Conversations at the Center

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Associate Fellow Kevin Zollman.Kevin Zollman is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Philosophy and the director of CMU’s Institute for Complex Social Dynamics. His research and teaching focuses on modeling social behavior in humans and other animals. Kevin grew up in Kansas before attending the University of California, Irvine for graduate school and moving to Pittsburgh in 2009. In addition to many academic articles, Kevin is the author of The Game Theorist’s Guide To Parenting: How the Science of Strategic Thinking Can Help You Deal with the Toughest Negotiators You Know--Your Kids. To read the work discussed in the podcast, visit www.kevinzollman.com

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Chris ChoGlueck.Chris ChoGlueck is a philosophy professor and advocate of reproductive equity. He has a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington. Chris is now an Associate Professor of Ethics at New Mexico Tech, where he teaches philosophy and gender studies to STEM students and runs ethics workshops for scientists. Chris has served as an expert panelist for the Society of Family Planning and the American Society of Emergency Contraception to pressure the FDA to correct the label of Plan B (the “morning after” pill). His research and advocacy have been featured in Scientific American, CNN, NPR, and PBS NewsHour. In the Spring Term of 2026, he has been selected for University of Pittsburgh’s Visiting Fellowship in the Center for Philosophy of Science.Christopher ChoGlueck, "Still no pill for men? Double standards & demarcating values in biomedical research," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Volume 91, 2022, Pages 66-76, ISSN 0039-3681, [open access] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368121001874 

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Laurenz Casser to discuss his work on the study of pain.Laurenz is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Sheffield. Starting January 2027, he will be a lecturer (assistant professor) in philosophy at University College London. His research lies at the intersection of the philosophy of science, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of mind. He is particularly interested in foundational questions in the scientific study of pain. Read the articles discussed in the episode:Casser, L. C. (2021). The function of pain. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 99(2), 364-378. (https://philarchive.org/rec/CASTFO-12)Casser, L. (2025). Pain without inference. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 110(3), 789-810. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpr.13134)

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow David Thorstad. David is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and Research Affiliate at the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory Lab, ANU. ​​Thorstad received a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University and completed his postdoctoral training at Oxford University. Thorstad is the author of Inquiry under bounds (https://academic.oup.com/book/57345) and co-editor of Essays on longtermism (https://academic.oup.com/book/60794).

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with senior fellow Kareem Khalifa.Kareem Khalifa is a professor of philosophy at UCLA (2022-present). Prior to that, he was at Middlebury College in Vermont (2006-2022). Starting in 2027, he will be a professor of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include the general philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, and epistemology, with a special focus on the topics of understanding, explanation, modeling, inquiry, and values in science. He is currently extending his previous work in these areas to social-scientific conceptions of race, among other projects.In this podcast, Machery and Khalifa discussed the following works:Galbraith, Kenneth, and Kareem Khalifa. 2026. "Understanding: It’s All Interrogative." Philosophical Studies.Khalifa, Kareem. 2017. Understanding, Explanation, and Scientific Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.--2023. "Should Friends and Frenemies of Understanding Be Friends? Discussing De Regt." In Scientific Understanding and Representation: Modeling in the Physical Sciences, edited by Insa Lawler, Kareem Khalifa and Elay Shech, 33-50. London: Routledge.Rice, Collin, and Kareem Khalifa. 2025a. "Thank You for Misunderstanding!" Philosophical Studies.--2025b. "Valuable Misunderstandings." Aeon.

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Akos Szegofi to discuss misinformation and conspiracy theories.Akos is a cognitive scientist interested in the study of dishonest behavior and deceptive speech acts. He published on the topics of media history and social epistemology, as well as conspiracy theories.Read the work discussed in the podcast here:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6216050https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8330636/v1https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02691728.2022.2109532

Join us for our first episode of Conversations at the Center since 2024! Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with David Wallace, philosopher and physicist at the University of Pittsburgh.

Join us this week for our 8th episode at Conversations at the Center! This week, our host and Director, Edouard Machery talks with 3 of our PSP8 students, Arina Zhu, Jacinta Creel, and Maddox Larson as we wrapped up our 2024 Pittsburgh Summer Program. Our Pittsburgh Summer Program is for undergraduate Students who are highly motivated and show strong academic promise and interest in the philosophy of science.   The program is open to all qualified undergraduate applications. Past coursework in philosophy of science is not a prerequisite for application to the Summer Program.The program is designed to promote opportunities for all students, including, but not limited to students underrepresented in philosophy of science, such as women, LGTQIA, students with disabilities, first generation undergraduates, Pell eligible students, veterans, and underrepresented minorities.     To learn more about the program and how to apply, please visit www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/Pittsburgh-Summer-Program/

Join us for the Center's 7th Episode of 'Conversations at the Center' with our host and director, Edouard Machery. This episode, Edouard talks with returning guest, John Norton, distinguished professor at the University of Pittsburgh History and Philosophy of Science department. We continue to discuss John's research, relativity, quantum theory, and statistical physics, with a special interest in general relativity, his publications focus on the detailed steps of Einstein's discovery of general and special relativity and many aspects of the theory's philosophical foundations. In this episode, we also take a moment to focus on our upcoming Pittsburgh Summer Program students, arriving to Pitt's campus July 8-July 12th. To learn more about the program: please visit https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/programs/pittsburgh-summer-program/

Join us for our 6th Episode of 'Conversations in the Center'. This week, our director and host, Edouard Machery, talks with Wayne Wu, Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Neuroscience Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Wayne Wu works on attention, perception, action and schizophrenia at the interface between philosophy and cognitive science. His current work focuses on introspection, attention and their targets: phenomenal experience, intention, and action. To learn more about Wayne and his work, visit: https://www.waynewu.net/ All music is licensed through a subscription on motionarray.com

Join us for our 5th episode of Conversations at the Center. Edouard Machery, our Director and Host, talks with John Norton, Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science in the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Norton studies the history and philosophy of physics (relativity, quantum theory, and statistical physics), with a special interest in general relativity, and has published extensively on the detailed steps of Einstein's discovery of general and special relativity and also on many aspects of the theory's philosophical foundations. To learn more about his work, click here: https://www.hps.pitt.edu/people/john-d-norton All music is through a paid license on motionarray.com

Join us for our 4th episode of Conversations at the Center. Our host, Edouard Machery converses with our Fellow, Alison McConwell. Alison McConwell is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UMass Lowell. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Calgary. Prior to her position at UMass Lowell, she held postdoctoral appointments at the University of British Columbia and Standford University. Her research focuses on the history and philosophy of biology, and epistemology of science. She has interest in values, pragmatism, and feminist though related to those areas, and conducts archival work concerning the intellectual history of evolutionary biology. To learn more about her work and her upcoming book visit www.alisonkmcconwell.com

Join us for our 3rd episode of Conversations at the CenterEdouard Machery and Jacob Stegenga have an open discussion on Jacob's work and research while promoting the Center's conference, Revitalizing Science and Values, April 5-7 2024. Jacob Stegenga is a Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He has published widely in general philosophy of science and philosophy of medicine and biology. Prior to joining Cambridge he taught in the United States and Canada, and he received his PhD from the University of California San Diego. He is the author of Medical Nihilism and Care and Cure: An Introduction to Philosophy of Medicine, and he is currently writing a book tentatively titled Heart of Science. To learn more about his work: visit https://sites.google.com/view/jacob-stegengaMusic is through motionarray.com

Join us for our second episode of Conversations at the Center with Sandra Mitchell. This week, our Director, Edouard Machery, talks with Sandra Mitchell, Distinguished Professor at the History of Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Sandra Mitchell is also Teaching Practicum Director and Career Outcomes Director in the History of Philosophy of Science. All music has been obtained through a paid license on motionarray.com

Welcome to the first episode of The Center for Philosophy of Science Podcast! Edouard Machery, Director of the Center, and Arnon Levy, Senior Visiting Fellow, discuss the upcoming conference, Revitalizing Science and Values, coming to Pitt Friday April 5th through Sunday April 7th. Revitalizing Science and Values, 4.5.2024- 4.7.2024 The arena of science and values has grown in size and prominence in recent philosophy of science. But debates about the role of science remain fairly limited in terms of both the scope of topics discussed and in the range of views expressed. This conference aims to broaden the horizons of work on science and values, partly by making room for new (or new versions of older) ideas and partly by getting it to interact with other parts of philosophy. To learn more about the conference or to view the program schedule, use the link below https://www.centerphilsci.pitt.edu/event/revitalizing-science-and-values/ The Center for Philosophy of Science is is a program of the University of Pittsburgh, Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA. The Center fosters the development of the best, new work in philosophy of science.