Dilemma Podcast

Is there any hope for that strained or broken relationship that's become a causality of the political divide? Is common ground found best by going towards our superficial commonalities or in the direction of our deepest existential fears and hopes? Are the toxic business models of social media too much for us to overcome?

Monica Guzman is the blue leaning daughter of two Trump voting Mexican immigrants and is the head of storytelling for Braver Angels - an organization dedicated to...

How many countries are there? 197? 193? 180? It depends who you ask and who is counting. What constitutes a "state"? How does that differ from a "nation"? Why do certain claims of self determined statehood go unrecognized while others are accepted and others are disputed...

Does 2+2 really equal 4? What realm of truth am I in when I speak about my pain? What kind of truth claim is it to speak about the existence of "Poland"? How about the existence of ghosts and gods?

Spencer Greenberg breaks down his taxonomy of truth claims to help us better understand what we and others might be saying when we declare something to be true...

Is it possible that the default position of libertarianism which has so deeply influenced politics, economics, and philosophy since the enlightenment could produce an ecosystem which stalls our ability to handle the existentially daunting task of freedom? Does the political structure of libertarianism dissolve into a fantasy the moment it encounters a problem of the commons like COVID or climate change? Is a conception of libertarianism as a "freedom from" preferrable to a conception of it...

What if much of what we do to our children works directly against what we profess we ultimately want for them?

Alfie Kohn argues that things like homework, grades, systems of praise and punishment, reward and sanction, and generally the enforcement of an atmosphere of fierce competition in education all undermine our stated goals...

Is abortion ever morally permissible? Is it always wrong? Are there any morally valid exceptions? Do any if the answers to these questions demand a certain kind of legal limitation? Where and how do we ground any of these contemplations?

In this philosophical dive into the fraught issue of abortion, Jay tangles with Bethel McGrew (Esther O'Reilly) who brings her deeply Christian perspective to the table. Together they look for existential overlap and their deep points of departure...

You know that strange nagging restlessness that you feel in your core? That difficulty focusing on what's in front of you? That flittering from one path to another to another in the hopes of finally feeling your purpose? That deep dissatisfaction with the ignorance we have about the deepest existential questions of life?

This episode is about that restlessness...

Do we underestimate the ability of High Schoolers to tackle complex politically charged existential and moral philosophy problems with nuance, intelligence, and compassion? I hope this episode will convince you that we absolutely do.

Jay has served as a judge for the High School Ethics Bowl for six years...

Quantum mechanics, mathematical robustness, dream state deja vu oddities... these are all things that one would expect to find in a simulated world. Wait, so are we in a simulation?

Author, investor, and video game pioneer Rizwan Virk joins Jay for a deep conversation taking on the Simulation Theory first made famous by Nick Bostrom...

What kind of environmental and individual factors lead to the proliferation of conspiracy theories?

Jay is joined by co-authors and researchers Hugo Drochen and Annemarie S Walter to discuss their paper "Conspiracy Thinking in Europe and America: A Comparative Study".

Jay opens by telling his personal story of flirtation with conspiracy and pays homage to a good friend who recently took his own life, Ellery Samson.