Explore every episode of the podcast Things You Can Do

Hi, philosophriends, I just wanted to post this cool little segment I did for Matthias over at LOTRAMAPOD - he wanted to know how something could proceed from something else if there was no time (and therefore no cause and effect!). I put together this little segment, which also includes a brand new sting for "Explain it Like I'm 5!"

In this first of a four-part series on AI and ethics, we’re going to talk about the kinds of things that we just might be. Are we souls? Or minds? Or rights-havers? Or sentient AI bodybuilders sent from the future to terminate the leader of the human resistance?

11:30 | Jennifer S. Light, "When Computers Were Women," 463.

15:10 | “Alcibiades” in Plato, ed. By John M. Cooper, 575.

23:50 | John Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 318.

39:05 | Edmund Husserl, Ideas I, paragraph 29; quoted in The Essential Husserl, 62.

Lee Adama's speech in the trial of Gaius Baltar from the show Battlestar Galactica leads us to reconsider what it is that makes someone guilty, and what guilt really is. We'll consult some good German philosophers - Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, and Karl Jaspers - to see if we can't find a good answer to that question.

Thanks to Matthias Austin and Producer of the Show Meg for their voice talents on this episode!

18:45 | Metaphysics of Morals, in Practical Philosophy, p. 529.

27:05 | The Question of German Guilt, 41. 

30:00 | Ibid., 28.

37:10 | Ibid., 43.

Content Warning: In this episode I’m going to be talking about the recent investigative report by CNN into the traffic and activity on a website called Motherless.com. While the episode’s focus is not sexual assault itself, there still will be frank conversation about it, and about the harm done by men who prey on others for their own gratification. If that’s not something you’re looking to hear about in a podcast, I totally understand. You can just skip it, or come back to it when you feel ready. If you or someone you know and love are the victims of domestic or sexual violence, in the United States you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat online at thehotline.org. All calls are free and confidential. You matter, and you don’t have to endure abuse, coercion, or manipulation to deserve love. There are people who care about you and support you. There is hope.

What do we do when we experience the worst that masculinity has to offer? Is there a way for men who use their masculinity as a weapon to become better? Is there a way for any of us to become better, and if so, how? We'll discuss this along with what makes something philosophical, how we can learn from those who "fence the Torah," and just what the heck we mean when we talk about "toxic masculinity."

1:55 | “Exposing a global ‘rape academy’” A CNN As Equals Investigation

7:35 | “Making Fences Around the Torah,” Rabbi David E Ostrich

15:20 | Deleuze and Guattari, What is Philosophy?, pg. 2

25:20 | Todd May, Deleuze, pg. 19

27:18 | Lectures on Liberation : Angela Davis : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive 

40:28 | Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Hackett Publishing,   pp. 63-64

42:05 | Ibid., pg. 65.

45:12 | Selection from Speaking Freely: Bell Hooks. newseuminstitute.org 

51:50 | Plato, Republic, 392b

58:08 | CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 198-199

In this inaugural "Great Speeches in Ethics," we'll reflect on how Mal Reynolds's resolve to speak for others represents a mode of speech in classical antiquity that French philosopher Michel Foucault calls "fearless speech."

6:15 | Fearless Speech, 18.

9:05 | Who am I -- Alfie Boe (Les Miserables in Concert -The 25th Anniversary) 

10:10 | Ramin Karimloo - Valjean's Soliloquy - Broadway - 2014

11:05 | Ibid.

12:45 | Fearless Speech, 13-14.

21:05 | "Touchstone, Metallurgy." 

21:15 | Venable, Shannon L. (2011). Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 264. ISBN 978-0313-384318. Retrieved 2025-07-14 

22:15 | Fearless Speech, 102.

"The Culture of the Self" audio of Foucault lecturing at Berkeley on YouTube.

In today's episode, Matthias Austin from the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast and I talk about Gollum. What motivates him? What's wrong with him? Should we pity him or fear him? Or something else? Come along for a journey into the ethics of Middle Earth where we'll discuss good and evil, pain and addiction, love and pity, and incontinence. Also, Frodo and Sam's Special Boat for Boys™ .

9:30 | Illustrated Hobbit Reddit Post

11:30 | Film Depiction Blog Post

23:45 | Anti-Climacus (Soren Kierkegaard), The Sickness Unto Death (Normally I try to put the edition and page, but I got this off the internet because I couldn't find my copy of this text - it's probably in a box somewhere in the basement, but I promise a cursory google search will confirm it's factuality!)

Things You Can Do, Season 1 Soundtrack

In today's Extra Credit, I talk a little (okay, a LOT) more about utilitarianism, some of its strengths and weaknesses, some important thinkers in its history, and my view on why the way that we currently teach it is missing something.

10:05 | RM Hare, "Ethical Theory and Utilitarianism"

14:16 | JJC Smart, "Extreme and Restricted Utilitarianism," pg. 353

15:34 | Ibid., pg. 347

***Godwin's Law says that the longer a discussion goes on, the more likely it is that someone will invoke a comparison to Hitler. It has conceptual overlap with the logical fallacy reductio ad Hitlerium.

21:32 | John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism, pg. 32 (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001).

23:09 | Shelly Kagan, "Does Consequentialism Demand Too Much? Recent Work on the Limits of Obligation"

Ever wished that I would hang out more with Matthias Austin, host of the acclaimed* podcast The Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast? Well, turns out - me too!

Matthias and I sit down and talk about Gollum, a figure regarded with suspicion and hatred, a form cloaked in shadow and deceit. What makes him tick? How should we feel about him? What was JRR Tolkien thinking when he wrote this character?

Matthias and I dive in - just the way that we do: with research, thoughtful questions, ethical conundrums, and just a little bit of trivia. Check it out on May 8 when it drops in my feed, or May 11 when it drops over at his feed - subscribe to the Lord of the Rings AMA Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

Today we take on the question, "Is it okay to change my values to fit in?" We talk about Utilitarian ethics, Kant's "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" and Rabbi Akiva bar Joseph. Also, peep the new segments: Moment of Latin and Ein Moment des Deutsche!

14:10 | An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation by Jeremy Bentham

16:05 | Ibid.

18:22 | Ibid.

37:34 | "An answer to the question: What is enlightenment?" by Immanuel Kant, trans. by Ted Humphrey

43:35 | "Muslim teen reveals father's response to removing hijab," Lamia Estatie, BBC News

What is up with ethical relativism? How do you know what the right thing to do is when you have multiple conflicting ethical systems across different cultures? What is the Prime Directive?

13:40: Nussbaum, Creating Capabilities, pg. 18.

19:55: Gross Edward and Altman, Mark A. (1993) Captain’s Logs: The Complete Star Trek Voyages. London: Boxtree, pg 220.

Enjoy this first crack at a new little mini episode format called "Extra Credit," where I dive a little deeper into some of the things in a recent episode that didn't make the cut for the full podcast.

01:45 | The Heart of Whiteness: Normal Sexuality and Race in America, 1880-1940 by Julian B. Carter. Pg. 1

07:35 | Carter, pg. 42. I accidentally wrote this as "Barbarians aren't anxious" when I was giving the script to Mady, but the actual quote is "Barbarians are not nervous." I apologize for the mix-up! But I think the quote still conveys Carter's original meaning.

What do teeth have to do with ethics? Well, strap in and take a ride through my childhood, the history of dentistry, and several dozen references to 90's children's cartoons to find out!

If you’ve got a smooth groove you’d love to have featured on the podcast, or are interested in exchanging your voice talents for trinkets, homemade trophies, and one-digit amounts of dollars, email me at thingsyoucandopod@gmail.com.

10:30 | Analysis of Neanderthal teeth marks uncovers evidence of prehistoric dentistry | KU News

12:05 | The Birth of the Most Important 18th Century Dental Text: Pierre Fauchard’s Le Chirurgien Dentist - Andrew I. Spielman, 2007

27:25 | Why Smiles Generate Leniency - Marianne LaFrance, Marvin A. Hecht, 1995

27:34 | The influence of tooth colour on the perceptions of personal characteristics among female dental patients: comparisons of unmodified, decayed and 'whitened' teeth | British Dental Journal

27:43 | Satisfaction and attitudes of the student population about dental aesthetics | Journal of Health Sciences

27:51 | Does dental appearance impact on employability in adults? A scoping review of quantitative and qualitative evidence | British Dental Journal

27:58 | Filling in the Gap: How Dental Aesthetics Impact Future Outcomes through Inferences of Competence - ProQuest

28:04 | Dental Esthetics and Its Impact on Psycho-Social Well-Being and Dental Self Confidence: A Campus Based Survey of North Indian University Students - PMC

38:44 | 2024 Oral Health Surveillance Report: Selected Findings | Oral Health | CDC

39:05 | Oral Health in America, David Satcher

Let's do some philosophy of our own! We'll work on some inductive arguments for why being a billionaire might be morally problematic, and what it says about us when we try to think about this stuff. Also, bussin' it down, ARISTOTLE STYLE.

 00:23 Head of UN's World Food Programme Warns of Famines without more international aid

01:31 COP26: Billionaires must step up, says the World Food Programme

02:31 Elon Musk Said He'd Give $6 Billion to End World Hunger If the UN Could Explain How — They Did, But He Didn't Give Them a Dime

18:18 Jeff Bezos returns the compliment, calls Warren Buffet a 'hero' who 'has a lot of wisdom'

35:02  “Ethical Design of Computers: From Semiconductors to IoT and Artificial Intelligence,” Sundeep Paschrika and Marilyn Wolf 

40:07 Arrested Development, Season 2, Episode 15, "Sword of Destiny"

50:08 The Melian Dialogue

Let's explore ethics and ethical reasoning through Hume, Alan Turing, and 16th century Japanese martial arts training!

Is it morally defensible to be a billionaire? What do philosophers across history think? And how many corrupt rich rulers can a yeongno eat?

References:

Elaine Schwartz, Degree in a Book: Economics, Arcturus Publishing, 2023.

22:53: David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years, pgs. 23 and 28

33:10: Ed. and Trans by Robin Hard, Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes, with Other Popular Moralists, Oxford Press.

35:34: Enchiridion, trans. by Nicholas P. White, Hackett Press, p. 17.

37:23: Rousseau, Discourse on Inequality, trans. and ed. by Maurice Cranston, p. 81.

43:35 and following: Diogenes, Sayings and Anecdotes, pgs. 110 and 147.

47:00: National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, https://books.google.com/books/about/Tal_and_Talchum.html?id=GE1vBgAAQBAJ 

50:46: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1097b10-15

Today we talk about what I mean when I say, "Ethics is deeply personal." We'll also touch on formal logic, what "epistemology" means, and why Geordi is always ejecting perfectly good warp cores out of the Enterprise.

References:

10:30 Black Feminist Thought, p. 270.

12:20 Black Feminist Thought, p. 271

15:55 Black Feminist Thought, p. 284

It's a bite-sized nugget of tasty ethics! Chew on this ten minute romp through space, time, and ethics where we discuss WK Clifford's "The Ethics of Belief," an influential 1877 paper about moral and epistemic responsibility.

You can read the whole paper here for free!

Or you can read the Wikipedia article about it.

What is public health, and what does it have to do with philosophy?

Paul Starr, "Seductions of Sim: Policy as a Simulation Game," The American Prospect no. 17 (Spring 1994): 19-29.

Benjamin Svetkey, "SimEarth," Entertainment Weekly, January 13, 1995.

P. Gatseva, M. Argirova, "Public health: the science of promoting health," The Journal of Public Health, 30 March, 2011.

Rene Descartes, Meditations, p. 93 (Hackett Press)

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, p. 6-7.

Jonathan McIntosh, "Wall-E as Sociological Storytelling"

Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality Vol. 1, p. 138.

John T. Correll, "Serial Air Invasion of Burma: March 5 - March 11, 1944," National WWII Glider Pilots Association.

How do you navigate the dilemma of personal liberty and social responsibility? And who is Hippocrates?

References:

WHO: Vaccines are safe

CDC: Vaccines are safe

13:52 "On the Sacred Disease" from the Hippocratic Corpus

32:14 "The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect" by Philippa Foot

37:40 Guillan-Barre Syndrome

41:50 Jane Lawrence, 2000. The Indian Health Service and the Sterilization of Native American Women. American Indian Quarterly. 24(3) University of Nebraska Press. 400-419.

A dive into the listener mailbag! THis episode deals with:

- Is it wrong to bring the dead back to life?

- Is it possible to go backwards, or only go the other way?

- Why are swear words bad?

- *muffled chicken queries*

00:00 “Diego Rivera Rondo” by Peter Owens

00:30 Labastida, Jaime (1993). Encuentros Con Diego Rivera. El Colegio Nacional. pp. 260–261.

03:27 “Frankens-dyin’” by Peter Owens

09:41 “An Undetermined Fate” by Philip Ayers

18:06 “Mugen Sunset” by Peter Owens

24:37 “Tiniest Dog in the World” by Peter Owens

28:30 “Confutatis” in Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, © Chœur des Marais, Villefranche sur Saône, Fr

30:10 “English vs. Arabic” from Mohammed in Texas by Mo Amer, Fair Use

34:21 “Circle” by Otherguys

36:50 “George Costanza at the Beach” by Peter Owens

43:22 “Making the Trip Home” by American Legion

What do Ken Ham, Bill Nye, Charlie Kirk, and Alcibiades all have in common? I'm not quite sure but I think we'll figure out on this episode of Things You Can Do.

"The Debate Style that Propelled Charlie Kirk's Movement" by Ken Bensinger and Charlie Smart

"epimeleomai" in A Greek-English Lexicon (LSJ)

"Ken Ham vs. Bill Nye - The Short Version"

"Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham - Official (HD)"

Phaedo by Plato. Trans. by GMA Grube (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1977).

How do we know which are the "okay" ways to break the rules, and which aren't? Does playing a game mean that you only follow the game's rules and don't have to act like a normal, "responsible" member of society? In this inaugural episode of Things You Can Do, we explore what it means for something to be "ethical," what it means for something to be "moral," and how those ideas are affected by their context within the rules of the game.