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_Why? Philosophical Discussions About Everyday Life _(www.whyradioshow.org) translates philosophy into language anyone can understand, demonstrates its relevance to daily life, and reveals that everyone is doing philosophy all the time. It currently has 123 episodes and covers topics as diverse as Sharia law, teaching philosophy to children, immigration, gardening, prostitution, world music, black identity, restaurant culture, disability, and aging, as well as classic philosophical questions about “just war,” relativism, freedom, and beauty.
In its 10 years, Why?… has attracted impressive and influential thought leaders as guests, from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner to feminist, journalist and social political activist Gloria Steinem.
“When Why?… started a decade ago, there were podcasts attempting to make philosophy sound fun — with forced jokes and fake camaraderie. But I knew there was a deeper opportunity to engage listeners — that just about everyone would love philosophy if they were only asked the right questions,” said host and creator Jack Russell Weinstein Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Dakota. “Our job is to show everything is worth thinking about through the lens of philosophy.”
The show is both broadcast and distributed as a podcast by Prairie Public Radio, the North Dakota public radio network, and an archive of all episodes can be found at https://philosophyinpubliclife.org/previous-episodes/.