Brain in a Vat

The Costs of Open Borders | Lionel Shriver

Lionel Shriver returns to discuss her new novel, 'A Better Life,' and the philosophical debate over immigration and open borders. Inspired by a proposed New York City pr

The Man Who Exposed Jason Arday: Cancelled at Cambridge | Nathan Cofnas

Nathan Cofnas, the academic who recently drew widespread attention for exposing plagiarism allegations against Cambridge professor Jason Arday, returns to Brain in a Vat

Free Speech, Schools, and Children | Jimmy Mullen

Former Brain in a Vat producer Jimmy Mullen returns to discuss free speech in schools, exploring how educational institutions should balance student expression with their

Sexual Ethics on Campus: Consent and Power | Colin McGinn

Colin McGinn joins to discuss sexual ethics on campus. Drawing on thought experiments and his own experiences in academia, McGinn argues that universities too often confl

The Philosophy of Pluribus | Spencer Case

Spencer Case returns to discuss Pluribus, one of the most philosophically ambitious science fiction series in recent years. The conversation explores whether individualit

The Time-Meaning Conundrum | Rivka Weinberg

Rivka Weinberg returns to argue that time is both the source of meaning and its greatest threat, making meaningful lives possible while also guaranteeing loss and imperma

Should You Need Permission to Take Medicine? | Jessica Flanigan

Do adults have a right to decide what goes into their own bodies, even when experts believe they're making a mistake? Jessica Flanigan returns to defend a radical idea:

Can Torture Be Justified? | Stephen Kershnar

We welcome back Stephen Kershnar to discuss the ethics of torture. Kershnar argues that some criminals deserve torture because severe wrongdoing can cause a person to for

A World Without Scarcity | Steven Kotler

What happens to human beings in a world without scarcity? If all our needs were met, would we actually be better off? Will technological progress lead to utopia or collap

Living with Adversity | David Benatar

What does it mean to live with adversity? How ought we respond to the suffering of others? How can we adapt to hardship? Adversity is a universal experience. Nearly ever

Risky Storytelling | Kevin Allison

Kevin Allison, creator of the RISK! podcast, recounts a high school prank at an all-boys Jesuit school in 1986. After a crush teased him by repeatedly spitting on him, Ke

Free Speech, Hate Speech, and Mental Health | Chloe Carmichael

Clinical psychologist Chloe Carmichael, author of "Can I Say That?," examines how free expression relates to psychological well-being and social trust. Carmichael argues

The Bias against Conservatism in Higher Education | Amy Wax

Amy Wax joins us to discuss the ideological landscape of higher education. Wax reflects on her conflict with the University of Pennsylvania and argues that universities h

The Nature of the Sexes | Tomás Bogardus (with Stephen Kershnar)

Tomás Bogardus joins to discuss his book "The Nature of the Sexes" and argues for a reproductive-functional account of biological sex. According to Bogardus, males and fe

God Is Not Praiseworthy | Stephen Kershnar and Nathan Bray

Brain in a Vat is back from hiatus with a deep dive into the philosophy of religion. Stephen Kershnar and Nathan Bray join us to ask whether God can be morally responsibl

Facial Distortions and Prosopometamorphopsia | Brad Duchaine (Rebroadcast)

In this special episode of Brain in a Vat, Brad Duchaine from the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at Dartmouth discusses prosopometamorphopsia (PMO) – a condi

Should We Stay or Should We Go | Lionel Shriver (Rebroadcast)

When is death preferable to living? Are there fates worse than death? And what sort of future society should we build? Lionel Shriver discusses her latest novel, Should

Parental Licensing | Connor Kianpour (Rebroadcast)

Should you be required to get a parental license from the State before you can raise your own children? Do the wishes of parents matter at all – or should we only care ab

Can AI Bring Our Loved Ones Back? Inside Reflekta AI’s Digital Afterlife | Miles Spencer

In this special episode of Brain in a Vat, we step outside our usual format to interview Miles Spencer, founder of Reflekta — a company using cutting-edge AI to recreate

Cultural Appropriation | Stephen Kershnar (Rebroadcast)

Is it permissible for members of one group to appropriate the cultural practices of another? Is there anything wrong with cultural appropriation at all, or are there bene