Ethics

A collection of our episodes featuring ethical concerns

(Click on the episode title to listen and read the full episode notes!)

MINIBAR: Cancer

Talia Mae Bettcher talks about her cancer diagnosis and a dark night of the soul.

Pain

What our bodies, in pain, can teach us about the hilarity of finitude.

Episode 144: The Sublime

The ocean and space and “Ode to Joy” are sublime, of course… but what about an excellent lentil soup? In a confusing twist of etymology, where one would expect “sub” to mean “below,” in the word “sublime” it indicates something above or even beyond. We use it as a superlative, but a superlative of what?...

Episode 143: Off-Grid Living (with Eric Mack)

What motivates people to live off-grid in the 21st C? And how hard is it to survive out there? This week, the HBS hosts are joined by Eric Mack, journalist and co-host of Our Uncertain Future podcast, who decided in 2020 to move his family “off-grid.” Currently residing in a 100% water- and energy-independent compound in the...

Episode 142: Ideology

What, if anything, is the difference between having ideological commitments and belonging to a “cult”? This episode is a “deep dive” into the very deep waters of ideology and ideological commitments. A couple of important notes for listeners: first, this episode was recorded the day before William Clare-Roberts’ excellent essay “Ideology and Emancipation: Voluntary Servitude, False Consciousness,...

Episode 141: Generative AI

Generative Ai is a still new and emergent technology capable of producing not only text that could be mistaken as human-generated, but also images, video, music, and “voice.” For all of the amazing opportunities opened up by generative AI, however, it does not come without its own risks. Secondary and post-secondary education, for example, was...

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