What's the point in fasting? How do we stick to a diet that works? These are some of the questions we ask in this episode as we explore Julian Baggini's book, Virtues of the Table.
The debates and attitudes around knowing when not to eat are equally as crucial to flourishment as questions concerning where food comes from and the importance of good cooking. We explore how blanket rules and blind adherence can confuse these practices in a "post-death-of-god" world and how misunderstood nutritional health can be in the contemporary times. Gordon Ramsay on Onions Julian Baggini
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
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This week, Sam and a very congested Connor talk about Judo. While we do chat about the history and contextual origins of the practice, we also talk about Judo as a martial art and, as you might expect, its ethical and intellectual dimensions. Since Sam does Ju-Jitsu, we try and enquire as to how physical craft can cultivate moral virtues and help shape character; tackling both logistical problems and big blokes in dressing gowns within the same art.
The Hardcore History podcast that Sam mentioned Harry & Paul sketch that Sam mentioned (there's a few)
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Despite being mistaken for Hertfordshire or confused with Somerset, tiny Herefordshire is packed with interesting stories, the world's best cider and irreplaceable natural beauty.
Zach and Connor chat about some of the strange tales, historic Herefordian landmarks and the intrinsic value of nature in this more laidback episode. Mappa Mundi Weston's Cider Flag Competition Hereford Cathedral Wye Valley Offa's Dyke Bulmer's Cider Visit Herefordshire Our Thoughts Summarised
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Food and the issues surrounding it have never been more important. Culinary attitudes and traditions can reveal a lot a about a period or place and we live in a world of staggering choice and raging debates. Cultivating attitudes and questions to not just what we eat and how we do it but where it comes from, what it says about us, how it fits into broader ideas relating to how we live our lives, how we think about meals and when to stop eating are some of the most unavoidable, fundamental and neglected areas of ethics. From animal rights and cultural traditions to class issues, food says a lot. If you like either philosophy or food then this one's probably gonna be worth a listen... If you like both then you're laughing!
The first in a three part series, this one in particular focuses on contemporary philosopher Julian Baggini and the issues surrounding the sourcing of food... Where does "good" food come from and how can we be sure? Should we shop local or at large "commercial" chains? Is veganism the way forward? Is there a moral reason to shop seasonally? How should we feel about labels like FairTrade, free range and organic? We also talk about nutrition, moral virtues and most importantly, how most of these ideas are all interconnected. Over the next few episodes we'll talk about fasting and dieting as well as cooking and eating. - The points we made, summarised - Julian Baginni's website - Peter Hitchens ranting about skinny cappuccino - Bow hunter, Cameron Hanes - Sam Harris' wife on pansychism - Weston's Cider - 'Gangster gardener', Ron Finely
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Should religious institutions play a role in politics? Should our heritage and beliefs be reflected in public life? Or should the private and subjective relationship with God be kept out of civic life? Should the State remain neutral and not impose belief or inequality onto those who happen to think differently?
Secularism can mean a lot of different things to different people and there are a plethora of historical reasons for that. In some cases it protects religious freedoms, in others it curtails religious influence, and in many situations it does both. In this episode we take a very brief look at these issues over a cider or six and discuss one of the most misunderstood and topical ideas going.
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Armed with more than a few chilling "ghost stories" to hand, we explore the claims of the paranormal from both personal experience and rational thinking. We convey the value of scepticism, criticism and critical thinking and talk a little about how ghosts suddenly became scary as they drifted out of religious and natural contexts and into the modern horror genres of fiction. We also touch on genies or djinn, pseudoscientific theories and the similarity between religious belief and the belief in spooky ghosts…
- An article by Connor about whether skeptics are "close-minded" - The TED Talk that is mentioned - A good video on Jinn (there are other good videos on spirits in folklore here too) - Our article with some thoughts on the paranormal.
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
Across the world, thousands of religious adherents believe they can "experience God", but what exactly does this mean? Back for series 3, but still podcasting over Discord, Connor, Sam and Joe set up their microphones to talk about mysticism.
This chat takes us to the poetry, dancing and sword swallowing of Islamic Sufi mystics to Zen Buddhists and even bonkers English esoteric traditions. We talk about these more experiential branches of faith and what they get up to. In a heated discussion, we also discuss why "spiritual", might be an unhelpful word. Drawing upon the philosophy and psychology of religion from thinkers like William James, we offer our thoughts on religious experience and how they fit into what we might call "unconventional" religion. …Connor also invents the phrase "whatever your biscuit". - Some thoughts on religion, mysticism and spirituality - Sufi music mixed with tales of coming of age - Our thoughts on the topic
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
We're back! In our first episode we decided to chat a little about ethics and how different moral theories tackle questions of right and wrong...
Mostly focusing the classic theory of utilitarianism, our new guest Al argues for its application in moral situations. Meanwhile Connor and Joe take a more sceptical view, questioning whether moral rules and theories actually help guide moral action at all. Diving into concepts like moral sainthood and virtue we ask if we can we quantify or conceptualise morality or whether we're committing a category error by thinking that ethics is something we can reason and calculate. We ask whether is moral action is even the best way to think about ethics. Is character, or something else entirely, a better way of truly capturing the heart of ethics? ...Al wanted this episode to be called Big ethics with Big Al and we thought that was terribly funny.
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
SPOILER WARNING. To cap off Series Two, we thought we would talk about one of our favourite films - Ex Machina; a science fiction thriller released in 2014. Ex Machina concerns artificial intelligence and handles themes about technology, purpose and consciousness with a bit of religious mythology thrown in.
Part review, part analysis: we give an overview of the film's themes and run through some of the general ideas relating to AI mentioned in the movie… The Turing Test, The Chinese Room, Mary's Room (or the Knowledge Argument), Machine ethics and AI Consciousness. We also talk a little about Devs, Frankenstein, Annihilation and Westworld. Our thoughts summarised Emergence Explained
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)
In this more laidback episode, we create something of a time capsule, discussing our thoughts on how lockdown has shaped communities, the role that celebrities play (or have tried to play) in a time of crisis, social distancing while shopping, lockdown drinking habits, Captain Tom Moore and clapping for carers.
We also lend our thoughts to some altogether more difficult topics - gaining insight to the pros and cons of home schooling from a teacher, discussing how stoicism can help fortify the mind in a time of crisis, the role of commercialism in crisis and the potential legacy of our current plight. We're still getting used to discord so apologies for any audio errors. A great video by CGP Grey about how to live through a crisis
Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James. Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (Harmonica, mandolin) |
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