Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Joseph Graves Jr. about his life experiences and research in evolutionary biology. They talk about why he wrote his most recent book as half memoir/half popular science book, his early beginnings in the Jim Crow South, and how he became interested in the biological sciences. They talk about his work on Drosophila and broader research areas in evo...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Brian Lowery about racial equality and equity, privilege, and selfhood. They discuss the major data points and reasons for continued racial inequities, systemic racism, and different types of privilege. They also talk about the differences between equity, equality, and equality of opportunity. They also discuss the efficacy of Diversity, Equity,...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ken Sheldon about free will, determinism, the self, and positive psychology. They talk about why studying free will is important, the three horsemen of determinism, grand hierarchy of human interaction, and the illusion of free will. They also talk about the self, self-determination theory, the symbolic self, and many more topics. Ken Sheldon is...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Alex Ross about Richard Wagner and his legacy. They discuss why he wrote a book on Wagner and what is Wagnerism, Wagner’s relationship with Nietzsche, and the many interpretations of Wagner. They talk about Wagner’s antisemitism, alternative Wagnerisms, Wagner’s impact on literature, Nazi Germany, and cinema. Alex Ross is a writer and music criti...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Michael Stein about healthcare vs. public health. They talk about the narratives around healthcare and public health, biopsychosocial model, and progress of health in the USA. They talk about how to get people to care about the health of their fellow citizens, global health vs. USA public health. They talk about preventative vs. reactionary care,...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Kat Rosenfield about stories and culture. They discuss her process for writing novels and essays, writing a gothic mystery novel, and how she writes strong female protagonists. They also talk about the stories we tell in our society, outrage culture, and many more topics. Kat Rosenfield is a freelance pop culture writer. She is a former reporter...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Aynne Kokas about digital sovereignty and our data in the digital world. They discuss the US-China relationship with the tech industry. They define digital sovereignty and data trafficking, discuss ownership and management of personal data, and what are the three risks of data trafficking and three limitations of the US system for data. They also...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Marchick about the presidential transfer of power. They discuss the podcast he hosted on the transfer of power and how the book was developed. They talk about presidential transitions, the importance of the Office of Presidential Personnel, and importance of the General Services Administration. They discuss four key features of leading in c...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Christopher Ferguson about masculinity, homelessness, and mental health. They discuss his APA resignation letter and APA’s guidelines for boys and men. They also discuss the challenges and potential solutions for homelessness and institutionalization. They also review some of the political progress over the past two years and many other topics. C...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Peter Salmon about the life and philosophy of Jacques Derrida. They discuss Derrida’s place in philosophy and within deconstructionism, the culture and identity in Derrida’s upbringing, and the impact of Husserl, Heidegger, and Levinas on Derrida’s philosophical thought. They talk about Derrida’s emphasis on language, his interactions with Nietzs...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Hoinski about different philosophical ideas and the importance of appreciation. They discuss the philosophy of the pre-socratics, logos, and the nature and role of philosophy. They also talk about immanence vs. transcendence, reality and the metaphysical, and the emotions of guilt and shame. They discuss Nietzsche’s idea about the death of...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Merve Emre about literary criticism and how to engage with literature. They discuss what literary criticism is and why it is important. They talk about different ways of reading, author’s intent, and the contours of literary genre. They also discuss various forms of interpretation, themes of “becoming” in the philosophy of Nietzsche and writing o...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Justin Gregg about animal intelligence. They discuss how one defines intelligence, g , and what intelligence means for humans and animals. They talk about animal minds, communication in animals, and concepts of deception. They discuss theory of mind, minimal concept of death, morality and norms in animals, torture and pain in animals, and many ot...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lars Chittka about the cognitive abilities of bees. They discuss the individuality and evolutionary history of bees. They talk about the various aspects of vision in bees such as polarization, sun compass, and phylogenetic analysis. They discuss the antennae of bees and how they use this sense. They talk about the sociality of bees, the brains of...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Katja Hoyer about the history of the German Empire. They discuss what it means to be German, Prussia and its boundaries, and the importance of the German revolution in 1848. They talk about the character and rule of Otto Von Bismarck, the unification of Germany in 1871, and how the industrial revolution was economically important. They also talk...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Freddie deBoer about marxism, education and society. They define marxism, how marxism works today and how it is connected with communism and socialism. They discuss the evolution of the cult of smart, manufacturing and technical jobs, and how educational systems globally are compared to the United States. They talk about capacity and achievement,...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Stuart Ritchie about fraud, bias, and hype within the social sciences. They talk about “trust the science” and some of the challenges of science during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discuss how the scientific method work and some of the dynamics within the scientific publishing world. They talk about how certain campaigns can promote what does and d...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Matthew Cobb about the moral history of genetic engineering. They discuss his reasons for writing the book and why one should be worried about genetic engineering. They define genetic engineering and some of the precursor tools before the advent of recombinant DNA. They discuss recombinant DNA, Paul Berg, and Asilomar. They also talk about the ge...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue about the philosophy of Schelling, Spinoza, idealism, and realism. They talk about how he came to write his book on Schelling and Spinoza and how one can define idealism and realism. They talk about the three claims of idealism, Spinoza’s ethics, and the importance of Jacobi’s critiques on German idealism. They also talk about Spinoza’s god, the infin...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Geoffrey Miller about evolution, polyamory, and artificial intelligence (AI). They give an overview of natural selection and sexual selection and explain why sexual selection was lost to history for many years. They discuss mate choice, pair-bonding, cold and hot choosers, sexual ornamentation, the ornamental mind, and mate retention. They also d...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ben Winegard about the 2022 US midterm elections. They discuss the main takeaways and why there was no “red wave” for the republicans. They talk about the Desantis juggernaut and whether abortion was as big of an issue for people to get to the voting polls. They also discuss the importance of the midwest states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. The...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with W. Keith Campbell about the research on narcissism. They define narcissism and explain the three types: grandiose, vulnerable, and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). They talk about state vs. traits vs. disorder and the three theoretical models of narcissism along with the 4 major models of narcissism. They discuss general personality trait...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Richard Reeves about the current issues for boys and men. They discuss how to talk about men's issues next to women's issues. They talk about the structural issues against men such as in education and in the workforce. They mention the gender pay gap, challenges for Black and Latino men, and failures of the political right and political left to p...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Susana Monsó about animal minds. They talk about how animal minds are defined and why there is an emphasis on cognition. They also talk about a minimal concept of death and why this is important to understand animal minds. They talk about whether consciousness is essential for understanding animal minds and some of the arguments for and against m...

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Rob Dunn about the natural history of the future of earth. They discuss the two laws of ecological diversity and how increased ecological diversity is helpful for growth. They also talk about the anthropocentric view of the world and different islands for diverse populations. They discuss the inadvertent ark and how corridors play a role here. Th...