Show Notes
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Daley about gerrymandering and political redistricting in the United States. They discuss political redistricting in the modern era, defining redistricting, how states redraw the political map, 2026 midterms, gerrymandering in 2028, 2030 census, fixing gerrymandering, and many more topics. David Daley is a Senior Fellow at FairVote. He is the author of the national best-seller “Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn’t Count,” which has been credited with sparking the modern drive to reform redistricting and end partisan gerrymandering, and the basis for the award-winning documentary “Slay The Dragon.” His second book, “Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy,” chronicles the victories and defeats in state efforts to reform elections and uphold voting rights. His third book, “Antidemocratic,” follows the weakening of the Voting Rights Act through Supreme Court decisions like Shelby County vs. Holder. A frequent lecturer and media source about gerrymandering, he is the former editor-in-chief of Salon.com, and the former CEO and publisher of the Connecticut News Project. David’s journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, and many other publications, and he has been a guest on CNN, MSNBC, NPR’s “Fresh Air,” and Comedy Central. He has taught political science and journalism as a visiting fellow at Wesleyan University, Boston College, and the University of Georgia.
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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kyle Harper about humans and extinction. They talk about humans contextualized with other animals, humans as apex predators, human history in context, mass extinctions and the 6th extinction. They also discuss LUCA, human species, animal domestication, deforestation, whaling, future of the planet, and many more topics. Kyle Harper is the G. T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty at the University of Oklahoma and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. His previous works include Plagues upon the Earth and The Fate of Rome and he is the author of the latest book, The Last Animal: Human history and the fate of life on earth.
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger about the life and reign of Maria Theresa. They provide an overview of Maria Theresa, her upbringing, arranged marriage, the idea of “gynocracy,” succession, and her reign. They talk about her policies, modern comparisons, gender, being a wife and mother, her relationship with her son, her legacy, and many more topics. Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger is professor of early modern history and rector of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Her books include The Holy Roman Empire: A Short History, The Emperor’s Old Clothes: Constitutional History and the Symbolic Language of the Holy Roman Empire, and her most recent, Maria Theresa: The Hapsburg Empress in her time.
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Leonard Sax about the continued crisis of boyhood. They discuss the current state of boys in education and in the workplace, why girls are doing better in these domains, impact on pair bonding, limited options for boys, why influencing and streaming is not viable, impact of mass media, ADHD, and many more topics. Leonard Sax, MD, PhD, is a board-certified family physician, psychologist, and the New York Times bestselling author of Why Gender Matters, Girls on the Edge, The Collapse of Parenting, and Boys Adrift. Dr. Sax has visited more than five hundred schools worldwide and has appeared on major radio and television programs and networks including the Today show, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with John Keane about demagogues and despots. They talk about the rise of demagogues in the modern era, why democracies have been infiltrated with demagogues, despots, tools that demagogues use, demagogues in the future, and many more topics. John Keane is Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney and renowned globally for his creative thinking about politics, history, media and democracy. His books include The Shortest History of Democracy, The Life and Death of Democracy, and his latest book, Demagogues and Despots: democracies on the brink.
In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Robin Waterfield and John Sellars on their new translation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. They discuss translating Aristotle’s ethics for a modern audience, Aristotelian Greek vs. other forms of Greek, different works of ethics, Aristotle’s eudaimonia, the good life, Aristotle’s virtues, using reason for ethics, friendship, and many other topics. Robin Waterfield is a British classical scholar, translator, and editor, specializing in Ancient Greek philosophy. He has written and/or translated many works, including the recent English translation of Nicomachean Ethics. John Sellars is Reader in the History of Philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London, with further affiliations to King's College London and Wolfson College, Oxford.