Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Rick Perlstein about conservatism, politics in the United States, and past and present social-cultural issues. They discuss his motivations for writing his four books on modern Conservatism in the United States. They discuss the rise of Barry Goldwater and the splintering of the New Deal coalition. They also discuss the shifting cultural voting bloc from the middle class to elites and how Nixon’s rise worked with these shifting social and cultural changes. They talked about how suburbanization influenced a push towards Goldwater and Nixon and the new brand of Conservatism. They discuss the ever-present role of Reagan always in the background and some of the biographical aspects of the image he created for himself. They talk about the conservative shift from economic to social-cultural elements, the Reagan Democrats, and building of the modern Conservative coalition. They also talk about the Conservative party over the past 40 years leading up to the current platform and the potential future directions. Rick Perlstein is a writer, journalist, and historian who has written four books on the social and political Conservative waves during the 1960s and 1970s. He is the author of Before The Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus, Nixonland: The Rise of A President and the Fracturing of America, The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and The Rise of Reagan, and Reaganland: America’s Right Turn 1976-1980. You can find all of the links to his books, essays, and other publications at his website. Twitter: @rickperlstein Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Spencer Case about extremism and morality. They discuss his background, how he got into philosophy, and leaving Mormonism. They define moral extremism and discuss it as a vice and detriment of character. They discuss the role of moral emotions with extremism and the differences between absolute and relative morals. They engage on character and intention as important to moral extremism and provide examples from the prohibition era and from past historical figures. They also stress the need for compassion in correcting moral extremism and many other topics. Spencer Case holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently, he is an international research fellow at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China. His main research interesting are in meta ethics, normative theory, and moral realism. You can find links to his published papers and popular articles at his website. Twitter: @spencerjaycase Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Monica Guzman about journalism, culture, and Latinos in the United States. They discuss how she became involved in journalism and how the current state of journalism is at both the national and local levels. They discussed how she co-founded the Seattle digital newsletter, The Evergrey, and how people within cities create culture. They also discussed her work with Braver Angels and some of the dynamics of race and multiculturalism. They discussed her upcoming book and some of the main concepts such as curiosity. They also talked about Latinos in the United States and some of the political, social, and cultural themes along with many other topics. Monica Guzman is a Seattle-based journalist and writer who co-founded the digital newsletter, The Evergrey and is currently the senior media advisor for the Braver Angels organization. She is on track to release her book, I Never Thought of it That Way, in 2022. Join her newsletter here. Twitter: @moniguzman Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Thomas Chatterton Williams about race and our current social challenges. They talk about Thomas' reasoning for writing his memoirs and the major theme of race. They talk about the one drop rule for Black Americans and what Thomas means by leaving race. They also discuss his perspective living outside the United States and the lens of seeing race from a biracial viewpoint. They also talk about some of the major themes in culture today and developing a better compass for discussing race relations. Thomas Chatterton Williams is a cultural critic and writer. He is the author of two memoirs, Losing My Cool and Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is also a writer for the New York Times Magazine and Harper's. He has had pieces published in the New Yorker, London Review of Books, and many other publications. You can find links to these articles and his books here. Find him on Twitter: @thomaschattwill Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Nicholas Christakis about the COVID-19 global pandemic. They discuss how he wrote his latest book, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live, while the pandemic was happening in real time. They discuss the basic facts about the COVID-19 virus along with the lethality and infectious rates. They briefly consider if there is any validity that the virus is the result of a lab leak. They also present an overview of vaccine history and how the current mRNA vaccines work. They stress the importance of everyone getting a vaccine sooner than later and how the current vaccines appear to defend well against the virus variants. They also discuss herd immunity and what the timeline towards a return to normal looks like. Nicholas Christakis is a physician and sociologist who conducts research at his Human Nature Lab at Yale University on social networks. Currently, he is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, Internal Medicine, & Biomedical Engineering at Yale University.  He has his MPH and MD from Harvard University along with his PhD in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2009, he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is the author of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of A Good Society, and Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live. You can find his lab here. You can find the app mentioned in this episode here. Twitter: @nachristakis Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lee Jussim about stereotypes, bias, and the current state of the social sciences. They talk about the scientific data on stereotypes, good and bad stereotypes, and how one understands stereotypes. They discuss some of the history of studies in social psychology and how that has changed currently. They discuss social perception and bias and give a detail description on how there is no general or universal definition of implicit bias. They talk about the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and some of the implications of this test. They also discuss some of the research on self-fulfilling prophecies along with Lee's current work in advocating for healthy viewpoint diversity within academia. Lee Jussim is a social psychologist and the Chair of Psychology at Rutgers University.  He continues to run the Social Perception lab at Rutgers and is extremely well published over the past 30 years on social perception, stereotypes, and bias. You can find many of his scholarly papers here. You can also find his popular writing here. Twitter: @psychrabble Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Mark Solms about consciousness, emotions, and how we understand the human psyche. They begin by discussing how Mark become involved in neuropsychology and psychoanalysis and how he combines these two worlds. They also discuss how he became involved with the late great Jaak Panksepp and their work on brainstem arousal and affect. They discuss Panksepp's seven affective states and make a distinction between drives, instincts, affect, emotions, and feelings. They talked about Mark's own work in understanding emotions in humans and locating some of the origins of consciousness in the reticular activating system and the periaqueductal gray (PAG). They discuss how consciousness could be in other animals and give some discussion on free will. They talk about the importance of bodily homeostasis and how it's a key feature for consciousness. They also provide some analysis and critique of the work done on emotions by Lisa Feldman-Barrett and also talk about some of the overemphasis on cognitive science. Mark Solms is a neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst. He holds the chair of neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and is also the research chair for the International Psychoanalytic Association. He has written eight books with his most recent, The Hidden Spring: A Journey to the Source of Consciousness, which can be found here. You can find a list of his scholarly publications here. Twitter: @mark_solms Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christopher Ferguson about violence in mass media such as video games, madness with historical and political figures, and the implications for our society. They discuss the standard view of violent mass media and the idea that they influence behaviors in society. They talk about how reward-based video games are less common and do not translate to behavior within society. They discuss the current literature on violence in mass media and social behavior. They also mention some practical elements of kids playing video games.The second half of the conversation centered around Chris' new book and some of the motivations for writing the book. They talk about the importance of understanding the psychological profiles of historical and political leaders and why that matters. They parse out the differences between insanity, madness, and mental illness. They dialogue about some of the history of institutionalization and de-institutionalization. They also discuss challenges with diagnostic criteria, delineations between psychopathy and sociopathy, and the progressive changes within society. Christopher Ferguson is a clinical psychologist, professor, and writer. He teaches psychology at Stetson University and continues to conduct research on mass media violence. He is the author of two non-fiction books. His first book, Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong and his most recent book, How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and psychotic Visionaries are both available here. You can find many links to his various publications and articles at his website.          Twitter: @cjferguson1111 Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Razib Khan about genetics, how to understand populations and racial categories through genetics, and some of the social implications. They start by discussing the basics of genetics, the differences between DNA and genes, and how genes work over time. They talk about the different groups of humans as a species and understanding humans as a type of "super species." They discuss modern-day humans and how they spread around the world. They dialogue about the origins of Western Hemisphere Indigenous tribes and some of the genetic significance of Genghis Khan. They also mention some of the population structures of India. They also discuss how to understand genetics with race and some of the differences between race and ethnicity.Razib Khan is a geneticist, writer, and podcaster. He has written for many scholarly journals on genetics. He has also written many pieces for mainstream outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and National Review. You can find all of his work, including his substack page here. Twitter: @razibkhan Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with John Wood Jr. about race, ethnicity, and conservatism. They discuss John's background both publicly and personally and the Braver Angels Organization. They dialogue about how biracial/multiracial people view race differently from people that are not biracial. They talk about the individual as a starting line for understanding people and then moving outward towards their group identity. They also talked about conservatism and how he identifies with black conservatism. They also talk about how he reconciles Burkean conservatism with modern-day conservatism and many other topics. John Wood Jr. is a writer, speaker, and National leader for Braver Angels. He is a former nominee for congress, former Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. He is also a musical artist. You can find his page with his articles here. Twitter: @johnrwoodjr Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe