Month: November 2005

Andrew Cohen & Tom Clark on “Evolutionary Enlightenment,  Naturalism and Free Will”

Audio here!

This week, Arnell Dowret and I will facilitate a discussion between Andrew Cohen, publisher of “What is Enlightenment” magazine, and Thomas Clark, director of the “Center for Naturalism.”

When last we had Mr. Cohen on this program, we touched upon his theory of “evolutionary enlightenment” and tried to find where his ideas, and those of naturalists, interconnected.  Indeed we were pleased to learn, at least on the political end of things and the need for human interconnectedness, that Cohen and naturalism shared similar values.

However, where we differed was on issues of scientific materialism and the notion of free will.

So we invited Andrew back to talk about these differences… And this time with someone more qualified than us – Tom Clark – who has dedicated his life to progressive politics and human interconnectedness – but from a naturalist perspective.

George Lakoff & John Jost on “The Science of Conservatism”

Audio here!

What does it mean to be a Conservative?  Are the NeoCons a natural offshoot of Conservatism, or something far more radical?  What is going on inside the Conservative mind which leads to those policies liberals find so appalling?  And how can we understand Conservatism – as an alternative political mindset, or a product of an underdeveloped psychology?

To speak to these questions and more, ETFF presents a special interview with cognitive scientist George Lakoff, author of Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, and New York University Professor of Psychology John Jost – author of the revealing psychology paper, “Political conservatism as motivated social cognition.”

 

Harmon Leon on Republican Like Me: Infiltrating Red-state, White-ass, And Blue-suit America

Audio here!

A flaming liberal in real life, Leon has been called “a cross between Michael Moore and South Park.”  Among other things, he reports on his zany experience at a Christian wrestling extravaganza, where the scantily clad wrestlers toss opponents into the stands in the name of Jesus.  Leon’s daring anthropological romps into finding out how the other half lives are by turns outrageous, disturbing, and hilarious, yet always illuminating.

Dan Bova, Executive Editor of Stuff Magazine: “Harmon is insane, hysterical,..and after reading about all of the lunatics he’s ripped apart in this book, I hope bulletproof.”