RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
A show presenting the best new scholarship in political and social philosophy, featuring lively conversations with leading thinkers. Join hosts Jeffrey Howard and Emily McTernan as they explore some of the thorniest ethical questions of our time.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ political and social philosophy scholarship • duties to global poor and future generations • AI, big data, policing ethics • discrimination law, privilege, wrongful discrimination • privacy rights, harmful questioning • political lying and democratic harmsThis podcast features interviews with prominent scholars in political and social philosophy, using recently published research as a springboard for accessible but rigorous discussion. Across the conversations, the hosts and their guests examine how moral principles apply to contemporary public life and social institutions, often by scrutinizing popular ideas and everyday practices that are usually taken for granted.
A recurring focus is the ethics of policymaking and collective decision-making under real-world constraints, including how we should understand obligations to distant others and future generations, and whether certain influential frameworks for doing good distort our moral priorities. The podcast also explores the moral and political implications of new technologies and data-driven governance, especially when they shape state power and the distribution of risk and attention in areas like law enforcement.
Several episodes probe core concepts in justice and rights: what counts as wrongful discrimination, who should be protected by anti-discrimination law, and how privilege complicates standard accounts of victimhood and fairness. The show also turns to interpersonal and civic ethics, analyzing how harms can arise not only from actions but from speech acts—such as questions that intrude on privacy—and from deception in public discourse, with attention to the ways certain kinds of lying can corrode democratic norms and political trust.
Overall, the podcast centers on careful argument, conceptual analysis, and the practical stakes of ethical theory for law, politics, and everyday social interaction.
| Episodes: |
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“Ineffective Altruism” with Leif Wenar 2026-Feb-25 34 minutes |
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"Predictive Policing in the Age of AI" with Renée Jørgensen 2026-Feb-18 36 minutes |
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“Discrimination and Privilege” with Cécile Laborde 2026-Feb-11 33 minutes |
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“Don’t Ask That!” with Sam Berstler 2026-Feb-04 41 minutes |
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"Trump’s Lies” with Jeremy Waldron 2026-Feb-04 35 minutes |
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Introducing Philosophically Speaking 2026-Feb-02 2 minutes |