Discussion on concerns about President Biden's age and ability to serve a second term. Exploring how the author's opinion of Joe Biden transformed after researching for their book. Analyzing the impact of 'Bidenomics' on the economy. Criticisms of President Biden's policies and approach. Delving into the role and struggles of Kamala Harris as Vice President.

Explore Leonard Cohen's transformative encounter with Israeli soldiers during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Discover how his trip to Israel remade him and transformed the country. Delve into the power of Cohen's music in connecting with soldiers and his poignant song 'Who by Fire' inspired by a famous Jewish prayer. Learn about the authenticity of artists like Cohen and Johnny Cash in extreme situations like performing in prisons and war zones. Uncover Cohen's struggle with his Jewish identity and his inclusion of the priestly blessing in his final concert.

In this podcast, philosopher Amia Srinivasan discusses her book 'The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century' with host Tyler Cowen. They touch on topics like the societal impact on sexual desires, the sufficiency of consent in sexual relationships, falling fertility rates, views of egalitarianism during the pandemic, and the necessity of regress for progress. The conversation is contentious yet respectful, encouraging listeners to learn from those who bother or frustrate them.

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins joins the host to discuss God, distrust in science and vaccines, cancel culture, aliens, and romantic poetry. They explore the existence of God, the misinterpretation of Dawkins' work, evolution and natural selection, the impact of COVID on public trust in science, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

The podcast discusses the first GOP debate featuring eight candidates, with Donald Trump absent. They analyze standout moments such as a foreign policy debate between Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. The chapter delves into Trump's use of entertaining lies and diversion tactics. They analyze the candidates' performance, surprising stances on military involvement, and Trump's strategic moves. The speakers debate the impact of COVID-19 on the election and discuss the future of the nation.

Will Hurd, Ex-CIA and Anti-Trump Republican, talks about running for president as a normal Republican candidate. He shares his political journey, experiences as a CIA operative, and the need to unite people and reach across party lines. They discuss growing the GOP, fighting against prejudice, and addressing immigration and border security issues.

Colin Campbell says that the way our society treats grief—and people in grief—is cruel and backward, and it needs a radical reimagining. He, of all people, would know.Four years ago, Colin, his wife Gail, and their two teenage kids were driving to Joshua Tree, when they were T-boned by a drunk and high driver going 90 miles an hour. Colin and Gail survived. Their two children, Ruby and Hart, did not.How do you live after that nightmare? How do you support a friend, a colleague, a brother or sister, who literally does not know how to go on?Colin’s new book, Finding the Words, attempts to answer those unimaginable questions. It tells the story not only of his own pain in the weeks and months following Ruby and Hart’s death, but also breaks down our society’s misconceptions about grief, which he calls the “grief orthodoxy,” and it provides practical advice for a different kind of approach to grief—one that is more truthful, real, and connected.People say to the grieving “There are no words” because they’re scared to confront the hard conversation. As Colin writes, it “acts as a perfect conversation killer. This empty phrase immediately ends any chance of a dialogue about loss and mourning. It encapsulates all that is wrong with how our society handles grief.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vivek Ramaswamy, at 37 years old, is the first ever millennial Republican presidential candidate. He graduated from Harvard, then Yale Law School, and worked as a partner at a hedge fund before starting a successful biotech company, where he made millions.It’s an impressive background. But he lacks any political experience, so he’s not someone pundits think has a shot in the already crowded GOP primary field. And yet, somehow, his name is in the news almost every single day. His tweets are constantly going viral. And recent polling suggests that he’s hitting a nerve with the American people: it’s only August and Vivek is polling in third place, ahead of established politicians and a former vice president. On today’s show, Vivek explains he thinks he can win the nomination and the presidency—by beating Trump by going further than Trump, and by being a kind of Trump 2.0. He talks about why he thinks we’ve lost our soul as a nation, and why he thinks we need a “second American revolution.” And—from immigration to foreign policy to dismantling the Department of Education—what a President Ramaswamy, with all of his radical proposals, would do for the country.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, Walter Russell Mead wrote an outstanding article in Tablet titled “You Are Not Destined to Live in Quiet Times.” It’s about the paradox—and great dangers—of technological progress: “Human ingenuity has made us much safer from natural calamities. We can treat many diseases, predict storms, build dams both to prevent floods and to save water against drought, and many other fine things. Many fewer of us starve than in former times, and billions of us today enjoy better living conditions than our forebears dreamed possible. Yet if we are safer from most natural catastrophes, we are more vulnerable than ever to human-caused ones.” Today on Honestly, Walter talks about that significant vulnerability, and why human-caused catastrophes are the most serious threat to humanity today. Walter also explains why he believes we have definitively entered a pre-war era, and what he thinks needs to change in order to get us out of it.  Walter Russell Mead is a fellow at Hudson Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a professor of foreign affairs and humanities at Bard College. He’s written numerous books on foreign policy, including last year’s excellent book on Israel titled The Arc of a Covenant, and he is the host of the brand-new podcast What Really Matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week I found myself in Sun Valley, Idaho, at a conference with a lot of big wigs. Among them was Larry Summers—an economist, the Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, and a former president of Harvard University. The timing was fortuitous.Last month, Harvard went before the Supreme Court to defend its race-based admission policies—and lost the case, thus overturning the legality of affirmative action. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that those admissions programs quote, “cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.  This ruling has led to a debate in American life about the future of higher education, and it’s caused many to question another admissions policy that numerous American universities have long taken for granted: legacy admissions, the policy of giving preference to college applicants whose family has already attended the school. In light of the Supreme Court ruling, legacy admissions have been scrapped at top schools including Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, and just this week at Wesleyan University.So I wanted to sit down with Larry Summers to talk about the future of American higher education, whether eliminating legacy admissions actually goes far enough, what he thinks admission departments will do in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, and what he might have done differently as president of Harvard if he could go back in time. And lastly, what makes American higher education worth saving in the first place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices