The Grindstone

In the final episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 series, our guests share their thoughts on how this pandemic is changing, will change, and could change the world...for better and for worse. Topics of discussion include technology’s role in our experience of this pandemic, what the economic crisis might mean for the future, what we can expect as we return to school, when we can expect things to return to normal - whether or not such a thing is possible - and what positive societal growth may come out of these challenges.Today's guests are: Dr. Audrey Ruple, Assistant Professor of One Health Epidemiology at Purdue; Dr. Kevin Harrelson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ball State University; Dr. Jillian Carr, Assistant Professor of Economics at Purdue; PhD candidate in the Department of History at Purdue, Caitlin Fendley; Dr. Dan Kelly, Professor of Philosophy at Purdue; Dr. Nilupa Gunaratna, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue; and Dr. David Bernard, an emergency pediatrics physician in Birmingham, AL.Special thanks to Al Terity for all the new sounds.Thanks for listening and enjoy!

In the sixth episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 Series, we explore the economic impact of the pandemic. We begin by revisiting the dilemma of choosing between our physiological and economic health. We then examine three specific aspects of the economy: the macroeconomic concern with the job market and current unemployment rates in the US; global food supply chains and the workers that comprise it who have been effected by COVID-19; and finally, the microeconomics of crime and crime reporting during the economic shutdown.Today's episode features returning guests Dr. Kevin Harrelson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ball State University, and Dr. Jillian Carr, Assistant Professor of Economics at Purdue University. We also welcome to the series for the first time Dr. Nilupa Gunaratna, Assistant Professor of Public Health at Purdue.Enjoy and thanks for listening!

In the fourth episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 Series, we return to our typical interview format to speak with Dr. Faithe Day, Assistant Director of COVID Black: A Taskforce on Black Health and Data.We discuss the COVID Black Taskforce, its mission, and how it was formed; the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black essential workers; environmental factors in healthcare inequities in communities of color; how COVID Black has responded to the recent murders of Black lives at the hands of white police officers and white civilians; balancing the need for peaceful protests and social activism with the need to remain physically distant and to wear face coverings; and what people can do to support the push for racial equity and to dismantle racist policies.Dr. Faithe Day is the Assistant Director of COVID Black and a CLIR Postdoctoral Fellow in Data Curation within the Libraries and School of Information Studies and the African American Studies and Research Center at Purdue University. Dr. Day works on developing curriculum, data collection, and curation projects in collaboration with other scholars to identify critical frameworks and best practices to ensure an ethical and justice-centered approach to data curation, with a focus on Black and LGBTQIA+ community-based data and discourse. Some helpful links are below:COVID Black WebsiteCOVID Black Twitter: @COVIDBLK  Dr. Day's post in the AMSJ Blog "On Teaching in the Time of COVID-19"Thank you to Dr. Day, and thanks for listening!

In the third episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 Series, we look at how hospitals, and healthcare systems generally, responded to, were effected by, and may eventually change due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. We also consider the inequities and disparities in how certain populations, particularly here in the United States, have been effected by COVID-19.Today's episode features returning guests: Dr. Audrey Ruple, Assistant Professor of One Health Epidemiology at Purdue; Dr. David Bernard, an emergency pediatrics physician in Birmingham, AL; Dr. Amy Martin, a bioethicist at IU Health; and Purdue graduate students Caitlin Fendley (History) and Tom Doyle (Philosophy).Enjoy and thanks for listening!

In the second full-length episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 Series, we look at the disease itself, and put it into historical context. We begin by talking with experts about viruses in general, the ability of COVID-19 to make its way around the world so quickly, and why this only emphasizes our need to be diligent when going out into the world where physical distancing and wearing face masks is concerned, a topic we discussed through an ethical lens in the first episode.Our guests in this episode are: Dr. David Bernard, an emergency pediatrics physician in Birmingham, AL; returning guests Dr. Amy Martin, a bioethicist at IU Health, and Dr. Audrey Ruple, Assistant Professor of One Health Epidemiology at Purdue; Dr. Kevin Harrelson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ball State University; and PhD candidate in the Department of History at Purdue, Caitlin Fendley.Enjoy and thanks for listening!

In this, the first full-length episode of The Grindstone's COVID-19 Series, we start with some ethical questions. We start with considerations of moral dilemmas in a broader, philosophical sense. We then drill down to talk about the moral dilemma inherent in determining whether or not to shut down the economy as a response to the pandemic, and the different short- and long-term consequences this decision can, did, and will have. And is having, at the time we posted this episode. We also look at some of the potential effects of shutting down the economy on the heathcare system and the economy itself. We then end the show with considerations of the moral psychology of wearing face masks and the ethics of social distancing.Our guests in this episode are: Dr. Dan Kelly, Professor of Philosophy at Purdue; Dr. Amy Martin, a bioethicist at IU Health; Dr. Jillian Carr, Assistant Professor of Economics at Purdue; Dr. Audrey Ruple, Assistant Professor of One Health Epidemiology at Purdue; and Tom Doyle, a graduate student in the Department of Philosophy at Purdue.Enjoy and thanks for listening!

The Grindstone is releasing a COVID-19 series over the next few weeks. Today we introduce the series, which will sound quite different from our typical format, and share the story of how it came to be and how we recorded it. We also wanted to take a moment to say hello to all of you, and that we hope you all are staying healthy and safe out there.Check out the first full-length episode from our COVID-19 series this Friday afternoon, 19th June, 2020!Thanks for listening!

We have a special bonus episode of The Grindstone today!Years ago, Matthew interviewed Dr. Andrew Cutrofello, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, during Dr. Cutrofello's visit to Purdue to give an Illuminations Lecture. We video recorded this interview on 21 November 2013. Consider this a basement tape, a demo of sorts. The audio is a little quiet in places as we converted it from video, and it is definitely unrehearsed, factual errors and all. Matthew and Dr. Cutrofello discuss among other topics: Shakespeare's Sonnet 71, the meta-poetics of contemporary and Shakespearean poetry, meta-references to the act of writing in Sonnet 71 and the physical act of writing poetry by hand (i.e., chirographically) vs. with the aide of technology, Hamlet as an interlocutor of philosophers, their favorite film versions of Hamlet and the range of potential and actual performances, Shakespeare in contemporary culture and contemporary culture's relation to Elizabethan culture, and the Shakespeare role they would love most to play.Dr. Cutrofello's book, All for Nothing: Hamlet's Negativity, was published by the MIT Press (2014).You can watch his Illuminations lecture, "On the Idea of Metaphysical Poetry", here.Enjoy, and thanks for listening!