This episode tackles one of the most controversial topics of the day (really, most days over the last several decades): Israel/Palestine. Craig White, a former diplomat and the author of Iraq: The Moral Reckoning, and Mark Oppenheimer of Brain

Is it Ok to Own a Gun?

Feb 24th, 2024 1h 14m

Ryan W. Davis, a philosophy professor at Brigham Young University, joins Spencer Case to discuss the ethics and politics of gun ownership in the US. Check out his new book, Why it's OK to Own a Gun (Routledge, 2024).

Thinking about Death, Part 1

Jan 25th, 2024 1h 32m

What is death? Does fear of death affect our everyday lives? And will your death harm you or not? Travis Timmerman, associate professor at Seton Hall University, joins Spencer to discuss these and other questions. Timmerman is coeditor, along w

Rant-a-Thon 2023

Dec 20th, 2023 2h 14m

It's the end of the year again and time to rant! This year's collection of rants includes:Jarrod Blair on bad habits that crush the philosophical spiritMatthew Adelstein on the stupidity and depravity of Effective Altruism criticsMatt Lutz on p

Political Beliefs (with Oliver Traldi)

Nov 19th, 2023 1h 9m

Oliver Traldi rejoins Spencer Case to discuss the nature of political beliefs. Topics they cover include the bad incentives that influence political beliefs, how political beliefs should be defined, and the need for (and possibility of) politic

Discriminating for the Greater Good Part 2: Law and Affirmative Action

Oct 30th, 2023 1h 30m

His Offensiveness Stephen Kershnar returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the philosophy of law. This leads to a discussion of the Students For Fair Admissions (SFFA) Supreme Court Case. Music: "Sweet, Man" by Jeremy Mohne

Trust and the liberal order

Sep 29th, 2023 1h 11m

Kevin Vallier joins Spencer Case to talk about social trust and the role it plays in the psychological and moral foundations of liberal societies.

Gender, Pronouns and Linguistic Negotiation

Aug 7th, 2023 1h 20m

Alex Byrne discusses the controversy around his article on pronouns in the Journal of Controversial Ideas. Byrne and Matt Lutz debate the meaning of the word 'woman.' Alex's view is that women are adult human females, whereas Matt thinks that

American Patriotism

Jul 1st, 2023 1h 23m

Commentator Charles "Concealed Weapon" Cooke joins Spencer to discuss American identity and patriotism.

Wokeness in Science: Critiquing a critique

Jun 9th, 2023 1h 14m

MIT philosophy professor Alex Byrne and podcast regular Matt Lutz join Spencer to discuss an article that recently appeared in the Journal of Controversial Ideas entitled "A Defense of Merit in Science." The article, which was written by 27 co-

Thought experiments (Special Brain in a Vat co-production)

May 21st, 2023 1h 15m

Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff of Brain in a Vat join Spencer to discuss one of their favorite subjects: thought experiments.

Sikh Metaphysics and Ethics

Apr 21st, 2023 1h 11m

Keshav Singh joins Spencer to discuss Sikh religion and philosophy. ("Sikh" is pronounced with the short 'i' sound, and not like "seek"). They cover they history and basic tenets of the Sikh faith, its idea of divinity, and the Sikh idea that

Creating Future People

Mar 30th, 2023 1h 37m

Johnny the Anomaly joins Spencer Case to argue that the potential benefits of genetic enhancement outweigh the risks (Spencer is skeptical).The electronic version of Anomaly's book, Creating Future People: The Ethics of Genetic Enhancement can

Unreasonable Doubt: Rejecting Skepticism

Feb 25th, 2023 1h 33m

Mike Huemer joins Spencer Case for a wide-ranging discussion about epistemology. Mike argues that you should trust the experts rather than relying on your own "critical thinking"; Spencer's not so sure. They also discuss two strategies for rej

The Dark Side of Technology, Part 2

Jan 28th, 2023 1h 10m

Ryan Jenkins, professor of philosophy at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, rejoins Spencer for the first time since the inaugural episode of Micro-Digressions to resume the conversation about how technology can make our lives worse. The topics discusse

Rant-a-thon spectacular (2022)

Dec 25th, 2022 1h 35m

Featuring: Mark Oppenheimer and Jason Werbeloff from the Brain in the Vat podcast ranting against each other, Perry Hendericks on biased refereeing, Bob Pasnau on contemporary philosophy versus history of philosophy, Matt Lutz on probability

Black Friday Special episode: Famine, Affluence and Morality, Part 2

Dec 9th, 2022 1h 8m

Jim Skidmore joins Spencer to continue the discussion of Singer's argument in "Famine, Affluence, and Morality."

Black Friday Special episode: Famine, Affluence and Morality, Part 1

Dec 1st, 2022 1h 12m

The first of a two-part series on Peter Singer's famous argument that we must give our expendable income to highly effective charities. This episode features guest Travis Timmerman of Seton Hall University. (Note: Jim Skidmore participated in

Realism, idealism, and the War in Ukraine

Oct 27th, 2022 1h 53m

Philippe Lemoine returns to Micro-Digressions to talk about the difference between realism and idealism in foreign policy thinking, and why he thinks excessive idealism led to the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war.

Self-Contempt and the Decline of Civilizations

Sep 17th, 2022 1h 17m

Benedict Beckeld joins Spencer Case to talk about his new book Western Self-Contempt: Oikophobia in the Decline of Civilizations. They discuss the phenomenon of oikophobia, which is roughly contempt for one's home country or culture, the declin

Parenting and Philosophy

Aug 21st, 2022 1h 20m

Big news: Spencer is a father! Jessica Flanigan, mother of four and philosopher, is this episode's guest. The topics they cover include: what are babies' minds like? Do we have good reasons to become parents (or to avoid becoming parents)? Do w

Is everything becoming political? (Remastered)

Aug 3rd, 2022 1h 4m

This first recorded episode of Micro-Digressions has been re-edited for improved sound quality and flow. Justin Kalef and Spencer Case discuss their worries about hyper-politicization, and together develop a case that society requires political

Let's talk about Socialism

Jul 18th, 2022 1h 43m

Ben Burgis joins Spencer to discuss G.A. Cohen's defense of socialism, and objections to it. They also discuss the difference between Marxism and utopian socialism, different conceptions of political freedom, and other topics.

The University Disaster

Jun 11th, 2022 1h 26m

Jason Brennan joins Spencer to discuss the many problems that afflict the university as an institution, all of which stem from bad incentives. They also discuss the psychology of extremism and bad faith engagement. This intro and outro music is

SPECIAL EPISODE: Moral Experts

May 19th, 2022 1h 51m

This episode is a companion to the recent moral experts roundtable article in Quillette. Oliver Traldi rejoins Spencer, along with first-time guests Bo Winegard and Geoffrey Miller, to discuss the philosophical and social problems of moral exp