Why does nothing seem to make sense, anymore? Why do all of our important words seem so slippery, and our definitions ever harder to define? What is a liberal? What really is a conservative? And what does 'liberalism' - the philosophy that undergirds the foundation of American society - actually mean today? Writer and filmmaker Jay Shapiro has spent much of his life trying to figure out society's most confounding dilemmas.Criticizing Freedom: Food First, Philosophy Later, by Jay ShapiroS02E17: Atheistic Search for God - Dilemma PodcastTalking $*** About Tech, Capitalism, Culture, & Philosophy - Talking $#!t Podcast"Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;" - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's CradleDogs' Eyes Evolve to Appeal to Humans - BBC NewsWalden, by Henry David Thoreau"God is dead." - Friedrich NietzscheWhy We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road, by Matthew B. CrawfordAfter Riding With Spanish Speakers, White Commuters Favored Anti-Immigration Policies - Big ThinkChesterton's Fence: A Lesson in Second Order Thinking, by Shane ParrishEthics Explainer: DeontologyEthics Explainer: ConsequentialismAin't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society, by Peter McWilliamsThe Actual Abortion Debate, by Jay ShapiroFundamental Attribution Error - Ethics UnwrappedThe Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael SandelOn Directing Film, by David MametOriginal Position (Veil of Ignorance) - John Rawls"Abby Singer" - Filmmaking slang for 'Second to last shot of the day'Optimistic Nihilism - KurzgesagtThe Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World, by David DeutschHow to Build a Dyson Sphere - KurzgesagtThe Fermi Paradox - Wait But Whywhatjaythinks.com----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

Climate change is a pressing issue that requires both our attention and our action. But why does so much of modern environmental activism seem to come from one side of the aisle? The American Conservation Coalition's Quill Robinson offers a conservative case for solving climate change.American Conservation CoalitionTrump Is Out of Touch With Republican Voters on Climate Change, by Quill RobinsonMarket-Based Strategies - Center for Climate and Energy SolutionsHow an Alzheimers 'Cabal' Thwarted Progress Towards a Cure, by Sharon BegleySolar's Future Is Insanely Cheap, by Ramez NaamThe Nature ConservancyThis Japanese Shop is 1020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises - The New York TimesStop Blaming Climate Change for California’s Fires, by Michael ShellenbergerIt's Time for the American Climate Contract, with Quill RobinsonQuill's Twitter: @QuillRobinson----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

Racism is real. Its devastating historical effects can still be felt today, and the misguided and harmful beliefs that we've inherited from previous generations can have a profound impact on how we see and treat one another. The anti-racist movement is a response to these injustices, and anti-racism training has sprung up across private and public businesses. But is there only one way to do anti-racism training, or to be anti-racist? Theory of Enchantment founder Chloé Valdary has spent the last several years developing a compassionate alternative.Theory of EnchantmentTED: How Love Can Help Repair Social Inequality, with Chloé ValdaryThe True and Only Heaven, by Christopher LaschThe Omni-Americans: Some Alternatives to the Folklore of White Supremacy, by Albert MurrayJames Baldwin & Nikki Giovanni, a conversationSaudadeShadow and Act, by Ralph EllisonA Prayer for Owen Meany, by John IrvingOn the Shortness of Life, by SenecaChloé's Twitter: @cvaldary----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

America isn't just a geographical location, or a mass of 330 million people living within a set of lines drawn on a map. America is the story it tells itself about itself. And adding new chapters feels natural enough - time marches forward, and so does a story. But what happens if, while expanding the scope of what's in front of us, we narrow the scope of what came before? Geneticist and cultural commentator Razib Khan shares how America's rich, complicated, and multi-ethnic history is at risk of being flattened by modern narratives.Your Roots Are Showing, by Razib KhanIn God We Trusted, by Razib KhanThe Utility of White-Bashing, by Reihan SalamThe Consolations of Free Thought, by Razib KhanThe Original Chinese Man, by Razib KhanJustin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, a movie review by Roger EbertRazib Khan's Unsupervised Learning - Substackrazib.comRazib's Twitter: @razibkhan----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

Why is patriotism increasingly a partisan issue, divided by party affiliation? Writer Siddak Ahuja has some theories on why certain political demographics are less patriotic than others.The Case for a Left Patriotism, by Siddak AhujaWhy Are Poor Americans More Patriotic Than Their Wealthier Counterparts? - The GuardianThe Left Case Against Open Borders - American Affairs JournalThe Road to Somewhere by David Goodhart – a Liberal’s Rightwing Turn on Immigration - The GuardianHow Race Politics Liberated the Elites - UnHerdThorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class—A Status Update - QuilletteA Left-Right Populist Agenda to Take Jobs Back From China, by Siddak Ahuja----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

When we talk about ways to combat climate change and address our nation's energy needs, we consistently leave the safest, most reliable, and most efficient energy source out of the discussion altogether. Joining us this week is nuclear engineer Nick Touran, PhD, who happens to be an expert in that exact type of energy.whatisnuclear.comBicycles for Our Minds, with Steve JobsNuclear Power May Have Saved 1.8 Million Lives Otherwise Lost to Fossil Fuels, Scientific AmericanRadiation Dose Chart, XKCDSpontaneous Generation (Flies From Meat), Wikipedia3 Reasons Why Nuclear Energy Is Awesome, KurzgesagtA Brief History of Tiny Nuclear Reactors, Popular MechanicsFloating Nuclear Power Plant, Popular MechanicsNick's Twitter: @whatisnuclear----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

When we talk about the "culture wars" - issues of identity, race, ethnicity, immigration, gender, sex, sexuality - we often don't fully understand why exactly we believe the things we believe. Fashion stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi says true understanding can come from deep introspection, and she has the experience to back it up.The Problem with Wokeness, with Ayishat AkanbiThe Importance of Free Speech, with Ayishat AkanbiThe Problem with Cancel Culture, with Ayishat AkanbiAyishat Akanbi with Coleman Hughes, on Conversations with ColemanAyishat Akanbi with David Fuller, on Rebel WisdomAyishat Akanbi: 'My problematic ideas are my favourite ones', The Guardianayishatakanbi.comAyishat's Twitter: @Ayishat_Akanbi----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

What if I told you that sometimes, being polite does more harm than good? That the niceties we use to grease the wheels of our daily interactions can actually hurt the very people we want to help, and slow the pace of progress? Writer and speaker Alexandra Hudson advocates for an alternative to politeness that has a long and storied history in American politics.The Value of Exercising Civility—in Both Oikos and Polis, by Alexandra HudsonBowling Alone at Twenty, by Alexandra HudsonWhat's the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? - How Stuff WorksFundamental Attribution Error - WikipediaCivility and the Challenge of Ordered Liberty, by Alexandra HudsonDaryl Davis: The Black Musician Who Converts Ku Klux Klan Members - The GuardianThe Universal Declaration of Human RightsAlexa, Teach My Child to Be Polite, Please, by Alexandra Hudsonalexandraohudson.comAlexandra's Twitter: @LexiOHudson----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

Our national conversation around childhood education usually revolves around or devolves into a sort of generic bifurcation of public vs private. But only when we really break a topic down into its constituent parts can we begin to see it more clearly. So what educational method might work best? Ray Girn and Matt Bateman of Higher Ground Education believe that the method they practice will best equip children to flourish as adults. Higher Ground EducationThe Goals of Montessori Education, with Ray GirnQ & A with Matt BatemanA Day in the Life at Michaela, Britain's Strictest SchoolRay's Twitter: @raygirnMatt's Twitter: @mbateman----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast

The working and wealthy classes in America are further apart than they've been in 60 years. Wages, wealth generation, savings - these are the obvious ones, but marriage stability and self-reported rates of wellbeing are also way down for blue collar Americans. "Deaths of despair" - from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism - number 150,000 a year, nearly all of them concentrated in working class communities. And many of these problems begin in childhood and compound into adulthood. What's causing so many of our children to fall so far behind, and why do today's elite seem to care so little? Writer and researcher Rob Henderson has experience living in both worlds, and has dedicated much of his time to finding the answers.How I Went From Troubled Foster Kid to Scholar at Yale and Cambridge, by Rob Henderson‘Luxury Beliefs’ Are the Latest Status Symbol for Rich Americans, by Rob HendersonThorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class—A Status Update, by Rob HendersonEverything I Know About Elite America I Learned From ‘Fresh Prince’ and ‘West Wing’, by Rob HendersonSubscribe to Rob's Newsletter on SubstackRob's Twitter: @robkhenderson----------Email: wherewegopod@gmail.comInstagram: @wwgnpodcast