Explore every episode of the podcast Unlimited Opinions - Philosophy, Theology, Linguistics, & More
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S10 E10: Legal Issues, Part 2 - USAID, Judicial Activism, and Freedom | 05 Feb 2025 | 00:55:45 | |
What does the dismantling of USAID mean for freedom? Is this government overreach, or the government pulling back its power? Join us as we discuss this and more, breaking down Thomas Sowell's thoughts on a variety of legal issues, from allegations of racist cops, lack of trust between doctors and patients, and what freedom actually is. | |||
| S10 E9: Legal Issues, Part 1 - Presidential Pardons, Birthright Citizenship, and Loving Criminals | 28 Jan 2025 | 01:01:49 | |
Should all of the January 6th protestors have been pardoned? Can we do away with birthright citizenship? Why do we keep making martyrs out of criminals? Find out as we examine Thomas Sowell's thoughts on legal issues, ranging from abortion to gun control and everything in between! | |||
| S10 E8: Political Issues, Part 3 - John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx | 21 Jan 2025 | 00:41:26 | |
Should we care about the personal lives of influential thinkers? In Marx's case, probably! In this episode, we discuss two more articles from Thomas Sowell: one evaluating John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, and the other giving a detailed description of Karl Marx. We also talk about Donald Trump's second inauguration and what it means for the country! | |||
| S10 E7: Political Issues, Part 2 - Academia, Term Limits, and Gaslighting | 14 Jan 2025 | 01:05:56 | |
How does the Left survive, and how do they keep gaslighting the nation? Find out in this episode of Unlimited Opinions, as we continue reading Thomas Sowell's thoughts on political issues. This is a wide-ranging episode, discussing the Los Angeles wildfires, transgenderism, private charity, and much more! | |||
| S10 E6: Political Issues, Part 1 - Language, Corporate CEOs, and the Media | 03 Jan 2025 | 00:48:32 | |
Why would people celebrate the death of a CEO they had never even heard of before his assassination? Thomas Sowell raised these kinds of questions 20 years ago! Join us as we begin discussing his articles on political issues, focusing on the role of the media in public life, unfunded mandates from the government, and spoiled brats. | |||
| New Year's Special: The Strangest Year Ever and Hesitant Optimism for 2025 | 03 Jan 2025 | 00:15:52 | |
Hear our thoughts on 2024 in review and what we see coming up in 2025! In this special episode taken from our S10 E6 recording, we recap what we think changed in 2024, the strangeness of the election cycle, and our mix of positive and negative predictions for 2025! | |||
| S10 E5: Economics, Part 2 - Minimum Wage, Statistics, and Morality | 24 Dec 2024 | 00:49:13 | |
Join us as we conclude our discussion on Thomas Sowell's thoughts on economics, covering topics such as income disparity, the minimum wage, misuse of statistics, and more! We also discuss Walmart self checkout lanes and the holiday blues! | |||
| S10 E4: Economics, Part 1 - Crime, Unions, and Recycling | 18 Dec 2024 | 00:57:19 | |
Where does all of our recycling go? To the dump! Join us as we discuss the myths of recycling, the rationale behind organized crime, the illusion of social security, the ill effects of "affordability" measures, and much more! We also discuss many anecdotes, from funny t-shirts to experiences with criminals! | |||
| S10 E3: Social Issues, Part 3 - Culture Wars, "Equality", Baseball, and More | 11 Dec 2024 | 00:41:01 | |
In keeping with our timely opinions, we think that Thomas Sowell is the bee's knees! Join us as we finish discussing his writings on social issues, covering the true purpose of the culture war, the meaninglessness of "equality," the lack of discipline in modern society, and much more! We also give some excellent tips on what to do if you find yourself in the wrong restroom! | |||
| S10 E2: Social Issues, Part 2 - Revisionism, Autism, and White People | 04 Dec 2024 | 01:10:28 | |
Join us for another wide-ranging conversation on Thomas Sowell's thoughts on social issues! In this rant-laden episode, we discuss the overdiagnosis of autism, the problems with viewing history by our own standards, and the racist practice of dismissing the achievements of white people. We also share many of our anecdotes, such as a trip to France and problems with modern media! | |||
| S10 E1: Social Issues, Part 1 - Education, Family, and More | 19 Nov 2024 | 01:11:41 | |
A new season, a new book! Join us as we start discussing The Thomas Sowell Reader, covering social issues ranging from America's warped education system, the loss of the traditional family, the impact of poverty, and more! We also recap the 2024 election, comparing the results to our predictions and what we see in the coming second Trump presidency! | |||
| S9 E15: Season Finale - Destiny - Political and Religious | 05 Nov 2024 | 01:15:05 | |
According to Orestes Brownson, America is truly a Catholic country! Join us as we discuss the final chapter of The American Republic: Its Constitution, Tendencies, and Destiny, as we break down Brownson's vision of the future of the United States. We discuss the importance of religion, a far-reaching form of manifest destiny, and our own thoughts on the future of our nation. We also offer our much-sought-after opinions on the 2024 Presidential Election! | |||
| S9 E14: Political Tendencies | 29 Oct 2024 | 01:06:13 | |
How do we manage the battle between rampant individualism and all-consuming socialism, two ideologies rooted in pure humanism? Orestes Brownson's answer: Catholicism! Join as we discuss Brownson's views of the political future of the United States, and how we need to fight for a future based on eternal truth. | |||
| S9 E13: Reconstruction | 22 Oct 2024 | 00:54:41 | |
Should we continue to punish the South, or readmit them as full citizens of the United States? Join us for Orestes Brownson's great answer to this question, and some less than great answers to some other questions! We discuss his view of the contradictions between the Executive and the Supreme Court in the handling of the Supreme Court, what actually happened when the States seceded, and what we should do moving forward. | |||
| S9 E12: Secession | 15 Oct 2024 | 00:48:33 | |
In perhaps the most convoluted chapter of Orestes Brownson's The American Republic, we discuss secession, and how that relates to modern American politics. We discuss why secession does not make a state an independent sovereign, and instead is the state giving up its existence as a state and becoming a territory once more. We also discuss abortion, immigration, and much more! | |||
| S9 E11: Constitution of the United States, Continued | 08 Oct 2024 | 00:49:51 | |
How does the government of the United States actually function, and how does it relate to Orestes Brownson's idea of a providential constitution? We discuss this and more as we continue our discussion of the constitutions of the United States of America, including our first place where we fully disagree with Brownson! | |||
| S9 E10: Constitution of the United States | 01 Oct 2024 | 00:32:51 | |
Are we finally starting to disagree with something Orestes Brownson has said? Find out as we discuss how Brownson applies his theories of the two constitutions to the American Founding, and whether or not the Constitution created the American people, or if the American people existed long beforehand. | |||
| S9 E9: The United States | 24 Sep 2024 | 00:43:26 | |
The United States: one sovereign people, or really fifty different sovereigns in a trench coat? Find out as we discuss Orestes Brownson's description of America, eventually concluding that the American people were one unified whole long before 1787. We also discuss many other vitally important topics, such as where college students should vote and how long the ideal nap length is. | |||
| S9 E8: Constitution of Government, Concluded | 17 Sep 2024 | 00:38:31 | |
Who really is the sovereign, and why is their job to promote the common good of the people of the nation? Find out as we conclude our discussion of the two constitutions of a nation, how the history of Rome reflects this idea, and when the overthrow of a ruler may be warranted! | |||
| S9 E7: Constitution of Government | 11 Sep 2024 | 00:32:57 | |
Is there a difference between the constitution of the people and the constitution of their government? How are those two constitutions related, and what is the role of God in their development? What about societies with terrible morals? Find out the answers to these questions and more! | |||
| S9 E6: Origin of Government, Concluded | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:52:57 | |
In this episode, we finally end our discussion of Orestes Brownson's description of where authority comes from! We talk about why the spiritual authority does not grant temporal authority to kings, and how authority really has divine origins as expressed mediately through the people! We also look at how these ideas reflect our society today, and whether the American Revolution is really moral in a Christian context. | |||
| S9 E5: Origin of Government, Continued (Again) | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:54:36 | |
Is sovereignty really held by the people themselves, acting as the voice of God? Or is government just a natural evolutionary development? Or does God supernaturally give certain people the divine right to rule? Orestes Brownson says no to all three! Hear our thoughts on his refutations of these theories, as well as some lengthy rants in this episode of Unlimited Opinions! | |||
| S9 E4: Origin of Government, Continued | 13 Aug 2024 | 00:50:30 | |
In this episode, we examine all of the reasons why Orestes Brownson believes that social compact theory is not a good explanation for the origin of government! By the end of this episode, we're pretty convinced that he's right! We break down the issues with the theory, including the nature of man, eminent domain, and the logical conclusions of the idea, and how these all fit into Brownson's theory of government. | |||
| S9 E3: Origin of Government | 06 Aug 2024 | 00:43:15 | |
In this episode, we break down how Orestes Brownson views the authority of the state as coming from proprietorship of territory, rather than from the private rights of individuals. We also discuss what makes a society barbaric, how a republic should promote the common good, and why we need to bring back manifest destiny! | |||
| S9 E2: Government | 30 Jul 2024 | 00:33:19 | |
Is loyalty one of the highest virtues? Is politics really founded on communion with God? Are libertarians really about liberty, or just licentiousness? Orestes Brownson has the answers to all these questions and more in his description of the nature of government! We discuss his description, beginning with the three ways man communes with God (religion, society, and property), through the idea of politics as a branch of ethics, and the importance of loyalty to proper government! We also discuss all the goods and evils in dealing with municipal government! | |||
| S9 E1: Introduction to Orestes Brownson's "The American Republic" | 27 Jul 2024 | 00:46:30 | |
A new season, with a more optimistic topic! For this season, we'll be reading Orestes Brownson's 1865 work The American Republic: Its Constitution, Tendencies, and Destinies. In this book, Brownson, a former socialist and Catholic convert, discusses what the nature of America really is and what it should be, as guided by providence and the truth. Brownson's words are especially prescient in this time, and even in our first discussion of his preface and introduction, we see his desire for the truth and humility everywhere. | |||
| S8 E14: Season Finale - Who's Right? And How Can You Tell? | 09 Jul 2024 | 00:47:38 | |
Good riddance to George Lakoff's Moral Politics! In this season finale, we discuss the last section of Lakoff's book, in which he lays out his reasons for being a liberal. His reasons are of course based on his book-long characterization of conservatives as being stupid, crazy, and evil, so his stance is not exactly one we agree with. We also discuss what pieces of value we gained from reading this book and lessons for the future as we move on to Season 9! | |||
| S8 E13: How Can You Love Your Country and Hate Your Government? | 02 Jul 2024 | 00:37:47 | |
This guy doesn't even know about federalism! Join us as we discuss George Lakoff's magnificent discussion on how he is confused by the concept of federalism, and how he divides up other varieties of liberals and conservatives. We also discuss how Lakoff fundamentally refutes his entire book, insinuates that conservatives are one step away from being violent extremists, and doesn't seem to know much of anything at all. We also diss libertarians and talk about all of the problems with the modern Classics field! | |||
| S8 E12: Two Models of Christianity and Abortion | 25 Jun 2024 | 00:43:25 | |
At this point, our criticisms of Lakoff have even started boring even us, so in this episode, we use his brief (and incorrect) descriptions of liberal and conservative approaches to Christianity and abortion as jumping-off points for our own ideas. We discuss the necessity of a hierarchy within religion (such as in Catholicism), why separation of church and state does not mean what most people think it does, the importance of religious elected officials, and much more! | |||
| S8 E11: Regulation, the Environment, and the Culture Wars | 18 Jun 2024 | 00:43:25 | |
Is this our angriest episode yet? Possibly! Join us as we discuss George Lakoff's thoughts on some of the most controversial topics: affirmative action, gay rights, education, the environment, and much more! As always, we point out the issues with an overly simplistic description of the conservative point of view and try to describe the much deeper ideals behind conservative thought. By this point, we're pretty fed up with George Lakoff and are committing to a new goal: MLGA - Make Linguistics Great Again! | |||
| S8 E10: Crime and the Death Penalty | 11 Jun 2024 | 00:55:19 | |
As we all know, conservatives simply view the legal system in a very simple formula: more punishment = more good. Conservatives are certainly not concerned with a millenia-old theological, philosophical, legal, and moral tradition that argues for the responsibility of an individual's free will or anything like that. Join us as we discuss George Lakoff's theories on how conservatives and liberals view crime, covering topics such as the death penalty, societal factors, and nature vs. nurture. | |||
| S8 E9: Social Programs and Taxes | 04 Jun 2024 | 00:48:02 | |
Ignoring his horrible takes on conservatism, George Lakoff actually does a decent job of explaining the liberal worldview on social programs and taxes. Maybe this shouldn't be surprising - he definitely agrees with the liberals on everything. Join us as we discuss his analysis of liberal and conservative approaches to economic and social problems, ranging from immigration to military spending to charitable organizations! | |||
| S8 E8: Moral Categories in Politics | 28 May 2024 | 00:51:32 | |
George Lakoff is right about one thing: conservatives do not like Hillary Clinton. In this episode, we look at Lakoff's descriptions of how liberals and conservatives categorize the ideal and worst citizens. Do conservatives really just care about upholding the current authority? Are liberals the only ones who believe in virtues? Lakoff seems to think so, and we criticize him heavily! | |||
| S8 E7: A New Understanding of American Politics | 21 May 2024 | 00:49:55 | |
In this episode, we actually give Lakoff some credit! He is embarking on a good project: analyzing liberal and conservative speech into a cohesive cognitive worldview. Unfortunately, he still can't seem to understand conservatives. We look at his descriptions of how liberals misunderstand conservatives (and his simplistic counters to those misunderstandings), how conservatives misunderstand conservatives, and how exactly he plans to create his model. | |||
| S8 E6: Nurturant Parent Morality | 14 May 2024 | 00:56:29 | |
Despite not really understanding morality, Lakoff does accurately describe the views of the nurturant parent! Join us as we discuss his description of this moral system that believes that people who need help should be treated like children, that promoting your self-interest is a moral good, and sensuality is a virtue! We discuss what we think is wrong (and very briefly what is right) about this moral system and how Lakoff describes it somewhat effectively! | |||
| S8 E5: Strict Father Morality | 07 May 2024 | 00:59:38 | |
Does George Lakoff understand nothing about conservative morality? Maybe! Join us as we discuss his idea of Strict Father Morality, a system that he thinks conservatives believe in, with respect only for authority and strict punishments for those who do wrong. Somehow, Lakoff misses the fact that conservatives tend to believe in an objective morality that exists beyond worldly authority, but that does not stop him from professing his ideas, nor does it stop us from heavily criticizing this chapter of Moral Politics! | |||
| S8 E4: Experiential Morality and Keeping the Moral Books | 30 Apr 2024 | 01:05:02 | |
Which came first? Foundational moral thinking or metaphors that we use to express those foundations? George Lakoff seems to think the language came first! Join us as we try to figure out Lakoff's chicken-or-the-egg moral system as he outlines the metaphor of accounting and how morality is viewed as a system of transactions. Are we all really just trying to reach net zero in our moral obligations, or is there something much deeper to morality? | |||
| S8 E3: The Worldview Problem for American Politics | 23 Apr 2024 | 01:01:43 | |
Our very first episode with a live studio audience! Join us as we discuss what linguist George Lakoff views as the worldviews of liberals and conservatives. In this episode, we examine what Lakoff thinks confuses liberals about conservative views (while also just attempting to refute the conservative opinion), the different words that people on the right and left use, and what he sees as the goal for studying these worldviews. Despite his accurate assessment of what each worldview is, we find a lot to criticize in this chapter, and go on many, many tangents! | |||
| S8 E2: The Mind and Politics | 16 Apr 2024 | 01:19:48 | |
In this episode, we discuss George Lakoff's completely analytical, opinion-free, 100% objective explanation of what he views as the role of cognitive linguists in examining liberal and conservative worldviews. We discuss whether or not unconscious thoughts truly exist, the importance of categories, and Lakoff's ever-present idea of conservatives being a mysterious "gorilla in the mist!" We also discuss what he gets severely wrong about the relation of political opinions to moral philosophy, and why your moral beliefs truly matter in political conversation. | |||
| S8 E1: Preface to George Lakoff's "Moral Politics" | 09 Apr 2024 | 00:56:00 | |
In this first episode of Season 8, we look at the preface to our new book: George Lakoff's Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, which examines the different linguistic metaphors that liberals and conservatives use to shape their worldview. We discuss Lakoff's plan for the book, how he draws his conclusions, and the immense amount of biases that he presents just in the introduction. We also go on many rants, including one about an Easter egg hunt that is spurred by the acknowledgements! | |||
| S7 E11: Season Finale - The Cause and Cure of Relativism | 19 Mar 2024 | 00:54:06 | |
Is the sexual revolution the true cause of moral relativism, or are the two intertwined? In this final episode covering Peter Kreeft's A Refutation of Moral Relativism, we look at some of the biggest cultural issues in the world today, particularly contraception, abortion, and divorce. We also take a retrospective look at the book as a whole, discussing what we admire about Kreeft's writing, how ahead of his time he was, and our own predictions for the fruits of relativism going forward! | |||
| S7 E10: The Philosophical Assumptions of Absolutism | 12 Mar 2024 | 00:52:54 | |
We were always destined to publish this episode, at least according to the crazy determinists! In this episode, we discuss the philosophical assumptions that one must make in order to be an absolutist, particularly regarding metaphysics and epistemology. We look at flawed theories such as nominalism, determinism, materialism, and more, all while we go on endless tangents! | |||
| S7 E9: The Arguments for Moral Absolutism | 05 Mar 2024 | 00:52:22 | |
Do you want to hear our thoughts on Bryan Fiel's 1990 play Dancing at Lughnasa, a story of five sisters in 1936 Ireland? Do you want to hear our thoughts on the arguments in favor of moral absolutism? Luckily for you, we have those exact things in this episode! Join us as we discuss how language proves absolutism correct, the poor track record of relativism, and how relativists only extend tolerance to those that they like. We also go on many tangents, including one about a long-held legal precedent: if a man puts something down his pants, he intends to keep it. | |||
| S7 E8: The Roots of Relativism: Reductionism | 27 Feb 2024 | 00:38:41 | |
What does hemlock taste like, and if drank in a small enough dose, can we find out? This important question and much more is discussed in this episode of Unlimited Opinions, as we examine where the philosophy of relativism came from. We talk about how reductionism has led to a complete lack of acceptance of anything beyond the physical world and how this has impacted morality, and especially how this has impacted education. We also talk about how reductionism refutes itself and how it just makes someone miserable! | |||
| S7 E7: The Arguments from Situations, Intentions, Projection, and Evolution | 20 Feb 2024 | 00:41:46 | |
Do good intentions make acts good, or do we need something more? Did we simply evolve morality as a beneficial social system? Are relativists really just the most judgmental people of all time? Find out as we continue discussing Peter Kreeft's A Refutation of Moral Relativism, examining even more common arguments for moral relativism and how easily they are refuted! | |||
| S7 E6: The Arguments for Relativism from Social Conditioning, Freedom, and Tolerance | 15 Feb 2024 | 00:46:19 | |
Does Jesus just get us, or does he call us to something more? Is He really all about tolerance, or is there an objective truth beyond that? Join us as we discuss how our values aren't just ingrained in us by society, why absolutists promote freedom more than relativists, and how those proclaiming that everyone needs to be tolerant really aren't tolerant at all! We also puzzle over how someone can be caught plagiarizing something in a field that is entirely subjective! | |||
| S7 E5: The Argument for Relativism from Self-Esteem and from Cultural Relativity | 06 Feb 2024 | 00:35:53 | |
"Be better:" the new horrible slogan for Unlimited Opinions! In this episode, we look at Peter Kreeft's answer to one of the most difficult objections to moral absolutism: if there are absolute moral truths, why have there been cultures with wildly different moral norms? We examine his answer of this argument asserting its own conclusion as part of its evidence, how different societies may not have as different of moral codes as people think, and why using your own feelings to determine morality is a bad idea. | |||
| S7 E4: The Data | 30 Jan 2024 | 00:54:46 | |
Does the existence of a moral conscience prove moral absolutism right? This is the question on the table as we continue reading Peter Kreeft's A Refutation of Moral Relativism. We discuss the four sources of data for moral absolutism (our conscience, our interpersonal understandings, our language, and human history) to see if they back up the difficult position of the absolutist! We also talk about the issues with modern psychologists and go on a very long tangent about the nature of the death penalty! | |||
| S7 E3: The History of Relativism | 23 Jan 2024 | 01:12:50 | |
Introducing our new product: Unlimited Opinions Deconstructed Peanut Butter!* Join us as we look at the history of relativism according to Peter Kreeft, beginning with the devil in the Garden of Eden, the rise of nominalism, and the eventual prominence of complete Deconstruction. We also talk much about how language shows us the truth, the ill effects of relativism in the modern day, and the importance of humor. | |||
| S7 E2: What Is Moral Relativism? | 16 Jan 2024 | 00:48:16 | |
In this episode, we find a new favorite feature of the podcast: relative buzzing! We also continue looking at Peter Kreeft's conversation between an absolutist and relativist, this time examining how exactly to define moral relativism, separating it out from metaphysical, epistemological, and religious relativism. We also discuss how we're facing a new, dangerous form of epistemological relativism that says that people really can't know anything about someone else, and how this is seen in the world today. And as always, we go on several side tangents, including about the "one-shirt" murderer and Apocalypse Now! | |||