Principle of Charity

On this special Spotlight episode the US broadcaster/podcaster/writer Krista Tippett joins Emile and Lloyd to discuss wisdom and meaning. Krista’s On Being radio show and podcast has enriched the lives of its many millions of listeners over decades as has her best-selling book Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of LivingAs host Emile Sherman said of Krista, “Our aim on the podcast is to have true expert guests, guests who are often scholars, academics, or advocates steeped in the knowledge of a particular issue and even our discussions around the principle of charity, about how to talk with others whose views we disagree with, are often evidence based. We draw on the latest research in psychology and other disciplines to teach us how to most effectively engage with others, to seek the truth rather than win the fight. “In the extraordinary Krista Tippett we have a guest who’s less interested in knowledge, than in mystery, less focused on truth than on meaning and less obsessed with reason than with resonance.It’s a privilege to see how her worldview can be applied to the principle of charity, to the way we approach, listen to and interact with others.”Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being, which has won the highest honors in broadcast, Internet and podcasting. Her On Being Project is evolving to meet the callings of the post-2020 world — and to accompany the generative people and possibilities within this tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her most recent book is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre.Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked inFind Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter.This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle HarveyFind Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on InstagramFind Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity.Guests Tigress Osborn (she/her) is a fat rights advocate and Executive Director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the world’s oldest documented organization working towards Equality at Every Size. She is a co-founding leader of the Campaign for Size Freedom, which supports passing legislation to outlaw size discrimination. Tigress is a two-time women's college graduate with degrees in Africana Studies (Smith) and English (Mills). She is an intersectional feminist teacher and writer whose professional background as a youth empowerment leader and DEI educator has informed her fat liberation activism since 2008. She has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, and the cover of the Smith College Alumnae Quarterly; heard on BBC AntiSocial, Burnt Toast, and NPR; and seen on ABC News, NewsNation and Free Speech TV’s Feminism Today. Helen Pluckrose is a liberal humanist and political and cultural writer and commentator. Her writing has focused on the evolution of postmodern thought into contemporary Critical Social Justice activism which she regards as counterproductive to the goal of genuine social justice. Helen is best known for participation in the Grievance Studies Affair, co-authoring Cynical Theories and the foundation of the organisation Counterweight to support workers at risk of cancellation for not supporting Critical Social Justice theories. She mostly just wants people to value evidence-based knowledge and consistently liberal ethics.  Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre.Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked inFind Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter.This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle HarveyFind Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on InstagramFind Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au

We live in a culture that is obsessed by weight. About a third of adult women in the US are on a diet at any given time, and a fifth of men. Those who aren’t dieting are thinking about dieting, with well over half of all adults actively wanting to lose weight, with men only slightly trailing women.  To feed the obsession on weight, or to help people manage their weight, depending on the way one looks at things, there is a global weight loss and management industry that is expected to surpass US$405 billion by 2030. So what is going on here? Why is there a near pervasive belief that it’s good to be thin and bad to be fat.  In this episode we explore some of the reasons why fat has come to signify so much, looking at issues like health, shame, self-discipline, beauty and more.  Guests Tigress Osborn (she/her) is a fat rights advocate and Executive Director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the world’s oldest documented organization working towards Equality at Every Size. She is a co-founding leader of the Campaign for Size Freedom, which supports passing legislation to outlaw size discrimination. Tigress is a two-time women's college graduate with degrees in Africana Studies (Smith) and English (Mills). She is an intersectional feminist teacher and writer whose professional background as a youth empowerment leader and DEI educator has informed her fat liberation activism since 2008. She has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, and the cover of the Smith College Alumnae Quarterly; heard on BBC AntiSocial, Burnt Toast, and NPR; and seen on ABC News, NewsNation and Free Speech TV’s Feminism Today. Helen Pluckrose is a liberal humanist and political and cultural writer and commentator. Her writing has focused on the evolution of postmodern thought into contemporary Critical Social Justice activism which she regards as counterproductive to the goal of genuine social justice. Helen is best known for participation in the Grievance Studies Affair, co-authoring Cynical Theories and the foundation of the organisation Counterweight to support workers at risk of cancellation for not supporting Critical Social Justice theories. She mostly just wants people to value evidence-based knowledge and consistently liberal ethics.  Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre.Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked inFind Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter.This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle HarveyFind Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on InstagramFind Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity.Tim DeanTim Dean is Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, where he works to promote ethics in public and professional spheres. He has a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of New South Wales on the evolution of human nature and specialises in ethics, critical thinking and public philosophy. He is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney and the author of How We Became Human: And Why We Need to Change published by Pan Macmillan. Tim received the Australasian Association of Philosophy Media Professionals’ Award for his work on philosophy in public. He has delivered keynotes and workshops across Australia and the Asia Pacific for the likes of TEDx, Facebook, Commonwealth Bank, Aesop, Clayton Utz, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sydney Opera House and the University of Sydney. Danielle HarveyDanielle Harvey is a curator, creative producer and director. Danielle works across festivals, live performance, talks, installation and digital spaces, creating layered programs that connect deeply with audiences. She is currently Festival Director of the infamous FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS and Director of the line-blurring theatrical events company Dancing Giant Productions. Danielle was creator of BINGEFEST (a festival celebrating digital culture) and ANTIDOTE (a festival of ideas and action), and co-creator of ALL ABOUT WOMEN (a feminist festival). She was the co-creator and originating director of the award-winning immersive experience A MIDNIGHT VISIT. Her latest immersive work ETERNITYLAND created a theatrical ‘playground’ to rave reviews. Past roles include Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House, the Festival Executive Producer of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Director of Engagement for The Ethics Centre.Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre.Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked inFind Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter.This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle HarveyFind Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au

In this episode we go back to basics and look at the practical ways of communicating the principle of charity and how certain behaviours over time have been developed for social cohesion, even when we don’t all agree. With our special guests –  moral philosopher Dr Tim Dean and festival director Danielle Harvey – we have a wide-ranging discussion on what communicating in good faith looks like, what bad faith is, and how to navigate tricky topics. We discuss ways to have hard conversations – be that in person, in events, in podcasts or even in lecture theatres. This takes us to the role of morality, behavioural evolution, and outrage. What do we have in our toolkit that we can use to solve the problems of how to live together peacefully? And just how do you communicate your view or knowledge in a way that can be understood while inviting challenge in a respectful manner? This episode introduces our new partnership with The Ethics Centre, a not for profit organisation who works to bring ethics to the centre of everyday life. We have joined forces, aligned by an intent to bring curiosity and generosity to conversations about the tough topics in our world.  Dr Tim Dean is the senior philosopher at The Ethics Centre. We introduce Danielle Harvey, our new podcast producer who is also festival director of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which is presented by The Ethics Centre. Tim DeanTim Dean is Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, where he works to promote ethics in public and professional spheres. He has a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of New South Wales on the evolution of human nature and specialises in ethics, critical thinking and public philosophy. He is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney and the author of How We Became Human: And Why We Need to Change published by Pan Macmillan. Tim received the Australasian Association of Philosophy Media Professionals’ Award for his work on philosophy in public. He has delivered keynotes and workshops across Australia and the Asia Pacific for the likes of TEDx, Facebook, Commonwealth Bank, Aesop, Clayton Utz, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sydney Opera House and the University of Sydney. Danielle HarveyDanielle Harvey is a curator, creative producer and director. Danielle works across festivals, live performance, talks, installation and digital spaces, creating layered programs that connect deeply with audiences. She is currently Festival Director of the infamous FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS and Director of the line-blurring theatrical events company Dancing Giant Productions. Danielle was creator of BINGEFEST (a festival celebrating digital culture) and ANTIDOTE (a festival of ideas and action), and co-creator of ALL ABOUT WOMEN (a feminist festival). She was the co-creator and originating director of the award-winning immersive experience A MIDNIGHT VISIT. Her latest immersive work ETERNITYLAND created a theatrical ‘playground’ to rave reviews. Past roles include Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House, the Festival Executive Producer of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Director of Engagement for The Ethics Centre.Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre.Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked inFind Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter.This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle HarveyFind Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au

With guests, Ahmed Elgammal and Michael SacasasIn Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity.   ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram. 

In 2022, an AI generated work of art won a US state art competition. The artist used Midjourney, one of the popular AI systems that also include Dall-E and Stable Diffusion. They are trained on the millions of images scattered through the internet, using a deep learning program called a ‘generative adversarial network’, or GAN for short. It works by taking in text prompts, where you type in what you want the artwork to look like, and the AI then draws on the huge database of artworks, to generate a new work that conforms to the prompts.  But to create a great AI work, it’s not as simple as typing ‘create some great art’. The artist who won that competition put in lengthy complex prompts, working up hundreds of iterations before he arrived at the final work.  So, is this really art?  When we see an AI art creation, it genuinely feels ‘creative’. But is there something humans do when we create which is qualitatively different to AI? Like AI in every domain it has touched, AI art is challenging us to rethink our categories and even to ask us to question what it means to be human.Our guests for this conversation are both experts in the intersection between art and technology.  Professor Ahmed Elgammal has actually constructed AI systems that have created artworks that are so good, a majority of people believe they are truly original human creations. Michael Sacasas,on the other hand, sees AI art as missing an essential ingredient, no matter how good its style is. It’ll never convey the deep connection between artist and viewer that we all crave.GuestsAhmed ElgammalDr. Ahmed Elgammal is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and an Executive Council Faculty at the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University. He is the founder and director of the Art and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Rutgers. He is also the founder and CEO of Playform AI, a platform that is dedicated to give artist access to the latest generative AI tech. In 2017, he developed AICAN, an autonomous AI artist and collaborative creative partner, which was acclaimed in an Artsy editorial as “the biggest artistic achievement of the year.” In 2021, he led the AI team that completed Beethoven’s 10th symphony, which received worldwide media coverage. He received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park.Michael SacasasMichael writes The Convivial Society, a popular newsletter on technology, culture, and the moral life.  Michael has written for The New Atlantis, Comment, Plough, The New Inquiry, Real Life Magazine, Mere Orthodoxy, The American, and Second Nature Journal. His work has also been featured in The Atlantic, Vox, and the New York Times. He is the Executive Director, Christian Study Centre in Florida, and earned his MA in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2002. He was later a doctoral candidate at the University of Central Florida studying the relationship between technology and society with a focus on the work of Hannah Arendt.  He is an Associate Fellow in Ethics and Culture at the Greystone Theological Institute.Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram 

With guests, Professor Mohamad Abdalla and Professor Robyn HornerIn Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity.   ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram. 

Christianity and Islam are the two biggest religions on the globe, accounting for just over half the world’s population combined. Most of us know about the religion we belong to and too often learn about other religions from the actions of extreme fundamentalists, mediated by the news, and by politics. In this episode we go back to basics, to find out what Christianity and Islam actually believe. What are the essential building blocks of their theology? What do you need to believe as true? What is god, what is a soul, and what happens after death? And what exactly is the promise of the religion, whether it’s salvation or eternal life, and how do you achieve it?The stakes are incredibly high when it comes to theology. Countless wars have been fought in the name of christianity and islam, both between these religions and between different sects within them. And whilst there are considerable overlaps which we will explore in this episode, there are also irreconcilable differences, differences not in mere preferences and values, but in the claim to the absolute truth of the nature of the universe, our place in it, the laws of how to live, our path to salvation and our purpose in life.  GuestsProfessor Robyn HornerProfessor Robyn Horner is a teaching and research academic within the School of Theology, and a member of the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry (IRCI) at Australian Catholic University. From 2010-2015, she held the position of Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy.Formerly a teacher in Catholic primary and secondary schools, Robyn is a liturgical musician and composer, Professor Mohamad AbdallaProfessor Abdalla has worked in the field of Islamic Studies for over 25 years and played a leading role in establishing Islamic Studies across Australian universities. He is currently the Founding Director, the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE). In 2020 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding service to education in the sphere of Islamic Studies. He established and led the Griffith University Islamic Research Unit (GIRU), at Griffith University in Brisbane (2006-2008); the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (NCEIS), a dynamic collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Griffith University and the University of Western Sydney (2008-2016). ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram