Conversations with Peter Boghossian

Steven Goldman, philosopher and author of Thinking with Einstein, explores how Einstein reshaped concepts of space, time, and causality. He traces Einstein’s move from operationalism to realism and discusses unification, observer effects, and the role of theory versus big experiments. Conversation touches on cosmology, time dilation, and the philosophical reach of invariance.

I'm very grateful that British Muslim apologist Subboor Ahmad came on the show. Subboor is a debater, writer, and podcaster who engages topics in philosophy, atheism, and evolutionary biology from a staunchly Islamic perspective. He has a master's degree in philosophy from Birkbeck, University of London, and he focuses on critiquing evolution and atheism while traveling globally to teach Muslims how to articulate Islam to non-Muslims. Watch this episode on YouTube and read more on Substack. Follow Peter Boghossian

Dave Silverman remains the most uncompromising atheist I've ever met (coming from me, that's quite the statement), and we've been friends for over a decade. Even when we've been on opposite sides of culture-war issues, we've never traded a harsh word. In this conversation, we talk about why identitarian leftists are unwilling to defend their beliefs, the Atheist movement, #MeToo, and more. Watch this episode on YouTube and read more on Substack. Follow Peter Boghossian

Matt Thornton, martial arts instructor and author of Gift of Violence, teaches self-defense and violence deterrence. He defines physical violence and explores when speech crosses into support for harm. He explains legal self-defense limits, situational awareness, exit planning, and when visible symbols raise risk. He argues for training, deterrence, and community and policy measures to reduce violent crime.

Lubna is a YouTuber covering political and social affairs in Britain. As a British woman with Pakistani and Indian heritage, she facilitates discussions about Islam in Britain, current events, and more. Find Lubna's latest book here: https://amzn.eu/d/3R8p662 Watch this episode on YouTube. Follow Peter Boghossian

Eliah Overbey is an Assistant Professor of Bioastronautics at the University of Austin. (She also co-founded the Space Omics and Medical Atlas, a biobank that's generated over 90% of publicly available astronaut omics data, and integrating samples from missions like Inspiration4, NASA's Twins Study, and JAXA projects. She specializes in studying genomic and molecular changes in astronaut health during spaceflight. I had the opportunity to ask every question I've ever had about astronaut health, and then some more on top of those! Watch this episode on YouTube and read the accompanying Substack post. Follow Peter Boghossian

I love science fiction (fantasy's a distant second), but reading fiction always gnaws at me with guilt. That changed after talking with Clay Greene, Assistant Professor of Literature at the University of Austin (UATX). Clay dismantled my doubts, proving literature is far more than an escape. It is ammunition for the War. By helping me reflect on some of my favorites, Joe Haldeman's The Forever War and Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Clay changed my view. Fiction tackles civilizational woes directly, and it is one of the many things worth fighting and dying for. Thanks to our conversation, I'm dusting off my sci-fi stack. Watch this episode on YouTube and read the accompanying Substack post. Follow Peter Boghossian

In this lively discussion, James Klug, a street-interviewer and content creator known for his thought-provoking on-the-ground videos, tackles the complexities of immigration and ideological inconsistencies. He critiques the concept of 'suicidal empathy' for illegal immigrants, emphasizing the risks it poses to public safety. James explains how language shapes perceptions of immigration and the need for clarity between legal and illegal contexts. Their conversation also delves into the importance of open dialogue in addressing polarized views and the implications of immigration policy on society.

Carlos Carvalho, President of the University of Austin (UATX), recently told me, "UATX is Navy Seals training for the mind". It's no surprise, then, that when I ask 19-year-old UATX student Merrick Meardon difficult philosophical questions, he was more than capable of sustaining a high level of discourse about concepts of "abiding significance". (Hat tip to the late philosopher Dan Dennett who popularized this phrase.) Merrick and I didn't know what we'd talk about when we sat down together, but we both knew the unspoken assumptions: You will be held to task for your ideas; our conversation will likely not be intellectually easy; if I detect a mistake in your reasoning you'll know about it, and I expect the same courtesy from you; there are no limits on the content or how deep the conversation will go. Merrick attends the University of Austin, and that's the normative expectation. Watch this episode on YouTube and read the accompanying Substack post. Follow Peter Boghossian

Young people are having less sex. There are a lot of speculations as to why, e.g., digital distractions, increasing mental health issues, delayed independence and increased economic pressure, rising autism rates, changing cultural norms, etc., but ultimately, we don't really know why. Helping me unpack these issues is none other than Rikki Schlott, best-selling author, New York Post columnist, and friend of the show. Rikki is writing her next book about sex and dating, and I found it fascinating to learn about how sexual and dating norms were shifting. Watch this episode on YouTube and read the accompanying Substack post. Follow Peter Boghossian