In today's episode, we begin to take stock of the frightening state of American democracy, where it is good news that the sitting president probably won't steal an election. Why is the situation so dire? How did we get here? What do we do going forward, and can we come back from this? We focus on the epistemic estrangement of liberals and conservatives, and also the increasing epistemic derangement of conservatives in today's episode.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes 

In today's episode, we begin to take stock of the frightening state of American democracy, where it is good news that the sitting president probably won't steal an election. Why is the situation so dire? How did we get here? What do we do going forward, and can we come back from this? Two of the main ingredients to the problem that we discuss in this episode are a background of extreme political polarization and an allegiance to Trump which supersedes allegiance to democratic institutions.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes 

In this episode, we discuss the Supreme Court's decisions to allow or prohibit various extensions to the deadlines for mail-in ballots in the 2020 presidential election. In particular, we focus on Justice Kavanaugh's decision to prohibit a six-day extension on the receipt of mail-in ballots in Wisconsin, and Justice Kagan's dissenting opinion. What is a reasonable deadline for an election held amidst a pandemic? Should courts refrain from intervening so close to an election?
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In this episode, we try to have a cathartic chat about the miserable nightmare that was the first 2020 presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden. Boy was it depressing.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In this episode, we discuss Hannah Arendt's classic Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report On the Banality of Evil. We discuss the sometimes surprising psychological underpinnings of evil, and the way that evil flourishes in the absence of thought. We also discuss some of the lessons that can be drawn from Arendt's discussion of Eichmann.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In today's episode, we discuss the recent report from Mike Pompeo's Commission on Unalienable Rights. We go through the document which, unfortunately, is largely self-congratulatory and intellectually vacuous, and discuss the relationship of the United States to the human rights project.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In today's episode, we continue our discussion of the Bostock vs. Clayton County, Georgia Supreme Court case, which, in a surprise decision, extended Title VII of the Civil Rights act to protect gay, lesbian, and transgender people against employment discrimination. This time, we focus on some of the more confusing aspects of Alito's dissent.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In today's episode, we begin our discussion of the Bostock vs. Clayton County, Georgia Supreme Court case, which, in a surprise decision, extended Title VII of the Civil Rights act to protect gay, lesbian, and transgender people against employment discrimination. We explain the decision, give some of the historical background, and discuss some of Alito's curious dissent.
Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes

In this episode, we finish our discussion of the ethics of protest, and of whether or not violence in protest can be justified. Can thinking about the ethics of war help us understand whether violence in protest can be justified? Does the preservation of one's dignity sometimes require people to engage in acts of destruction? We also discuss the differing approaches to social resistance of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and discuss the ways in which some violence can actually make protest more effective.

Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes, Hanna Gunn

In this episode, we begin our discussion of the ethics of protest, and of whether or not violence in protest can be justified. In the first part, we ask about the nature of protest itself, and discuss some of the sociology concerning the public's perception of protest, particularly as it relates the protests against police brutality against black Americans following the murder of George Floyd.

Toby Napoletano, Michael Hughes, Hanna Gunn