470. The Pros and Cons of America’s (Extreme)...

New York City’s mayor called them “public enemy number one.” History books say they caused the Black Death — although recent scientific evidence disputes that claim. In an updated episode from 2025, we ask: Is the rat a scapegoat? And what does our rat hatred say about us? SOURCE ...  Show more

One possibility: a leading hypothesis pursued by researchers (and funders) was built on science that now appears to be fraudulent. Stephen Dubner speaks with the scientist and the journalist who blew the whistle. SOURCES: Charles Piller, investigative journalist for Science, auth ...  Show more

Social psychologist Dannagal Young breaks down the link between our psychology and politics, showing how personality types largely fall into people who prioritize openness and flexibility (liberals) and those who prefer order and certainty (conservatives). Hear why both sets of t ...  Show more

Can we hold multiple truths at once? Listen to find out!

Looking for a link we mentioned? It's here: https://linktr.ee/philosophyforourtimes

Many still remain convi ...

Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson contemplates the political world order in his Reith series entitled 'Peace in the Family of Man'. In this lecture entitled 'The United States of the World', Lester Pearson contemplates the concept of natio ...  Show more

We love to judge. To gossip. To belittle.

Not everyone, and not all the time, but enough for these feelings to fuel multi-billion dollar industries.

Even if we never say it out loud, we derive a certain pleasure from others' misfortune. There's even a name for the ...