Think Hard

By Danielle LaSusa & José Muñiz

Philosophy is sometimes seen as impractical and impenetrable, but on Think Hard, two trained philosophers have accessible and lively conversations about contemporary culture, politics, and society. Ea... more

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FAQs about Think Hard:

How many episodes does Think Hard have?

The podcast currently has 66 episodes available.

Think Hard episodes:

November 29, 2017 #16: Teen Movies will Save the World
Through the examples of The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and
10 Things I Hate About You, José argues that teen movies are important
cultural artifacts that show us how to view the world with complexity,
nuance, and depth—qualities that will allow us to have better conversations
with those with whom we disagree. Danielle loves teen movies, but she’s not
sure she buys it.
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November 15, 2017 #15: All News is Fake News
In this episode, Danielle and José talk about how to think about truth in
the era of fake news. With new technologies that have the ability to
literally change what we see and hear through audio and video manipulation,
how do we know our beliefs are justified? How can we ever have real
knowledge? Is it possible to change someone’s mind about the truth through
critical thinking and reasoning or do we have to appeal to emotions and
values? Is all news actually fake news?
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October 31, 2017 #14: I’m Not a Masturbation Couch
José is troubled by his sexual fantasies of women because it objectifies
them. Danielle and José consider: Does sexual desire always or necessarily
involve the dehumanizing objectification of others? Is it morally
acceptable to objectify someone in the privacy of your own mind or will
that objectification always spill out into the way you interact with
others? Is it possible to keep sexual fantasies completely separate from
workplace relationships? Are there solutions to the social problems in
which people are forced to navigate their sexual desires along with their
desires to see others in their full humanity?
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October 18, 2017 #13: Emotional Work for White People
Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism? Danielle and José
talk about white fragility—the idea that white folks are emotionally
fragile, and blow up or shut down, when it comes to talking about race.
Danielle offers some ideas about why she and so many of her fellow white
people have such a tough time, (they’re terrified of being called a racist,
for example), and what they should do about it.
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October 04, 2017 #12: Is Belief in God Morally Wrong?
Danielle is an atheist and José is a theist, but he feels bad about
believing in something for which he does not have evidence. Given all of
the warfare and destruction in the name of God, is it morally wrong to hold
this belief without sufficient evidence? José outlines an argument by
William James, which attempts to justify belief in God as a special and
specific kind of belief that one can hold by pure will. Is it enough to
convince Danielle?
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September 20, 2017 #11: Tolerating the Nazi Next Door
Danielle and José discuss the value of tolerance. Tolerance is a paradox
because if we tolerate everyone, we have to tolerate those who are
intolerant, thus threatening our tolerant society. Is there really a clear
line between tolerating people’s speech and beliefs and tolerating their
actions and policies? Why should we value tolerance, and how do we treat
those who are intolerant?
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September 06, 2017 #10: Help Yourself
Danielle and José discuss philosophy as self-help. José hates self-help as
a genre, and Danielle claims that philosophy would make for better
self-help than many of the books currently on the market. She outlines how
philosophy could address what makes so many self-help books annoying and
ultimately disappointing.
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August 23, 2017 #9: In Defense of Snobs
Are snobs just obnoxious, self-righteous jerks, or do they contribute
something of value to society? José argues that snobs are the protectors of
culture and ought to be defended. Snobs save us from the faceless demands
of a watered down marketplace and set a standard for the human experience.
Danielle is skeptical, and wonders if snobbery is an expression of classist
myopia, confusing personal preferences for objective standards.
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August 10, 2017 #8: Where is the Pain?
Danielle and José talk about perception and meditation. Danielle claims
that meditation is the key to seeing, feeling, and perceiving the world in
a radically new way. Can meditation change the brain so much that we can
cease to feel pain? Where is sensation: in the nerves or in the mind’s
response? And what happens if, indeed, we do have responsibility for how we
interpret sense data?
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July 25, 2017 #7: Death Rattles of Dance
José fears that dance is on its deathbed! Is social dancing on the decline?
And if so, what do we lose if it dies? Danielle and José suggest that
losing dance means losing opportunities for mastery over our bodies, as
well as communication and coordination with others in a playful and
non-verbal way. Dance is both related to but different from both sports and
sex, and we can feel self-conscious about it in a way that we don’t with
those other forms of bodily expression. We end, as always, by talking about
what we’ve been thinking about since our last show.
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FAQs about Think Hard:

How many episodes does Think Hard have?

The podcast currently has 66 episodes available.