WHY? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life
Join us each month as we engage in philosophical discussions about the most common-place topics with host Jack Russell Weinstein, professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Dakota. He is the director of The Institute for Philosophy in Public Life.
Episodes
May 14, 2023 • 71 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Michael Ignatieff, author of “On Consolation: Finding Solace in Dark Times.” Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has held senior academic posts at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, and Toronto. Most recently, he was rector and President of Central European University.
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April 8, 2023 • 90 mins
“The Philosophy of Depression,” with Andrew Solomon, a writer on politics, culture and psychology. Solomon wrote “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression,” which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and was included in The Times list of one hundred best books of the decade.
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March 13, 2023 • 47 mins
On this bonus episode, Jack Russell Weinstein and Ashley Thornberg explore philosophy in the classroom, his students, and how to present philosophers he doesn’t agree with.
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March 12, 2023 • 96 mins
In a special episode, Jack visits with four of his students — Samuel Amendolar, Terese Azure, Madilyn Lee, and Sara Rasch — about what it's like to study philosophy.
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February 12, 2023 • 70 mins
“Data, Technology, and the Power of Privacy.” Philosophers Jack Russell Weinstein and Carissa Véliz discuss how internet companies track and sell private information, and how this is changing politics and society.
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January 8, 2023 • 71 mins
In an encore presentation from January 2020, host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Adam Hosein, philosophy professor at Northeastern University in Boston. Hosein is the author of "The Ethics of Migration: An Introduction."
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December 11, 2022 • 73 mins
Jack Russell Weinstein visits with philosophy professor Mark Reiff of the University of California at Davis. Mark R. Reiff is the author of five books: In the Name of Liberty: The Argument for Universal Unionization (Cambridge University Press, 2020); On Unemployment, Volume I: A Micro-Theory of Economic Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015); On Unemployment, Volume II: Achieving Economic Justice after the Great Recession (Palgrave Ma...
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November 13, 2022 • 83 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein explores the question “What Makes a Movie Good?” with Jinhee Choi, Reader in Film Studies at King's College London.
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October 9, 2022 • 75 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Andrew Seidel, the author of "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American;" and "American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom." He’s also co-editor of an academic text, "Law and Religion: Cases and Materials."
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September 11, 2022 • 52 mins
The University of North Dakota recently announce that it found Native American human remains in storage, and has begun the repatriation process. With that current headline in mind, we offer an encore episode with George “Tink” Tinker, the Clifford Baldridge Emeritus Professor of American Indian Cultures and Religious Traditions at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, where he was still teaching at the time of this 2014...
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August 14, 2022 • 52 mins
Political freedom lies at the core of any democracy. Yet some people claim that even countries like America and England aren’t free enough. What does a free society look like and how much liberty is necessary for the moral life? In this encore presentation from 2011, Jack visits with James Otteson. At the time, he was Professor of Philosophy and Economics at Yeshiva University, but has since moved to Notre Dame, where he is the Joh...
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July 10, 2022 • 62 mins
Jack Russell Weinstein is here to preview this Sunday’s Why radio show as he visits with Firoze Manji. Manji is a Kenyan activist with more than 40 years’ experience in international development, health, human rights, teaching, publishing and political organizing. He is the recipient of the 2021 Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Lifetime Achievement Award from the Caribbean Philosophical Association. (Wikipedia)
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June 12, 2022 • 80 mins
UND distinguished professor of philosophy, Jack Russell Weinstein, visits with Brian Huschle, Northland Community and Technical College.
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May 8, 2022 • 85 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Swami Sarvapriyananda.
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April 10, 2022 • 101 mins
In this special episode, Ashley Thornberg presents Jack with philosophical questions submitted by listeners.
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March 13, 2022 • 73 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Emily S. Lee, professor of philosophy at California State University at Fullerton, and the author of "Race as Phenomena: Between Phenomenology and Philosophy of Race."
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February 13, 2022 • 75 mins
This encore episode from April 2012 examines our relationship with animals. Why do some cultures eat dogs and others invite them into their bedrooms? Why do some people find spiders disgusting but others consider them a delicacy? Who enjoyed a better quality of life—the chicken on a dinner plate or the rooster who dies in a Saturday-night cockfight? What can we really learn from experiments on mice?On the next episode of WHY? we’ll...
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February 10, 2022 • 45 mins
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Main Street's Ashley Thornberg discusses various aspects of race and the importance of holidays with UND philosophy professor Jack Russell Weinstein.
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January 9, 2022 • 68 mins
This encore from 2011 is quite appropriate for today as host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Lou Marinoff. Can philosophy make our lives better? Can it help us develop better senses of self? Can it ever be used as a therapy-like tool to heal us psychologically or inspire us to change our behavior? In this episode of WHY? we will look at the role of belief, worldview, and intellectual choices, to see how they contribute to a heal...
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December 12, 2021 • 76 mins
Host Jack Russell Weinstein visits with Andrew L. Seidel, a constitutional attorney and the Director of Strategic Response at the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
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