PODCAST · society
Elucidations
by Matt Teichman
Elucidations is an unexpected philosophy podcast produced in association with Emergent Ventures. Every episode, Matt Teichman temporarily transforms himself back into a student and tries to learn the basics of some topic from a person of philosophical interest. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Episode 158: Marshall Abrams discusses the nature of the evolutionary process
In this episode, Matt sits down with Marshall Abrams, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to talk evolutionary theory. Click here to download Episode 158 of Elucidations. One phrase sometimes associated with the theory of evolution is “the survival of the fittest.”...
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Episode 157: Robin Hanson discusses prediction markets
In this episode, Matt and Joseph sit down with Robin Hanson, Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, to discuss prediction markets. A prediction market is a kind of betting market, wherein people place bets on whether or not some future event is going to happen by investing…
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Episode 156: Oliver Traldi discusses political expertise
For this episode, Matt Teichman and Joseph Diller sit down with Oliver Traldi (University of Toledo, Mercatus Center) to talk about political expertise. What does it mean to be an expert in something? Our guest opens by noting that we use the term expert in two different ways: in the normal…
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Episode 155: Rebecca Lowe discusses speaking freely
Last episode, we talked about free speech, and this time, we sit down with Rebecca Lowe (Mercatus Center) to discuss the related but slightly different topic of speaking freely. Speaking freely: the thing you feel entitled to do when a superior says to you: “you may speak freely.” But although...
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Episode 154: Greg Salmieri discusses free speech, "cancel culture," and "academic freedom"
In the latest episode of Elucidations, Greg Salmieri (University of Texas) joins us once again, this time to discuss freedom of speech. Free speech talk has been in the air, on the internet, for the past decade. But what exactly is going on with freedom of speech? Do I have the right to criticize...
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Episode 153: Sam Enright discusses lifelong learning
In the latest episode of Elucidations, Sam Enright (Progress Ireland, The Fitzwilliam) instructs us in the delicate art of learning forever. If you’re one of those people who responds well to formal education, chances are you’ve spent 10-20 years of your life as a student. When you finally...
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Epsiode 152: Luca Gattoni-Celli discusses the housing crisis
This time around, Matt talks to Luca Gattoni-Celli about why it’s so expensive to buy a house. In the 80s, people from all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds were able to afford apartments and houses in places like New York City, San Francisco, or London. Now, on the other hand, even many wealthy...
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Episode 151: Witold Więcek discusses statistics and academic research
Note: this episode was recorded in August of 2022. In the latest Elucidation, Matt talks to Witold Więcek about the difficulties that come up for researchers who would like to draw upon statistics. Lots of academic fields need to draw heavily on statistics, whether it’s economics, psychology,...
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Episode 150: Shruti Rajagopalan discusses talent in India
In this episode, Matt sits down with Shruti Rajagopalan (Mercatus Center) to talk about what the future holds for India. We often have a tendency to think of the current economic and geopolitical situation as simply the way things are. Especially for people who grew up in the United States over…
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Episode 149: Lainie Ross and Christos Lazaridis talk about defining death
In this episode, we are joined by Lainie Ross (University of Rochester Medical Center) and (once again!) Christos Lazaridis (UChicago Medicine), this time to talk about the different ways of defining death. In our previous episode with Christos, we talked about death and the vexed history of...
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Episode 148: Christos Lazaridis discusses brain death
In this episode, Matt sits down with Christos Lazaridis (University of Chicago Medicine) to chat about what brain death is and whether brain death should count as, like, death death. Modern life support technology really hits its stride in the 1960s, allowing doctors to buy themselves more time…
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Episode 147: Gabriella Gonzalez discusses the intersection of algebra and programming
In this episode, Matt talks to Gabriella Gonzalez about how basic concepts from the branch of math known as abstract algebra can help us simplify our computer programs and organize our thoughts. Algebra. That thing they make us do in school. What was that again? Oh yeah, that’s right; it’s where...
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Episode 146: Gaurav Venkataraman discusses memory in DNA and RNA
In this episode, Matt sits down with Gaurav Vankataraman (Trisk Bio) to talk about how human memory is physically realized. Where do your memories live? In the brain, right? They’re, like, imprinted there somehow? We often think of memories as analogous with recordings, like when you do an audio...
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Episode 145: Andrew Sepielli discusses quietism and metaethics
This episode, Matt and Joseph sit down with Andrew Sepielli (University of Toronto) to talk about metaethical quietism. His new book on the topic, Pragmatist Quietism, is out now from Oxford University Press. Click here to listen to episode 145 of Elucidations. Metaethical quietism is the view…
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Episode 144: Christopher Beem discusses democratic virtues
This episode, Matt talks to Christopher Beem (Penn State University) about how we can cultivate those skills that conduce to having a functioning democracy. His book on the topic, The Seven Democratic Virtues, is out now from Penn State University Press. The storming of the US Capitol Building in...
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Episode 143: Mark Linsenmayer discusses alternative models of education
This episode, Matt Teichman talks to Mark Linsenmayer about alternative models of education. Mark is creator and host of the Partially Examined Life, Nakedly Examined Music, Pretty Much Pop, and Philosophy vs. Improv podcasts. He is also the author of the recent book, Philosophy For Teens.…
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Episode 142: Emily Dupree discusses the rationality of revenge
In this episode of Elucidations, Matt sits down with Emily Dupree to learn about whether it’s rational or irrational to try to seek revenge. As a culture, we kind can’t decide what we think about revenge. Out of one side of our mouths, we talk a big game about letting bygones be bygones, about…
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Episode 141: Rob Goodman discusses eloquence
This time around, Matt sits down with Rob Goodman to talk about political eloquence. Goodman is the author of a new book on this topic called Words on Fire, which you can pick up a copy of wherever you like to get books. Can you think of the last time you saw someone give a rousing speech? They...
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Episode 140: Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko discuss the good life
Intro philosophy classes often get stuck in a rut. Some philosophy classes go through a list of old dead people and try to understand excerpts from some of their most influential writings, over the course of a semester. Could be something like: Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Mill, and...
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Episode 139: Jessica Tizzard discusses the philosophy of pregnancy
This month, Jessica Tizzard (University of Tuebingen) makes her second appearance on Elucidations to talk to Matt about pregnancy. Human pregnancy is weird. Try talking to a reproductive endochrinologist about it, and you’ll soon find that there’s a lot we don’t really understand about it even at...
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Episode 138: Toby Buckle discusses Mill's liberty principle
This month, Toby Buckle, host of the Political Philosophy Podcast, returns to talk about John Stuart Mill’s liberty principle! (Also sometimes called the ‘harm principle’.) The occasion for the episode is the recent release of Toby’s cool new book, What is Freedom?, which is out now from Oxford...
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Episode 137: Bryan Caplan discusses open borders
This month, I talk to Bryan Caplan (George Mason University) about what a world without immigration restrictions could look like. The work discussed in this episode comes out of Bryan’s incredible non-fiction graphic novel, Open Borders, which I highly recommend checking out. Don’t let the...
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Episode 136: Christian Miller discusses virtue and character
This month, Yuezhen Li and I sit down with Christian Miller (Wake Forest University) to talk about how to be virtuous. Also known as how to be good. ‘Virtue’ is sort of an old-timey word. But the concept is still alive and well today, even though we tend to use different words for it. The idea...
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Episode 135: Sara Protasi discusses the philosophy of envy
This month, Charlie Wiland and I sit down with Sara Protasi to talk about envy. Which she just came out with a whole book about! Awesome. Click here to download episode 135 of Elucidations. You might think that it’s pretty clear what envy is. Isn’t envy just when someone else has something you...
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Episode 134: Claire Kirwin discusses value realism
This month, Josh Kaufman and I talk to Claire Kirwin about whether things are objectively good or bad, or whether it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Professor Kirwin is a fan of peanut butter cup ice cream, and Josh and I are fans of mint chocolate chip. Is there an objective fact of the matter...
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Episode 133: Aristotle discusses his philosophy
This month, Agnes Callard and I talk to Aristotle about his philosophy, including his work on physics, biology, and ethics. Featuring an introduction by our awesome intern, Noadia Steinmetz-Silber! Click here to download Episode 133 of Elucidations. Not everyone is familiar with Aristotle’s work...
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Episode 132: Rebecca Valentine discusses queer hackerspaces
This month, we sit down with Rebecca Valentine (co-founder of Queerious Labs) to talk about anarchism, feminism, tech culture, and creative hacking. Hack this, hack that. What is a hacker, anyway? In pop culture, it’s common to use the term ‘hacker’ as a synonym for ‘cybercriminal’—that is, a...
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Episode 131: Greg Salmieri discusses egoism and altruism
This month, Greg Salmieri (University of Texas at Austin) returns for his third appearance on Elucidations, this time to talk about doing right by yourself. What was the last thing you did? The last thing I did was pull a shot of espresso. I wouldn’t say I made coffee as an end in itself, even...
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Episode 130: Jessica Tizzard discusses weakness of the will
This month, Long Dang and I sit down to talk to Jessica Tizzard (University of Connecticut, Storrs) about weakness of the will. You’re at a party hosted by a close friend. It’s been three hours since you got there, and the evening thus far has been chock full of scintillating conversation, a fun...
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Episode 129: Nethanel Lipshitz discusses discrimination
This month, Ben Andrew and I are joined by Nethanel Lipshitz (Tel Aviv University, Bar-Ilan University) to talk about discrimination. If someone treats me unequally--that is, if they give other people a relative advantage but not me--am I the victim of discrimination? Our guest says yes. That is...
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Episode 128: Melissa Fusco discusses free choice permission
One of the foundational ideas behind philosophical logic is that when you say something, that has further implications beyond the single thing you said. Like, if I think ‘every single frog is green’ and ‘Fran is a frog’, then I am committed to thinking that Fran is green. I don't have to have...
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Episode 127 - Nic Koziolek discusses self-knowledge
In this episode, Nic Koziolek (Washington University in St. Louis) returns to talk to me and Nora Bradford about self-consciousness. Self-consciousness, as philosophers use the term, is a word for when you know something about one of your own mental states. Like when I really enjoy some pizza and...
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Episode 126 - Listener Q&A with Agnes Callard and Ben Callard
Three philosophers. Eight head-scratchers. 50 minutes. In this episode, Agnes Callard, Ben Callard and I respond to the world's most awesome listener-recorded questions. A lot of people have the impression that philosophy is, first and foremost, an enterprise in which college professor types read...
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Episode 125: James Koppel discusses counterfactual inference and automated explanation
Episode link here. In this episode, James Koppel (MIT, James Koppel Coaching) joins me and Dominick Reo to talk about how we can write software to help identify the causes of disasters. These days, there's often a tendency to think of software primarily as a venue for frivolous pleasures. Maybe...
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Elucidations Episode 124: Graham Priest discusses Buddhist political philosophy
Episode link here: https://elucidations.now.sh/posts/episode-124/ In this episode, Graham Priest returns to discuss Buddhist political philosophy with me and Henry Curtis. (Last month, we talked with him about Buddhist metaphysics.) Last month, we discussed the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: that...
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Episode 123: Graham Priest discusses Buddhist metaphysics
In this episode, Matt Teichman and Henry Curtis talk to Graham Priest (CUNY Graduate Center) about the philosophical foundations of Buddhism. Buddhism isn't just a religion--it's an entire family of philosophical traditions that took root all over the Asian continent for thousands of years. The...
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Episode 122: Frithjof Bergmann and David Helmbold discuss new work, new culture
In this episode, Frithjof Bergmann and David Helmbold make the case for a different approach to working in the modern world. A lot of us experience our day to day work as a 'mild disease'--not terrible, not excruciating, but also not our #1 choice about how to spend weekdays. Instead, they argue…
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Episode 121: Aaron Ben Ze'ev discusses the arc of love
In this episode, Matt Teichman and Julia Liu talk to Aaron Ben Ze'ev (University of Haifa) about lifelong romantic love. What is love? Is it just a private feeling that each individual person experiences, or is it something that crucially involves multiple people? Our guest argues that although…
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Episode 120: Robin Dembroff on going beyond the gender binary
Ever wonder what 'gender non-binary' means? Don't worry--Robin Dembroff (Yale University) is here to walk us through the relevant terminology, along with the everyday moral issues that are tied up with the gender concepts we use. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 119: Stephanie Kapusta discusses misgendering
In this episode, our guest argues that in addition to ordinary individual cases of misgendering, in which one person gets another person's gender wrong when they address them, there's a broader sense of the term. In the broader sense, a philosophical account of what gender is can also misgender...
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Episode 118: Tyler Cowen discusses Stubborn Attachments
In this episode, Tyler Cowen lays out an interesting normative ethical theory according to which we should be utilitarians, but with a twist: we should be utilitarians who care just as much about the humans of the future as we care about people now. Re-emphasizing our commitment to future people,...
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Episode 117: Brian L. Frye says to plagiarize this podcast
In this episode, Brian L. Frye (University of Kentucky) argues that we should think more carefully about our moral reaction to instances of plagiarism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 116: Tommy Curry discusses black male studies
In this episode, Tommy Curry argues that if we really want to understand gender-based oppression, we have to look at how black men have been targeted for it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 115: Katherine Ritchie discusses social groups
In this episode, Katherine Ritchie (CUNY Graduate Center, City College) lays out what it means to belong to a social group, and what kind of thing a social group is. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 114: Sally Haslanger discusses ideology
What is the nature of a person's political outlook? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 113: Tom Pashby discusses quantum mechanics
In this episode, Tom Pashby explains how quantum physics is different from theories that came before, and runs through some of the ways that philosophers and physicists have tried to make intuitive sense of this challenging framework. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 112: Myisha Cherry discusses the skill of conversation
In this episode, Myisha Cherry argues that having a productive conversation with someone often involves explicitly laying out each person's background experiences and expectations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 111: Greg Kobele discusses mathematical linguistics
In this episode, Greg Kobele discusses how abstract mathematics can be useful for arriving at a unified theory of what patterns a person has mastery over when they can speak a language. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 110: Chike Jeffers discusses the social and political philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois
What is the best way forward for a group of people fairly recently freed from slavery? Booker T. Washington emphasized economic enfranchisement, whereas W.E.B. Du Bois thought it was necessary to achieve political enfranchisement alongside economic enfranchisement. Join us as our guest discusses...
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Episode 109: Bonus Episode with Matt Teichman and Toby Buckle
Bonus episode! In this joint edition of Elucidations and the Political Philosophy Podcast, Matt Teichman and Toby Buckle sit down and have a freeform conversation about why we do podcasts, the nature of moral disagreement, and the existence of political divides. Hosted on Acast. See...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Elucidations is an unexpected philosophy podcast produced in association with Emergent Ventures. Every episode, Matt Teichman temporarily transforms himself back into a student and tries to learn the basics of some topic from a person of philosophical interest.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Matt Teichman
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Elucidations have?
Elucidations currently has 158 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Elucidations about?
Elucidations is an unexpected philosophy podcast produced in association with Emergent Ventures. Every episode, Matt Teichman temporarily transforms himself back into a student and tries to learn the basics of some topic from a person of philosophical interest. Hosted on Acast. See...
How often does Elucidations release new episodes?
Elucidations publishes regularly with 158 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Elucidations?
You can listen to Elucidations on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Elucidations?
Elucidations is created and hosted by Matt Teichman.
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