After creating and running Parks and Recreation and writing for The Office, Michael Schur decided he wanted to create a sitcom about one of the most fundamental questions of human existence: What does it mean to be a good person? That’s how NBC's The Good Place was born.
Soon into the show’s writing, Schur realized he was in way over his head. The question ... Show More
Nov 10
Truth in an age of doublethink
We use “Orwellian” to describe everything from campus dust-ups to authoritarian crackdowns. But what did George Orwell actually stand for, what did he get wrong, and what can we learn from him about our age of surveillance capitalism and distraction? Sean’s guest is Laura Beers, ... Show More
52m 16s
Nov 2022
Virtue Ethics and The Quest for Character
<p>Massimo Pigliucci, philosophy professor and author, joins Breht once again, this time to discuss his newest book <em><a href= "https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/massimo-pigliucci/the-quest-for-character/9781541646957/"> "The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 2022
How to be perfect (with Michael Schur)
<p>Humans face ethical dilemmas big and small every day: Which product is the most sustainable? Can you separate the art from the artist? Should you really share your streaming platform passwords? Today’s guest, Michael Schur, has spent a lot of time thinking about morality, most ... Show More
35m 52s
May 2023
#209 — A Good Life
Sam Harris speaks with Scott Barry Kaufman about human well-being. They discuss intelligence and creativity, wisdom and transcendence, the history of humanistic psychology, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the connection between well-being and ethics, self-esteem, psychedelics and me ... Show More
45m 20s
Mar 2023
The one true story | Janne Teller, Barry C. Smith, Silvia Jonas
<p>Is philosophy an unbiased quest for the true account of the world?</p><p>From Plato to Aristotle, Russell to Wittgenstein, we traditionally see philosophers as engaged in the disinterested pursuit of truth: a view philosophers themselves are inclined to encourage. But in a pos ... Show More
36m 45s
<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Life is filled with all kinds of moral dilemmas— from the mundane to the momentous. Should I lie and tell my friend t ... Show More