With David Baddiel and Simon Sebag Montefiore. In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. David Baddiel is a comedian, author, screenwriter and television presenter. In 1992, he performed to 12,500 people with Rob Newman at the Wembley arena in the UK’s first ever arena comedy show and was credited as turning comedy into “The New Rock’n’Roll”. Alongside The Lightning Seeds, the pair also wrote the seminal football anthem Three Lions. David has made several acclaimed documentaries, including the 2016 travel documentary David Baddiel On The Silk Road (Discovery) and in 2017, The Trouble with Dad (Channel4). More recently he created and presented Confronting Holocaust Denial and Social Media, Anger and Us on BBC Two. Recently he published the Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction polemic Jews Don’t Count, and due to the success of this book, David has also written and presented a documentary under the same title for Channel 4, which was released in late 2022. David’s most recent non-fiction book, The God Desire, was published earlier this year. Simon Sebag Montefiore is the internationally bestselling author of prize-winning books that have been published in forty-eight languages. CATHERINE THE GREAT & POTEMKIN was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize; STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR won History Book of the Year Prize at the British Book Awards; YOUNG STALIN won the Costa Biography Award, the LA Times Book Prize for Biography, the Kreisky Prize and the Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique; JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY - A HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST won the Jewish Book Council Book of the Year Prize and the Wenjin Book Prize in China; THE ROMANOVS: 1613-1918 won the Lupicaia del Terriccio Book Prize. He is the author of the Moscow Trilogy of novels: SASHENKA, RED SKY AT NOON and ONE NIGHT IN WINTER, which won the Political Fiction Book of the Year Award. His latest book is THE WORLD: A FAMILY HISTORY OF HUMANITY which has been a NYT and Sunday Times top ten bestseller. CREDITS Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and X Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we spend time with David Baddiel and Simon Sebag Montefiore and ask -  ​​Where do Jews really come from? Are they white or people of colour? And how should we deal with the ethnic diversity within Jewish populations, with differences between Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews? Questions around whether Jews are white or people of colour has become a fraught issue. In an ideal world (or the ideal for at least most of us in the multicultural liberal west,) it shouldn’t matter. However, race, ethnicity and politics have always been intertwined, and this question takes us to some surprising places in the battle of racial politics.  In particular, both the far right and now the progressive left are drawing a lot of meaning from the question ‘are Jews white or people of colour?’, with Jews seemingly on the wrong side of each of their equations. They are non-white for the far right, and quintessentially white for the progressive left.  To help answer this question and more, we have two guests with very different lenses. Our first, Simon Sebag Montefiore, is one of the world’s leading historians. He outlines the historical, archaeological and genetic consensus, and any counterviews, on where Jews come from and how Jewish populations have moved through the ages. We also have author, comedian and documentarian David Baddiel to help with the cultural and political significance of this question, and to explore whether Jews are privileged enough to be ‘deemed’ white, regardless of their Middle Eastern heritage.  BIOS David Baddiel is a comedian, author, screenwriter and television presenter. In 1992, he performed to 12,500 people with Rob Newman at the Wembley arena in the UK’s first ever arena comedy show and was credited as turning comedy into “The New Rock’n’Roll”. Alongside The Lightning Seeds, the pair also wrote the seminal football anthem Three Lions. David has made several acclaimed documentaries, including the 2016 travel documentary David Baddiel On The Silk Road (Discovery) and in 2017, The Trouble with Dad (Channel4). More recently he created and presented Confronting Holocaust Denial and Social Media, Anger and Us on BBC Two. Recently he published the Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction polemic Jews Don’t Count, and due to the success of this book, David has also written and presented a documentary under the same title for Channel 4, which was released in late 2022. David’s most recent non-fiction book, The God Desire, was published earlier this year. Simon Sebag Montefiore is the internationally bestselling author of prize-winning books that have been published in forty-eight languages. CATHERINE THE GREAT & POTEMKIN was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize; STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR won History Book of the Year Prize at the British Book Awards; YOUNG STALIN won the Costa Biography Award, the LA Times Book Prize for Biography, the Kreisky Prize and the Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique; JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY -   A HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST  won the Jewish Book Council Book of the Year Prize and the Wenjin Book Prize in China; THE ROMANOVS: 1613-1918 won the Lupicaia del Terriccio Book Prize. He is the author of the Moscow Trilogy of novels: SASHENKA, RED SKY AT NOON and ONE NIGHT IN WINTER, which won the Political Fiction Book of the Year Award.  His latest book is THE WORLD:   A FAMILY HISTORY OF HUMANITY which has been a NYT and Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Featuring the wonderful Benjamin Law and Professor John Rasko AO. In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. BIOS Benjamin Law is an Australian writer and broadcaster. He’s the author of The Family Law (2010), Gaysia (2013), the Quarterly Essay Moral Panic 101 (2017) and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia (2019). Benjamin is also an AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter. He’s the co-executive producer, co-creator and co-writer of the Netflix comedy-drama Wellmania (2023), playwright of Melbourne Theatre Company’s sold-out play Torch the Place (2020), and creator and co-writer of three seasons of the award-winning SBS/Hulu/Comedy Central Asia TV series The Family Law (2016–2019). Benjamin works and lives on Gadigal Country, part of the Eora Nation (Sydney). He is a board member of Story Factory, committee member of the Jesse Cox Audio Fellowship and ambassador for Plan Australia, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, Victorian Pride Centre, Bridge for Asylum Seekers and the Pinnacle Foundation. Professor John Rasko AO is internationally renowned as Australia’s pioneer in the clinical application of adult stem cells and gene therapies. As a clinical hematologist, pathologist and scientist with a renowned track record in gene and stem cell therapy, experimental haematology and molecular biology he has published over 220 academic papers. He is Deputy Director and leads the Program in Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program at The Centenary Institute and is Head, Department of Cell & Molecular Therapies at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. CREDITS Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and X This podcast is produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Featuring the wonderful Benjamin Law and Professor John Rasko AO In this episode with the help of a cultural critic and a genetic expert we consider how to best make sense of our ancestral past and the dangers of over identifying with tribes alongside the very real opportunities science is giving us to change our genetics. While we are all unique individuals, who of course come from families and a line of ancestors, in the end we are responsible for our own lives. While we may look to our ancestry for helpful hints as to how to live well, how much, if at all, should our heritage define or constrain us?  On a genetic level we have inherited some of the traits of our forebears, and even if, for example the colour of our skin, hair or facial features does express our genetic connection to race, that necessarily ‘mean’ something to us or should it be embraced? What about inherited genetic disorders, are there responsibilities around passing these on that need to be considered? While knowing which ‘tribe’ we come from can offer a deep sense of belonging, even pride, for some the reminder of our heritage is irrelevant or even shameful or simply unhelpful. The deep psychological pull towards identifying as part of a ‘tribe’ can be particularly true if we are discriminated against because of your heritage and background. If you’re attacked because you’re black, Islamic, Asian, Jewish, deaf etc, you quickly find that you are part of that tribe, whether it’s personally important to you or not. There are of course many dangers of over-identifying with tribes. Tribal thinking is always fraught with danger - any look at history will tell you that. These questions about whether our heritage matters, and what it means, have also become heavily politicised. We make sense of our lives through the stories we tell ourselves. Many of us seek out our ancestry, our tribe, as a way of knowing who we are. Yet inherited genes from past individuals, randomly shaken up in their journey across generations and finally passed from our parents to us are just that – random. So how much should our ethnic heritage matter, and is it the most important part of our individual stories? BIOS Benjamin Law is an Australian writer and broadcaster. He’s the author of The Family Law (2010), and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia (2019). Benjamin is also an AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter. He’s the co-executive producer, co-creator and co-writer of the Netflix comedy-drama Wellmania (2023), playwright of Melbourne Theatre Company’s sold-out play Torch the Place (2020), and creator and co-writer of three seasons of the award-winning SBS/Hulu/Comedy Central Asia TV series The Family Law (2016–2019). Professor John Rasko AO is internationally renowned as Australia’s pioneer in the clinical application of adult stem cells and gene therapies. As a clinical hematologist, pathologist and scientist he has published over 220 academic papers. He is Deputy Director and leads the Program in Gene and Stem Cell Therapy Program at The Centenary Institute and is Head, Department of Cell & Molecular Therapies at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. CREDITS Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and X Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. BIOS Tyson Yunkaporta is an Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk. His work focuses on applying Indigenous methods of inquiry to resolve complex issues and explore global crises. John Humphreys is the Chief Economist at The Australian Taxpayers' Alliance. He has worked previously as a policy analyst for the Australian Treasury. John was the founder of the Australian Libertarian Society, the Liberal Democratic Party (now called "Libertarian Party"), and the Friedman Conference. He also ran a research centre and education charity in Cambodia for many years, for which he was awarded a knighthood in 2016.  CREDITS Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and X This podcast is produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we contrast two very different ways of seeing the world — Libertarianism and Indigenous Ways, to consider which model is better for society.  Libertarianism, with a focus on the version of this political philosophy that came about in the second half of the 20th century, usually associated with the centre right, does in fact cut across traditional left /right lines. It sees our individual liberty, our freedom as the most important political value. It's a political philosophy that values civil liberties, competitive markets, private property and free speech. It sees the government as a poor substitute for voluntary community and dislikes government intervention. Not just because governments may be corrupt or inefficient, but because of the real threat of force that lies at the base of all laws to coerce us to do what we may not want to do. Libertarianism sits on the extreme, but still well within a general Western enlightenment worldview with other pillars like capitalism and free functioning markets. One could say that the purpose that sits behind this entire worldview is the flourishing of the individual.  In contrast to libertarianism we consider Indigenous Australian knowledge systems, which echo many First Nations’ ways of seeing the world. Here the individual is just one node in a hugely complex system of relationships that extend to the family, to community, to ancestors, to future generations, to animals and to the land — which is also seen to be alive and sentient — and to the creation stories themselves. While this system recognises we have individual desires and we should honour our individuality, it is driven by prioritising our relationships and obligations to all those groups mentioned above with an overarching sense of custodianship for a story that started in creation and will continue long after we are gone.  There are some interesting crossovers between the two worldviews, such as a distrust of centralised top-down systems of control and a belief in the power of emergent systems that come from the web of human interactions, however these are two very different ways of seeing the role of the individual and their relationships and responsibilities in and to society.  This episode contains some coarse language. BIOS Tyson Yunkaporta is an Aboriginal scholar, founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne, and author of Sand Talk. His work focuses on applying Indigenous methods of inquiry to resolve complex issues and explore global crises. John Humphreys is the Chief Economist at The Australian Taxpayers' Alliance. He has worked previously as a policy analyst for the Australian Treasury. John was the founder of the Australian Libertarian Society, the Liberal Democratic Party (now called "Libertarian Party"), and the Friedman Conference. He also ran a research centre and education charity in Cambodia for many years, for which he was awarded a knighthood in 2016.  CREDITS Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and X This podcast is produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being, which has won the highest honors in broadcast, Internet and podcasting. Her On Being Project is evolving to meet the callings of the post-2020 world — and to accompany the generative people and possibilities within this tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her most recent book is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this special Spotlight episode the US broadcaster/podcaster/writer Krista Tippett joins Emile and Lloyd to discuss wisdom and meaning.  Krista’s On Being radio show and podcast has enriched the lives of its many millions of listeners over decades as has her best-selling book Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living As host Emile Sherman said of Krista, “Our aim on the podcast is to have true expert guests, guests who are often scholars, academics, or advocates steeped in the knowledge of a particular issue and even our discussions around the principle of charity, about how to talk with others whose views we disagree with, are often evidence based. We draw on the latest research in psychology and other disciplines to teach us how to most effectively engage with others, to seek the truth rather than win the fight.  “In the extraordinary Krista Tippett we have a guest who’s less interested in knowledge, than in mystery, less focused on truth than on meaning and less obsessed with reason than with resonance.It’s a privilege to see how her worldview can be applied to the principle of charity, to the way we approach, listen to and interact with others.” Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being, which has won the highest honors in broadcast, Internet and podcasting. Her On Being Project is evolving to meet the callings of the post-2020 world — and to accompany the generative people and possibilities within this tender, tumultuous time to be alive. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her most recent book is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. Guests Tigress Osborn (she/her) is a fat rights advocate and Executive Director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the world’s oldest documented organization working towards Equality at Every Size. She is a co-founding leader of the Campaign for Size Freedom, which supports passing legislation to outlaw size discrimination. Tigress is a two-time women's college graduate with degrees in Africana Studies (Smith) and English (Mills). She is an intersectional feminist teacher and writer whose professional background as a youth empowerment leader and DEI educator has informed her fat liberation activism since 2008. She has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, and the cover of the Smith College Alumnae Quarterly; heard on BBC AntiSocial, Burnt Toast, and NPR; and seen on ABC News, NewsNation and Free Speech TV’s Feminism Today. Helen Pluckrose is a liberal humanist and political and cultural writer and commentator. Her writing has focused on the evolution of postmodern thought into contemporary Critical Social Justice activism which she regards as counterproductive to the goal of genuine social justice. Helen is best known for participation in the Grievance Studies Affair, co-authoring Cynical Theories and the foundation of the organisation Counterweight to support workers at risk of cancellation for not supporting Critical Social Justice theories. She mostly just wants people to value evidence-based knowledge and consistently liberal ethics.  Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a culture that is obsessed by weight. About a third of adult women in the US are on a diet at any given time, and a fifth of men. Those who aren’t dieting are thinking about dieting, with well over half of all adults actively wanting to lose weight, with men only slightly trailing women.  To feed the obsession on weight, or to help people manage their weight, depending on the way one looks at things, there is a global weight loss and management industry that is expected to surpass US$405 billion by 2030. So what is going on here? Why is there a near pervasive belief that it’s good to be thin and bad to be fat.  In this episode we explore some of the reasons why fat has come to signify so much, looking at issues like health, shame, self-discipline, beauty and more.  Guests Tigress Osborn (she/her) is a fat rights advocate and Executive Director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), the world’s oldest documented organization working towards Equality at Every Size. She is a co-founding leader of the Campaign for Size Freedom, which supports passing legislation to outlaw size discrimination. Tigress is a two-time women's college graduate with degrees in Africana Studies (Smith) and English (Mills). She is an intersectional feminist teacher and writer whose professional background as a youth empowerment leader and DEI educator has informed her fat liberation activism since 2008. She has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, and the cover of the Smith College Alumnae Quarterly; heard on BBC AntiSocial, Burnt Toast, and NPR; and seen on ABC News, NewsNation and Free Speech TV’s Feminism Today. Helen Pluckrose is a liberal humanist and political and cultural writer and commentator. Her writing has focused on the evolution of postmodern thought into contemporary Critical Social Justice activism which she regards as counterproductive to the goal of genuine social justice. Helen is best known for participation in the Grievance Studies Affair, co-authoring Cynical Theories and the foundation of the organisation Counterweight to support workers at risk of cancellation for not supporting Critical Social Justice theories. She mostly just wants people to value evidence-based knowledge and consistently liberal ethics.  Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo, Bronwen Reid and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guests, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. Tim Dean Tim Dean is Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, where he works to promote ethics in public and professional spheres. He has a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of New South Wales on the evolution of human nature and specialises in ethics, critical thinking and public philosophy. He is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney and the author of How We Became Human: And Why We Need to Change published by Pan Macmillan. Tim received the Australasian Association of Philosophy Media Professionals’ Award for his work on philosophy in public. He has delivered keynotes and workshops across Australia and the Asia Pacific for the likes of TEDx, Facebook, Commonwealth Bank, Aesop, Clayton Utz, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sydney Opera House and the University of Sydney. Danielle Harvey Danielle Harvey is a curator, creative producer and director. Danielle works across festivals, live performance, talks, installation and digital spaces, creating layered programs that connect deeply with audiences. She is currently Festival Director of the infamous FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS and Director of the line-blurring theatrical events company Dancing Giant Productions. Danielle was creator of BINGEFEST (a festival celebrating digital culture) and ANTIDOTE (a festival of ideas and action), and co-creator of ALL ABOUT WOMEN (a feminist festival). She was the co-creator and originating director of the award-winning immersive experience A MIDNIGHT VISIT. Her latest immersive work ETERNITYLAND created a theatrical ‘playground’ to rave reviews. Past roles include Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House, the Festival Executive Producer of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Director of Engagement for The Ethics Centre. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we go back to basics and look at the practical ways of communicating the principle of charity and how certain behaviours over time have been developed for social cohesion, even when we don’t all agree. With our special guests –  moral philosopher Dr Tim Dean and festival director Danielle Harvey – we have a wide-ranging discussion on what communicating in good faith looks like, what bad faith is, and how to navigate tricky topics. We discuss ways to have hard conversations – be that in person, in events, in podcasts or even in lecture theatres. This takes us to the role of morality, behavioural evolution, and outrage. What do we have in our toolkit that we can use to solve the problems of how to live together peacefully? And just how do you communicate your view or knowledge in a way that can be understood while inviting challenge in a respectful manner? This episode introduces our new partnership with The Ethics Centre, a not for profit organisation who works to bring ethics to the centre of everyday life. We have joined forces, aligned by an intent to bring curiosity and generosity to conversations about the tough topics in our world.  Dr Tim Dean is the senior philosopher at The Ethics Centre. We introduce Danielle Harvey, our new podcast producer who is also festival director of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, which is presented by The Ethics Centre. Tim Dean Tim Dean is Senior Philosopher at The Ethics Centre, where he works to promote ethics in public and professional spheres. He has a Doctorate in philosophy from the University of New South Wales on the evolution of human nature and specialises in ethics, critical thinking and public philosophy. He is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney and the author of How We Became Human: And Why We Need to Change published by Pan Macmillan. Tim received the Australasian Association of Philosophy Media Professionals’ Award for his work on philosophy in public. He has delivered keynotes and workshops across Australia and the Asia Pacific for the likes of TEDx, Facebook, Commonwealth Bank, Aesop, Clayton Utz, the Art Gallery of NSW, the Sydney Opera House and the University of Sydney. Danielle Harvey Danielle Harvey is a curator, creative producer and director. Danielle works across festivals, live performance, talks, installation and digital spaces, creating layered programs that connect deeply with audiences. She is currently Festival Director of the infamous FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS and Director of the line-blurring theatrical events company Dancing Giant Productions. Danielle was creator of BINGEFEST (a festival celebrating digital culture) and ANTIDOTE (a festival of ideas and action), and co-creator of ALL ABOUT WOMEN (a feminist festival). She was the co-creator and originating director of the award-winning immersive experience A MIDNIGHT VISIT. Her latest immersive work ETERNITYLAND created a theatrical ‘playground’ to rave reviews. Past roles include Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House, the Festival Executive Producer of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and the Director of Engagement for The Ethics Centre. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. This podcast is proud to partner with The Ethics Centre. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Danielle Harvey Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram Find Danielle at danielleharvey.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guests, Ahmed Elgammal and Michael Sacasas  In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2022, an AI generated work of art won a US state art competition. The artist used Midjourney, one of the popular AI systems that also include Dall-E and Stable Diffusion. They are trained on the millions of images scattered through the internet, using a deep learning program called a ‘generative adversarial network’, or GAN for short. It works by taking in text prompts, where you type in what you want the artwork to look like, and the AI then draws on the huge database of artworks, to generate a new work that conforms to the prompts.  But to create a great AI work, it’s not as simple as typing ‘create some great art’. The artist who won that competition put in lengthy complex prompts, working up hundreds of iterations before he arrived at the final work.  So, is this really art?  When we see an AI art creation, it genuinely feels ‘creative’. But is there something humans do when we create which is qualitatively different to AI? Like AI in every domain it has touched, AI art is challenging us to rethink our categories and even to ask us to question what it means to be human. Our guests for this conversation are both experts in the intersection between art and technology.  Professor Ahmed Elgammal has actually constructed AI systems that have created artworks that are so good, a majority of people believe they are truly original human creations. Michael Sacasas,on the other hand, sees AI art as missing an essential ingredient, no matter how good its style is. It’ll never convey the deep connection between artist and viewer that we all crave. Guests Ahmed Elgammal Dr. Ahmed Elgammal is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and an Executive Council Faculty at the Center for Cognitive Science at Rutgers University. He is the founder and director of the Art and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Rutgers. He is also the founder and CEO of Playform AI, a platform that is dedicated to give artist access to the latest generative AI tech. In 2017, he developed AICAN, an autonomous AI artist and collaborative creative partner, which was acclaimed in an Artsy editorial as “the biggest artistic achievement of the year.” In 2021, he led the AI team that completed Beethoven’s 10th symphony, which received worldwide media coverage. He received M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Michael Sacasas Michael writes The Convivial Society, a popular newsletter on technology, culture, and the moral life.  Michael has written for The New Atlantis, Comment, Plough, The New Inquiry, Real Life Magazine, Mere Orthodoxy, The American, and Second Nature Journal. His work has also been featured in The Atlantic, Vox, and the New York Times. He is the Executive Director, Christian Study Centre in Florida, and earned his MA in Theological Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in 2002. He was later a doctoral candidate at the University of Central Florida studying the relationship between technology and society with a focus on the work of Hannah Arendt.  He is an Associate Fellow in Ethics and Culture at the Greystone Theological Institute. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guests, Professor Mohamad Abdalla and Professor Robyn Horner  In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christianity and Islam are the two biggest religions on the globe, accounting for just over half the world’s population combined. Most of us know about the religion we belong to and too often learn about other religions from the actions of extreme fundamentalists, mediated by the news, and by politics.  In this episode we go back to basics, to find out what Christianity and Islam actually believe. What are the essential building blocks of their theology? What do you need to believe as true? What is god, what is a soul, and what happens after death? And what exactly is the promise of the religion, whether it’s salvation or eternal life, and how do you achieve it? The stakes are incredibly high when it comes to theology. Countless wars have been fought in the name of christianity and islam, both between these religions and between different sects within them. And whilst there are considerable overlaps which we will explore in this episode, there are also irreconcilable differences, differences not in mere preferences and values, but in the claim to the absolute truth of the nature of the universe, our place in it, the laws of how to live, our path to salvation and our purpose in life.   Guests Professor Robyn Horner Professor Robyn Horner is a teaching and research academic within the School of Theology, and a member of the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry (IRCI) at Australian Catholic University. From 2010-2015, she held the position of Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy. Formerly a teacher in Catholic primary and secondary schools, Robyn is a liturgical musician and composer,  Professor Mohamad Abdalla Professor Abdalla has worked in the field of Islamic Studies for over 25 years and played a leading role in establishing Islamic Studies across Australian universities. He is currently the Founding Director, the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education (CITE). In 2020 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his outstanding service to education in the sphere of Islamic Studies. He established and led the Griffith University Islamic Research Unit (GIRU), at Griffith University in Brisbane (2006-2008); the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies (NCEIS), a dynamic collaboration between the University of Melbourne, Griffith University and the University of Western Sydney (2008-2016).  ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guests, Dr Patti Ashley and Dr Tanveer Ahmed.  In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s said that the world can be divided into shame based and guilt based cultures, with the west sitting firmly in the guilt side. This is because the west has prioritised this idea of the individual, with our sense of right and wrong a matter between ourself and whatever higher power we ascribe to – whether it's our god, the state laws, or our conscious itself.  In the west, guilt is seen as an appropriate and even productive emotion, with shame as the corrosive cousin. But in shame based cultures, which really make up most of the world, its shame, not guilt, that does the heavy lifting. And given most of us in the west live in rich multicultural communities, it’s important to understand shame if we’re going to understand what motivates the people around us.  In this conversation, we talk with a leading world expert about the deeply corrosive aspects of shame, and how to release its grip on us. We also speak with a leading psychiatrist who’s written a book in defence of shame, to see what benefits shame can bring. We’ll also open the lens a little wider, looking at how shame is used by conservatives, liberals, but more interestingly by the progressive left, which challenges us to be careful not to shame people’s sexual expressions, weight, or in fact anything that’s seen as an authentic version of oneself. Whilst at the same time, the left has very successfully used public shaming, including through cancel culture, as a way to regulate what can and can’t be said. And finally, we’ll discuss social media as the super-fuel for shame, as it provides us with an almost infinite community within which we seek praise, and fear condemnation. Guests: Dr Patti Ashley Patti Ashley holds a doctor of philosophy degree in psychology from the Union Institute and University, a Master of Education degree in early childhood from Old Dominion University and a Bachelor of Science degree in special education from James Madison University. She is the author of Living in the Shadow of the Too-Good Mother Archetype, Letters to Freedom and Shame-Informed Therapy: Treatment Strategies to overcome Core Shame and Reconstruct the Authentic Self. An international workshop presenter, TEDxspeaker and psychotherapist, she owns and operates Authenticity Architects in Boulder, Colorado and Taos, New Mexico. Dr Tanveer Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed is a psychiatrist, author and columnist on social issues for the Australian Financial Review. His books include Fragile Nation about the cultural rise of mental health and In Defence of Shame. He is an adjunct lecturer for the University of New South Wales. He has served on local government, government advisory Boards and as a national representative for the Australian Medical Association. He is based in Sydney, Australia. ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Emile and Lloyd discuss some of the highlights of the past two years and run a slide rule over the Principle of Charity mission to inject curiosity and generosity back into our conversations on big social issues. They ponder if the show should be more volatile and tick off the hot topics they want to canvas with expert guests. AI for starters.  “There’s a topic I want to look at, which is can AI create art,” says Emile. “I guess it goes to the core of what makes us human.  I feel at the moment  we are living in a very transactional world.” Has hosting the podcast changed their everyday conversations? Are they more charitable?  “Definitely,” says Lloyd, “and I notice when I’m not charitable. “ Join Emile and Lloyd with producer (and inquisitor) Jonah Primo, for an hour of spirited reflections and ‘around the dinner table’  truth-seeking.  ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com or @JonahPrimo on Instagram  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With guests Francisco Ferreira and Emma Varvaloucas In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has an unfiltered conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity. ~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah at jonahprimo.com & @JonahPrimo on Instagram.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.