We interview interesting people from a teenage perspective. Join us as we have fascinating discussions with successful authors, entrepreneurs, scientists, etc. (Oh, and adventurers!)
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132. AI Snake Oil and the Skills of the Future: Dr. Arvind Narayanan (Princeton Computer Scientist | Coauthor of "AI Snake Oil")
Send us Fan Mail In the midst of the AI hype bubble, how do we spot real AI capabilities and snake oil marketing? Many AI companies promise that they will help us predict the future. Is this true? Can AI really predict the future? Turns out, in this capacity at least, it might be more snake oil than success. In this episode, I sit down with Arvind Narayanan , a Princeton Computer Scientist and…
131. To Think, or Not to Think - The Sad Trajectory of Liberal Arts in Universities and UTulsa's Honors College : Jennifer A. Frey (Former Dean of UTulsa's Honors College)
Send us Fan Mail This interview is a bit different from other episodes. I sit down with Dr. Jennifer A. Frey, the former Dean of the University of Tulsa’s Honors College. If you’ve been following the Lessons for Interesting People podcast on Substack, you will know I wrote an article about Tulsa’s honors college recently. I committed to UTulsa because the university seemed to have accomplished the…
130. The Consolation of Philosophy - Boethius on Suffering and Hope: Dr. Thomas M. Ward (Prof. of Philosophy @ University of Texas at Austin | Author of "After Stoicism: Last Words of the Last Roman Philosopher")
Send us Fan Mail What happens when your world crumbles? When all the things you hold dear are snatched away from you? Most of us would give up and despair. And, yet, though he awaited an unjust execution, Roman senator and philosopher Boethius penned these hopeful words: “The world in constant change maintains a harmony. And elements keep peace whose nature is to war.” Faced with his coming death,…
129. AI Needs You: Verity Harding (director of the AI & Geopolitics Project @ the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge | Founder of Formation Advisory)
Send us Fan Mail With the development of artificial intelligence on the rise, we are at a crossroads. How will we continue our innovations and regulations of this new technology? But, this is more than a technological question. As my guest, Verity Harding states, “AI needs you.” In this episode, I sit down with Verity Harding to discuss her book, AI Needs You: How We Can Change AI’s Future and…
128. The Accursed Questions - Fyodor Dostoevsky on Suffering, Freedom, and Love: Prof. Gary S. Morson (Prof. of Russian literature @ Northwestern University | Author of "Wonder Confronts Certainty")
Send us Fan Mail What's the meaning of life? Why is there pain and suffering? How do you balance justice and love? These "accursed questions" have haunted humanity for centuries. Fyodor Dostoevsky sought to answer these questions through his characters' lives. His answers are prophetic for our time. In this episode, I sit down with Northwestern University professor of Russian literature Gary Saul…
127. Connective Labor - What Machines Can't Replace in Our Disconnected World: Prof. Allison Pugh (Author of "The Last Human Job" | Prof. of Sociology @ Johns Hopkins University)
Send us Fan Mail As we enter a world of artificial intelligence, the question of what should be automated looms before us. Models need clear, objective metrics to train on. But, can jobs really be distilled to data points? In her book, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World , Prof. Allison Pugh asserts many jobs have a relational component that can’t be caught in the…
126. Pen, Page, and People - The History of the Book: Prof. Adam Smyth (Author of "The Book-Makers")
Send us Fan Mail When we think of history of books, we often neglect the people who created them. We think of history as a figment of facts, connected together by time and advances in technology. But sometimes we overlook the humanity, the souls, the fingerprints in the ink-stained margins of long-forgotten tomes. In this episode, I sit down with Oxford's Prof. Adam Smyth to discuss his The…
125. How Cutting-edge Science Returns Us to Ancient Theology: Return of Dr. Spencer Klavan (Associate Editor @ the Claremont Review of Books | Classicist | Podcaster)
Send us Fan Mail For the past few centuries, we have philosophically operated under Newtonian physics where questions of experience and of the soul were seen as subjective , with no connection to the numerical certainty of science . However, then came quantum physics. In his new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: Illuminating Science Through Faith , classicist Dr. Spencer Klavan retells…
124. The Road to Wisdom - On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust: Dr. Francis S. Collins (Physician, Geneticist, Former Director of NIH)
Send us Fan Mail A multifaceted understanding of wisdom is essential for a functioning society. Only with this broad understanding can we humbly dialogue with those who disagree with us and piece by piece build a culture of conversation. In this episode, I sit down with geneticist and physician Dr. Francis Collins to discuss his latest book, The Road to Wisdom . Dr. Collins argues that we must…
123. In Search of Living Well: Eric Weiner (Bestselling author of "The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers")
Send us Fan Mail In his book, The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers , award-winning journalist Eric Weiner describes how to live well. He argues that our technologically advanced societies have mistaken knowledge for wisdom. In this episode, we discuss how philosophy affects our every action, whether we recognize it or not. Philosophy allows us to make sense of our…
