Episodes of my podcast, Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot (feed, iTunes).
This podcast aims, as philosopher Tim O’Connor approvingly noted, to “take philosophy to the street, illustrating how conversation… can be carried out in a careful, civil, and constructive way by people who disagree.”
Quick guest list, alphabetical:
P. Almond, H. Avalos, E. Baldwin, L. Barnes, D. Basinger, S. Batchelor, N. Beckstead, M. Bishop, M. Brass, A. Buckareff, J. Caputo, R. Carrier (2), R. Chang, A. Chignell, T. Clark, R. Crisp, G. Dawes, J. Doris, T. Edis, E. Fales, S. Finlay, A. Fyfe (2), G. Ganssle, J. Gericke (2), J. Graham, R. Gressis, C. Hallquist, R. Hanson, B. Hayden, M. Jordan, S. Law, M. Licona, D. Loeb, J. Loftus, N. Manson, J. McGrath, L. McGrew, D. McNaughton, Z. Moore (2), S. Maitzen, R. Mallon, T. Mawson, S. McDowell, M. McCormick, A. Melnyk, R. Miller, W. Morriston, L. Muehlhauser (2) (3), N. Nobis, T. O’Connor, G. Oppy, R. Otte, A. Paramore, J. Pierce, M. Pigliucci, S. Porter, R. Price (2) (3), J. Prinz, K. Pulliam, D. Ray, E. Reitan, P. Rollins, R. Russell, T. Schroeder, E. Schwitzgebel, S. Sehon, J. Sennett, J. Shook (2), N. Sinhababu, T. Ord, J. Spiegel, M. van Steenwyk, E. Steinhart, E. Tabash, V. Tiberius, K. Timpe, N. Trakakis, R. Trigg, K. Talmont-Kaminski, J. Weyer, E. Wielenberg, T. Wunder, L. Young, E. Yudkowsky.
Fan favorite
090. “Dealing with Moral Uncertainty” (December 2011) [transcript]
Guest Toby Ord: moral philosopher at Oxford University.
089. “Dewey, Quine, and Some Varieties of Naturalism“ (September 2011) [transcript]
Guest John Shook: philosopher with Center For Inquiry Transnational
088. “Becoming a Rationalist” (February 2011) [transcript]
Guest Eliezer Yudkowsky: artificial intelligence researcher
087. “Morality and Global Catastrophic Risks” (January 2011)
Guest Nick Beckstead: philosophy grad student
086. “The Role of Atheism in Christianity” (January 2011)
Guest Pete Rollins: theologian
085. “The Neuroscience of Free Will” (January 2011) [transcript]
Guest Marcel Brass: experimental psychologist at Ghent University
084. “Engaging Religion in Politics and Debate” (January 2011)
Guest Eddie Tabash: lawyer and atheist activist
083. “Historical Method and Jesus of Nazareth” (January 2011) [transcript]
Guest Richard Carrier: historian
082. “The Unreliability of Naive Introspection” (December 2010)
Guest Eric Schwitzgebel: philosopher at University of California, Riverside
081. “The Humean Theory of Motivation” (December 2010) [transcript]
Guest Neil Sinhababu: philosopher at National University of Singapore
080. “Christian Theism vs. Naturalism” (November 2010) [transcript]
Guest Robert Gressis: philosopher at CSU Northridge
079. “The Crisis of Biblical Authority” (November 2010)
Guest Robert Price: Bible scholar
078. “How to Change Someone’s Moral Judgments with Magnets” (November 2010)
Guest Liane Young: cognitive scientist at Boston College
077. “Wisdom and Well-Being” (November 2010) [transcript]
Guest Valerie Tiberius: philosopher at University of Minnesota
076. “Secular Buddhism” (October 2010)
Guest Stephen Batchelor: author
075. “L. Ron Hubbard Was a Fraud” (October 2010)
Guest Russell Miller: journalist
074. “An Epistemology for James Randi” (October 2010) [transcript]
Guest Michael Bishop: philosopher at Florida State University
073. “An Atheist Runs for U.S. Congress” (October 2010)
Guest Wynne LeGrow: doctor and political candidate
072. “Why Plantinga’s Reformed Epistemology Fails” (October 2010) [transcript]
Guest Tyler Wunder: independent philosopher
071. “The Probability of Christianity” (October 2010) [transcript]
Guest Lydia McGrew: independent philosopher
070. “Experimental Ethics” (October 2010) [transcript]
Guest Ron Mallon: philosopher at University of Utah
069. “Moral Realism and Animals” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest Nathan Nobis: philosopher at Morehouse College
068. “A Defense of Theistic Ethics” (September 2010)
Guest Matt Jordan: philosopher at Auburn College, Montgomery
067. “Overcoming Bias” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest Robin Hanson: economist at George Mason University.
066. “Debating the Ethics of Belief” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest Andrew Chignell: philosopher at Cornell University.
065. “Postmodernism and Religion” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest John D. Caputo: philosopher at Syracuse University.
064. “How to Build Atheist Communities” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest Zachary Moore: medical writer
063. “Does Moral Character Exist?” (September 2010) [transcript]
Guest John Doris: philosopher at Washington University in St. Louis
062. “Dawkins and Theism” (August 2010) [transcript]
Guest Eric Steinhart: philosopher at William Patterson University
061. “Why God is a Terrible Explanation for Anything” (August 2010) [transcript]
Guest Paul Almond: independent author
060. “The Evil God Challenge” (August 2010)
Guest Stephen Law: philosopher at the University of London
059. “A Humble Physicalism” (August 2010)
Guest Andrew Melnyk: philosopher at the University of Missouri
058. “Fundamentalism on Stilts” (August 2010)
Guest Jaco Gericke: Bible scholar at Northwest University, South Africa.
057. “Desire and Morality” (July 2010)
Guest Tim Schroeder: philosopher at Ohio State University.
056. “Emotions and Moral Judgment” (July 2010)
Guest Jesse Prinz: philosopher at City University of New York.
055. “The Limits of Science” (July 2010)
Guest Massimo Pigliucci: philosopher at City University of New York.
B03. “Luke on Euthyphro, Ignosticism, and More” (July 2010)
I respond to questions about the Euthyphro Dilemma, ignosticism, and more.
054. “The Case Against the Case for Christ” (July 2010)
Guest Robert Price: Bible scholar.
053. “Naturalism as a Positive Worldview” (July 2010)
Guest Tom Clark: evangelist for naturalism.
052. “In Defense of Atonement” (July 2010)
Guest Steve Porter: philosopher at BIOLA University.
051. “The Design Argument” (June 2010)
Guest Neil Manson: philosopher at University of Mississippi.
050. “Miracles and Open Theism” (June 2010)
Guest David Basinger: philosopher at Roberts Wesleyan College.
049. “The Morality of Liberals and Conservatives” (June 2010)
Guest Jesse Graham: psychologist at University of California, San Diego.
048. “Naturalism and Supernaturalism” (June 2010)
Guest Konrad Talmont-Kaminski: philosopher at Marie-Curie Sklodowska University.
047. “The God Virus” (June 2010)
Guest Darrel Ray: psychologist.
046. “The Golden Rule and Historical Method” (June 2010)
Guest James McGrath: Bible scholar at Butler University.
045. “Is Christianity Responsible for Science?” (June 2010)
Guest Richard Carrier: historian and philosopher.
044. “The New Atheism” (June 2010)
Guest Greg Ganssle: philosopher at Yale University.
043. “A Fine-Tuned Universe” (May 2010)
Guest Tim Mawson: philosopher at Oxford University.
B02. “Luke Answers More Questions” (May 2010)
I respond to more questions from listeners.
042. “Christian Apologetics” (May 2010)
Guest Sean McDowell: Christian apologist and author.
041. Philosophy of Ancient Israelite Religion (May 2010)
Guest Jaco Gericke: Bible scholar at Northwest University, South Africa.
040. 11 Responses to Fine-Tuning (May 2010)
Guest Luke Barnes: astronomer.
039. Atheists and Believers Working Together (May 2010)
Guests Ashley Paramore and Jonathan Weyer.
038. Science and Nonbelief (May 2010)
Guest Taner Edis: physicist at Truman State University.
037. The Christian Delusion (Apr 2010)
Guest John Loftus: atheist author.
036. The Problem with “God is Mysterious” (Apr 2010)
Guest Scott Sehon: philosopher at Bowdoin College.
035. Theism and Ultimate Explanation (Apr 2010)
Guest Timothy O’Connor: philosopher at Indiana State University.
034. How to Study the Historical Jesus (Apr 2010)
Guest Robert Price: atheist theologian and Historical Jesus scholar.
033. Evolution 101 (Apr 2010)
Guest Zachary Moore: medical writer.
Bonus 01. Luke Answers Your Questions (Apr 2010)
I respond to questions from listeners.
032. Christianity and Pseudoscience (Mar 2010)
Guest Chris Hallquist: philosophy postgrad at the University of Notre Dame.
031. Is the Bible Divinely Inspired? (Mar 2010)
Guest Thomas Crisp: philosopher at Biola University.
030. Divine Command Morality (Mar 2010)
Guest David McNaughton: philosopher at Florida State University
029. Non-Natural Moral Realism (Mar 2010) [transcript]
Guest Erik Wielenberg: philosopher at DePauw University
028. Christianity Beyond Fundamentalism (Mar 2010)
Guest Eric Reitan: philosopher and theologian at Oklahoma State University
027. Encouragement to Doubting Christians (Mar 2010)
Guest Ken Pulliam: former Christian professor and apologist
026. Naturalism, Humanism, and Democracy (Mar 2010)
Guest John Shook: philosopher with Center For Inquiry Transnational
025. Can Theism Ground Morality? (Mar 2010) [transcript]
Guest Stephen Maitzen: philosopher at Acadia University
024. The End of Biblical Studies (Mar 2010)
Guest Hector Avalos: Biblical scholar at Iowa State University.
023. How Immorality Leads to Atheism (Feb 2010)
Guest James Spiegel: philosopher of religion at Taylor University.
022. Religion in the Public Square (Feb 2010)
Guest Roger Trigg: philosopher at Oxford University.
021. What is Morality? (Feb 2010)
Guest Ruth Chang: philosopher at Rutgers University.
020. The Renaissance of Christian Philosophy (Feb 2010)
Guest James Sennett: philosopher at Brenau University.
019. God and Free Will (Feb 2010)
Guest Kevin Timpe: philosopher at Northwest Nazarene University.
018. Plantinga and Pluralism (Feb 2010)
Guest Erik Baldwin: philosophy postgrad at Purdue University.
017. Theism and Double Standards (Feb 2010)
Guest Matt McCormick: philosopher at California State University.
016. Belief, Acceptance, and Panentheism (Feb 2010)
Guest Andrei Buckareff: philosopher at Marist College.
015. God, Genocide, Craig, and Infinity (Jan 2010)
Guest Wes Morriston: philosopher at University of Colorado, Boulder.
014. Prehistoric Religion (Jan 2010)
Guest Brian Hayden: archaeologist at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby.
013. Evil and Miracles (Jan 2010)
Guest Richard Otte: philosopher at University of California, Santa Cruz.
012. The End of Philosophy of Religion (Jan 2010)
Guest Nick Trakakis: philosopher at Monash University.
011. Contemporary Atheism (Dec 2009)
Guest Graham Oppy: philosopher at Monash University.
010. Animal Morality (Nov 2009)
Guest Jessica Pierce: independent moral philosopher.
009. Moral Irrealism (Oct 2009)
Guest Don Loeb: philosopher at the University of Vermont.
008. The Error in the Error Theory (Oct 2009)
Guest Stephen Finlay: philosopher at University of Southern California.
007. Theism and Explanation (May 2009)
Guest Gregory Dawes: Bible scholar and philosopher at University of Otago.
006. Reformed Epistemology (Apr 2009)
Guest Evan Fales: philosopher at the University of Iowa.
005. Desire Utilitarianism (Apr 2009)
Guest Alonzo Fyfe: independent moral philosopher.
004. Missional Christianity (Feb 2009)
Guest Mark van Steenwyk: a leader in the American neomonastic missional Christianity movement.
003. Morality without God (Jan 2009)
Guest Alonzo Fyfe: independent moral philosopher.
002. Debating the Resurrection (Jan 2009)
Guest Mike Licona: Christian apologist and New Testament historian.
001. God and Physics (Jan 2009)
Guest Robert Russell: physicist, minister, founder of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences.
Previous post: CPBD 007: Gregory Dawes – Theism and Explanation
Next post: A Letter to Dr. Laura
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Cool. Downloading.
Ben(Quote)
These are awesome so far, dude. This is more depth and better interviews than I’ve listened to anywhere else on these topics. I appreciate your dedication. You have a good open speaking voice, solid questions, relevant guests, decent music, and I like the foreshadowing quote you drop in the beginning. Only complaint is the sound quality is a little off, but I imagine you will find ways to improve that since you are always tinkering with your site.
Keep it up. I hope I’m not your only subscriber. :D Not everyone wants to know just how much Reformed Epistemology royally begs the question in myopic ways that fall by basically the exact same criticisms of every religious formulation that came before. Oh well. I’m still working on the Mike Licona one. Astounding. I don’t know what keeps that guy believing, but at some level I gotta respect the journey.
Ben
Ben(Quote)
Ben,
Thanks. Yes, I’m constantly working on my interview skills and the sound quality. :)
lukeprog(Quote)
Hey Luke – I miss your podcast; are you taking a break for a while?
Karl(Quote)
Thanks, Karl. Working to schedule with a particular guest right now, actually.
lukeprog(Quote)
The content of your podcasts is so good that the ‘cellphone/AM radio quality’ is completely sufficient for my ears. :)
Recording a cellphone or Skype conversation on the receiving end lowers quality over transmission; usually, this can’t be avoided unless both guests are in the room/studio together or they arrange a remote recording situation. Recording with better tools will improve quality (at a price- consider: laptop mic, headset mic, SM58, Neumann condenser, etc). However, even lower-quality source stream audio quality can degrade further if it isn’t handled properly in post-processing.
Some tips to preserve audio quality (if you’re interested):
You might consider providing your podcasts in Ogg Vorbis format; it’s an open format, and at lower bitrates it sounds better than mp3. A disadvantage is that it won’t play on iPods (unless they run Rockbox), but you’d be fine with your Sansa e200 (which does). :) More proprietary options are Apple’s AAC/m4a aka iTunes format or the Windows Media Audio/WMA format, both of which are still better quality in lower bitrates than mp3.
Although it would increase file size, you might also consider increasing the sample rate at which you record (of course you could increase the MP3 bitrate as well and avoid changing formats). You might just experiment and find out what works best for you and the site.
Feel free to email me any questions, I’m working as a graduate student in digital audio right now :)
urbster1(Quote)
urbster,
I start out with WAV files and to my ears I don’t lose any quality when encoding to medium bitrate MP3 because that’s not where the lack of quality is. The lack of quality is in Skype. Which can’t easily be avoided. I can’t fly to Australia just to interview a few people.
lukeprog(Quote)
Hi, Luke,
Thanks for this!
What about William Vallicella, one of the best contemporary non-Christian theists and bloggers?
What about Timothy or Lydia McGrew? Great, technical apologists. Lydia is a blogger, too.
Vlastimil Vohánka(Quote)
Yup, I’d love to interview them all.
lukeprog(Quote)
You are missing the interview with Brian Hayden on archaeology.
John D(Quote)
John D,
Thanks. Fixed.
lukeprog(Quote)
Hi,
there seems to be a problem with the feed; it won’t load in iTunes. The validator reports a number of errors (see http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommonsenseatheism.com%2Fcpbd.rss), but I suspect the problem is caused by the invalid UTF8 character in the 18th conversation (I could download the podcast before that conversation).
Thank you
Frederic D(Quote)
Frederic D,
Thanks for the heads up. How about now?
lukeprog(Quote)
It works perfectly now. Thanks.
Frederic D(Quote)
This is great stuff, keep it up!
Interview Alexander Pruss of Baylor, he’s one of top philosophers of religion of the rising generation, or Thomas Crisp of Biola, who is also quite up there.
Best
Alex(Quote)
Alex,
Tom Crisp is recorded and will be up in the next few weeks.
I’m working my way up to somebody like Pruss.
lukeprog(Quote)
Wow, cool, you got Tim O’Connor! I’m looking forward to it. You’re doing a great job. Also thanks for having Thomas Crisp.
Newman(Quote)
Hey Luke,
I made some recommendations here: http://landonhedrick.blogspot.com/2010/04/conversations-from-pale-blue-dot.html
Landon Hedrick(Quote)
Landon,
Thanks for your recommendations.
lukeprog(Quote)
Luke, my longer comment here did not show. But let me add that just because your guest can cow the uneducated into thinking that endogenous retroviruses prove evolution does not make it so.
But the fact that so many Christians whom your guest talks to don’t really have a PhD into the science shows that
1. Evolutionists have to retreat to esoterica to try to prove it, and so most laymen can’t keep up and may be intimidated, and
2. Most christians need to educate themselves instead of take someone’s word for it. I did, and I am a YEC sympathizer, and not at all cowed by the disdain of evolutionary bullies.
danielg(Quote)
Just discovered your site and podcast after many months of listening to cool philosophical sites like Philosopher`s Zone and Philosophy Bites. It really is excellent, with very interesting and informative in depth interviews in which you keep your own involvment unobtrusive and to a necessary minimum ( even when discussing a theological topic with a theologen about which you presumably couldn`t have a more fundamental disagreement! ). A probable reason why I missed the podcast for so long ( I discovered it in a book review on Amazon ) is the name of your site, which does not lend itself to appearing on lists of philosophical sites provided by search engines. Anyhow, keep up the excellent work. I will spread the word to my philosophical and free thinking friends and so guarentee that you gain a whole bunch of new listeners. Thanks.
Nige(Quote)
Luke, stumbling across your podcast is like finding a pitcher of ice water in the desert. Extremely gratifying to listen to. I commute about a thousand miles a week and I actually look forward to getting into my car as a I work my way through your back-catalog.
I especially enjoy the respect and thoughtfullness with which you conduct your interviews — even the ones with those whose world view is different that your own. Your even-handedness has caused me to think a lot of my own personal biases.
As an atheist, I often find it difficult to set aside my own non-belief when considering the soundness of an argument. I fear that I may be falling into the same trap that Christian “historians” do when they research Christianty. For this reason, I feel that a true agnostic would have an advantage in presenting arguments against Christianity, since he or she has less “skin in the game”. What are your thoughts on this?
Jason Sewell(Quote)
Jason Sewell,
Thanks! I don’t have an answer for your questions, though. I haven’t seen it happen.
lukeprog(Quote)
Interesting interviews, but Luke, what credentials do you have? Better put, do you have any formal training/scholarly credentials or are you a dilettante?
Shane(Quote)
Shane,
No credentials.
lukeprog(Quote)
I am just curious,
What criteria (or criterion) do you use to determine whether one of these is a “fan favourite”? Is it number of downloads? Number of comments on the accompanying blog post?
John D(Quote)
John D,
My own fuzzy impression of audience reaction, culled from incoming comments and emails.
lukeprog(Quote)
Ever consider having Frank J. Tipler on your podcast? He’s interesting in that he is a christian and also a transhumanist/ techno- optimist.
James Gunn(Quote)
Luke,
I appreciate the work you are doing. These interviews are inexhaustable! I listen to them on my ipod while I’m at work for ten hours a day. They’ve enriched my experience and engagement with the world. Thanks! – Jason Kaufman
Jason Kaufman(Quote)
Jason,
Excellent!
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
Luke -
I just heard your interview with Bob Price. Excellent, and a resource I will consult for a book I’m writing. But my immediate question is, what is the dreamy music you play at the beginning and end of your interview? I love it!
steve gray(Quote)
steve gray,
Google ’9 Beet Stretch’.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
Luke, I can’t understand episode 011, bad audio. I’ll like transcript for that and also for 003 y 005, if possible.
Thanks a lot!
Leomar(Quote)
Luke,
These podcasts are wonderful. I’ve been working my way through many of them on my commutes, and I’ve been impressed by both the people you’ve gotten on the show and the challenging but cordial conversations you’ve been able to have with many different presenters.
One topic I’d like to see addressed in an interview is the argument from religious experience (if I’ve missed this in an earlier one, let me know!). Philosophers I know of who discuss this include Caroline Franks Davis, Kai-man Kwan, and Brian Leftow, though I’ve no idea how accessible any of them are. (I’m sure there are psychologists of religion who could have interesting things to say as well.)
Troy(Quote)
Are you sure it’s the same audio that steve was referring to? I think he’s referring to the earlier one not the later stuff. Oh, and I really LOVE the earlier one, instead of the Beech thing :)
Tshepang Lekhonkhobe(Quote)
I just discovered this site and downloaded two of the podcasts. Wondering why they took so long to download, I checked the files, and found that the temporal resolution is 160kps. With the equipment I use to listen to podcasts, I find the audio quality impossible to distinguish from 64kps, which gives files 60% smaller. The difference matters because servers are power hungry and therefore have an environmental impact (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12992). Would you consider going to 64kps?
Robert Biegler(Quote)
Robert Biegler,
Probably not. Some people do listen to these podcasts on better audio equipment.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
Luke, my comment above was meant for you.
Tshepang Lekhonkhobe(Quote)
Steve and Tshepang,
Oh. I have a couple Bob Price interviews. I can’t remember what the earlier one was. I think it’s one of the remixes from here.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
I can only find one album there, and the track is not there. To be sure, listen to the beginning of Alonzo Fyfe’s interviews to know which I’m talking about. Also, was the music free to use or did you ask for permission from the creator?
Tshepang Lekhonkhobe(Quote)
Here is the track. It’s CC-licensed.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
Thanks man. If this track is any indicator, you got good taste in music. I really love it (or at least the portion you used), and wish you didn’t switch to the other track.
Tshepang Lekhonkhobe(Quote)
Luke,
I know you’re on a break – but when are you coming back? I miss the show big time!
William Lee(Quote)
Maybe two months? That’s my guess.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
I have listened to these all a couple times now. They make work fly by. I really enjoyed the Wes Morriston, Richard Carrier, and Mike Licona interviews. Thanks for putting them out there. I am looking forward to more.
Bret(Quote)
Luke, were are you dude? You are missed!
Keith(Quote)
I just discovered this podcast a few days ago, but was surprised to find that I was already familiar with the website from a few months ago when I ransacked your collection of 500+ theism/atheism debates. I think this podcast sets a new standard in philosophical podcasts, your views seem so well-considered and you clearly know your subject, but I am most blown away by the intellectual honesty of your interview style, you seem to be, as near as is humanly possible, on an unbiased search for truth. You can see this in the respect and deference you show your guests in letting them get their views accross, as well as the way you pass up opportunities for cheap point-scoring in the interest of clarity. It’s clear you are listening to your guests, not just waiting to get your points in, yet you are so well informed that it is inevitable that you will.
I am curious if your background is in academia or if you are an autodidact?
Nik K(Quote)
Luke, have you ever thought of interviewing Peter Singer? I think that would be interesting.
Nik K.(Quote)
Interview Michael Martin, William Rowe, and Quentin Smith. Those 3 definitely need to be interviewed.
John Smith(Quote)
John Smith,
Yeah, those would be fun. I think I’ve contacted all three, though, and haven’t heard back from them.
Luke Muehlhauser(Quote)
Thanks for the great podcast.
Zarathustra Ubermensch(Quote)
I’m an evangelical Christian with an interest in apologetics and philosophy. I love your podcasts. I appreciate that you try to interview the best philosophers on both sides of the fence. And that you do it charitably and fairly. There are virtually no podcasts (that I know of) which tackle these issues at the higher level that you deal with them. Keep it up.
Peter K(Quote)
R.I.P. Christopher Hitchens :(
We will all miss you
j cologero(Quote)