality boils down to one idea: we should make the world better for everyone. But who counts in "everyone"—babies, animals, future people? How can we tell what makes the world better for others? And in an uncertain world, how can anyone gauge the effects of their actions? Josh and Ray try to save the world with acclaimed Princeton philosopher Peter Singer, author of "Ethics in the Real World: 90 Essays on Things That Matter."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/what-has-replaced-freud.

Although the concept that we can have thoughts and desires hidden from consciousness can be traced back to antiquity, it was Freud who truly popularized it in the twentieth century. Now Freud’s theory of the unconscious mind has mostly been abandoned for being unscientific and lacking in empirical evidence. So what has replaced it? Are newer theories that reference “automatic systems” or “implicit attitudes” any more scientific than Freud’s? And why is so much research about the unconscious mind being conducted in business schools? Josh and Ray are quite conscious of their guest, Blakey Vermeule from Stanford University, author of "The New Unconscious: A Literary Guided Tour."

More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/hypatia-alexandria.

Hypatia of Alexandria, late antiquity public figure and scholar, made significant contributions to mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy. Her embrace of Neoplatonism was seen as such a threat to the political elite in Alexandria that she was murdered by a mob of Christians. So what made her ideas so dangerous and revolutionary for her time? As a woman in Ancient Egypt, how did she exert power over her own narrative? And should she really be considered a "martyr" for philosophy? Josh and Ray explore Hypatia's life and thought with Edward Watts, Professor of History at UCSD and author of "Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher."