Curated Video
Predicting, Badly
Tufts University philosopher Brian Epstein describes how his experiences as a management consultant giving completely incorrect predictions of many key features of the social world gave him a deep appreciation of how deceptively...
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Outdated Dualisms
Political scientist Mark Bevir (UC Berkeley) describes how the modern political debate has moved beyond the old markets vs. state distinctions.
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Our Need For Ritual
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue describes how we all share the need for ritual.
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Neuroscience in the Courtroom
Legal scholar Nita Farahany (Duke) describes a modern criminal defense that relies upon neuroscientific evidence.
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Neuroscience and Self-Incrimination
Legal scholar Nita Farahany (Duke) describes how she uses neuroscience as a lens to better examine the original purpose of a law.
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Neuropossibilities
Duke University legal scholar Nita Farahany gives her perspective on how advances in neuroscience and medical technology might lead to a safer and more ethical society.
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Neuroimpulsivity?
Duke University legal scholar Nita Farahany describes how modern neuroscience is affecting our legal understanding of what it means to act in a premeditated fashion, and of what it means to be responsible for our actions.
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Looking For Disruptions
Philosopher Brian Epstein (Tufts University) reflects on how the field of social sciences could change for the better.
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Looking for Clues
Poet and independent scholar Jennifer Michael Hecht shares her views of how cultural ideas shape questions and answers, and reveals her technique for how to get to a new idea.
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Justice Denied
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue, argues that Israeli policies towards the Palestinians are undermining
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Israel and the Holocaust
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue, discusses criticisms of the political use of the Holocaust in Israel and beyond.
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Interpreting the Law - Context
Philosopher Scott Soames (USC) highlights the vital role that context plays in matters of legal interpretation.
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Interpreting the Law - An Example
Philosopher Scott Soames (USC) uses the celebrated example of the Smith gun case to illustrate the relation between linguistic ambiguity and legal interpretation.
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Playing Charades
Legal scholar Emilie Hafner-Burton (UC San Diego), describes her disillusioning experiences working at the U.N. Office in Geneva.
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Playing Better Soccer
Philosopher Brian Epstein (Tufts) describes how important research avenues are being overlooked by social scientists.
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Overshadowed by Israel
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue, explains how all too often his views on Jewish identity are overshadowed by his politic critiques of Israeli policy.
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Overcoming Resistance
Classicist and political theorist Josiah Ober (Stanford) relates how he overcame many setbacks to pursue an academic career in classics.
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Morality's Origins
Primatologist Frans de Waal (Emory) argues that our essential moral tendencies are already within us as a product of evolution.
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Making Sense of ISIS
Historian Nile Green (UCLA) describes how adopting the model of religious economy allows us to make better sense of the difference between all manner of violent and non-violent religious sects.
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Making Science Policy
Legal scholar Nita Farahany (Duke) describes the strengths and weaknesses of different governmental advisory bodies.
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Losing The Sharp Edges
Sign language linguist Carol Padden describes how smaller languages are often much more impenetrable to outsiders than larger languages, due to a combination of grammatical structure and common sense of reference.
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Legal Rationale
Philosopher Scott Soames (USC) presents us with a methodology for developing an appropriate legal interpretation in the face of vagueness.
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Judaism and Identity
David Goldberg, Former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish Synagogue tackles the thorny question, Who is a Jew?
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Jewish Values
Rabbi Emeritus David J. Goldberg describes two core values that he believes to have been associated with the Jewish people over the past three and a half thousand years: freedom and justice.