Why? Radio Podcast Archive

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  A Secular Theory of Evil

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Claudia Card

  Years ago, Alan Bloom wrote that Hitler was the worst thing that ever happened to ethics classes, because when philosophers asked their students for an example of evil, they would just say “Hitler” and never actually have to think about the question. He may have had a point. We all use the word evil as if we know what it means, and more often than not, we use it in a religious context. On this episode of WHY? we’ll examine the concept of evil and ask, not just what how to define it, but how we think about it as philosophers and outside religion.

  Claudia Card is the Emma Goldman Professor of Philosophy in the Philosophy Department at University of Wisconsin, Madison, with teaching affiliations in Women’s Studies, Jewish Studies, Environmental Studies, and LGBT Studies.

  Her books include Confronting Evils: Terrorism, Torture, Genocide (Cambridge 2010), Genocide’s Aftermath: Responsibility and Repair, ed. with Armen Marsoobian (Blackwell 2007); The Cambridge Companion to Simone de Beauvoir, ed. (2003); The Atrocity Paradigm: A Theory of Evil (Oxford 2002); On Feminist Ethics and Politics, ed. (Kansas 1999); The Unnatural Lottery: Character and Moral Luck (Temple 1996); Lesbian Choices (Columbia 1995); and Feminist Ethics, ed. (Kansas 1991).

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  The Philosophy of Poetry

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Mary Jo Bang

  Almost seven hundred years ago Dante Alieghieri took us on a terrifying and mesmerizing journey through the nine circles of hell. He could never have predicted that today, in that same poem, the sin of gluttony would be represented by the South Park Character Eric Cartman. This isn’t a joke, but a way of modernizing Dante’s epic, and of showing that it still speaks to us as a serious work of art. On this episode of WHY?, we’re going to take our own journey, not through hell, but through the nature and limits of poetry, of what it means, and how it speaks to us

  Mary Jo Bang is a poet, translator, and professor of English at Washington University in Saint Louis. She is the author of six books of poems and a a new translation of Dante’s Inferno.

  This episode was recorded at the University of 2013 University of North Dakota Writers Conference. WHY? thanks the Conference, its organizers, and donors for allowing us to interview one of their invitees.

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  The Philosopher of Gardens

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Stephanie Ross

  While North Dakota struggles through the last months of winter, many of us dream of gardens, of digging through the soil or of biting into a fresh tomato. But what kind of gardens do we want and why are they so important to us? Do we grow them for contemplation or just a place to entertain friends? Are gardens art and what ever happened to the term “picturesque”?

  Stephanie Ross is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri, St Louis. She focuses on the aesthetics the philosophy of art), and is the author of the book “What Gardens Mean.”

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  The Case for Religious Moderation

  Jack Russell Weinstein and William Egginton

  We are, people will tell us, in the midst of a religious war. Depending on who you believe, either science is making us immoral heathens or religion is making us ignorant rubes. William Egginton, however, challenges this view. He not only claims that this dichotomy is false, he asserts that the two sides are both fundamentalists and cut from the same cloth. Egginton argues that we should all be religious moderates combining scientific truth with religious belief.

  William Egginton is Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and chair of the Department of German and Romance Languages and Literatures at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of In Defense of Religious Moderation, How the World Became a Stage, Perversity and Ethics, A Wrinkle in History, The Philosopher’s Desire, and The Theater of Truth. He is also coeditor of Thinking with Borges and The Pragmatic Turn in Philosophy, and translator of Lisa Block de Behar’s Borges: The Passion of an Endless Quotation.

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  The NCAA and its Universities

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Taylor Branch

  The college sports industry is worth fifty to seventy billion dollars annually and is governed by a single organization, the National Collegiate Athletics Association. What happens if they’re not fair? What happens if there are deep systematic problems that no one has the power to fix and they won’t budge? Taylor Branch noted civil-rights historian, claims that the NCAA is immoral, that it’s racist, and that it has, the “unmistakable whiff of plantation on it.” On this episode of WHY? we’ll talk about the philosophy of college sports and the controversial agency that governs how college athletes live their lives.

  Taylor Branch is a Pulitzer-prize winning historian and the recipient of a McArthur Genius award. He has written numerous books but is most well-known for a three volume history of the American civil-rights movement during the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Our discussion today is based upon his book The Cartel which is, itself, an extension of his article: “The Shame of College Sports” in The Atlantic Monthly.

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  The Public Philosophy Experiment

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Clay Jenkinson

  This episode of Why? is a special one–our 50th–and to celebrate we’re changing things around. Our most frequent guest Clay Jenkinson interviews host Jack Russell Weinstein. That’s right, after almost four years of asking other people about their research, it’s his turn on the hot seat. So tune in for a s spirited and spontaneous discussion.

  Clay Jenkinson is the Director of The Dakota Institute through The Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, Chief Consultant to The Theodore Roosevelt Center through Dickinson State University, Distinguished Humanities Scholar at Bismarck State College, and a columnist for the Bismarck Tribune. A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay is the host of public radio’s The Thomas Jefferson Hour. He has been honored by two United States presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities’ highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas. He is also the author of numerous books

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  The Moral Demands we Make On Others

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Stephen L. Darwall

  What allows us to make moral demands on other people? How important are relationships in ethical decision-making and why should people act ethically in the first place? Join WHY?’s host Jack Russell Weinstein and his guest Yale professor Stephen Darwall, as they ask these and your questions during an important exploration into the very foundations of morality.

  Stephen Darwall is an influential ethicist whose recent work has captured the imagination of many who are looking for a new way to talk about morality. He is the Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. He is the author of numerous books including The Second-Person Standpoint and Welfare and Rational Care.

  In the course of the discussion, Steve mentions the painting “The Tribute Money” by Bernardo Strozzi. Here is the painting for you to consider:

  For more paintings by Strozzi, follow this link.

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  Sculpture and Philosophy

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Stefanie Rocknak

  Stefanie Rocknak is an extraordinary sculptor. She is also an accomplished philosopher. How do the two vocations relate? Does philosophy help or hinder her creative process and how important is theory to the practice of making art? Join WHY as we look into the artistic mind and ask about the process of taking ideas and making them physically real.

  Stefanie Rocknak teaches at Hartwick College. She specializes in David Hume and the philosophy of art. Her work has appeared in a number of journals and books, including Brain and Mind and Hume Studies, among others. She is also a professional sculptor. Her work has been in over 50 shows, including at the Smithsonian, the windows of Saks 5th Ave., and the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, FL. Her sculptures have been featured in multiple publications, and in 2010, she was awarded the 10K Grand Prize in the Margo Harris Hammerschlag Biennial Sculpture Award. She was also just awarded the commission to create a public sculpture of Edgar Allan Poe for display in Boston, the city of Poe’s birth. More information can be found here; Stefanie hopes you will consider donating to the project.

  Below are some examples of Stefanie’s work. More can be found at: http://www.steffrocknak.net.

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  WHY? Goes to China: The View from a Private High School

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Yuyan Liu

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  Is Chinese education a mindless brainwashing free of critical thinking or is it a modern, pragmatic, well-rounded experience preparing world leaders for the future? Is it a single-monolithic entity treating all citizens alike, or is it more like America where people can choose their own way? Join WHY? and our guest Dr. Yuyan Liu, principal of the Camford Royal School in Beijing, China, as we look at Chinese education from the perspective of the reformer.

  Dr. Yuyan Liu, the principal of Camford Royal School, holds a PhD from Cambridge University, where he attended as an Overseas Distinguished Scholar. Dr. Liu is also a high-ranking research fellow of the Royal Society. Over the course of ten years studying, teaching and conducting research at Cambridge, Dr. Liu became intimately familiar with the Cambridge educational philosophy. Upon his return to China, Dr. Liu was inspired to establish a leading advanced study program based upon the Cambridge system. The goal of Dr. Liu’s program is to increase the number of opportunities offered to Camford graduates in terms of acceptances to high quality Western colleges and universities.

  WHY?’s trip to China was supported in part by The American Culture Center – Shanghai at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, through a partnership between USST and the University of North Dakota, supported by the US Department of State.

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  WHY? Goes to China: Young, Female, and Upwardly Mobile in Shanghai

  Jack Russell Weinstein, Catherine Gao, and Sheryl Jiang

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  Catherine and Sheryl are in the early twenties, studying at a major university, and are ready to take on the world. They are two Chinese women with every opportunity in the world, and they, like everyone their age, want to know how to proceed. How does it feel to be the hope of a nation, the first generation to experience economic security and freedom of movement? Join WHY? as we ask what it’s like to grow up amidst the fastest changes in Chinese history.

  WHY?’s trip to China was supported in part by The American Culture Center – Shanghai at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, through a partnership between USST and the University of North Dakota, supported by the US Department of State.

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  WHY? Goes to China: Music Without Borders

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Noukilla

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  Music crosses cultures, but how about the messages it imparts? How do you get an audience to dance, laugh, or even think, when you sing to them in a different language? And what if the music that one person thinks of as a relaxing party-soundtrack is actually regarded as dangerous and revolutionary? Join WHY? as we talk with the Shanghai band Noukilla and ask how five African musicians are breaking ground new ground in the Chinese world music scene while remaining true to their own roots, experiences, and music.

  Noukilla are five friends from the Island of Mauritius, who came to Shanghai/China in 2005. While playing cover songs with different bands in the city and working as session musicians at the same time, they regularly came together to play tunes from their far away home. Under the name of Gymga – Gilbert, Yan, Macleen, Giovani and Alain – they recorded their first CD with Reggae cover songs.

  Their unconditional love for music led to the birth of Noukilla (meaning ‘Here we are!’) in 2010, bringing original songs and their own style of Sega/Seggae-Fusion to the fans, who find words like “sunny, exotic, colorful, warm, happy, energetic, good mood” to describe the band. The mixture of their different ethnicities and backgrounds (African/Indian/British/French) reflects in their music with lyrics in Creole, French and English. Right now the band is preparing their first official release for summer this year. Listen to their music at www.noukilla.com.

  WHY?’s trip to China was supported in part by The American Culture Center – Shanghai at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, through a partnership between USST and the University of North Dakota, supported by the US Department of State.

  Jack interviewed the band at a club, before a gig. Here are some scenes from the discussion:

  
  
  
  
  

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  WHY? Goes to China: Environmentalism Without Protest

  Jack Russell Weinstein, Lynn King, and Irving Steel

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  In the United States, when we think of environmentalism we thing of Greenpeace, demonstrations, and boycotts. But what would environmentalism look like without protests? How can people be inspired to change their ways without petitions and social pressure, and how do you clean up a massive, industrial, over-polluted nation where food safety is a neglected concern? Join WHY? as we continue our exploration of modern China with guests Lynn King and Irving Steel. This episode was recorded live before an audience at the American Culture Center at the University Shanghai for Science and Technology.

  Lynn King is the Founder & Managing Director of SageVision: ReInventing Cities and the Director of Moving Eco Forum: Best of Expo Eco-Innovations. A leadership and management trainer, consultant, and coach since 1989, Lynn is also a founding member of China’s first chapter of NetImpact, a global network organization of professionals and students interested in social responsibility. Lynn has a Certificate in Organization and Systems Development (OSD) from The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, a Master’s Degree in Organization Development from The Fielding Institute, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University.

  American Irving Steel LEED AP is the most promising young entrepreneur in Shanghai. He is Co-Founder and Development Director at innovative e8 Resources which is Driving Environmental Technologies For China. He is also the Founder & Membership Director at Green Drinks China as well as a Founding Member of the Green Building Professional Partnership – China (GBPP China). With thousands of followers, Irving has led the expansion in conferences, forums and partnerships with countless organizations. Having already been in China for close to 4 years, he clearly understands the needs of the market and has instigated relationships to create enormous positive impact. As a result of the network, Irving has developed a breadth of contacts to accelerate e8 in China and throughout Asia. Irving is fluent in English, French & Mandarin.

  WHY?’s trip to China was supported in part by The American Culture Center – Shanghai at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, through a partnership between USST and the University of North Dakota, supported by the US Department of State.

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  Lies My Teacher Told Me

  Jack Russell Weinstein and James W. Loewen

  In 1995, James Lowen published Lies My Teacher Told Me, a powerful critique of how American history is taught in schools. He surveyed twelve leading textbooks and found, in his words, ”an embarrassing amalgam of bland optimism, blind patriotism, and misinformation pure and simple, weighing in at an average of four-and-a-half pounds and 888 pages.” His book won the American Book Award, the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship, and the AESA Critics’ Choice Award. The book has sold over 1,250,000 copies.

  On this episode of Why? we will take another look at Loewen’s arguments and ask whether his critique still stands. More philosophically, we will ask how we should teach history. Do we present famous figures as heroes or flawed people? Do we write from the perspective of the victors or the losers? Do we investigate America as a multicultural land or as one people, undivided?

  James Loewen taught race relations for twenty years at the University of Vermont. Previously he taught at predominantly black Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He now lives in Washington, D.C., continuing his research on how Americans remember their past. He has also written: Lies Across America, Sundown Towns, Teaching What Really Happened, and The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights, and employment cases.

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  Are Corporations People?

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Stephen M. Bainbridge

  In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations should be considered persons. They have the same rights as individuals, including the freedom to fund political campaigns. This led to a firestorm of debate with advocates arguing both sides, each pointing to the absolute necessity of their positions.

  On this episode of WHY?, we will ask what it means for a corporation to be a person, how collective action affects agency, and how these large companies are to be considered legally and morally accountable for their actions.

  Stephen Bainbridge is the William D. Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles. He is a prolific scholar, whose work covers a variety of subjects, but with a strong emphasis on the law and economics of public corporations. He has written over 75 law review articles and numerous books. He has been a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation and in 2008, he was named by Directorship magazine to its list of the 100 most influential people in the field of corporate governance.

  Stephen’s blog can be found here.

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  WHY? Goes to China: An Interview with host, Jack Russell Weinstein

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Bill Thomas

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  Originally an episode of Hear it Now, Bill Thomas, Director of Radio at Prairie Public interviews WHY?’s host Jack Russell Weinstein about the WHY? Trip to China. Listen to behind the scenes details, hear about how the events played out, and get Jack’s personal reactions to the trip, the different culture, and China in general.

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  WHY? Goes to China: Confucius and Today’s China

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Daniel A. Bell

  IN MAY, 2012, WHY? WAS INVITED TO CHINA TO TAKE A LOOK AROUND, INTERVIEW WHO WE COULD FIND, AND TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT A COUNTRY THAT SEEMS TO BE BLAMED FOR ALL OF AMERICA’S PROBLEMS. THE RESULT: A HALF-DOZEN SHOWS WITH GUESTS RANGING FROM CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS TO FOUR AFRICAN MUSICIANS TRYING TO MAKE IT BIG IN SHANGHAI. WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE AN EXPATRIATE LIVING IN CHINA AND DO THEY HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN CHINESE NATIONALS? WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE PRINCIPAL OF AN ELITE CHINESE PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL? WHAT IS THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTALISM IN THE POLLUTED COUNTRY AND HOW MUCH HOLD DOES CONFUCIUS’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE OVER THE COUNTRY AND ITS POLITICIANS? ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE WILL BE ANSWERED WHEN WHY? GOES TO CHINA!

  Confucian philosophy plays an important role in the Chinese family, but what role does it play in politics? Chinese is a traditional society, but modern China is built on a break from the past. China holds dearly to its own past, but is experiencing more change than ever before. Join us for a discussion about how tradition works in a changing China and the importance of cities in moral life. This interview was recorded at The American Culture Center at The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology before a live audience.

  Daniel A. Bell (贝淡宁）has been teaching political theory in China for sixteen years. He is currently professor at Tsinghua University (Beijing) and Jiaotong University (Shanghai). He has published six books on East Asian politics and philosophy with Princeton University Press. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and other media outlets. His webpage is www.danielabell.com.

  WHY?’s trip to China was supported in part by The American Culture Center – Shanghai at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, through a partnership between USST and the University of North Dakota, supported by the US Department of State.

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  Does Science Give Us Truth?

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Jan Golinski

  For thousands of years, people have looked to science to reveal the truth about nature – to conquer it or to discover its secrets. But there are others who think that this approach is deeply mistaken. Science, they say, tells us about our culture and reveals the ideas we bring to the laboratory. Is there such a thing as objectivity or does science just describe what we ourselves bring into the laboratory? On this episode of WHY? we are going to examine these questions and wade deep into what some philosophers call “the science wars.”

  Jan Golinski is Professor of History and Humanities at the University of New Hampshire where he teaches the history of European sciences since the Renaissance. He has published articles on the history of chemistry, on problems of method in the history of science, and on the social history of science in Britain in the long eighteenth century. He is the author of three books, Science as Public Culture: Chemistry and Enlightenment in Britain, 1760-1820, Making Natural Knowledge: Constructivism and the History of Science, and British Weather and the Climate of Enlightenment.

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  Love, Hate or Eat: How Humans Relate to Animals

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Hal Herzog

  Why do some cultures eat dogs and others invite them into their bedrooms? Why do some people find spiders disgusting but others consider them a delicacy? Who enjoyed a better quality of life—the chicken on a dinner plate or the rooster who dies in a Saturday-night cockfight? What can we really learn from experiments on mice?

  On the next episode of WHY? we’ll talk with author Hal Herzog about human attitudes towards animals, examine how rational we are when it comes to pets, and ask what all this tell us about ourselves. Drawing on more than two decades of research in the emerging field of anthrozoology, the new science of human–animal relations, Hal offers surprising answers to these and other questions related to the moral conundrums we face when considering the creatures with whom we share our world.

  Hal Herzog is Professor of Psychology at Western Carolina University. He has been investigating the complex psychology of our interactions with other species for more than two decades. He is particularly interested in how people negotiate real-world ethical dilemmas, and he has studied animal activists, cockfighters, animal researchers, and circus animal trainers. An award-winning teacher and researcher, he has written more than 100 articles and book chapters. His research has been published in journals such as Science, The American Psychologist, The Journal of the Royal Society, The American Scholar, New Scientist, Anthrozoös, BioScience, The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Animal Behavior. His work has been covered by Newsweek, Slate, Salon, National Public Radio, Scientific American, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune and many other newspapers.

  Hal’s blog “Animals and Us” can be found here.

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  When do we talk about when we talk about economics?

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Deirdre N. McCloskey

  Everywhere we look there are “economic indicators.” We talk about the jobless rate and the national debt. We learn about the first quarter and evaluate movies by how much they earn on opening weekend. In the end, life insurance companies determine our “worth.” Does any of this make sense?

  On the next episode of WHY?, we’ll talk with economic historian Deirdre McCloskey about what these figures tell us and what they leave out. We’ll ask where the human experience is in the midst of all these numbers and investigate economic assumptions that claim human beings are self-interested, and that happiness or desires can be quantified. We’ll even ask whether economics is, itself, a science that leads to objective information.

  Deirdre McCloskey is a Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is also a Professor of Economic History, Gothenburg University in Sweden. She is interested in the rhetoric of economics and wider literary matters, such as literary and social theory. Her main project for is writing a six-volume series on “The Bourgeois Era.” The first two volumes The Bourgeois Virtues, Ethics for An Age of Commerce and Bourgeoisie Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World, have already been published. Deirdre describes herself as is a free-market economist and explains that her project is a defense of capitalism that is fair to both the right and the left. She is the author of numerous other books other than her six-volume project. Her webpage and examples of her work can be found here.

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  Should the Government Care About You?

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Virgina Held

  Does the government have the responsibility to care about its citizens? Does it have an obligation to think of each of us as people, as individuals, and not just as interchangeable? Join WHY? as we talk with influential and ground-breaking philosopher Virginia Held about the ethics of care and how her approach change the way we think about the government, the law, and justice itself.

  Virginia Held is a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York. She is the author of numerous books, including The Ethics of Care, How Terrorism is Wrong: Morality and Political Violence, and Feminist Morality: Transforming Culture, Society, and Politics (Women in Culture and Society).

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  A House Divided: Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Gary Gutting

  Should philosophy make things simpler or more complex? Should it describe the muddle of human emotions or simply give us the language to analyze them? The answers to these questions not only tell us what we can know, but also aligns us with of two very controversial philosophy camps. Join WHY? as we discuss one of philosophy’s deepest and most divisive controversies: the battle between the “continentals” and the “analytics.”

  Gary Gutting holds the Notre Dame Chair in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He writes for both general and specialized audiences. His more recent work includes pieces in the New York Times philosophy blog “The Stone” and the books Foucault: A Very Short Introduction (2005) and French Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (2001).

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  Marriage and the Family

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Stephanie Coontz

  Is the “traditional” marriage between one man and one woman really the most preferred form of marriage? History suggests it is not. In addition to polygamy (the most valued, historically), there is also polyandry (one woman, many husbands), ghost marriages, “female husbands,” and many others, and almost none of them had anything to do with love. Join WHY? as we talk with Stephanie Coontz about her research on the history of marriage, family, and the moral systems that justify the choices.

  Stephanie Coontz is the author Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage, The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap, and other books. She teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. She also serves as Co-Chair and Director of Public Education at the Council on Contemporary Families, a non-profit, nonpartisan association of family researchers and practitioners based at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her work has been featured in many newspapers such as The New York Times, as well as scholarly journals such as Journal of Marriage and Family, and she is frequently interviewed on national television and radio.

  A selection of her writings and interviews can be found here.

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  Philosophy of Violence

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Steven Pinker

  Steven Pinker argues that the world is less violent today than it has ever been before. For some of his critics, this claim is more than false, it’s bizarre. What is Pinker’s argument, what does it tell us about human nature, and how should we think about violence in general? Join WHY? as we explore Steven’s newest book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined, and come face to face with one of the contemporary world’s most important questions: is there moral progress?

  Steven Pinker is the Harvard College Professor and the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. His research on visual cognition and the psychology of language has won prizes from the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, and the American Psychological Association. He is the author of numerous books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, and The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature. He is the Chair of the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary, and writes frequently for The New Republic, The New York Times, and other publications. He has been named Humanist of the Year, and is listed in Foreign Policy and Prospect magazine’s “The World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and in Time magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People in the World Today.”

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  Plato Not Prozac: What is Philosophical Counseling?

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Lou Marinoff

  Can philosophy make our lives better? Can it help us develop better senses of self? Can it ever be used as a therapy-like tool to heal us psychologically or inspire us to change our behavior? In this episode of WHY? we will look at the role of belief, worldview, and intellectual choices, to see how they contribute to a healthy, well-balanced personality.

  Lou Marinoff is Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at The City College of New York, and founding President of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA).

  He has authored two international bestsellers: Plato Not Prozac, translated into 25 languages and Therapy for the Sane, translated into 12 languages. Both apply Asian and Western philosophy to the resolution of everyday problems. In 2004, The New York Times weekend magazine called him “the world’s most successful marketer of philosophical counseling.”

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  The Philosophy of Water

  Jack Russell Weinstein and Clay Jenkinson

  Water is a force for life and for destruction. We simultaneously take it for granted and infuse it with profound meanings. Some of the deepest political battles revolve around its access, yet for most of us, these debates are invisible or disregarded. What is the philosophy of water? How does it affect our lives, and what happens what we are denied it, face too much of it, and when it becomes our enemy? Join WHY? as we swim though these questions, asking about the legacy of Hurricane Katrina, the recent floods in Minot, North Dakota, and the struggle to supply clean, accessible water to the world.

  Clay Jenkinson is the Director of The Dakota Institute through The Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, Chief Consultant to The Theodore Roosevelt Center through Dickinson State University, Distinguished Humanities Scholar at Bismarck State College, and a columnist for the Bismarck Tribune. A cultural commentator who has devoted most of his professional career to public humanities programs, Clay is the host of public radio’s The Thomas Jefferson Hour. He has been honored by two United States presidents for his work. On November 6, 1989, he received one of the first five Charles Frankel Prizes, the National Endowment for the Humanities’ highest award (now called the National Humanities Medal), at the nomination of the NEH Chair, Lynne Cheney. Since his first work with the North Dakota Humanities Council in the late 1970s, including a pioneering first-person interpretation of Meriwether Lewis, Clay Jenkinson has made thousands of presentations throughout the United States and its territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas. He is also the author of numerous books.