How should states deal with hate speech? The American approach is to protect even the most vile speech. In other liberal democracies, especially in Europe, hate speech is more restricted, and permitting unconstrained speech is seen as a failure

Episode 21. Jon Quong on Self-Defense

Sep 26th, 2012

In thinking about the rules of war, the trend in contemporary political philosophy has been to start from individual conduct and scale up. War is just many instances of individual self-defense, so the rules about individual self-defense will fr

Episode 20. Garrett Cullity on Climate Change

Jul 4th, 2012

There is very little any given individual can do to address climate change. How, then, can individuals have a duty to act on carbon emissions? Our guest today, Garrett Cullity, sees a paradox here. He sees a problem drawing a … Continue reading

Episode 19. Stuart Green on Property Law

Jun 3rd, 2012

The claim that illegal downloading is stealing has been a mainstay of the entertainment industry’s campaign against music, movie and software piracy. But especially among young people, this idea doesn’t hold much sway. Downloading an illicit MP

Episode 18. Prakash Sethi on Apple’s Labor Standards [FIXED]

Apr 10th, 2012

[UPDATE: Reposted to fix audio problems] For a famously perfectionist company, the labor standards at Apple’s Chinese factories leave much to be desired. And yet, despite months of bad press, Apple’s sales show no sign of flagging. When the med

Episode 18. Prakash Sethi on Apple’s Labor Standards

Apr 10th, 2012

For a famously perfectionist company, the labor standards at Apple’s Chinese factories leave much to be desired. And yet, despite months of bad press, Apple’s sales show no sign of flagging. When the media focus dies out, what forces can induce

Episode 17. Seth Lazar on Self-Defense in War

Mar 11th, 2012

Why are soldiers allowed to kill in war? For philosophers who believe in what Seth Lazar calls the “new orthodoxy,” the answer is that soldiers can kill for the same reason anyone can kill: self-defense. War is just individual self-defense writ

Episode 16. Samantha Brennan on Microinequalities

Feb 1st, 2012

[UPDATED] In the West, women and men share equal status under the law. But in countless practical ways, women experience inequality on a daily basis. Why is it that a woman can lead a country, yet women are slower to … Continue reading →

Special Episode: Queens College Part II

Apr 6th, 2011

This is the second half of our special episode featuring contributions by the students of Queens College. The students spent the semester in an upper-level philosophy class developing and recording short podcasts. In this two-part episode, we p

Rate