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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

87:52

#86 - A History of Maternal-Fetal Effects: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/11/11

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah Richardson about the history of maternal-fetal effects. They discuss why human developmental plasticity is important for intrauterine growth and how this impacts the evolution of post-natal growth. The talk about the importance of Weismann's philosophy of science for maternal health. They mention maternal impressions theories and the complicated history of eugenics with maternal health. They discuss the importance of animal studies to

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187:17

#85 - Earth: The Annals of Our Home: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/11/08

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Henry Gee about the history of the earth. They start by discussing Henry's background and reasons for writing the book. They discuss the big bang and origins of the earth along with how the sun and planets formed in our solar system. They talk about the importance of gravity and how early life started in the oceans. They explain how life went from unicellular to multicellular and the formation of sponges. They discuss how life formed the anus to

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116:52

#84 - The Phenomenological Materialism of Hannah...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/11/04

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Samantha Rose Hill about the life and philosophy of Hannah Arendt. They begin by mapping out some of Arendt's early childhood and life experiences, specifically the death of her father. They discuss her various romantic relationships including the very complicated relationship with Martin Heidegger. They explore the differences between loneliness and isolation and talk about Arendt's work on totalitarianism. They also discuss Arendt's work on

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88:28

#83 - The Pleasures of Suffering: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/11/01

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Paul Bloom concerning suffering, pleasure, and meaning. They discuss the reasoning for Paul writing his new book on the darker side of pleasure and make the distinction between chosen and unchosen suffering. They question whether one should always finding meaning in suffering and talk about some of the illusions of reality. They talk about the notion of contrast and discuss the importance of aversive fictions and the role of imagination. They

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161:59

#82 - The Gene‘s-Eye View of Evolution: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/28

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arvid Ågren about the genetic implications of evolution. The discuss his background and reasons for writing his book. They explain the gene's-eye view of natural selection and how one can still understand evolution without genetics. They also discuss how genes are "immortal" and "selfish" and still cooperate together. They talk about adaptation and this concept's history along with the challenges of creationism and intelligent design. They also

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101:58

#81 - Media‘s Gentrification of the Working Class: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/25

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Batya Ungar-Sargon about journalism and the working class. They begin by discussing the history of journalism and the past emphasis of the working class being the main audience. They discuss why mass media has become highly polarized and the evolution of media being for elites. They talk about some of the incentives of media and speculate about some of the potential psychological explanations for the polarization in society. They discuss the impact

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96:06

#80 - Wrestling With Our Social Taboos: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/18

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Charles Murray about statistics, cognitive abilities, and social-political issues. They begin by providing a statistical overview of the bell curve, standard deviations, and the overlap of group mean averages. They discuss meta analyses and factor analyses and why they are important for IQ data. They also mention g and its importance for cognitive abilities. They provide definitions of terms such as race, ethnicity, and populations along with

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118:59

#79 - Plagues Upon The Earth: A Dialogue with Kyle...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/14

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kyle Harper about the history of plague and disease on the planet. They begin by talking about his reasons for writing his latest book and the two main theses of the book. They talk about the five taxa of pathology and the importance of globalization on disease. They discuss the three components of parasitism and how the evolution of disease evolves alongside hominoids. They talk about the importance of hunter-gatherers in the Pleistocene period

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107:00

#78 - Nuanced Feminism in Modern Times: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/11

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kat Rosenfield about women, men, feminism, metoo, cancel culture, and free speech issues. They begin the conversation by discussing why Kat writes about cultural issues and the current state of feminism. They explore why dissent from other women is not always accepted within many women's rights groups. They discuss women in the workplace, the patriarchy, metoo, and women in film. They talk about whether one can separate the art from the artist and

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92:21

#77 - Balanced and Healthy Group Identities: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/07

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Dominic Packer about group identities. They start the conversation by discussing his partnership with Jay Van Bavel and their reasons for writing the book. The define identity and why it is an important construct. They discuss the delineation between self and personality and discuss in-group vs. out-group constructs. They mention the concept of cooperation with group identities and mention some of the classic social psychology experiments. They

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175:19

#76 - The Evolving Complexities of Higher Education:...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/10/04

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicole Barbaro about higher education. They discuss Nicole's work in higher education and the importance of mentorship for professional development. They provide a definition of education and its boundaries. They also talk about the role of the federal government (Department of Education in the USA) in overseeing and regulating education. They mention merit vs. meritocracy along with the role of standardized tests and entrance exams. They talk

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118:32

#75 - Social Implications of Our Genetic Lottery: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/27

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kathryn Paige Harden about genetics and their interactions with the environment. She explains her background and reasoning for writing her book. They lay the groundwork for the conversation by considering why it is important to study human variation at all and give the framing for why genes can be seen as luck or a lottery. They discuss the differences between genetic variance vs. genetic shift and why this can be contentious at times. They discuss

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74:40

#74 - Whales: The Mysterious Giants of the Ocean: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/23

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nick Pyenson about whales and their environment. They begin the conversation by talking about the importance of science communication and Nick's role in science communication with his research and book. They discuss the various ways in which scientists obtain whale data and talk about the evolution of whales. They talk about the two phases of whale evolution from land to water and provide a natural history of whales through different periods of the

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113:33

#73 - The Evolution of Beauty: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/20

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Prum about aesthetics, birds, and the evolution of beauty. They provide an overview of sexual selection and the aspects of sexual ornamentation and mate choice. They discuss Fisher’s two-factor model of evolution and use the example of the great Argus pheasant to describe Richard’s idea that beauty happens. They discuss the co-evolution of beauty and how sexual selection is not only about adaptation. They mention the subjective experience

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151:50

#72 - Let‘s Talk About Sex(ual Arousal, Desire, &...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/16

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Courtney Crosby about sexual arousal, desire, and disgust. Courtney provides some of her background and how she became interested in evolutionary psychology and studying sexual disgust. They define disgust, seeing it as its own emotional system and discuss how disgust fits with other emotions. They discuss the different elements of core disgust and some of the associations between disgust and norms, judgments, and attributions. They also discuss

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53:43

#71 - The Fiscal Legacy of Calvin Coolidge: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Amity Shlaes about the 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge. They discuss Coolidge’s background and environment raised to be frugal and fiscally conservative. They talk about his path to the presidency and his state vs national views on progressivism. They focus on how Coolidge’s emphasis as president was on a balanced budget and reducing the debt. They talk about his handling of the Mississippi floods and why he did not involve the

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69:32

#70 - A Conservative Case for Liberal Education: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/09

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla had a dialogue with Jonathan Marks about liberal education and how educational institutions need reform. They discuss his main thesis of the book and why he decided to write the book. They define and discuss the origins of liberal education. They define the terms “liberal” and “conservative” and why it’s important to defend a liberal arts education. They talk about rationality and why that’s important for educational institutions. They mention the impact that

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126:01

#69 - Jungles: Our Fading Home: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/06

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Patrick Roberts about tropical forests and their impact on the planet and for humans. They begin with a historical overview of the earth’s periods and how tropical forests are seen in each period. They define tropical forests and describe their general composition. They talk about Pangaea and Gondwana and some of the angiosperm in the early periods that contributed to animals and life on earth. They discuss the importance of early mammals in the

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121:31

#68 - Uncovering the Inner Experience of Body...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/09/02

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Shioma-Lei Craythorne about Body Dysmorphic Disorder and some of the research on this disorder. They provide a definition of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) along with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders– Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria and description. They talk about the differences between pathological and non-pathological features with one’s body and appearance. They explain some of the diagnostic differential with

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130:17

#67 - Zealous Search for Truth in Documentary...

Converging Dialogues ·

2021/08/30

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nadia Gill concerning truth, persuasion, and culture in documentary filmmaking. They talk about her background and shift from law to documentary filmmaking. They discuss the importance of telling the truth in documentaries and whether persuasion or propaganda is implicating in some documentaries. They also talk about showing a perspective vs. describing objective truth about reality in documentaries. They ponder if the responsibility for truth lies

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466 results

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