Podcast
Inspire Us Podcast
Hosted by Inspire Us · EN
Learning about the world one conversation at a time
13episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Fixing Polarisation: Politics, Free Speech & the Future of the West | Robert B. Talisse | Inspire Us Podcast
2w ago01:24:03Tap to summarizeRobert B. Talisse is a Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and one of America's leading thinkers on democracy, political polarisation, and public reason. He has authored over fifteen books including Overdoing Democracy, Sustaining Democracy, and A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy — exploring how democracies can thrive amid deep disagreement, belief polarisation, and public ignorance.In this episode of Inspire Us, we discuss:— What belief polarisation is and why it's tearing us apart— Why the more you only talk to people like you, the more extreme you become— Free speech — and why it's not just about the person speaking, it's about you listening— Why government efforts to fix polarisation could actually make things worse— The future of the WestCan Western democracies fix polarisation, or have we already passed the point where the usual solutions apply?
Transcribe →Nigeria's Green Energy Transition: Climate Finance, Oil & Poverty | Ehireme Alexis Uddin S8EP4
3w ago00:59:53Tap to summarizeEhireme Alexis Uddin is a PhD researcher at SOAS University of London whose work sits at the intersection of climate finance, climate governance and development policy. Her research focuses specifically on Nigeria, examining the state of climate finance, the role of institutions in ensuring the green transition is effective and equitable, and what it actually takes to finance an energy transition in an economy built on oil.
Transcribe →Common Law Liberalism: The Case Against Government Made Rules | John Hasnas Inspire Us podcast S8EP3
4w ago01:07:55Tap to summarizeJohn Hasnas is a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the McDonough School of Business, and the author of Common Law Liberalism, a bold and original contribution to political and legal philosophy that challenges how we think about law, order, and the role of government in society.This episode is a full breakdown of common law, what it is, where it came from, and why it may be the most important legal system most people have never thought about. John Hasnas makes the case that society has always been capable of regulating itself, and that the invisible framework of common law has been doing the heavy lifting all along while government legislation gets all the credit.Find John Hasnas' book "Common Law Liberalism" on Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/0fRXnDiz
Transcribe →Why the Universe Has Mass: The Higgs Field & What Physics Can't Explain Yet | Michael Peskin S8EP2
May 401:35:43Tap to summarizeMichael Peskin is a theoretical physicist and Professor at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University, one of the world's leading centres for particle physics research. He is the co-author of An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, widely considered the definitive graduate-level textbook in the field and used by physicists across the globe.This episode is a full breakdown of particle physics as simply explained as it gets, by one of the best in the field. We explore one of the deepest questions in all of science, why does anything have mass at all? We unpack the Standard Model of particle physics, the discovery of the Higgs boson, and what the Higgs field actually is and why it matters. We also get into what the Standard Model still cannot explain, how the Large Hadron Collider works and why it discards 99% of its data, and how AI is now being used to push the boundaries of particle physics discovery.This is a conversation about the frontier of human knowledge where our best equations break down, what lies beyond them, and why physicists like Michael Peskin believe the biggest surprises are still ahead.Let us know in the comments what you think!Hope you enjoy!
Transcribe →Why the Universe Is Expanding: Dark Energy, Cosmology & General Relativity | Bharat Ratra Inspire Us
Apr 2701:08:14Tap to summarizeBharat Ratra is a distinguished Physicist and Professor of Physics at Kansas State University and a leading cosmologist. He is best known for co-proposing the first dynamical dark energy model in 1988, a foundational idea that helps explain the accelerating expansion of the universe.In this conversation we explore the biggest mysteries in modern cosmology: dark energy, the nature of the universe’s expansion, inflation, and what we still don’t understand about the cosmos. We discuss how our understanding of dark energy might evolve over time and what recent observations might mean for our fundamental of reality.It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to speak with Professor Ratra. We hope you enjoy this conversation. The episode is available now on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
Transcribe →Ramla Ali: Boxing for Somalia at the Olympics, Nearly Going Homeless, Building a New Career in Film
Mar 1801:35:36Tap to summarizeRamla Ali is a Somali-British Olympian, boxer, model, humanitarian, and filmmaker whose journey from refugee to representing Somalia on the world stage is nothing short of extraordinary. In this conversation, she reflects on sacrifice, identity, fame, social media, and the bold transition from elite sport into filmmaking.It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Ramla, she's an absolutely lovely person and a great speaker with an inspiring story. We hope you enjoy this podcast and follow for more!Instagram: www.instagram.com/seveneightsixentSisters Club: www.instagram.com/ramlaali_sistersclubProduction company: www.instagram.com/seveneightsixentwww.seveneightsixent.comS7EP8: Ramla Ali - Inspire Us PodcastListen on :Youtube: www.youtube.com/@InspireUsPodcastSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4WAeOo2e2Xf6qOFD1ZagXF?si=c9aeead4dc6847f9Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/inspire-us-podcast/id1732848248Follow us on social media:X: https://x.com/InspireUsPodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspireuspodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspireuspodcast
Transcribe →Kwame Anthony Appiah: Identity, Culture Wars, Class & Authenticity | S7EP7
Mar 1201:16:57Tap to summarizeKwame Anthony Appiah is a philosopher, cultural theorist and Professor of Philosophy at New York University. He is also the author of the popular “The Ethicist” column in The New York Times, where he explores everyday moral dilemmas through philosophy.In this conversation we explore identity, culture, class and authenticity. We discuss whether modern identity categories like race, gender and nationality are recent inventions, how culture becomes politicised in modern culture wars, and why great cultural works like William Shakespeare belong to everyone rather than to a single nation or race.It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to speak with Professor Appiah. We hope you enjoy this conversation.The episode is available now on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
Transcribe →Graham Priest: Can Something Be Both True and False? | Logic, Paradoxes & Truth | S7EP6
Mar 501:22:30Tap to summarizeGraham Priest is one of the world’s leading philosophers of logic. He is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center and also holds positions at the University of Melbourne and University of St Andrews.Priest is best known for developing dialetheism, the controversial philosophical view that some contradictions can actually be true. His work has had a major influence on modern logic, the philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics. He is also a leading figure in paraconsistent logic, a field that studies logical systems capable of handling contradictions without collapsing into triviality.He has written numerous influential books including In Contradiction, Beyond the Limits of Thought, and Logic: A Very Short Introduction. His work also explores connections between Western philosophy, Buddhist philosophy, paradoxes, and the limits of human reasoning.
Transcribe →Jonathan Wolff: Inequality and Philosophy, Democracy & Hidden Politics | S7EP5 Inspire Us Podcast
Feb 2701:40:40Tap to summarizeJonathan Wolff is a leading political philosopher at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University. He has advised governments, shaped public policy debates, and written extensively on inequality, justice, and democracy, and social reform.It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Jonathan Wolff, he's a lovely man. In this episode, we explore the philosophy of inequality, the tension between equality and democracy, nationalism, libertarianism, and whether modern politics is built on hidden assumptions most of us never question.Is equality about money — or about how we treat one another?Can democracy survive if people reject equality?And are we misunderstanding what “left” and “right” really mean?This is a deep conversation on power, justice, and the future of democratic societies.
Transcribe →David Betz: “We’re Heading Toward Civil War” - Immigration, Elites & Britain’s Future S7EP4 Inspire Us Podcast
Feb 1701:22:17Tap to summarizeDavid Betz is a Canadian academic and Professor of War in the Modern World at King’s College London. He specialises in civil war, insurgency, information warfare, and the changing character of conflict. His research has advised policymakers and military institutions, and his recent academic papers have gained significant media attention for warning that North America, Western Europe, and the UK may soon be entering a phase of civil war.In this episode of Inspire Us, we discuss:– Whether Britain has passed a tipping point– The collapse of political legitimacy– Immigration and social trust– Elite fragmentation– Brexit and national identity– What modern civil conflict could actually look likeIs the UK really heading toward civil war, are these fears overstated, is this a self fulfilling prophecy?
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