Context with Brad Harris - Brad Harris

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The History of the Future

Monday, July 28, 2025 • Duration 19:55

Why did we stop believing in utopia?

By the late 19th century, many Americans had come to believe that the future would be defined by peace, prosperity, and moral progress. But over the next century, optimism gave way to fear—war, nuclear weapons, and runaway technology began to reshape our vision of what was possible.

In this episode of Context, we explore how our ideas about the future have evolved—from Edward Bellamy’s best-seller Looking Backward (1888), to H.G. Wells’ The Shape of Things to Come (1933), to The Terminator series (1984), and finally to Brian Christian’s The Alignment Problem (2020). Along the way, we trace the rise of techno-utopianism, the shock of dystopian realism, and the ethical dilemmas now posed by artificial intelligence.

The history of the future has never mattered more.

To support the show and access bonus episodes, join me on Patreon or subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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The Meaning of War

Tuesday, July 1, 2025 • Duration 22:27

Is it possible that war, for all its horror, once played a vital role in human flourishing—and that its disappearance has left a cultural and spiritual void?

In this episode, we explore the provocative thesis that war has historically served not only as an engine of destruction, but as a forge for meaning and social cohesion. Drawing on J. Glenn Gray’s The Warriors, with insight from William James, Nietzsche, and Durkheim, we examine what modern society loses when it loses war—not just as a military phenomenon, but as a psychological and cultural one.

What happens to masculinity when its most historically sanctioned outlet evaporates? What fills the vacuum when existential struggle is no longer a shared reality? And could space exploration become the next great crucible that gives our civilization meaning without violence?

This is not an argument for militarism—but a call to confront what war once offered, and to ask what might replace it in a civilization that seeks to remain vital.

To support the show and unlock *supporter-only episodes, join me on Patreon or subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Notes On Tribalism

Monday, April 26, 2021 • Duration 22:30

"Notes on Nationalism" was an essay written by George Orwell in 1945, just as World War II was ending. It caused quite a stir at the time, but most people these days have never heard of it. Nonetheless, "Notes on Nationalism" remains one of the most powerful examples of Orwell's timeless insight into human nature; in this case, focused on our instinct to gang up on each other, our instinct for tribalism.

Orwell never used the term "tribalism" himself -- he wrote this essay a generation before that term became widespread. However, I suspect his essay was a primary factor in raising awareness of the social pathology of tribalism, and his diagnosis of the problem precisely captures the liabilities of tribalism plaguing us today.

To help support Context and access bonus episodes, join me on Patreon.

Learn more at bradharris.com

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The Fate of Universities

Wednesday, February 24, 2021 • Duration 38:21

Like many others, I’ve begun to worry about the fate of higher education in American society.

Having spent most of my professional life in academia, my instinct is to regard the university system as sacred - as Wisdom’s Workshop, to borrow the historian James Axtell’s recent book title.

Liberal democracy relies on a very well educated citizenry. And, modern civilization more generally relies on a significant number of us possessing hard-earned historical perspective on what is true and what is good, and hard-earned scientific perspective on the full reach of human potential.

Any threat to the university system should worry us. Today, there appear to be multiple, and the most frustrating thing of it is... those threats seem to be mostly self-imposed.

In this episode, I highlight those threats and explore the history behind the legacy of modern knowledge.

To help support my work and access bonus episodes, visit patreon.com/bradcoleharris

Learn more at bradharris.com

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Explaining Postmodernism: A Conversation with Stephen Hicks

Monday, January 25, 2021 • Duration 01:01:19

In this episode, I invited the philosopher and author Stephen Hicks on the podcast to chat about his book, Explaining Postmodernism. Stephen has been a Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University in Illinois for nearly 20 years, and he's published widely on the history of philosophy, ethics, and politics.

The reason I invited Stephen on the show is because I think postmodernism planted the seeds of the illiberalism that's erupting throughout our society today, and Stephen Hicks literally wrote the book on that development. In my opinion, his insight is critical because the battle of ideas postmodern thinking provokes could very well determine the fate of liberal democracy our lifetime.

To learn more about Stephen Hicks, I encourage you to visit his website, stephenhicks.org, or follow him on Twitter.

To help support Context and access bonus episodes, visit https://www.patreon.com/context

Learn more at https://bradharris.com

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Escaping the Cycle of History

Monday, December 21, 2020 • Duration 33:49

What’s that line attributed to Mark Twain?...

"History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes."

As the authors Neil Howe and William Strauss wrote in their best-selling book The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy - What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny, published in 1997, “The reward of the historian is to locate patterns that recur over time and to discover the natural rhythms of social experience.”

According to the pattern they predicted, we should currently be in the midst of a great historical crisis. Are we? If so, what happens next?

To help support Context and access supporter-only episodes, head to patreon.com/context

For more information visit bradharris.com

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Reflections from A Distant Mirror

Monday, October 26, 2020 • Duration 39:52

Plague, political upheaval, the looming prospect of another civil war... what century are we in?

To retain historical perspective, and to find inspiration in how humanity has recovered from far greater upheavals in the past, we turn to Barbara Tuchman's classic work, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century.

What we find in the late Middle Ages is a vision of hell, along with overwhelming evidence that the best of humanity can endure the worst.

To help support Context and access supporter-only episodes, head to patreon.com/context

For more information visit bradharris.com

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2+2=5

Monday, September 14, 2020 • Duration 26:45

I went slightly mad producing this episode. But then, the line between our reality and the fiction of 1984 has become far too blurry for my comfort.

George Orwell wrote 1984 in 1948 - a very different historical context with very different threats. And yet, the dark sides of human nature he explored through his novel are still very much with us today. He saw with his own eyes, as did everyone else who lived through the World Wars and totalitarian genocides back then, where the worst of human nature can lead if left unchecked.

Context is now entirely listener-supported. If you think these ideas are important and you'd like to help spread them, sign up at https://www.patreon.com/context

Learn more at https://bradharris.com

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All Things Being Equal

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 • Duration 30:36

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

Lately, it seems like our society is attempting to replace truth with power, forgetting that all other societies that have done this have failed miserably.

One of the worst features of our society, we are told, is wealth inequality. But, what is the historical truth about wealth inequality?

Drawing inspiration from Walter Scheidel's book, The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality, we explore the history of wealth inequality and discuss how the cure has tended to be far worse than the disease.

To support Context and access bonus episodes, join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/context

Learn more at https://bradharris.com

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Approximating Perfection

Wednesday, July 8, 2020 • Duration 20:58

It's hard to remember how intelligent humanity can be when we are relentlessly bombarded by bad news. Author and mathematician Steven Strogatz helps to remind us with his recent book, Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe.

The history of calculus may seem irrelevant to most of our going concerns, but as Strogatz shows, the spirit of calculus expresses one of the best ideas humanity has ever had: greatness is not to be found in the end, but in the effort.

Support the show on https://www.patreon.com/context

Learn more at https://bradharris.com

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Context with Brad Harris – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Context with Brad Harris – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Patreon6

Other9

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Patreon6

Other9

Spotify

Amazon22