Brain in a Vat Podcast
1) 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 We Stay or Should We Go.
2) 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 about the best interests of thei...Show More
3) 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 digital reflections of loved o...Show More
4) 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 benefits to cultural appropriation...Show More
5) Aztec Philosophy: What the Aztecs Knew About Life | Sebastian Purcell
How did the Aztecs understand life, morality, and human purpose? What can Aztec philosophy teach us about living well? Sebastian Purcell guides us through Aztec thought, beginning with a thought exper...Show More
6) The Assassination of Charlie Kirk
In this special episode of Brain in a Vat, Mark and Jasondiscuss the tragic assassination of political commentator, Charlie Kirk. The episode discusses Kirk's commitment to open dialogue and civil dis...Show More
7) Using AI to Fight Crime | David Boonin (Rebroadcast)
Is racial profiling always wrong, even if used by an AI to decrease crime? Should we use AI to judge criminal cases, recommend sentences for the guilty, or decide parole for prisoners?Chapters:[00:00]...Show More
8) Are We Free at Work? Marx on Capitalism Today | Brian Leiter
In this episode of Brain in a Vat, we’re joined by Brian Leiter, co-author (with Jamie Edwards) of a new book on Marx. We explore whether workers in contemporary capitalism are truly free—or trapped i...Show More
9) The Possible Worlds of David Lewis | Barry Lam (Rebroadcast)
What are possible worlds? Could you have been born to different parents, and could an object be both completely green and completely red? Barry Lam explains how David Lewis’s views on possible worlds ...Show More
10) Procreative Ethics | Rivka Weinberg (Rebroadcast)
Is it wrong to bring new life into the world? Is adopting a child a moral obligation? Is parenting meaningful?