What We Can't Not Talk About

In this episode, Dr. Alan Sager shares some insights on the reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court could be a model for us all. Throughout history, Supreme Court Justices have rarely reached unanimous decisions. Yet, while divided on some of the most important issues of our public lives, they were always able to live and to work side-by-side. Who knows, perhaps becoming friends? You can view Dr. Sager's lecture at the Austin Institute on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8arBt7KI-Ok&t=18s

A Snowstorm in Texas? Seriously? What’s wrong with the climate, if anything, and what can we know about it? In this episode, Dr. Daniel Bonevac, Professor of Philosophy at UT Austin, and an expert on the science and data behind climate change claims, tells us what he thinks about it. Spoiler: we will not give you answers for or against, but a lot of good food for thought! Links to things mentioned in this podcast: - https://wattsupwiththat.com/ - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/384310.The_Skeptical_Environmentalist - https://www.ipcc.ch/reports/

With the Equality Act moving forward through the U.S. Senate, we decided to bring on accomplished women athletes Margaret Craycraft Swensen and Olivia Craycraft, daughters of moral theologian Professor Ken Craycraft. They and their father discuss in ways philosophical and personal how the Equality Act would harm women and potentially destroy women sports.

In this episode, our senior fellow and author of "The Future of Christian Marriage," Professor Mark Regnerus, shares some advice on how to react to the constant decline of marriage rates. We need to tell good stories, we need to be each other's "good friends," and we need marriage-friendly subcultures, such as the "environment" that St. John Paul II created around himself when he was still living in Poland. Tune in! To purchase Professor Regnerus's book, visit: https://www.amazon.com/Future-Christian-Marriage-Mark-Regnerus/dp/0190064935

In this episode, Austin Institute's Fellow Dr. Ashleen Menchaca-Bagnulo talks about her recent article "Rethinking the Working Class: Toward a Multi-Ethnic Conservative Coalition." She also answers to some of the (very complex) questions regarding the future of conservatism and the roles that Latinos will play. Will they still be socially conservatives? Where are conservatives going when it comes to caring for the working class? Tune in to find out what our scholar has to say! You can read Dr. Menchaca-Bagnulo’s article here: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2020/11/72940/

Philosophy Professor Christopher Kaczor recently published a new and extremely important book on abortion, euthanasia, and other controversies, "Disputes in Bioethics." In this episode, Dr. Orlandi asks the author to talk about speciesism, children's right to be loved, and the way adults may flourish by being parents. We hope you enjoy this conversation, and we look forward to having Professor Kaczor as a guest speaker at the Austin Institute later this spring! You can purchase Professor Kaczor's books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Disputes-Bioethics-Abortion-Euthanasia-Controversies/dp/0268108099 https://www.amazon.com/Abortion-Rights-Against-Kate-Greasley-dp-1316621855/dp/1316621855/ref=mt_other?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= Recommended reading by Professor Kaczor: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/

Senator Josh Hawley was dropped by his publisher and as an ensuing movement to blacklist him gained momentum, Regnery agreed to publish his next book. Dr. Kevin Stuart talks with Tom Spence, Regnery's president and publisher, about that decision, cancel culture, conservatism, and the changes sweeping American politics. Visit Regnery to purchase Senator Hawley's book, "The Tyranny of Big Tech": https://www.regnery.com/9781684512393/the-tyranny-of-big-tech/

In this episode, Professor Ligia Castaldi, a legal expert on the international protection of prenatal life, discusses the abortion bill that the Argentinian senate approved in late December 2020 and focuses on some of its most troubling provisions. Is this new law consistent with international law? Is it consistent with the Argentinian Constitution? Does it really protect and empower women, as its advocates suggested and successfully maintained? Finally, does this kind of legislation represent the future for prenatal life protection in Latin America? Tune in! You can purchase her book here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abortion-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-ligia-de-jesus-castaldi/1133615479

What can be said about the morality of COVID vaccines, parental rights, power of the state, and our own duties toward “the common good?” In this episode, Austin Institute Fellow Melissa Moschella, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, weighs in on these questions as COVID vaccines are being administered across the country. She begins by addressing the use of cell lines like HEK 293, presumably derived from aborted fetal tissue and used to create some of the COVID vaccines, in no way perpetuates the grave injustice of abortion. Tune in to hear the rest! You can read more on this topic here: https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2021/01/73511/ You can purchase Dr. Moschella's book "To Whom Do Children Belong?: Parental Rights, Civic Education, and Children's Autonomy" here: https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Children-Belong-Education-Childrens/dp/1316605000

At the frontier of the philosophy of science, Aristotle is making a comeback. Dr. Kevin Stuart interviews AI Senior Fellow Dr. Robert C. Koons on what this scientific development is and what it means for those of us who aren't physicists or philosophers.