How do we decide whether to undergo a transformative experience when we don’t know how that experience will change us? This is the central question explored by Yale philosopher and cognitive scientist L.A. Paul.
Paul uses the prospect of becoming a vampire to illustrate the conundrum: let's say Dracula offers you the chance to become a vampire. You might b ... Show More
Jun 4
What Do We Mean by Humane Tech?
We often think of the challenges created by technology as separate and disconnected, so trying to solve them feels like playing the world's hardest game of Whac-A-Mole. What if, instead, we tackled them at the root by identifying the patterns in design, development, and deploymen ... Show More
52m 18s
May 14
Anthropic’s Mythos Has Changed Cybersecurity Forever. What Now?
A generation ago, the world's critical infrastructure was physical. Today, it’s largely digital. Your bank vault is a database, your filing cabinet is a server, your car is a robot on wheels. And in a world where these systems are mostly secure, life is more convenient and effici ... Show More
46m 39s
Oct 2023
Eerie Episode: Vampires, Twihards, and The Gothic
<p>The girlies venture into Vampire Lore™ in Part I of a series of Eerie Episodes. They explore the shocking disease that turned people into vampires, the impact of vampiric literature, how Stephanie Meyer bastardized Gothic traditions via Mormonism, and more! Digressions includ ... Show More
1h 9m
Nov 2021
Decoder Ring - The Philosophy of Vampires
In literature, the choice to become a vampire is a metaphor for transformative experiences. On this episode, we bring you a story from Slate's Hi-Phi Nation podcast, which explores problems in contemporary philosophy through story. From real-life blood suckers, to Lord Byron, to ... Show More
31m 5s
Apr 2016
Vampire Physics, Mathematics & Evolution
<p>The human obsession with vampires runs deep, so deep that it survives our consistent attempts to squeeze all the mystery and fun out of the topic. Inject a little science, however, and the patient returns once more to a state of fabulous un-life. Join Robert and Christian as t ... Show More
50 m
Jul 2023
S5, Ep 5 Best Friend Therapy: Gaslighting - What is it? How can we recognise coercive control? Does it only affect romantic relationships?
TW; discussions around suicide.
This week we are talking about gaslighting, where the term originates from and how it has helped us name a particular type of coercive control.
We also talk about how it has been more recently adopted in casual conversation and how therapy talk doe ... Show More
44m 40s
Apr 2022
The Life We’re Looking For
In the quiet moments of our lives, we can all sense that our hearts long for something, though we often don’t know what that something is. We seek an answer in our phones, and while they can provide some sense of extension and fulfillment — a feeling of magic — the use of technol ... Show More
56 m