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PODCAST

Converging Dialogues

Converging Dialogues

Converging Dialogues is a podcast that is designed to have honest and authentic conversations with a diversity of thoughts and opinions. Wide-ranging topics include philosophy, psychology, politics, and social commentary. A spirit of civility, respect, and open-mindedness is the guiding compass. convergingdialogues.substack.com

science social sciences

All Episodes

87:06

#270 - From Kant to Kink: Demystifying Sexual...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/10/16

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Manon Garcia about sexual consent. They define what is consent, legal and moral consent, qualitative sex and consensual sex, and where power and responsibility fit within sexual consent. They discuss gender norms, consent out of politeness, reciprocal pleasure, consent in marriage, sex as a conversation, and many more topics. Manon Garcia is a philosopher, author, and Junior Professor of practical philosophy at Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany

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100:00

#269 - Two Much Privilege: Marriage, Parenting, and...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/10/12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Melissa Kearney about the two-parent privilege. They define what is the two-parent privilege, the class gap in families and importance of college educated parents. They talk about conservative family values and views on two-parent households, two parents working outside of the home, working moms, stay-at-home moms, and single moms. They talk about the child tax credit, childhood poverty, birth rates, and many more topics. Melissa S. Kearney is the

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147:40

#268 - An Evolutionary Journey of Free Will: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/10/09

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kevin Mitchell about the evolutionary story of free will. They discuss why biology and genetics help understand free will, different levels of determinism, reacting vs. choosing at the cellular level, and choice with ion channels in the cell. They also discuss dimensions of free will, vision and choice, decision making at cortical levels of the brain, creativity, and metacognition. They engage on personality theories, notion of the self, AI and

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74:45

#267 - A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/10/05

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Clancy Martin about suicide. They talk about his personal experiences and why he wrote the book in such an honest manner. They discuss why suicide is such a taboo topic, why gratitude for life isn’t always enough, practical ways to help when feeling suicidal, and the imminence of death. They talk about freedom and burden of living, assisted suicide, treatment, and many more topics.Clancy Martin is a philosopher and author. He is a professor of

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85:22

#266 - The Identity Trap: A Dialogue with Yascha Mounk

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/10/02

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yascha Mounk about the cultural wars and how identity has become central for society today. They discuss his motivations for writing the book and his perspective on identity and cultural issues. They talk about the lure of the identity trap, the history of the identity synthesis from Foucault, to Said, to Spivack, to Bell, to Crenshaw, and the links between these figures. They discuss the impact of social media, institutional capture, how to engage

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103:40

#265 - 700 years of Rivalry Between Rome and Persia:...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/28

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adrian Goldsworthy about the 700 years of rivalry between the Roman and Persian Empires. They discuss the importance of studying past empires, overview of the rivalry, and the Roman and Persia Empires in this 700 year period. They discuss the differences in governing and peaceful co-existing, complexities of Armenia, greatness of Augustus, and the silk road. They also discuss Constantine, Justinian’s reign, the Arab armies and how they quelled the

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53:46

#264 - The Golden Age of the Roman Empire: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/25

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Tom Holland about the Golden Age of the Roman empire. They provide an overview of Pax Romana, greatness of Augustus, and Nero as a tyrant. They talk about the chaotic year of AD 69 with four emperors, Judean revolt, and Vespasian’s peacemaking abilities. They discuss the importance of Pliny, environmental contexts for peace, the five good emperors and the rule of Trajan and Hadrian, legacy of the Roman empire, and many more topics. Tom Holland is a

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167:12

#263 - Climate and the Science of Denial: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/21

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Lipsky about the history of climate science denial. They discuss how he wrote this book, origins of discovering climate change, Edison and Westinghouse, and the influence of Einstein. They discuss the history of scientists observing climate changes, Nixon and the Clean Air Act and EPA, and Fred Singer and his involvement with the Unification church. They also talk about believing pseudoscience, PR campaigns for science denial for smoking and

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83:18

#262 - Failures of Forgiveness: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/18

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Myisha Cherry about forgiveness. They define forgiveness, discuss how moral systems are important for forgiveness, and discuss the narrow view and the broad view of forgiveness. They also talk about emotions and behaviors, what we do with bitterness, actions or the person, different capacities for different people, canceling others and forgiving public figures, forgiving one’s self, and many other topics. Myisha Cherry is associate professor of

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68:53

#261 - Collective Memory and Civil Rights: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/14

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hajar Yazdiha about collective memory and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss how we can accruately understand Dr. King’s message and legacy, how we reckon with history, and what a multicultural coalition looks like today. They discuss collective memory, creating culture, primary audience of Dr. King’s message, various groups using Dr. King’s message, and many more topics. Hajar Yazdiha is a sociologist and writer. She is an

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64:39

#260 - Power and Progress: A Dialogue with Daron...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/11

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daron Acemoglu on technology, inequality, and power. They discuss how technological progress is a choice, defining progress, power of persuasion, and needs and innovations. They also talk about innovation, globalization, and automation in the post World War II era, AI and culture, fixing the challenges of technological inequality, and many more topics. Daron Acemoglu is an economist and Institute Professor of Economics in the Department of

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83:01

#259 - Nietzsche's Great Politics: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/07

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hugo Drochon about Nietzsche’s political thought. They talk about why Nietzsche’s political thought has been ignored, Nietzsche’s great politics, Nietzsche’s emphasis on culture, Plato and political philosophy, and how to build a culture. They also talk about philosophy of state, democracy, slavery, caste systems, Nietzsche’s politics in modernity, and many other topics. Hugo Drochon is a political theorist and historian. He has his PhD from

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68:32

#258 - Beyond the Wall: A Dialogue with Katja Hoyer

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/09/04

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Katja Hoyer about the history of East Germany. They discuss the culture of East and West Germany and how East Germany originated, East Germany and the relationship with the Soviet Union, and the political makeup of East Germany. They also talk about the significance of Ulbrecht and socialism, creation of the Berlin Wall, and the Stasi in East Germany. They discuss the failed economics in East Germany in the 1980s, similarities between unification

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119:43

#257 - Polyamory and Eugenics: A Dialogue with Diana...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/31

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Diana Fleischman about a wide range of topics including polyamory and eugenics. They talk about how evolutionary psychology is a good framework for understanding relationships, patriarchal and matriarchal societies, history of monogamous and polyamorous relationships and jealousy and polyamory. They also talk about the difficult history of eugenics, decoupling bad from the good, polygenic scores, governmental differences with prenatal care, GWAS,

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59:08

#256 - The Rigor of Angels: A Dialogue with William...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/28

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Egginton about the nature of reality through the work by Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant. They discuss what connects these three men, role of interpretation, and different tools to ask big questions about space, time, and reality. They also talk about the origins of reality, change, Hume’s impact on Kant’s thinking, power of theory for understanding science, existence, and many more topics.William Egginton is an author, literary critic, and

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58:45

#255 - Notes on Complexity: A Dialogue with Neil Theise

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/24

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Neil Theise about complexity in biology, physics, and consciousness. They talk about complexity with general systems theory, chaos theory, and fractals. They discuss complementarity with cellular biology and quantum mechanics. They also discuss consciousness, what it means to be human, and many more topics. Neil Theise is a professor of pathology at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. His main research interests are on adult stem cells and the

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98:22

#254 - Trying To "Own the Libs" Since 1967: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/21

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lauren Lassabe Shepherd about conservatives on colleges campuses in the 1960s. They talked about the organization of the book, presentism, the New Right being exported to mass media and politics, and how the New Right was very “Anti.” They discuss Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), movement from college campuses to politics, Libertarians split from conservatives, and the impact on current politics. Lauren Lassabe Shepherd is a historian, writer,

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100:06

#253 - Taking Flight: A Dialogue with Lev Parikian

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/17

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lev Parikian about flight in animals. They discuss convergent evolution for flight, four forces of flight, and early flight with mayflies and dragonflies. They talk about vision in dragonflies, beetles, bees and their different uses of their wings and pterosaurs. They talk about birds, flightless birds, speed of hummingbirds, bats, and many more topics. Lev Parikian is an author and conductor. He has written for many publications on birds. He is

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89:12

#252 - The Philosophy of Translation: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/14

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Damion Searls about the philosophy of translation. They talk about decisions in translation, primacy of reading, and trusting the translator. They discuss language proficiency, fluency, dead vs. modern languages, and translating various authors. They also talk about translating Wittgenstein, translation process, how to select a translation, and many more topics. Damion Searls is a translator, author, and philosopher. He has translated works by

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64:53

#251 - Mental Imagery: A Dialogue with Bence Nanay

Converging Dialogues ·

2023/08/10

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Bence Nanay about mental imagery. They define mental imagery, hyperaphantasia and aphantasia, mental imagery as unconscious, predictive processing and representations. They discuss the role of the body, multimodal dimensions, EMDR, metaphysics, phenomenology of perception, and many more topics. Bence Nanay is a philosopher and BOF Research Professor of philosophical psychology at the University of Antwerp. His main interests are on the philosophy

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450 results

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