Why? Radio Podcast Archive

Airing since 2009, Why? Radio is a philosophical podcast hosted by Professor Jack Russell Weinstein. It aims to show that all philosophy is relevant to our day-to-day lives and that everyone is doing philosophy all the time, we just don’t know it. This collection archives all episodes from its inception to the present day.

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The Importance of Touch

Jack Russell Weinstein and Richard Kearney

We have five senses but there is something special about touch. It is the most intimate and being deprived of it usually means a kind of isolation and loneliness that could destroy the strongest of people. The art that surrounds it from Michelangelo’s Adam touching God to photos of us hugging our loved ones speak to us in ways that no other art does. On this episode we talk about touch, it’s meaning in our lives and the symbolism that surrounds it.

Richard Kearney holds the Charles B. Seelig Chair of Philosophy at Boston College. He is the author of over 24 books on European philosophy and literature (including two novels and a volume of poetry) and has edited or co-edited 21 more. Today we visit with him about his book Touch: Recovering our Most Vital Sense.
What is Dignity?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Michael Rosen

We all use the word dignity, but what exactly does it mean? Where did it come from and what does it give us? Is it a political concept, a religious one, or both? Why do we have such clear images of what indignity looks like, but stumble at offering a clear definition of its opposite? On this episode we ask these questions, and explore dignity’s relationship to individuality, equality, freedom, and personhood.

Michael Rosen is Senator Joseph S. Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government at Harvard University. He has worked on a wide variety of topics in philosophy, social theory and the history of ideas. He is particularly interested in 19th and 20th century European philosophy and in contemporary Anglo-American political philosophy. He is the author and editor of numerous books including 2012’s Dignity: It’s History and Meaning, which we are revisiting today.
Is Plato Still Relevant?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Marina Berzins McCoy

When it comes to philosophy, no one is more influential or invoked than Plato. He set the agenda for everything that came after him, and that’s probably an understatement. But that was two thousand years ago. Back then he opposed democracy and argued that a just society required everyone remain in their role determined at birth. So, should we still read him? Does he deserve the praise he gets? On this episode, we find out.

Marina Berzins McCoy is a Professor of Philosophy at Boston College and the author of three books including, most recently, Image and Argument in Plato’s Republic.
Can You Be An Ethical Spy?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Cécile Fabre

The world is full of secrets and there is a special group of professionals who try to expose them; we call them spies. In our movies and books, our spies can do anything they want to get the job done. James Bond has a license to kill. Agents Jay and Kay live complete lives in the shadows. Severus Snape is a jerk. Are spies this untethered in real life? As philosophers, we should really hope not.

Cécille Fabre is a Professor of Philosophy and of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University. She is author of more than a half dozen books including the recent Spying through a glass darkly: The Ethics of Espionage and Counter-Intelligence.
What is Love?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Simon May

“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all,” or so we are told. But if we ask people to explain how we know love from lust, or a good deed motivated by love from one that isn’t, we often get platitudes and poetry. There are simply no foolproof tests for love itself. Instead, we bumble through our relationships, hopefully learning from our mistakes and hurting others as little as possible, along the way. Simply put, love is hard to define. On this episode, we try to do just this.

Simon May is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, London. He is the author of numerous books, including Love: A History, and Love: A New Understanding of an Ancient Emotion.
Is America’s Democracy Failing?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Adam Lovett

Most of us agree that America’s democracy is not functioning well, these days. But what exactly is wrong with it and what should it look like instead? This is where we disagree. Do our politicians have too much leeway and are American’s themselves informed enough to vote responsibly? These questions are worth asking. On this episode we look at the philosophy behind democracy and use what we learn it to analyze our actual political behavior.

Adam Lovett is a lecturer at Australian Catholic University and a former Fellow at the London School of Economics. His most recent book is called Democratic Failures and the Ethics of Democracy.
Am I Right to be Offended?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Emily McTernan

We talk a lot about offensive speech but how much credit do we give to the people who are offended? Are they correct to be upset? Does their offense serve any good purpose? Should we dismiss those who complain as just a bunch of “Karens”? On this episode, we explore just what it means to be offended and why pushing back on offensive acts is central to a society that values respect.

Emily McTernan is an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy, University College London. She is the co-host of the department’s podcast and the author, most recently, of the book On Taking Offense.
Police and the Ethics of Lying

Jack Russell Weinstein and Luke William Hunt

Police lie. We know this. They do so to motivate confession, to hide undercover, and to solve cases, but is this morally acceptable? How many lies are they entitled to tell and what happens when their deceit undermines our trust in them? On this episode of Why?, we explore whether the deceptions of law-enforcement are compatible with justice, and whether dishonesty violates the social contract.

Luke William Hunt is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama. He has a law degree and is a former FBI Agent. He is the author of three books on police ethics, most recently, Police Deception and Dishonesty: The Logic of Lying.

This is Luke’s second time on Why? Radio. He joined us back in 2018 for “What are the limits of police power?” when his first book came out.
How does Luck Determine our Lives?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Mark Robert Rank

How much should we think about the accidents that drive our lives? How central is our lack of control? Maybe we didn’t get the flu the weekend of our big presentation or got somewhere first because the traffic jam happened on the other highway. Maybe our success isn’t our own. On this episode of Why?, we explore how chance shapes who we are and what we do.

Mark Robert Rank is the Herbert S Hadley Professor of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the author of ten books, including The Poverty Paradox and the soon to be released, The Random Factor: How Chance and Luck Profoundly Shape our Lives and the World Around us.
Should We Abolish Prisons?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Tommie Shelby

Most of us agree that the American prison system is broken. Recidivism is dangerously high and life for the inmates is brutal and often torturous. While there are many voices for strengthening or reforming American prisons, there are other more vociferous ones who insist that it’s time to dismantle them. That’s what we are going to talk about this month. On our next episode, we’ll explore the Black radical tradition that challenges the very legitimacy of incarceration.

Tommie Shelby is Caldwell Titcomb Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies and the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author of three books, most recently, The Idea of Prison Abolition. This is also Tommie’s second appearance on our show. He joined us in July 2016 for a discussion called “How to think philosophically about black identity.”
A Philosophy of Games

Jack Russell Weinstein and Frank Lantz

We’ve been playing games our entire lives, just as humans as a whole have played them since the dawn of the species. Have we ever really thought about them in a philosophical way? Have we asked why we play them, what meaning they serve in our lives, and what makes them good and worthwhile? If not, it’s about time we did. Are boardgames and videogames different types of things? Does playing for money instead of friendship change their value? How does competition inspire empathy? This episode addresses these questions and more.

Frank Lantz is a game designer and Founding Chair of the NYU Game Center. He is the cofounder of Area/Code Games and Everybody House Games, and the creator of the game Universal Paperclips. He has taught game design for over 20 years at New York University, Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts. His new book The Beauty of Games was just released by MIT Press two months ago.
Why do we Dehumanize People?

Jack Russell Weinstein and David Livingstone Smith

The history of humanity is an endless cycle of identifying us versus them: of violence between people who look down on one another as subhuman and monsters; of not just killing, but brutalizing, maiming and massacring in the name of superiority. On this episode, we explore the philosophical foundations of this phenomenon and its roots in culture, ideology, psychology, and history. We ask who makes these monsters and how they are made.

David Livingstone Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of New England. He is the author of numerous books including, most recently, On Humanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist it, and Making Monsters, The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization. He speaks widely in both academic and non-academic settings, including being a guest at the G20 economic summit, where he spoke on dehumanization and mass violence. His website can be found at: www.davidlivingstonesmith.com.
The Ethics of Cryptocurrency

Jack Russell Weinstein and Catherine Flick

We’ve all heard the names: bitcoin, dogecoin, NFTs. We’ve all been told that cryptocurrency is the wave of the future and will make us rich. Is it and will it? Or is crypto just another rigged game designed to separate suckers and their money? On this episode, we ask what cryptocurrency is, how it works, and whether it can create a new moral marketplace.

Catherine Flick is a Reader in Computing and Social Responsibility at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, and a visiting fellow at Staffordshire University, both in England.
How to Give Sex Advice

Jack Russell Weinstein and Dan Savage

For over 30 years the columnist and podcaster Dan Savage, has been giving frank and explicit sex advice to people who send in questions. Is there a philosophy behind his counsel? How does he or any of us deal with the radical changes in sexual behavior that have been triggered by technology and increased permissiveness? On this episode, we explore consent, polyamory, kink, fluid sexuality, and even answer a few listeners’ sex questions.

Dan Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. For almost 20 years his sex advice podcast Savage Love has been at the forefront of sex education and cultural change. You can find more information and his podcast at Savage.love.
The Myths of Whiteness

Jack Russell Weinstein and David Mura

What does it mean to be white? According to David Mura, it means having a unique way of seeing and being in the world, one that’s exclusionary and prevents people from sharing others’ perspectives. It means inheriting a specific way of telling stories and inheriting the power to define truth itself. On this episode we explore these claims and consider the history that has created our racial divide.

David Mura is a memoirist, essayist, novelist, poet, critic, playwright and performance artist. He is the author of numerous books and collections, most recently, The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives.
The Case for Nonhuman Rights

Jack Russell Weinstein and Jeff Sebo

Most of the world is nonhuman and everything we do affects them, and there are thousands of times more of them than there are of us. If we have rights and we’re in the minority, shouldn’t animals as well? On the next episode of Why?, we’ll dive into the world of animal ethics, exploring the legal, political, and moral implications of acknowledging that animals suffer.

Jeff Sebo is a Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, and Affiliated Professor of Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Philosophy, and Law at New York University. He is the author, most recently, of Saving Animals, Saving Ourselves.
Consolation, Solace, and Leadership

Jack Russell Weinstein and Michael Ignatieff

Human life is fleeting. We lose loved ones, our youth, and, well, everything else. What most people need more of is consolation: solace in the face of loss. On this episode, we explore the intellectual history of consolation, looking at how philosophers, artists, and even some politicians address the need for private and public comfort. From Cicero, to Abraham Lincoln, to Camus, we ask how the idea has evolved over time to be culture specific and idiosyncratic.

Michael Ignatieff is a trained historian, a professor, author, broadcaster, and the former leader of the Canadian Liberal Party. He has written fiction, history, philosophy, and public commentary, and currently teachers at Central European University in Vienna, Austria where he served as Rector. He is the author, most recently of On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times.

During the conversation, Jack mentions one of his favorite books, When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner. You can find it here.
Philosophy of Depression

Jack Russell Weinstein and Andrew Soloman

What is going on with depression? How much of it is mind and how much is body? How should people manage the unjustified guilt that often comes with it? There is a worldwide epidemic of depression but surprisingly few philosophical investigations on its nature and meaning. On this episode, we change that. We ask the deep and nuanced questions, moving past the stigma and disrespect that burdens victims who seek help. We also explore the value of caregivers and explain why a “crazy” friend is sometimes the best friend to have. Joined by a guest who has written an astonishing memoir, analysis, and history of the illness, we push past the philosophical tradition that dismisses illness as a lack of virtue or a deviation from perfection.

Andrew Solomon is Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Medical Center, a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Yale University, and a former President of PEN American Center. He is the author of numerous books, all of which have had receptions most authors only dream about. On this episode, we revisit his 2001 memoir, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize.
What’s it Like Being a Philosophy Student?

Jack Russell Weinstein, Samuel Amendolar, Terese Azure, Madilyn Lee, and Sara Rasch

Philosophy is a discipline, but it’s also a major. Most people who do it are on college campuses. We’ve spent the last fifteen years talking to the professors, now it’s time for the students. What’s it like studying philosophy in a culture obsessed with job readiness? Are professors’ expectations difficult to meet? How much of what you learn feels academic and how much is intimate, requiring self-examination and behavioral change?

In this special episode of Why? Radio, host Jack Russell Weinstein interviews four of his current students to learn what studying philosophy is like in their own words. They discuss their struggles with learning during Covid, the difficulties of attending university as am indigenous student, and, in some very moving discussion, the experience of being in Jack’s class.

Each of the four students attend the University of North Dakota, and have been in multiple classes with Jack. Madilyn Lee is a freshman from East Grand Forks, Minnesota. She is one of the few incoming students who declared a philosophy major from day one. Sara Rasch is a senior who will be graduating in the Fall. She’s a philosophy major and my current Why? Radio/Institute for Philosophy in Public Life Intern. She’s from Hibbing, MN. Terese Azure is a senior graduating in about six weeks. She’s an English Major and is planning on going to Law School. She’s from the Turtle Mountain Reservation located in Belcourt, ND. Sam Amendolar graduated with a philosophy degree in 2016 and spent a year being the IPPL/Why? Radio’s intern. He is completing a Masters’ degree in English at UND and was just accepted into the school’s English Doctoral program.
Data, Technology, and The Power of Privacy

Jack Russell Weinstein and Carissa Veliz

We all know that our internet privacy is being eroded, but how far down the rabbit hole have we really gone? Is it even possible to be anonymous anymore? On this episode, we discuss the many ways we are surveilled and the power privacy has. Does data control us? Is privacy an obsolete concept? These and other questions illustrate how much corporate and state access to our data has changed society. Is freedom worth sacrificing for safety and convenience? Is continued surveillance compatible at all with civil liberties? Join us as we seek answers.

Carissa Veliz is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and the Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence. She is also a Tutorial Fellow at Hertford College of Oxford University. She is the author of the recently published book, Privacy is Power: Why and How you should take back control of your data.
Why Everyone Should Join a Union

Jack Russell Weinstein and Mark Reiff

The US Congress just forced a labor agreement on rail workers, despite the fact that more than half of the rail union members didn’t want it. If they can do this, why join a union in the first place? Amazon and Starbucks workers are attempting to form Unions as well, but those companies are strongly opposed to unions, too. What are unions for, why should people join them, and given that history of the labor movement’s greatest victories–things like mandatory weekends and safety regulations–why don’t we all bend over backwards to strengthen collective bargaining? In this discussion, Why? host Jack Russell Weinstein asks his guest whether unions “corrupt” capitalism or if they are necessary components of a just society.

Mark Reiff was a lawyer before he received his Ph.D. He has since taught political, legal, and moral philosophy at the University of Manchester, the University of Durham, The Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and the University of California at Davis. He was a Faculty Fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He is also the author of five books including: In the Name of Liberty: The Argument for Universal Unionization.
What Makes a Movie Good?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Jinhee Choi

Watching movies is one of the great pleasures of life, but we all tend to pay attention to the latest Marvel blockbuster without recognizing that there is a world of cinema out there that sees itself as art, not just entertainment. Is an Avengers movie good in the same way that The Godfather or a low-budget indie film are, and are there objective standards of quality that are separate from popularity and ticket sales? Should movies from one country be thought of as distinct from movies in other countries? When does a movie begin and end, with the action or with the credits? What does it mean to look at a film philosophically, in the first place? This episode discusses these questions and more with an eye towards global cinema.

Jinhee Choi is a reader in Film Studies and the Head of the Film Studies Department at King’s College in London. She has two PhDs, one in Philosophy and one in Film Studies. She is currently working on a book about the portrayal of girls and their sensibilities horror, “chick flicks,” thrillers, and other genres in South Korean cinema.

Here are Jinhee’s lists of favorite movies per decade:

World Cinema
- 1920: Backward Bread [Kino Eye] (Vertov, 1924)
- 1930: The Gay Divorcee (Astaire/Rogers musical, RKO, 1934)
- 1940: LateSpring(Ozu,1949)
- 1950: (2 films in the 1960s instead)
- 1960: The Eclipse (Antonioni, 1962), 15/67 TV (Kren, 1967)
- 1970: Jeanne Dielman (Akerman, 1975)
- 1980: The Time to Live and The Time to Die (Hou,1985)
- 1990: Days of Being Wild (Wong, 1990)
- 2000: The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001)
- 2010: The Chambermaid (Aviles, 2018)
Post-War Korean Cinema
- 1950: A Female Boss (Han Hyeong-mo, 1959)
- 1960: The Devil’s Stairway (Lee Man-hui, 1964) / A Day Off (Lee Man-hui, 1968)
- 1970: Night Voyage (Kim Soo-yong, 1977)
- 1980: Gagman (Lee Myeong-se, 1989)
- 1990: Whispering Corridor 2: Memento Mori (Min + Kim, 1999)
- 2000: Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)/A Bittersweet Life (Kim Jee-woon, 2005)
- 2010: Maggie (Lee Okseop, 2018)
- 2020: Tiny Light (Cho Min-je, 2020)
Philosophical Concerns about Todays Supreme Court

Jack Russell Weinstein and Andrew Seidel

As the New Supreme Court term gets underway, everyone is wondering just how far to the right they will shift. Many commentators claim the majority of justices no longer appear to be fair-minded, that they seem to be speaking for others and reinterpreting laws ideologically while ignoring precedent. Is this true and if it is, who are the voices behind the justices? Is there a justification for ignoring settled law and are justices just political operatives with lifelong appointments? On this episode we ask how the Supreme Court should make its decisions and compare this with what they are actually doing. We look specifically at the role of religion in judicial deliberation and ask if American diversity is really at stake.

And now our guest. Andrew L. Seidel is Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a practicing attorney, and the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American and the newly released American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom. He appeared on Why? Radio less than a year ago to discuss the separation of church and state, but the Supreme Court has dominated the news so much, that we needed him back right away to finish that conversation.
What Does it Mean to be African?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Firoze Manji

Africa has always been regarded two-dimensionally by Europe and the U.S. It’s been called “the dark continent” falsely described as primitive, consisting only of small villages without technology. It’s people are said to be unable to care from themselves, portrayed only as the recipients of charity. Its countries are always called “developing.” It’s time to get past all of this. On this episode of Why? we explore Africa’s philosophy of liberation and ask whether there is a pan-African perspective. We move past the geography lessons and try to figure out how Africa and Africans can create their own unique identities while, at the same time, resisting the legacy of colonialism.

Firoze Manji is a Kenyan activist with more than 40 years of experience in international development, health, human rights and political organizing. He has published widely on these topics and on politics. He is the recipient of the 2021 Nicolás Batista Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association. He is Adjunct Professor at the Institute for African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, and a member of the international advisory board of the journal Philosophy and Global Affairs. He is the publisher of Daraja Press.
What are Community Colleges For?

Jack Russell Weinstein and Brian Huschle

Community colleges don’t seem to get the respect they deserve. They’re perceived as second-rate institutions or places for people who need extra help. Is this true? Is this fair? Are they fundamentally different than four-year colleges and universities? Can we judge them the same way or are they incomparable? On this episode of Why? we look at the important role of two-year schools and the essential place they hold in their communities.

Brian Huschle is Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Northland Technical College, which has two campuses in East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and spent nineteen years in the classroom before moving into administration.