The Ethical Life

By Scott Rada and Richard KyteSociety & Culture

The Ethical Life episodes

June 19, 2024 Why does America need to invest in more third places?
Episode 147: Richard Kyte’s new book, “Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way),” is hitting bookstore shelves this month, and he talks with Scott Rada about why we all need to find somewhere where everyone knows our name.
About the hosts
Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
50 min
June 12, 2024 How can books expand our view of the world?
Episode 146: A recent study found that just 53% of American adults read at least one fiction or nonfiction book in the past 12 months, the lowest level on record. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss why instilling a love for reading early is important and why avid readers are better critical thinkers who can focus more deeply.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast
Why aren't young people reading anymore?, by Richard Kyte
Why kids aren't falling in love with reading, by Katherine Marsh, The Atlantic
About the hosts
Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
52 min
June 05, 2024 Why a busier life is not always a happier life
Episode 145: A recent article in The Atlantic by Arthur C. Brooks says that the people whose lives are the happiest are able to find a balance between having enough important, mission-driven things to do in their lives without feeling overwhelmed by stress. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about how to find that middle ground so you can have a healthier life.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast
Long working hours increasing deaths from heart disease and stroke, World Health Organization
Navel Gazing A journey through the life — and notebooks — of journalist John Dickerson
About the hosts
Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
49 min
May 29, 2024 What is lost when we no longer have a shared culture?
Episode 144: There was a period of time in America, roughly 1940 to 2000, during which we were largely part of a monoculture. Most of us watched the same TV shows and movies, read the same newspapers, and listened to the same radio stations. Today, however, because of the Internet, that's clearly not the case. And although this feels new to many of us, over the long arc of history, most people have never been part of a monoculture. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how these changes affect how we live today.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast
Here's how rituals can shape our cultural identity, by Richard Kyte
How the logic of cults is taking over modern life, by Derek Thompson and Sam Illing
The misunderstood reason millions of Americans stopped going to church, by Jake Meador, The Atlantic
About the hosts
About the hosts Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Fulcrum Books will publish his soon-to-be released book, "Finding Your Third Place."
41 min
May 22, 2024 Has influx of money made it tougher to be a sports fan?
Episode 143: Americans’ love affair with sports is stronger than ever. According to a poll earlier this year by Pew Research, about half of Americans say they took part in organized, competitive sports in high school or college; most Americans who played sports in high school or college say their athletic experiences improved their physical health and confidence; and nearly 4-in-10 Americans follow professional or college sports at least somewhat closely.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss whether legalized gambling, the reliance on TV revenue and costly taxpayer-funded stadiums make sports less appealing.
Discussion topics:
The dark side of the sports betting boom, by Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN
Cash-grabbing power players are sending college sports Into a soulless spiral, by Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated
Stadium subsidies are getting even more ridiculous, by Dan Moore, The Atlantic
About the hosts
Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
51 min
May 15, 2024 What can be done to make housing more affordable?
Episode 142: Most economists say that the U.S. economy is in a relatively strong position. Although inflation is still a concern, overall GDP numbers are strong, the unemployment rate is low, and wages are rising. Yet in a poll from earlier this year, just 28 percent of Americans rated national economic conditions as excellent or good.
There are many reasons for this disconnect, but one is certainly the high price of housing and the stubborn problem of homelessness in many of our cities.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talk about how the tight housing supply and zoning restrictions are especially harmful for those with the lowest incomes.
Links to stories mentioned in the podcast:
We can solve housing one communithy at a time, by Richard Kyte
Share of gross rent in household income in the United States in 2022, by Statista
Why is housing inventory so low? Understanding the the U.S. housing shortage, by Jess Ullrich, Bankrate
Where are all the apartments for families? by Rachel Cohen, Vox
Homeless or overhoused: Boomers are stuck at both ends of the housing spectrum, The Wall Street Journal
Biden administration to boost affordable housing programs, supply of manufactured homes, by Alex Gangitano, The Hill
Looking for a new car under $20,000? Good luck. Your choice has dwindled to one vehicle, by Tom Krisher, The Associated Press
About the hosts: Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
51 min
May 08, 2024 Can too many choices in life keep us from making decisions?
Episode 141: Our lives are dependent on the choices we make, and in most cases, we have more choices than ever.
A study by Harvard University shows that having fewer choices can promote happiness because the more options you have, the more opportunities you have to regret the choice you've made. There is also a term called the “parallelizing paradox,” which is when people who are faced with more options than they can effectively consider feel unsure what to do.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how people can navigate the seemingly unlimited number of options they face in everyday life.
55 min
May 01, 2024 When is a protest ethically justified?
Episode 140: Nearly seven months after the Israel-Hamas war began, many campuses across the country are dealing with pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments.
Some college presidents have chosen to involve the police, which has led to hundreds of students being arrested. In addition, these protests have again stirred up a debate about the limits of free speech, as some think the messaging has become antisemitic.
Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss the four tenets of ethical protests and why such principles are important.
Links to stories mentioned in the podcast:
Are student protests against Israel missing the mark?, by Richard Kyte
What students read before they protest, by Ross Douthat, The New York Times
Columbia University responds after Robert Kraft says he's pulling support over anti-semitic violence, by Greg Norman, Fox Business
College students should study more, by Matthew Yglesias, Slow Boring
About the hosts: Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
50 min
April 24, 2024Are these five things the secret to happiness?
Episode 139: If you were making a list of superstar psychologists, Carl Jung would be toward the top. According to a recent story by Arthur C. Brooks in The Atlantic, the one-time associate of Sigmund Freud coined the terms extravert and introvert, along with many of the other words we use to describe mental health today.
One topic he thought a lot about was happiness, and how difficult it was to obtain. In 1960, as he neared the end of his long life, Jung shared five pillars that he said could help us make progress toward being happy. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss these five pillars and why they each play an important role:
Good physical and mental health.
Good personal and intimate relations, such as those of marriage, family and friendships
Seeing beauty in art and in nature.
A reasonable standard of living and satisfactory work.
A philosophical or religious outlook that fosters resilience.
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
51 min
April 17, 2024 Should AI be used to help us stay in touch with the dead?
Episode 138: There are 137 episodes of The Ethical Life podcast, and that means there are more than 6,000 minutes of hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada talking about various ethical issues. This also means that AI can stitch together all this information and create replicas that would sound — and possibly even think — like them.
Some people already are using such technologies to attempt to keep alive relationships for people who have died. The hosts discuss whether such technologies would help with the healing process or instead make it tougher to move on.
Links to stories discussed during the podcast:
Using AI to talk to the dead, by Rebecca Carballo, The New York Times
Artificial intelligence advances fuel industry trying to preserve loved ones after death, Max Zahn, ABC News
AI versions of deceased loved ones could be a serious threat to mental health, by Nigel Mulligan, The Conversation
About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis. His forthcoming book, "Finding Your Third Place," will be published by Fulcrum Books.
43 min

About The Ethical Life

From the publisher's feed

Scott Rada is a digital strategist with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Kyte is also the author of "Finding Your Third Place: Building Happier Communities (and Making Great Friends Along the Way)."