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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

70:37

#485 - Augustus: The First Emperor of Rome: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/04/06

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Adrian Goldsworthy about Augustus. They provide an overview of Augustus, his upbringing, his rise to power, early rule, transition from Republic to Empire, his rule as emperor, his legacy, and many more topics. Adrian Goldsworthy is a historian and author. He has his DPhil from Oxford University and has conducted research at Cardiff University and taught at King’s College London and University of Notre Dame. He is the author of numerous books on

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90:52

#484 - Borderlands of Bukovina: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/22

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Cristina Florea about Bukovina. they provide an overview of Bukovina, ethnic makeup, Hapsburgs and Austrian-Hungarian Empire. They also talk about Moldova, the Orthodox Church, Jewish population, identity, Romania during World War II, Communism in Romania, Bukovina in present day, and many more topics. Cristina Florea is a historian and assistant professor of history at Cornell University. Her work is on Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on

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68:59

#483 - The Paradox of the Organism: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/18

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Arvid Ågren and Manus Patten about internal conflicts within organisms. They provide an overview of the paradox of the organism, clinical examples of cancer and pregnancy, direct, indirect, and inclusive fitness. They talk about cooperation within an organism, conflict, transmission and trait distorters, price equation, conflict awareness, neo-Darwinian embryology, biology of selfhood, and many more topics. J. Arvid Ågren is Assistant Professor at

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68:11

#482 - Gender/Sex and Sexual Configurations Theory: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/15

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sari van Anders about gender/sex and sexual configurations theory. They talk about the sex binary and understanding a wider landscape, gender/sex, sexual configurations theory, endocrine system and hormones, neural correlates of hormones, mental health challenges, future of gender/sex research, and many more topics. Sari van Anders teaches at Queen’s University as the Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, and

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98:35

#481 - The Ottoman Empire and the Supernatural: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/11

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Marinos Sariyannis about the Supernatural in the Early and Middle Ottoman periods. They discuss the differences between the natural, supernatural, and preternatural, Islam and the supernatural, magic, occult, and divination. They talk about the relationship between natural science and supernatural, Lettrism, Jinn, limits of supernatural belief, Sufism, hell and purgatory, witchcraft and divination, preternatural, and many more topics. Marinos

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93:41

#480 - Deconstructing the American West Frontier...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/08

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Megan Kate Nelson about the American West. They discuss the frontier myth, Sacajawea, shared history in the Southwest, Maria Gertrudis Barcelo and her wealth, Jim Beckwourth and shifting stories. They also talk about the 1862 Homestead Act, Ovando Hollister and his paradox, Chinese-American immigrants, Little Wolf, and many more topics. Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian based in Boston, Massachusetts. She has written about US western

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89:11

#479 - Executive Functioning in Psychotherapy: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/05

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Chloe Drulis & Carly Trissler about the neurobiology of executive functioning in therapy. They talk about the importance of understanding executive functioning, interpersonal neurobiology framework, three system model of executive functioning, clinical use of the model, the model with ADHD, Attachment theory and styles, Gottman’s four horsemen, social media, and many other topics. Chloe Drulis is an associate marriage and family therapist

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71:04

#478 - Five Partitions of Modern Asia: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/03/02

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Sam Dalrymple about the five partitions of modern Asia. They provide an overview of the five partitions, Pakistan as a Muslim state, the first partition of Burma, the 2nd partition of the Arabian Peninsula, the 3rd partition of Pakistan, the 4th partition of Princely India, India and Pakistan in the 50s and 60s, and the war of 1971 with the 5th partition of Bangladesh. Sam Dalrymple is a historian, filmmaker, and cofounder of Project Dastaan, a

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55:19

#477 - Can Schools Save Democracy?: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/27

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James Traub about education and democracy. They talk about the distinctness of American education, history evolving into social studies, the Classical model, and charter schools. They discuss the 1619 Project, “Wokeness” in schools, “Anti-wokeness” in schools, Hirsch’s core model, and many more topics. James Traub is a journalist and scholar specializing in international affairs. He is a columnist and contributor to the website foreignpolicy.com

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110:28

#476 - The Genetics of Original Sin: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/22

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kathryn Paige Harden about the genetics of human behavior. They discuss how genetics research can helps us understand human behavior, responsibility, human reason and moral responsibilities, therapeutic relationships, and cooperation. They talk about Christian dogma for morals, nature and nurture, selfhood, eugenics and IVF, and many more topics. Kathryn Paige Harden is a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Texas at

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84:02

#475 - Genocides and Syrian Gulags: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/19

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Uğur Ümit Üngör about genocides and the recent Syrian Civil War. They define genocide, buildup to genocide, and the Armenian genocide. They also talk about the Syrian gulags, different types of Syrian intelligence agencies and prisons, Tadamon massacre, Syria’s transition government and future, and many more topics. Uğur Ümit Üngör is Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Amsterdam and NIOD. His main areas of interest are

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130:45

#474 - A Modern History of Syria: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/16

Ini this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Daniel Neep about a modern history of Syria. They discuss internal and external divisions in Syria, various ethnic and religious communities in Syria, Bilad al-Sham, Tanzimat reforms, Kingdom of Syria, and French rule. They discuss military rule, Ba’ath Party, Nasser and United Arab Republic, 30 years of Hafez al-Assad, 24 years of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s future, and many more topics. Daniel Neep is Senior Editor at Arab Center Washington DC and

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109:51

#473 - Native America and First Peoples: A Dialogue...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/12

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ken Feder about Native America and First Peoples. They talk about the various labels for Native Americans, land acknowledgements and Columbus Day. They discuss the earliest origin date for First Peoples coming to America, White Sands, human adaptations, diverse nation groups, infighting among nations, genocide and schools, and many more topics. Kenneth Feder is professor emeritus of anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. His books

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59:01

#472 - Consciousness and the Human Experience: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/08

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christof Koch on the nature of consciousness. They talk about why consciousness is important to study, differences with subjective experiences and phenomenology, selfhood, thinking beyond interoceptive perceptions, and Cartesian dualism. They discuss panpsychism, neural correlates of consciousness, vision, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), psychedelics, the future of consciousness research, and many more topics. Christof Koch is a neuroscientist

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108:49

#471- Elites and Democracy: A dialogue with Hugo Drochon

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/05

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Hugo Drochon about elites and democracy. They discuss how elites always rule in democracies, why we need elites, dynamic democracy, social movements, distrust of elites, Nietzsche’s eternal return and circulation of elites, elites in non-democratic societies, and many more topics. Hugo Drochon is a political theorist and historian. He has his PhD from Cambridge and completed his postdoctoral fellowship there as well. He has also had fellowships at

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75:45

#470 - The Case for American Power: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/02/02

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Shadi Hamid about why American power is still needed. They discuss American power, American success globally, American idealism, democracy in the world, benevolent authoritarianism, future of American power, and many more topics. Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post and a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. From 2023 to 2024, he served on the Post’s editorial board. Hamid is the author

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71:16

#469 - From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science: A...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/01/29

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Dear about the history of modern science from natural philosophy. They discuss natural philosophy and modern science, Newton and theology, different ways of doing science, pure and mixed mathematics, Linnaeus and taxonomy, German pedagogy for modern science, physics research, Lapace and the bell curve, Faraday, Darwin, Einstein, and many more topics. Peter Dear is professor emeritus of history at Cornell University. His books include

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66:47

#468 - How Progress Ends: A Dialogue with Carl...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/01/26

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Carl Benedikt Frey about technology and economics throughout history. They discuss why decentralized systems create an environment for innovation, Ancient China’s centralized efforts, Europe’s competitive state during the enlightenment, U.S. and decentralization, modern regulations, AI and our future, and many more topics.Carl-Benedikt Frey is the Dieter Schwarz Associate Professor of AI & Work at the Oxford Internet Institute and a Fellow of

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88:53

#467 - McNamara At War: A Dialogue with William Taubman

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/01/22

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with William Taubman about the complex life and career of Robert McNamara. They provide an overview of McNamara, his upbringing, temperament, and evolution. They discuss his work with the Ford Motor Company, how he organized the Defense Department, Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, World Bank, breaking his silence on Vietnam, and many more topics. William Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. His book, Khrushchev:

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105:55

#466 - A Global History of Islam: A Dialogue with...

Converging Dialogues ·

2026/01/19

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with James McDougall about a global history of Islam. They discuss the global spread and diversity of Islam, Arabia before Muhammad, succession after Muhammad, the five pillars of Islam, emphasis on law and doctrine within Islam, Hadiths, the Ottoman Empire and spread of Islam, Islamists, Islam in the 21st century, and many more topics. James McDougall has taught history at Princeton; the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and

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485 results

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