Inspire Us Podcast

Fixing Polarisation: Politics, Free Speech & the Future of the West | Robert B. Talisse | Inspire Us Podcast

Robert B. Talisse is a Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and one of America's leading thinkers on democracy, political polarisation, and public reason. He has authored over fifteen books including Overdoing Democracy, Sustaining Democracy, and A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy — exploring how democracies can thrive amid deep disagreement, belief polarisation, and public ignorance.In this episode of Inspire Us, we discuss:— What belief polarisation is and why it's tearing us apart— Why the more you only talk to people like you, the more extreme you become— Free speech — and why it's not just about the person speaking, it's about you listening— Why government efforts to fix polarisation could actually make things worse— The future of the WestCan Western democracies fix polarisation, or have we already passed the point where the usual solutions apply?

Nigeria's Green Energy Transition: Climate Finance, Oil & Poverty | Ehireme Alexis Uddin S8EP4

Ehireme Alexis Uddin is a PhD researcher at SOAS University of London whose work sits at the intersection of climate finance, climate governance and development policy. Her research focuses specifically on Nigeria, examining the state of climate finance, the role of institutions in ensuring the green transition is effective and equitable, and what it actually takes to finance an energy transition in an economy built on oil.

Common Law Liberalism: The Case Against Government Made Rules | John Hasnas Inspire Us podcast S8EP3

John Hasnas is a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the McDonough School of Business, and the author of Common Law Liberalism, a bold and original contribution to political and legal philosophy that challenges how we think about law, order, and the role of government in society.This episode is a full breakdown of common law, what it is, where it came from, and why it may be the most important legal system most people have never thought about. John Hasnas makes the case that society has always been capable of regulating itself, and that the invisible framework of common law has been doing the heavy lifting all along while government legislation gets all the credit. Find John Hasnas' book "Common Law Liberalism" on Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/0fRXnDiz

Why the Universe Has Mass: The Higgs Field & What Physics Can't Explain Yet | Michael Peskin S8EP2

Michael Peskin is a theoretical physicist and Professor at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University, one of the world's leading centres for particle physics research. He is the co-author of An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory, widely considered the definitive graduate-level textbook in the field and used by physicists across the globe. This episode is a full breakdown of particle physics as simply explained as it gets, by one of the best in the field. We explore one of the deepest questions in all of science, why does anything have mass at all? We unpack the Standard Model of particle physics, the discovery of the Higgs boson, and what the Higgs field actually is and why it matters. We also get into what the Standard Model still cannot explain, how the Large Hadron Collider works and why it discards 99% of its data, and how AI is now being used to push the boundaries of particle physics discovery. This is a conversation about the frontier of human knowledge where our best equations break down, what lies beyond them, and why physicists like Michael Peskin believe the biggest surprises are still ahead. Let us know in the comments what you think! Hope you enjoy!

Why the Universe Is Expanding: Dark Energy, Cosmology & General Relativity | Bharat Ratra Inspire Us

Bharat Ratra is a distinguished Physicist and Professor of Physics at Kansas State University and a leading cosmologist. He is best known for co-proposing the first dynamical dark energy model in 1988, a foundational idea that helps explain the accelerating expansion of the universe.In this conversation we explore the biggest mysteries in modern cosmology: dark energy, the nature of the universe’s expansion, inflation, and what we still don’t understand about the cosmos. We discuss how our understanding of dark energy might evolve over time and what recent observations might mean for our fundamental of reality.It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to speak with Professor Ratra. We hope you enjoy this conversation. The episode is available now on YouTube and all podcast platforms.