Philosophy For Our Times

Is freedom always an absolute good? For freedom to be beneficial and practical, does it need constraining? Are attacks on freedom really the first step to tyranny?

From freedom from tyranny and poverty to the right to free speech, we assume freedom is always desirable. But critics argue the consequences of freedom are less obviously desirable than we imagine and frequently unknown. Kafka wrote, "It is often better to be in chains than to be free," and Sartre that, "we're condemned to be free" since we are responsible for everything we do. And in wealthier countries where citizens are freer from the hunt for basic necessities like food, water, and housing, studies show depression and anxiety are more prevalent, not less.

Daniel Markovits is Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Private Law. He is the author of the bestselling book The Meritocracy Trap

Elizabeth Anderson is Professor of Public Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Michigan. She specialises in moral, social and political philosophy, as well as feminist theory and the philosophy of economics and the social sciences.

Yaron Brook is an entrepreneur, writer, activist, and political scientist. He is currently chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute and host of the Yaron Brook Show.

Isabel Hilton hosts.

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Who was the first person to be cool? What connects the civil rights movement and Albert Camus' 'The Rebel'? How has the coopting of black terminology impacted American society more broadly?

From James Dean to Kate Moss, we know cool when we see it. But its history goes back to jazz music and the civil rights movement. Academic Joel Dinerstein reveals the forgotten history of this elusive concept. "Entertaining and insightful" - New York Times

Joel Dinerstein is the author of The Origins of Cool in Postwar America (University of Chicago, 2017) and Clark Chair of American Civilisation at Tulane University and writes about race, cool, and popular music. 

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Is it truly the beginning of the end of Western dominance? Where did it all go wrong? And is this more than just an upheaval of the status quo?

For centuries, Western powers dominated the global order and mistook that moment for permanence. Join Former President of the UN Security Council. Kishore Mahbubani, who argues the shift now underway is not upheaval but historical rebalancing. Asian and other non-Western societies are not “rising” but returning to their natural weight in world affairs. The danger lies in Western refusal to accept this reality. The West's clinging to primacy is distorting policy and fueling conflict.

"Arguably Asia's most influential thinker." - Martin Wolf

Kishore Mahbubani is a Singaporean diplomat and scholar. A former President of the UN Security Council, his work examines the geopolitics of Asia's return to the global centre stage.

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Is the populist right opposed to liberalism and the free market? Does this mark a change in what it is to be right-wing, or was it a mistake to see populism as far right in the first place? Or is there an unavoidable conflict on the right between maintaining the status quo and being conservative, and enabling change through the free market?

At the outset of the use of the term, to be on the right was to back the aristocracy, authority and the status quo. In contrast, the liberals, known as Whigs in 18th century Britain, backed change, freedom and the rights of the individual. But in recent decades to be in favour of the free market and against the state itself came to be seen as right-wing. Now there's a further twist. The new populist right, often described as far right by its critics, has become critical of some aspects of the free market. Trump's tariffs are in support of current jobs and against the market. Le Pen is against big corporations. Reform in favour of state ownership of key services.

Sohrab Ahmari is a celebrated journalist and cultural critic and co-founder of Compact magazine and author of Tyranny, Inc.

Gawain Towler is a British political strategist, journalist, and long-standing figure in the Eurosceptic movement. Best known for his work in party communications and media strategy, he currently serves on the governing board of Reform UK.

Rachel Maclean is a former UK minister, Conservative peer, and is Director of Strategy to the Leader of the Opposition.

Mark Littlewood is a libertarian economist and media commentator known for his provocative advocacy on free markets, regulation, and public policy. He’s currently director of the think tank Popular Conservatism.

Hosted by Roger Hearing.

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What do voyeurs want? What can the Greeks teach us about love? Why do we pursue those who we now are going to hurt us?

Despite our longing for lasting connection, love often falters on the rocks of misunderstanding and unmet expectations. Philosopher and founder of The School of Life, Alain de Botton, explores how romantic ideals mislead us and why emotional maturity, not chemistry, holds the key to enduring intimacy. Drawing on philosophy and psychology, he examines how our childhood shapes desire and how love, far from being a mystical or ethereal force, is a demanding skill we must patiently and consciously learn.

"One of our most consistently illuminating writers on contemporary culture." — John Gray

Alain de Botton is the bestselling philosopher redefining how we understand love, work, and meaning in the modern world. He first rose to prominence with Essays in Love, a novel-philosophy hybrid that became an international bestseller. He has since authored several bestselling works that blend literary elegance, psychological insight, and philosophical depth.

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