Social Media rewards snap judgments and blind conviction. Michael Lynch finds this troubling. Michael P. Lynch is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Humanities Institute a University of Connecticut. His research concerns truth, public discourse, and the impact of technology on democratic society.
The "Why We Argue" podcast is produced by the Humani ... Show More
Jan 13
Bruno J. Strasser and Thomas Schlich, "The Mask: A History of Breathing Bad Air" (Yale UP, 2025)
The Mask: A History of Breathing Bad Air (Yale UP, 2025) by Dr. Bruno J. Strasser and Dr. Thomas Schlich presents a history of masks protecting against bad air—in cities, factories, hospitals, and war trenches—exploring how our identities and beliefs shape the decision to wear a ... Show More
59m 41s
Jan 10
Alison Bashford, "Decoding the Hand: A History of Science, Medicine, and Magic" (U Chicago Press, 2025)
Why did Isaac Newton read books on chiromancy, the occult science of hand reading that revealed the secrets of the soul? Why did Charles Darwin claim that the hand gave humans dominion over all other species? Why did psychoanalyst Charlotte Wolff climb into the primate cages of t ... Show More
45m 19s
Jan 9
Heino Falcke and Jörg Römer, "Light in the Darkness: Black Holes, the Universe, and Us" (HarperCollins, 2021)
An astrophysicist chronicles his quest to photograph a black hole and reflects on its spiritual ramifications in this international-bestselling memoir. On April 10, 2019, award-winning astrophysicist Heino Falcke presented the first image ever captured of a black hole at an inter ... Show More
1h 13m
Sep 2023
The New Science Behind Tackling Depression
Philip Gold is one of the world's leading researchers of depressive illness. Since 1974, he has worked at the National Institute of Health, where he has served as Chief of Neuroendocrine Research, and Senior Investigator in the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Resea ... Show More
32m 15s
Apr 2023
Karen Frost-Arnold, "Who Should We Be Online?: A Social Epistemology for the Internet" (Oxford UP, 2023)
The Internet plays a central role in how we communicate, share information, disseminate ideas, maintain social connections, and conduct business. The Internet also exacerbates existing problems regarding irrationality, bias, wrongful discrimination, exploitation, and dehumanizati ... Show More
1h 4m
<p>Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?</p><p>Looking for a link we mentioned? Find it here: <a href="https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes</a></p><p>In this intimate interview, Mic ... Show More
<p>Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: <a href="https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes</a></p><p>If we put barriers up to silence 'unpleasant' ideas, what's to stop the silencing of a ... Show More
