Conversations with Peter Boghossian

David Deutsch, a philosopher and theoretical physicist, joins Peter Boghossian and Reid Nicewonder, President of Street Epistemology International, for a thought-provoking discussion. They explore the contagious nature of ideologies, particularly how social justice narratives affect open discourse and peer-reviewed literature. Delving into the Fermi Paradox, they question why we haven't discovered extraterrestrial life. The trio underscores the need for reason, courage, and critical thinking in navigating ideological conflicts and fostering meaningful dialogue.

Matt Goodwin is a professor of politics at The School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent in Kent, UK. His writing and research primarily focus on radical right-wing politics and Euroscepticism in the British context. Amongst others, his writing has appeared in publications such as The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and the Evening Standard. He also serves on the Social Mobility Commission via the British Department of Education. Peter and Matt build upon their previous interview and discuss illegal immigration and its effects on society and politics. Matt predicts that mass migration will cause a political rightward shift and a severe backlash from the political left. Matt and Peter then discuss the consequences, including an increase in polarization as a result of the political tumult 2024 is likely to bring. More from Matt: Matt's previous interview with Peter Twitter/X Substack Watch this episode on YouTube.

Vaishnavi Sundar is a feminist, writer, filmmaker & activist from Chennai, India. Her creative work focuses on various human rights issues faced by Indian women. Her previous film "Dysphoric" brought attention to the harms caused by gender identity ideology and her current film, "Behind the Looking Glass", delves into the lives of women whose partners have (or want to) transition. She makes films under her production company, Lime Soda Films, and also founded a group of female filmmakers called Women Making Films. Her upcoming novel will explore the war on merit and the progressive obsession with everyone being the same. More from Vaishnavi: Talks Latest film Watch this episode on YouTube.

Bestselling author & journalist Lionel Shriver is known for her "under-expressed, unpopular, or downright dangerous" views. She is the author of more than two dozen novels, but her latest book is more personal. In "Abominations: Selected Essays from a Career of Courting Self-Destruction," Lionel presents a collection of her most provocative material on topics ranging from religion and mortality to gender and immigration. As a novelist, Lionel is an advocate for artistic freedom. She recently described censorship in the publishing industry in her Roger Scruton lecture at Oxford, titled "When Cowed Creatives Capitulate: Conformity and Bad Art." She is particularly critical of the loss of beauty, style, and wit in modern fiction due to "rectitudinous, censorious, and sanctimonious" ideologies. Lionel's novels include "We Need to Talk About Kevin," which the BBC adapted to film, and New York Times bestsellers "Should We Stay or Should We Go," "So Much for That," and "The Post-Birthday World." She is a columnist for The Spectator and her articles have been published by The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, and The Economist, among others. Watch this episode on YouTube.

English YouTuber and commentator Stephen Woodford and Biologist Dr. Colin Wright discuss their differences about sex and gender. Moderated by Peter Boghossian. Follow Stephen: X YouTube: @rationalityrules Follow Colin: X Substack Previous conversation with Colin Watch this episode on YouTube.

Erin Friday from Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) joins Peter Boghossian to discuss a California ballot initiative that seeks to protect kids from harmful gender policies. Sign the petition: https://protectkidsca.com/ More from PITT: Substack Twitter/X YouTube Book, Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans: Tales from the Home Front in the Fight to Save Our Kids Watch this episode on YouTube.

The only thing better than an interview with Graham Linehan or Leo Kearse is doing Spectrum Street Epistemology with the two simultaneously! Peter Boghossian presents more than 20 claims to the gentleman, unearthing their perspectives on patriarchy, the looming technological singularity, limits of comedy, the BBC, and more. Graham Linehan is an award-winning television writer and the comic genius behind British sitcoms "Father Ted," "The IT Crowd," and "Black Books." He is a vocal advocate for women's rights and children's safety. He recently published his bestselling memoir, "Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy." Leo Kearse is an award-winning comedian with a new weekly show on GB News, "The Saturday Night Showdown." He was banned from his venue at the Australian Perth Fringe Festival after his content was called transphobic--despite writing the material with a transgender woman he was dating. More from Graham: "Tough Crowd: How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy" by Graham Linehan Substack More from Leo: Website YouTube channel Watch this episode on YouTube.

Author and journalist Andy Ngo and Professor Eric Kaufmann participated in a Spectrum Street Epistemology exercise in London. The conversation starts with a claim about banning Muslim prayer rituals in public schools. It continues by asking whether the UK should impose a five-year moratorium on immigration, a current debate in the country. This opened up a broader conversation about immigration, cultural assimilation, and national identity. Finally, they examine the question of whether the UK should surrender its current way of life if a majority of the population becomes Muslim in the coming decades. Andy Ngo is the author of the #1 national bestseller, Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy. His articles can be found in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Quillette, New York Post, Fox News, and other publications. Andy is Senior Editor at The Post Millennial. Andy's previous interview on Peter's channel Andy on Locals Dr. Eric Kaufmann is a Professor of Politics at the University of Buckingham. Originally from Vancouver, BC, Canada, he was born in Hong Kong and spent most of the last few decades in the UK. He is principally interested in cultural politics: ethnicity, national identity, left-wing ideology and religion, and has written extensively on these subjects. Eric's previous interview on Peter's channel Eric's website Watch this episode on YouTube.

This is one of Peter's favorite conversations, and his since gone mega viral on Instagram, even gaining attention from actress Queen Latifah. In Regent's Park, London, Peter Boghossian conducted a Spectrum Street Epistemology with two children, a twelve-year-old boy and his younger sister. Peter began with claims about science, a topic both children preferred. After the young man demonstrated an extraordinary intellect, Peter upped the ante, presenting complicated claims regarding the limits of science and its relationship to morality and emotion. At the end of the discussion, Peter asked the young man if he would rather have a life guided by reason or emotion. He responded, "If you just have cold, hard reason without any emotion and human feeling, what does that make you? You won't be able to make kind decisions; you'll just be essentially a robot." Watch this episode on YouTube.

Peter Boghossian joined two of his favorite Michaels for Spectrum Street Epistemology in Santa Barbara, California. Bestselling authors and esteemed public intellectuals Michael Shermer and Michael Shellenberger discussed a number of topics ranging from religion to alien life. Peter began with a claim that elicited points of agreement and disagreement: "Christianity is a better bulwark against 'woke' than humanism." This opens a discussion of nihilism, objective vs. subjective views of reality, and moral realism and pragmatism. They consider the primal (and political) rejection of free speech, history's moral arc, the limits of knowledge, and epistemic humility. Both gentlemen clarify their views on alien life and Mr. Shellenberger, a Christian, identifies the "most important" Biblical passage. Michael Shellenberger is an author, investigative journalist, and the founder & president of Environmental Progress, a nonprofit research organization. He also co-founded the California Peace Coalition, an alliance of parents of children killed by fentanyl and parents of homeless addicts. Michael is the author of "Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility" (with Ted Nordhaus), "Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All," and most recently, "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities." Peter and Michael published "Woke Psychopathology: A Taxonomy" in October 2023. Michael Shermer is the world's leading skeptic and Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine. He hosts the podcast The Michael Shermer Show and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University where he teaches Skepticism 101. Dr. Shermer is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers "Why People Believe Weird Things" and "The Believing Brain." His latest book is "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational." Watch this episode on YouTube.