We've just finished the fiction series, so it's time for another meta episode!

Dr. Brooke Macnamara is an associate professor of psychology at Purdue. She works on expertise, skill acquisition, and achievement, and we have a great conversation about how expertise research works (and where it falls short), talent identification, and much more.

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Gwenda Bond has written across a range of genres and media, alone and collaboratively, and for licensed properties including Lois Lane and Stranger Things. This week, we discuss the value of constraints and the joy of finding that one reader who connects with the story you're trying to tell.

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Ken Liu is an author of award-winning short stories and novels, and has thought deeply about what it means to write fiction well. In this episode, we talk about language as a tool, and about the author as someone with the responsibility to use that tool to help people see things in a way they otherwise couldn't.

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This week, we're talking to Chris Huisjen, who writes serial fiction online under the pseudonym Aest Belequa.

We discuss the difference between serialized fiction and traditional work, how he's built his writer's toolkit, the importance of receiving and, especially, providing feedback, and exploring themes and tropes.

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This week's conversation is with Andrea Phillips, novelist and storyteller across prose, games, and immersive experiences.

We talk about the importance of the audience in good writing, the value of commercial speech, writing across different media, and collaboration, among other topics.

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The fiction series begins! First up, we hear from Dr. Eric Schwitzgebel -- professor of philosophy at UC Riverside, but also the author of short stories that explore philosophical themes.

We discuss the necessity of considering the audience when thinking about good fiction, formula in genres, and the challenges and power of speculative fiction, among other topics.

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Ten Thousand's first meta episode! Dr. Barbara Gail Montero is a philosopher (and former professional ballet dancer) who works on expertise. We dig into the prospects for a general theory of expertise and her work on conscious control and attention.

Links:

- ⁠On the Philosophy of Mind

- Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction

- Thought in Action: Expertise and the Conscious Mind

- Continuous Improvement: Intertwining Mind and Body in Athletic Expertise (with John Toner and Aidan Moran)

Credits:

- Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Johnathan Flowers, assistant professor of philosophy at California State University Northridge.

We talk about philosophy for the public and for the academy, and how what it means to do good philosophy is tightly bound to the audience.

Links:

- on ⁠Bluesky⁠

- Faculty page at CSUN

Credits:

- Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Louise Antony, professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has made foundational contributions to philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and feminist philosophy, among other fields, and we have a wide-ranging conversation -- about intellectual honesty, metaphors, and collaboration in a field that's often seen as solitary.

Links:

- ⁠A Mind Of One's Own: Feminist Essays On Reason And Objectivity⁠

- ⁠Philosophers without Gods: Meditations on Atheism and the Secular Life⁠

- ⁠Chomsky and His Critics⁠

- "On sex, gender and their consequences," an interview with The Freethinker

- "Good Minus God," published in the NY Times blog, "The Stone"

- "Things Oughta Make Sense," Presidential Address to the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association (and the same-titled song that her daughter Rachel Lark wrote for her)

Credits:

- Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Philosophy season continues! In this episode, we talk to Nicholas Drake, a graduate student and researcher at the Australian National University.

We discuss the different aims that philosophical work might have, and how what "good" means differs based on those aims -- whether it's to satisfy curiosity, find some deeper truth, or advance a larger, possibly non-philosophical goal.

References:

- Nicholas's website

Credits:

- Theme music: “Puzzle Pieces” by Lee Rosevere. Available for use under the ⁠⁠⁠⁠CC BY 4.0 license⁠⁠⁠⁠, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Music Archive⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠