The Ethical Life

Episode 244: Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore a question that sounds simple but quickly becomes complicated: How should we understand the difference between personal behavior and the standards tied to our roles? The conversation begins with a high-profile case from sports media , where two people were involved in the same situation but faced very different outcomes. That example raises a...

Episode 243: Americans are spending more than ever on their pets — from premium food and toys to advanced medical care — and that growth reflects something deeper than rising incomes. It points to a fundamental shift in how people relate to the animals in their lives. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore what that shift reveals. Pets are living longer, spending more time indoors a...

Episode 242: Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take a closer look at how the meaning of sacrifice has shifted — and what may have been lost along the way. The conversation begins with a contrast many listeners will recognize. On Memorial Day, Americans honor those who gave their lives in service to others, a form of sacrifice that feels profound and unquestioned. But in everyday life, the wo...

Episode 241: Gambling has moved from the margins of American life to the center of it — and in this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take a close look at what that shift means. What was once limited to casinos and occasional office pools is now constant, personalized and always within reach. With a phone and a few taps, people can place bets not only on sports, but on elections, ec...

Episode 240: In a fast-moving world filled with distractions, it can be easy to lose sight of what truly matters. In this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the idea of reverence — a quality that once shaped how people understood life, but now often feels distant or overlooked. The conversation begins with a simple moment: Kyte’s discovery of a weathered deer antler in...

Episode 239: A new global survey delivers a striking insight. Among 25 countries studied, the United States stands alone in one key measure — more people say their fellow citizens are morally bad than morally good. In this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada dig into what that perception reveals about American life — and what it might be doing to the country’s social fabri...

Episode 238: In a culture shaped by convenience, skepticism and growing individualism, what does it mean to commit yourself to something beyond your own interests? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the meaning of commitment, drawing a careful distinction between inward conviction and outward behavior. While those ideas are often treated as interchangeable, Kyte suggests they reflect differ...

Episode 237:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore ambition at both extremes: the kind that consumes a life and the kind that never quite ignites. The conversation begins with a story from Rada about his great-grandfather, whose frequent advice was to “keep busy.” That guidance, Rada says, reflected engagement with work, family and community — not frantic overwork. From...

Episode 236:  In an era of alerts, feeds and endless scrolling, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada examine who — or what — shapes where our focus lands. The conversation begins with a familiar childhood command: “Pay attention.” For Kyte, that phrase always carried a quiet tension. It raised a deeper question about authority over one’s inner life. Who gets to deci...

Episode 235:  In 1988,  Congress passed a law  to protect the privacy of video rental records. Lawmakers worried someone might discover what movies you checked out from Blockbuster. Today, that concern feels almost quaint. Now entire industries are built on watching what we read, where we drive, what we buy, how long we linger and even how much debt we carry. What began as a tool fo...

Episode 234:  The hosts start with a question that most of us eventually confront: What happened to the person we used to be? The one who believed big problems had solutions, that institutions could be improved, that effort and empathy would move the needle. Drawing on a  Washington Post column  about former AmeriCorps volunteers who now describe themselves as more world-weary than...

Episode 233:  Artificial intelligence is often sold as a gift — fewer tedious tasks, faster workflows, more time to focus on what really matters. From summarizing documents to organizing files, today’s tools promise to clear away the friction of daily work. And in many cases, they deliver. Few people entered their profession dreaming of merging PDFs or transcribing blurry document...

Episode 232:  Citizenship is a word we hear constantly, especially in political debates, yet it remains surprisingly hard to pin down. Is it simply a legal status, confirmed by documents and protected by law? Or is it something deeper — a set of habits, responsibilities and shared expectations that shape how people live together? In this episode of The Ethical Life, hosts Richard Kyte a...

Episode 231:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore how living inside algorithmic media is reshaping not just what we see, but how we understand the world — and each another. The conversation begins with a simple but unsettling observation: moments of national trauma linger emotionally long after the events themselves, leaving many people feeling brittle, exhausted and constantly on...

Episode 230:  In an era when every major news event seems to demand an immediate opinion, “The Ethical Life” podcast asks a harder question: When is speaking up a moral obligation, and when is silence the wiser choice? In this episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada explore the growing pressure to publicly comment on political controversies, social justice issues and breaking n...

Episode 229:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are off this week, so we looked back through our show archives and are sharing four of our favorite ethical dilemmas from the past several months. Topics include whether it’s  OK to correct the actions of other people’s children , what advice you’d give your friend who won a lottery jackpot, the ethics around quick convers...

Episode 228:  In early January, advice is everywhere. Friends offer encouragement. Social media fills with tidy aphorisms. But beneath the flood of guidance sits an uncomfortable question we rarely confront: How much of what happens to us is actually within our control? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on that question by examining the role chance plays in shaping lives — and how...

Episode 227:  As the calendar turns and uncertainty once again shapes politics, technology and everyday life, The Ethical Life returns to a familiar exercise: looking ahead while holding the past accountable. Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada are joined by Scott Milfred, Lee Enterprises’ national opinion editor, for a wide-ranging conversation about what the coming year may hold —...

Episode 226:  As Christmas approaches, memories have a way of resurfacing — sometimes warmly, sometimes painfully, often with more force than expected. In a holiday-themed episode, hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take a close look at why this happens, and what it means for how people live, relate to and care for one another. The conversation centers on nostalgia — not as a vague...

Episode 225:  As digital noise continues to shape modern life, the latest episode of “The Ethical Life” turns inward, offering listeners a wide-angle look at how ancient ideas can help people navigate an era marked by distraction, isolation and growing cultural tension. Hosts Scott Rada and Richard Kyte revisit the seven-part series they released this fall based on Kyte’s pu...

Episode 224:  A recent  article by Jason Feifer  serves as the starting point for this episode of “The Ethical Life,” where hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada examine the quiet struggle many people experience when reaching out for support. Feifer’s piece argues that the fears holding us back — such as imposing on others, appearing incompetent, or being judged...

Episode 223:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada take on a modern problem that feels both familiar and persistent: why so many people feel unmoored despite busier lives than ever. Their conversation explores whether stepping outside — even briefly — can provide a clearer path to reflection, balance and personal insight. The episode wraps up the show’s occasional series inspir...

Episode 222:  When a city planner mentioned that a large, developable tract of land might contain Native American artifacts, cohost Scott Rada started wondering how communities decide which parts of the past are worth protecting — and what the costs of preservation might be for the present. This week’s episode examines the tension between honoring cultural heritage and addressing...

Episode 221:  Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada tackle one of the most enduring moral questions — how wealth, privilege and authority shape our understanding of fairness. Kyte argues that many of society’s moral blind spots emerge not from ignorance, but from a state of comfort. “When we’re insulated by prosperity,” he says, “we lose the capacity to recogni...

Episode 220:  For decades, the phrase “follow your dream” has been stitched into graduation speeches, greeting cards and social-media pep talks. But what if that familiar advice is doing more harm than good? Hosts Richard Kyte and Scott Rada challenge one of America’s most cherished bits of wisdom. Drawing inspiration from a  syndicated column by journalist Dick Meyer ,...