WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life

If you haven't already listened to the June episode, you may need to refresh your download to get the long version. The shorter broadcast version was initially posted.

Jack visits with Adam Lovett, the author of "Democratic Failures and the Ethics of Democracy." (University of Pennsylvania Press) Lovett is a lecturer at Australian Catholic University in the School of Philosophy.

Emily McTernan, author of On Taking Offence, talks about the role of being offended in modern life.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Luke William Hunt. Hunt is a former FBI agent, and currently an associate professor at University of Alabama, Department of Philosophy. His most recent book is "Police Deception and Dishonesty – The Logic of Lying."

Jack visits with Mark Robert Rank, author of the forthcoming book, The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape Our Lives and the World Around Us."What shapes our economic fortunes? Perhaps what immediately comes to mind are attributes such as education, skills or labour-market experience. Demographics such as age and your parents’ socioeconomic status might also be considered."Yet surprisingly, according to a wide range of social scientists, these factors are only able to explain about 35 per cent of the variance in earnings. In other words, 65 per cent of the differences in individual income defy our standard assumptions."— Quote from an essay by Dr. Rank.

“Should we abolish prisons?” Host Dr. Jack Russell Weinstein discusses that with Tommie Shelby, Caldwell Titcomb Professor of African and African American Studies and of Philosophy at Harvard University.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Frank Lantz, the director of the New York University Game Center. For over 12 years, Lantz taught game design at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. "His writings on games, technology, and culture have appeared in a variety of publications. In 2012, The New York Times referred to Lantz as a "reigning genius of the mysteries of games" following his design of iPhone puzzle game Drop7." (Wikipedia)

We initially sent out the wrong audio! If you downloaded the mistake, please delete that, refresh your feed, and try again. That should give you the correct conversation as Jack visits with David Livingston Smith in an episode titled: "Why do we dehumanize people?" You can also find that audio HERE.

Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with David Livingston Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of New England, author of "On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It" from Oxford University Press.

Catherine Flick is a Reader in Computing and Social Responsibility in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University. She also currently has a visiting fellowship at Staffordshire University.