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047: Ep43 – The Stories of Our Day 1, Game of Thrones

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

Photo of Dr. Shane Courtland.This forty-third episode of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast is a special new show format, more of a round-table discussion than usual, and with a new theme: The Stories of Our Day. In this first “Stories of Our Day” episode, we’re talking about The Game of Thrones! For this discussion, we knew that we wanted to bring Dr. Shane Courtland back on the show, given his specialty in Thomas Hobbes’s somewhat bleak philosophy, which has a lot to tell us about the harshness and quasi-realism (if you focus on human beings rather than the dragons) of Game of Thrones.

The Thinker, sitting on the iron throne, thinking about how philosophy bakes bread in the Game of Thrones.

Dr. Courtland was our guest once before, in Episode 8 of the show, on “Selfish Ethics?” Dr. Courtland is director of the Center for Free Entreprise at Western Virginia University. His recent book is titled Hobbesian Applied Ethics and Public Policy, and was released with Routledge Press in 2017.

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

 

(1hr 9 mins)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

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Notes

  1. They Live [movie] (1988).
  2. Zizek in “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema” [movie] (2006).
  3. The NeverEnding Story [movie] (1984).
  4. The Dukes of Hazzard [television show] (1979-1985).
  5. Star Trek: The Next Generation [television show] (1987-1994).
  6. Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (New York: Dover Publications, 1992).
  7. In his You Tell Me! question, Shane mentions Syrio Forel, about whom there’s a wiki page here.

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, we posed a few questions in this episode’s round-table format:

“Is death a major theme in Game of Thrones, and if so, why?”

“Do you think that talking philosophically about Game of Thrones and the Stories of Our Day is frivolous or meaningful? Should we keep making episodes with this new theme?”

“What are the Stories of Your Day, the stories from your youth that were really formative of who you are?”

Let us know what you think! Via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

 

 

Transcript

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046: Ep42 – BC9 – Overcoming Redneck State Stigma

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show & podcast

Dr. Larry A. HickmanThis forty-second episode of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast is a second “breadcrumb” episode with Dr. Larry A. Hickman, who was our featured guest in Episode 40. In that episode, Larry spoke about democracy and education in the United States today. While he was with us, we asked him to comment on a question that we received from a listener earlier this year. Larry, Anthony, and Eric each live or have lived in states that are sometimes prejudged and stigmatized for characteristics you might call “redneck,” being significantly rural and agricultural. Jason Fultz had called a few weeks before and asked us to comment on what one can do to overcome stigma for your state. So, we played his question and asked Larry what he thought. Then, we all thought about it and a few answers emerged that may prove helpful for “Overcoming Redneck State Stigma.”

Photo of a man posing in front of a pine-wood wall, wearing a furry hat, and making a silly face.

Photo courtesy of Gratisography (Source: www.gratisography.com), CCO license.

Cover of Eric Thomas Weber's book, Uniting Mississippi.We especially want to thank Jason for calling in and leaving us a great voicemail and question. Of course, we’re grateful to Larry also, who is the former Director of the Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University and who is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy there. It is worth noting also in particular that Larry brought up progress that the state of Mississippi has made especially given the leadership and example that the University of Mississippi, affectionately called Ole Miss, has offered for the state. He also kindly mentioned Eric’s book on leadership and higher education in Mississippi, Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South.

As always, you can reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.


(10 mins)

 

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

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Photo of a news article in which the headline about a literacy program in Mississippi misspells the state's name as "Missippi."Notes

  1. Episode 40 of Philosophy Bakes Bread, with Dr. Larry A. Hickman. Go listen to it too!
  2. Press Gigem and Bob Taylor, The Best 606 Aggie Jokes (Gigem Press, 1976).
  3. A Wikipedia entry on the adage, “Thank God for Mississippi.”
  4. Larry mentions: Eric Thomas Weber, Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South (Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2015).

Let us know what you think via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below!

 

Transcript

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045: Ep41 – BC8 – The Meaning of Life? Answered.

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast

Dr. Larry A. HickmanThis forty-first episode of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast is a special “breadcrumb” episode with Dr. Larry A. Hickman, who was our featured guest in Episode 40. In that episode, Larry raised a question for listeners for which he said he has an answer: “What’s the meaning of life?”

A guru on a mountaintop, whose answer is 'Google it.'

It’s the age-old question, the stereotypical philosophical question, yet Larry believes that there can be serious, meaningful answers to it. And, he said that he has one! We want to know our listeners thoughts, of course. At the same time, we couldn’t resist and had to hear Larry’s answer to the question of the meaning of life. Enjoy this short breadcrumb episode that takes a stab at one of the great questions for all of our lives.

As always, you can reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

 

(7 mins)

 

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

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Subscribe to the podcast! 

We’re on iTunes and Google Play, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

 

Notes

  1. Episode 40 of Philosophy Bakes Bread, with Dr. Larry A. Hickman. Go listen to it too!
  2. A little, simple biographical information about John Dewey.
  3. A series of cartoons that illustrate the fact that “the meaning of life” is a pretty funny, cliché question, in many people’s eyes. Dr. Hickman pushes back on that outlook, in this fun, thoughtful breadcrumb.

Let us know what you think via Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below!

 

Transcript

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Food Symposium Success at Pacific Lutheran University

Dr. Sergia Hay.In the last two years, SOPHIA underwent big changes, having drafted a new mission statement and strategic plan. That development called for a new Web site, which we now have. In the process, a number of SOPHIA events took place and have yet to be included on our new site. One such great event took place in February 2016 at Pacific Lutheran University, where SOPHIA member and officer Dr. Sergia Hay helped organize a great symposium on Food.

Pacific Lutheran University has held a Food Symposium more than once, furthermore, and SOPHIA was able and happy to cosponsor the event. Videos are available of some of the more traditional panels and addresses. Events that SOPHIA sponsors can certainly incorporate some traditional formats in that way, but we want to ensure also that there is room for conversation, for dialogue, not merely paper presentations and (largely) one-way communication.

The Food Symposium at Pacific Lutheran was special because of the variety of elements of their events. In addition to some traditional panels, they also had an outing to learn about Mother Earth Farm and Hidden Valley Compost, for example, which addressed food’s connection to sustainability concerns.

Image of Food Symposium participants visiting Mother Earth Farms in Washington state.

Pacific Lutheran University also put together a lovely gallery of photos from the event here. And, while the event has passed, check out the great poster that they made for it!

Flyer for the 2016 Food Symposium at Pacific Lutheran University.

This is the flyer that the Philosophy department made for the Food Symposium. Clicking on this link will open up the Adobe PDF version of the poster.

Finally, here’s a write up about the prior Food Symposium, from 2014, which came out in the Lute Times. The event at PLU is exciting for SOPHIA because 1) it clearly was on a topic of interest to the public, 2) it demonstrated the importance of philosophy for matters of public concern, 3) it involved conversation and not only paper delivery and critique, and 4) it moved beyond the classroom, even including outings to venture to farms and meet with people actually engaged in sustainability-related work connected with farming and food.

So, while our intention was to publicize this event before and soon after it, a number of obstacles got in the way. Nonetheless, it’s time now that we recognize the work that Dr. Hay and her colleagues put together with SOPHIA support and congratulate them on the great success of their events. Examples of successful ventures can help others have ideas and models to follow. Congratulations!

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044: Ep40 – Democracy and Education Today

Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast

This fortieth episode of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast features an interview with Dr. Larry A. Hickman, former Director of the Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University, talking with co-hosts Eric Weber and Anthony Cashio about John Dewey’s rich ideas about democracy and education, as well as what we can say about the state of each today.

Dr. Larry A. Hickman.

Dr. Hickman is a prolific scholar, who has written on countless social issues from gay rights to school funding. He and his colleague Dr. Tom Alexander co-edited a two-volume set of some of the greatest resources available for studying Dewey’s philosophy, The Essential Dewey, Volumes 1 and 2. Larry also directed the Center for Dewey Studies for many years, obtaining grant after grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and creating an incredible set of digital resources collecting and digitizing Dewey’s works and the works of his contemporaries. In this episode, Larry presents some sobering concerns about the state of education in the United States today, as well as what that and other problems mean for democracy here.

Listen for our “You Tell Me!” questions and for some jokes in one of our concluding segments, called “Philosophunnies.” Reach out to us on Facebook @PhilosophyBakesBread and on Twitter @PhilosophyBB; email us at philosophybakesbread@gmail.com; or call and record a voicemail that we play on the show, at 859.257.1849. Philosophy Bakes Bread is a production of the Society of Philosophers in America (SOPHIA). Check us out online at PhilosophyBakesBread.com and check out SOPHIA at PhilosophersInAmerica.com.

 


(61 mins)

Click here for a list of all the episodes of Philosophy Bakes Bread.

 

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Subscribe to the podcast! 

We’re on iTunes and Google Play, and we’ve got a regular RSS feed too!

 

 

Notes

  1. John Dewey’s New York Times obituary.
  2. John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: The Free Press, 1916/1997).
  3. G. W. F. Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977).
  4. Zachary Crockett, “The Case for More Traffic Roundabouts,” Priceonomics (September 18, 2015).
  5. Laurie Roberts, “Roberts: Am I Shocked by Senate President’s (continued) Self Dealing? Yep. And Nope.” The (AZ) Republic & The USA Today, March 6, 2017.
  6. Charles Murray, The Bell Curve (New York: The Free Press, 1996), the book that Larry argues we should have stopped paying attention to 20 years ago.
  7. SOPHIA won the American Philosophical Association / Philosophy Documentation Center Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs!

 

You Tell Me!

For our future “You Tell Me!” segments, Larry proposed the following question in this episode, for which we invite your feedback:

“I’ve got an answer to this question [in a breadcrumb coming soon], but I want to know yours:

‘What is the meaning of life?’”

Let us know what you think matters!  Twitter, Facebook, Email, or by commenting here below.

 

 

Transcript

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