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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

75:16

#409 - Animals as Doctors of Nature: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/24

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jaap de Roode about how animals heal themselves. They discuss whether animals intentionally or unintentionally seek out medicinal plants, four ways animals fight infection, Monarch butterflies and treating against parasites, chimps and their gut health. They also talk about birds using cigarettes in their nests, ants and rezin, goats and sheep having preferences, cats and dogs eating grass, and many other topics. Jaap de Roode is a biologist and

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117:05

#408 - The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/16

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Henry Gee about the decline and fall of the human species. They discuss the lifetime and decline of a species, when humans began to decline, what does it mean to be human, bipedalism, Homo Erectus, and slow human growth. They also talk about domestication and disease impacting humans, overpopulation concerns and low fertility rates, climate change, future of humankind, and many more topics. Henry Gee is a Paleontologist and is the Senior Editor

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108:56

#407 - Baddeley's Model of Working Memory: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alan Baddeley about his model of working memory. They define short-term memory, metacognition, overview of memory, memory loss and self-identity, and chunking in working memory. They talk about the levels of processing model, attention and working memory, overview of his multi-component model of working memory, and the six divisions of the model. They discuss the model with individuals with schizophrenia, forgetting and long-term memory,

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58:59

#406 - Polar Science in the Arctic and Antarctica: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/09

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Neil Shubin about polar science in the arctic and Antarctica. They discuss polar science, Arctic and Antarctica, hot ice, blue ice, life under the Antarctic ice, fossil discoveries, meteorites, climate change, and many other topics. Neil Shubin is a Paleontologist and Evolutionary Biologist. He is the Robert Bensley Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and the Associate Dean for academic strategy of the Biological Sciences

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60:34

#405 - The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/06

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with C. Daniel Batson about his work on empathy and altruism. They discuss the empathy-altruism hypothesis, Bloom’s work on empathy, empathic concern, egoistic and altruistic motives, cooperation, future of altruism/empathy research, and many more topics. C. Daniel Batson is a social psychologist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Kansas. He has a PhD in theology and PhD in Psychology both from Princeton University. His research has focused on

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76:29

#404 - Socrates and Living A Philosophical Life: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/03/03

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Agnes Callard about Socrates and living a philosophical life. They discuss untimely questions, intellectual intimacy, savage commands, socratic ethics, truth inquiries, living a philosophical life, and many more topics. Agnes Callard is a philosopher and Associate Professor of philosophy and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Chicago. She has her Bachelors from the University of Chicago and her PhD from Berkeley. Her primary

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83:48

#403 - Land Power: A Dialogue with Michael Albertus

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/02/27

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Albertus about land power. They define land power, land sovereignty, and discuss land ownership. They talk about the great reshuffle, settler reforms, collective reforms, land-to-tiller reforms, and cooperative reforms. They discuss federal vs. private lands, 1860 Homestead Act, land and race, Native Americans and land, El Salvador and land control, Venezuela’s land revolution, land reconciliation in South Africa, and many more topics

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77:07

#402 - The Age Of Choice: A Dialogue with Sophia...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/02/24

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sophia Rosenfeld about the modern history of choice. They discuss the concept of choice in different domains of society, choice and freedom in liberalism and neoliberalism, choice in shopping, choice in religion, choosing romantic partners, choice in politics, choice in reproductive rights, and many more topics. Sophia Rosenfeld is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania,

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80:42

#401 - Intent to Destroy: The Ukraine-Russian War: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/02/17

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Eugene Finkel about the Ukraine-Russian War. They discuss Russia’s 200 year crusade to end Ukraine, identity, shared histories, and impact of Mongol and Ottoman empires. They talk about the Donbas and Crimea regions, Putin’s version of history, Galicia and Eastern Front in WWI, Ukraine independence, and Stalin’s Russification of Ukraine. They discuss Ukraine post- Soviet Union, 2014 annexation of Crimea and start of the current war, the 2022

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74:56

#400 - The Extinction of Experience: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/02/09

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christine Rosen about changes in our experiences within today’s society. They talk about the value of human experience, speed of change with technology, becoming users not individuals, embodied experience, and spatiality. They also discuss audience capture, institutional reform, our future experiences, and many more topics. Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on American history, society and

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75:26

#399 - A Christian Democracy?: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/02/03

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Jonathan Rauch about the impact of Christianity on democracy in the United States. They discuss Christianity without dogma, why secular America should care about Christianity, and if a secular religion is possible. They talk about why people are less religious, evangelical Christians aligned with MAGA, liberalism and post-liberalism, mormonism, future of Christianity and democracy, and many more topics. Jonathan Rauch is a Senior Fellow of

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100:08

#398 - The New India: A Dialogue with Rahul Bhatia

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/01/26

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Rahul Bhatia about the many recent changes in India. They provide an overview of the recent social changes in India, the Citizenship Act and National Register, Citizenship based on religion, protests against the Citizenship Act, history of the RSS, Infosys, Modi, and many more topics. Rahul Bhatia is a journalist and author of The New India, a book of narrative reportage about the road to authoritarianism in India and its effects on ordinary

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85:32

#397 - The Life and Presidency of Martin Van Buren: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/01/23

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James M. Bradley about the life and president of Martin Van Buren. They discuss how Van Buren built the modern political party system, background and upbringing of Van Buren, influence of Aaron Burr, Van Buren’s temperament, his time as New York State Senator, Attorney General, U.S. Senator, and Governor of New York. They talk about Van Buren being campaign manager for Andrew Jackson’s presidential campaign, Secretary of State for Jackson, Van

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78:16

#396 - Woodrow Wilson and Women's Rights: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/01/20

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christopher Cox about Woodrow Wilson and his interactions with women’s rights. They discuss the complicated history and legacy of Woodrow Wilson, landscape of the women’s Suffrage movement, and the origins of Wilson’s racist and sexist ideas. They talk about his time at Bryn Mawr College, ignoring women’s rights as governor, and how he won the Presidency in 1912. They discuss his removal of African-Americans from the Civil Service division, his

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77:13

#395 - A Jewish Tragedy in 1929 Hebron: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/01/12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Yardena Schwartz about the 1929 Jewish Massacre in Hebron. They give an overview of the 1929 Hebron massacre, review of Ottoman and British rule of Palestine, and talk about Hebron and holy sites in Palestine. They also discuss an independent Palestine, motivations and propoganda before the 1929 massacre, Haj Amin, lineage of Amin to present-day Palestinian leadership, October 7 massacre, and many more topics. Yardena Schwartz is an award-winning

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77:33

#394 - A Palestinian Tragedy in Jerusalem: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2025/01/06

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nathan Thrall about Palestinians living in Jerusalem. They discuss using narrative to discuss the Palestinian experience in Jerusalem, provide an overview of the geography, wall, and West Bank. They talk about sovereign rights, home, color ID cards for Palestinians in the West Bank, 1st intifada of 1987, October 7, future of Israel-Palestine relations, and many other topics. Nathan Thrall is is an American writer living in Jerusalem. In 2024, he

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78:56

#393 - The Race for A Forested Future: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2024/12/29

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lauren Oakes about forest and trees and the impact of climate change. They talk about the Global Tree Restoration study of 2019, impact of forests on the planet, and how we obtain data on forests. They talk about what is a forest, reforestation and afforestation, forest transition, and the Carboniferous period. They talk about the Land Gap Report, carbon accounting, offsets, incentive structures, ecosystem services, urban forests, and many more

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73:28

#392 - The Power of Prions: A Dialogue with Michel...

Converging Dialogues ·

2024/12/15

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michel Brahic about prions. They provide an overview of proteins, prion proteins, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and importance of cells and ribosomes. They also talk about neuroanatomical regions relevant for prions, Lewy Body, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, memory, future of medical research, and many more topics. Michel Brahic, an expert in viral and prion infections of the brain, is Professeur Honoraire at Institut Pasteur in Paris. He has been

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75:37

#391 - The Evolutionary Story of Fathers: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2024/12/08

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sarah B. Hrdy about a natural history of fathers. They discuss fathers as caregivers, different roles, role of prolactin with male care, decrease of testosterone in new fathers, alloparenting, grandmother hypothesis, attachment in fathers, fatherhood in the 21st century, and many more topics. Sarah B. Hrdy is an anthropologist and primatologist who is professor emerita at the University of California-Davis. She has her PhD in Anthropology from

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99:55

#390 - A Military History of the Vietnam War: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2024/12/05

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey Wawro about the Vietnam War. They discuss why the U.S. chose to get involved in Vietnam, Eisenhower’s approach, JFK’s approach, and the attempted coups in Vietnam. They talk about the domino theory, McNamara, U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1964/1965, the draft, high casualties of 1967/1968, public sentiment, LBJ not running for re-election, Nixon’s approach, legacy of the Vietnam War, and many other topics. Geoffrey Wawro is Distinguished

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449 results

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