Elucidations

Episode 157: Robin Hanson discusses prediction markets

In this episode, Matt and Joseph sit down with Robin Hanson, Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University, to discuss prediction markets. A prediction ma

Episode 156: Oliver Traldi discusses political expertise

For this episode, Matt Teichman and Joseph Diller sit down with Oliver Traldi (University of Toledo, Mercatus Center) to talk about political expertise. What does it mea

Episode 155: Rebecca Lowe discusses speaking freely

Last episode, we talked about free speech, and this time, we sit down with Rebecca Lowe (Mercatus Center) to discuss the related but slightly different topic of speaking

Episode 154: Greg Salmieri discusses free speech, "cancel culture," and "academic freedom"

In the latest episode of Elucidations, Greg Salmieri (University of Texas) joins us once again, this time to discuss freedom of speech. Free speech talk has been in the

Episode 153: Sam Enright discusses lifelong learning

In the latest episode of Elucidations, Sam Enright (Progress Ireland, The Fitzwilliam) instructs us in the delicate art of learning forever.  If you’re one of those peop

Epsiode 152: Luca Gattoni-Celli discusses the housing crisis

This time around, Matt talks to Luca Gattoni-Celli about why it’s so expensive to buy a house. In the 80s, people from all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds were able t

Episode 151: Witold Więcek discusses statistics and academic research

Note: this episode was recorded in August of 2022. In the latest Elucidation, Matt talks to Witold Więcek about the difficulties that come up for researchers who would l

Episode 150: Shruti Rajagopalan discusses talent in India

In this episode, Matt sits down with Shruti Rajagopalan (Mercatus Center) to talk about what the future holds for India. We often have a tendency to think of the current

Episode 149: Lainie Ross and Christos Lazaridis talk about defining death

In this episode, we are joined by Lainie Ross (University of Rochester Medical Center) and (once again!) Christos Lazaridis (UChicago Medicine), this time to talk about t

Episode 148: Christos Lazaridis discusses brain death

In this episode, Matt sits down with Christos Lazaridis (University of Chicago Medicine) to chat about what brain death is and whether brain death should count as, like,

Episode 147: Gabriella Gonzalez discusses the intersection of algebra and programming

In this episode, Matt talks to Gabriella Gonzalez about how basic concepts from the branch of math known as abstract algebra can help us simplify our computer programs

Episode 146: Gaurav Venkataraman discusses memory in DNA and RNA

In this episode, Matt sits down with Gaurav Vankataraman (Trisk Bio) to talk about how human memory is physically realized. Where do your memories live? In the brain, ri

Episode 145: Andrew Sepielli discusses quietism and metaethics

This episode, Matt and Joseph sit down with Andrew Sepielli (University of Toronto) to talk about metaethical quietism. His new book on the topic, Pragmatist Quietism, is

Episode 144: Christopher Beem discusses democratic virtues

This episode, Matt talks to Christopher Beem (Penn State University) about how we can cultivate those skills that conduce to having a functioning democracy. His book on t

Episode 143: Mark Linsenmayer discusses alternative models of education

This episode, Matt Teichman talks to Mark Linsenmayer about alternative models of education. Mark is creator and host of the Partially Examined Life, Nakedly Examined Mus

Episode 142: Emily Dupree discusses the rationality of revenge

In this episode of Elucidations, Matt sits down with Emily Dupree to learn about whether it’s rational or irrational to try to seek revenge. As a culture, we kind can’t

Episode 141: Rob Goodman discusses eloquence

This time around, Matt sits down with Rob Goodman to talk about political eloquence. Goodman is the author of a new book on this topic called Words on Fire, which you can

Episode 140: Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko discuss the good life

Intro philosophy classes often get stuck in a rut. Some philosophy classes go through a list of old dead people and try to understand excerpts from some of their most inf

Episode 139: Jessica Tizzard discusses the philosophy of pregnancy

This month, Jessica Tizzard (University of Tuebingen) makes her second appearance on Elucidations to talk to Matt about pregnancy. Human pregnancy is weird. Try talking

Episode 138: Toby Buckle discusses Mill's liberty principle

This month, Toby Buckle, host of the Political Philosophy Podcast, returns to talk about John Stuart Mill’s liberty principle! (Also sometimes called the ‘harm principl