Samuel J. Huntington’s 1993 “The Clash of Civilizations?” is the most assigned article in American political science. It predicts a worldwide culture war (but not the kind you're thinking of). The book became a massive bestseller, Huntington was all over TV and his theory is still talked about all the time. It made him a darling to the press but reviled by his fellow academics.   Think of "Clash"  as a dark rejoinder to Fukuyama’s already-pretty-morose “End of History.” Instead of a peaceful but boring post-history, Huntington thinks that the end of the Cold War heralds a new e ..read more

Matthew Stewart is a philosophy PhD and author. He’s also a Princeton guy and former management consultant so he knows rich people.  His new book, The 9.9%, is about them. Not the super-rich, but the doctors, lawyers and managers that go to good colleges and live in nice neighbourhoods. The “nearly rich and not-famous,” as he puts it.  We talk about how these people raise their kids, get their money and block the poorer element from their neighbourhoods. Matthew reckons the 9.9% are a new kind of aristocracy that’s entrenching inequality and making everyone hate parenting. In the end ..read more

Big tech companies tell us they’re our servants, existing to fulfill our desires more cheaply and conveniently than ever. Alfie Bown doesn’t think so. He thinks Deliveroo, Tinder, Pornhub  etc. aren’t just giving us what we want, they’re shaping what we want. He reckons our tech overlords are secretly remaking humankind on the level of desire.    We chat about Chinese cars that know what you want to eat and why time travellers don’t get horny.    Bown is the author of a new book called Dream Lovers: The Gamification of Relationships   Support the show (https://ww ..read more

Executing an innocent 70-year-old philosophy might look bad but you had to be there. Topics include: Why a reasonable, well-intentioned Athenian may have voted to kill Socrates. Why politics might get interested in you, even if you’re not interested in politics. The difference between morality tales and philosophy tales. Art: Marijke Bouchier Music: David Zikotivz and Clayton Tapp Editing, episode art and social: Sepideh Creamsicles: Zachary Amzallag Cute Athenian boy tryna smash Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

Rhetoric is supposed to inspire. Imagine Cicero exhorting the Roman people, Churchill vowing to “fight on the beaches.” Yet, when politicians speak today, it’s almost always boring or obnoxious. Why?  Prof. Rob Goodman, author of Words on Fire: Eloquence and its Conditions comes by today to talk about the history of rhetoric, what Cicero knew that we don’t, and the political speech styles of Trudeau (boring), Trump (obnoxious), and X González (pretty great, actually).  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

Rhetoric is supposed to inspire. Imagine Cicero exhorting the Roman people, Churchill vowing to “fight on the beaches.” Yet, when politicians speak today, it’s almost always boring or obnoxious. Why?  Prof. Rob Goodman, author of Words on Fire: Eloquence and its Conditions comes by today to talk about the history of rhetoric, what Cicero knew that we don’t, and the political speech styles of Trudeau (boring), Trump (obnoxious), and X González (pretty great, actually).  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

Good in Theory is a podcast about political philosophy and the history of ideas. Clif Mark explains his favourite books in enough detail that you'll feel like you read them yourself.  Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

This episode covers parts of books 2 and 3 of Plato’s Republic. Adeimantus and Socrates start planning an education for the guardians. As it stands, young Athenians are fed an unhealthy banquet of lies written by the likes of Homer and Hesiod. Socrates wants new lies that set a good example for the kids. Lies with less fighting and sex and crying. Boring lies. And they might be for adults too. Ancient music: Michael Levy  Adeimantus: Rebecca Amzallag Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

The Greeks invented political liberty and everyone loves them for it.  Were they freedom-loving geniuses? Maybe.  Were they farm boys who could handle a spear? Yes.  Were they deep in debt and looking for a way out? Absolutely.  Art: Marijke Bouchier Music: David Zikovitz and Clayton Tapp Editing, episode art and social: Sepideh Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=35146517&fan_landing=true ..read more

A lot of Athenians suspect Socrates of plotting to overthrow democracy. On the other hand, Socrates says that when Athenians start thinking politics, they turn into a paranoid mob. This episode covers both sides and it honestly sounds like Socrates is complaining about Twitter.  Topics: -Why people who are into politics are so annoying.  -How the “political mindset” differs from the “philosophical mindset.” -Whether Socrates is an enemy of the state. Art: Marijke Bouchier Music: David Zikotivz and Clayton Tapp Editing, episode art and social: Sepideh Fudgicles: Zachary Amzallag Sup ..read more